Ten seconds later…
The landscape within several hundred meters of the harbor had been completely rewritten. Jagged stone pillars thrust up in dense clusters, interlocked like a forest of swords, soaring dozens of meters high as if they meant to spear the sky itself.
Pirate corpses lay scattered in grotesque disarray—some crushed, some broken, some impaled and hanging midair, their muscles still twitching from residual nerve spasms.
"Evil Axe" Panama dangled weakly from one of the pillars. His lower body had been swallowed by stone, fused into the rock so thoroughly he couldn't even writhe. Blood streaked his face. His head lolled as he fought for breath in ragged, wet gasps.
He's still alive.
"D-damn it…"
His right hand remained clenched around the splintered haft of his massive black axe. The words came out as a hoarse, stubborn snarl.
Thud… thud… thud…
Heavy footsteps approached—steady, deliberate, merciless. A pair of dust-coated black military boots came into view and stopped before him.
"Any last words?"
The voice was deep and level, carrying a killing intent so clean it felt decisive rather than emotional.
"Last words…"
Panama mouthed it, then suddenly sucked in a series of violent, choking breaths. He raised his head, bloodshot eyes locking onto the purple-haired man before him, and his mouth twisted into a savage, unhinged grin.
"Aren't you the so-called 'Non-Killing Admiral,' Black Arm Zephyr?" he sneered. "Look at you now—handing out last words to pirates."
His grin widened, filthy with contempt.
"What's wrong, Zephyr? Did you finally throw away the convictions you clung to for all those years?"
Tokikake and the others bristled instantly. Teeth ground. Bodies shifted—ready to surge forward and shut the pirate up for good.
Behind Zephyr, Gion lifted a hand.
A simple gesture.
Everyone froze.
Tokikake, Yamakaji, and the rest stared at her in disbelief. Gion's expression didn't waver. Her eyes burned with a quiet, unwavering resolve as she shook her head once.
After a tense pause, they lowered their hands and reluctantly stepped back.
Zephyr remained entirely still.
Dust curled around his boots. The empty sleeve of his severed arm fluttered in the wind, limp and accusing.
His silence, however, looked like hesitation to Panama—and the pirate's grin warped into something uglier.
"So it's true after all…" Panama cackled.
"Hahahahaha! The legendary 'Non-Killing Admiral,' after defecting from the Marines, has finally rotted into the depths!"
"You betrayed your Justice! Hahahahaha!"
He choked out another howl of laughter, veins standing out in his neck.
"What difference is there between you… and a pirate now?! Hahahahaha—"
His laughter faltered.
Then stopped.
The grin on his face froze.
Because the purple-haired man in front of him hadn't flinched. Hadn't snapped. Hadn't even looked mildly irritated. He was only watching—calm, patient—like a judge waiting for a criminal to finish digging his own grave.
"So those are your last words?" Zephyr asked mildly.
Panama's pupils shrank.
Before he could force out another syllable, Zephyr pulled an ordinary cigar from his pocket, bit off the end, and lit it with practiced ease.
He took a slow drag, then spoke in a voice so quiet it made the air feel colder.
"You're right. I'm not the 'Non-Killing Admiral' I used to be."
He exhaled. Smoke spilled out in a thin line, almost lazy.
"That isn't because I betrayed Justice. It's because I finally understood something."
Not everyone on these seas is worth saving.
"Some people can't be redeemed. Not by mercy. Not by restraint. Not by kindness. They won't repent, and they'll never admit they were wrong."
A shadow of memory flickered behind his dark glasses.
"Mercy toward our enemies becomes cruelty to ourselves—our comrades, our families."
His voice hardened, and the temperature of the moment seemed to drop with it.
"'Evil Axe' Panama. Bounty: two hundred and thirty million berries. Responsible for the deaths of over fourteen hundred civilians. Multiple town raids. Widespread destruction."
His gaze pinned the pirate in place.
"Your crimes are unforgivable."
Zephyr exhaled a thick plume of smoke, and when he spoke again the words were iron.
"In the name of Z, Supreme Commander of the NEO Marines, I execute Justice on the spot."
He lifted his hand and waved it once, as casually as brushing away the lingering smoke.
And impossible things happened.
The stone pillar holding Panama shuddered—then writhed like something alive. It surged and grew in an instant, swallowing the pirate whole.
Panama's eyes widened in naked despair.
There was no scream.
The rock sealed him in the next heartbeat.
Immediately after, the sword-forest of pillars began to withdraw. Stone sank back into the earth with unnatural smoothness, erasing its own violence. The ruined harbor returned to flat ground as if nothing had happened.
Even the corpses disappeared, buried deep within bedrock.
Not a smear of blood remained.
"This ability really is convenient," Tokikake muttered under his breath. "It even handles corpse—"
Gion kicked him in the ass.
The waves rolled in and broke against the shore in steady rhythm. The town fell into a stunned, eerie calm.
And then, from alleys, doorways, and broken walls, the townsfolk began to emerge. Their eyes fixed on the broad-shouldered man with striking purple hair, awe and gratitude filling their faces like light returning after a storm.
"The Marines! The Marines saved us!"
"No… they're not Marines! Didn't you hear them? They're the NEO Marines!"
"The Marines would never care about our lives!"
"That purple-haired man… he's Admiral Zephyr! The legend who used to rule the New World!"
"Our hero… he's back!"
"Long live the NEO Marines!"
"Mr. Z!"
The cheers exploded, swelling into a roar that shook the harbor. Relief and worship fused into something thunderous—something hungry to believe.
Zephyr smiled and waved.
But behind the smile, his eyes looked distant—almost dazed.
How long has it been since I felt this?
This sensation—standing at the front, evil crushed beneath his boots, people looking up at him as if Justice had a face.
His throat tightened with it.
"Citizens—have faith!" Zephyr bellowed, clenching his fist and raising his arm. "Justice will prevail!"
His cloak billowed, inky black, shimmering under the sunlight as if it carried its own strange brilliance.
Then he turned sharply and signaled.
A jet-black battleship dropped from the sky at terrifying speed and slammed into the sea with a thunderous splash.
Waves surged outward as the boarding ramp lowered.
Gion and the others boarded first. Zephyr came last, his fist clenching without realizing it.
His eyes burned—bright, fierce, unyielding.
It's been too long, battlefield of the Sea!
To be continued...