Next Bonus, 100!!
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New World, Egghead Island.
This was a top-secret island, built near the G-14 Marine base.
Ever since the disaster at Punk Hazard, Vegapunk and the other scientists of the ostensibly Marine-run research institute had been relocated here.
The island flew the seagull flag of the Marines, but it also bore a unique "SSG" emblem.
This place, in Vegapunk's own words, was the technological heart of the world. If it were ever destroyed, global technology would be set back a hundred years.
Outside a modification lab, a man and a woman stood in a spacious corridor.
The man was dressed strangely, wearing a ninja-style tunic with a yellow flower pattern over a red bodysuit. He had on a pair of black leather shoes and a red bandana wrapped around his head. A katana, bound with pink cloth strips, was strapped to his back.
The woman had soft, sea-blue hair that cascaded down in waves. She was beautiful, wrapped in a blue cloak over a light-blue vest. Two short swords hung at her waist. She wore a pair of shorts that exposed her long, straight legs. Her right leg bore a distinct "X"-shaped scar, and her feet were shod in black, pointed high heels—perfect for kicking.
Screech...
The door to the modification lab opened.
A man in a white lab coat stepped out.
The young man rushed forward. "Doctor, how is he?"
"The procedure was a success," the man nodded.
Just then, a towering figure appeared in the doorway.
"Z-Sensei!"
"Teacher!"
The tall man had short, purple hair and wore a pair of inverted-triangle sunglasses. The wrinkles on his face were deep and pronounced. He wore only a dark-blue greatcoat, his muscular chest exposed.
His most striking feature was his right arm.
It was a massive, mechanical crusher arm—the Battle Smasher—forged from Seastone and specially modified by Marine scientists. Not only that, but half his body had also been replaced with machinery, turning him into a creature half-man, half-cyborg.
The absence of Bartholomew Kuma, the ideal candidate for cybernetic modification, had left Vegapunk in need of more test subjects.
At the same time, Zephyr, having lost his arm, was desperate for the power to exact his revenge. And so, with the World Government acting as an intermediary, a deal was struck.
"Binz."
"Ain."
Zephyr gave his two students a slight nod. He then raised his right arm, flexing the mechanical limb. "The modifications are perfect, Doctor. Thank you."
"No, not at all," the doctor replied. "In my eyes, you are a hero of the Marines, Mr. Zephyr."
"A hero?" Zephyr shook his head with a bitter laugh. "Some hero I am... I couldn't even protect my own family... my own students."
A fire of vengeance burned in his eyes.
The doctor scratched his head, a little awkwardly.
"Well, we'll be going now. Goodbye."
"Of course, Mr. Zephyr. By the way... have the Marines given you a new assignment?"
"No."
"What? But why?"
"And so," Zephyr said, clenching his mechanical fist, "I've decided to take my revenge on all pirates with my own strength."
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Marine Headquarters.
Sengoku was processing paperwork. He suddenly stopped and looked over at Garp, who was sitting on a sofa, munching on rice crackers. "Did you hear?"
Garp was back from the New World, officially to debrief Headquarters on his little... "involvement" in the Yonko summit. Of course, with Sengoku here, it was just a formality.
It was good to have friends in high places.
"Hear what?" Garp asked, confused.
"Zephyr has left the sanatorium," Sengoku said.
"He's finally pulled himself together?" Garp said, his face lighting up. "That's great! If he comes back..."
Sengoku cut him off, shaking his head. "There's no chance of that. The fallout from that incident was too severe. An entire ship of naval cadets was lost. Someone had to take responsibility. Besides, he's at retirement age."
Garp put down his rice cracker.
"After seeing Jin and Shanks in the New World," he said with a sigh, "I realized... the era is truly moving forward. We're getting old, Sengoku. It's about time for us to step down."
"I know," Sengoku nodded.
But it wasn't up to them.
Silence filled the office for a moment.
Garp pulled another rice cracker from his pocket. "If Zephyr isn't coming back, where will he go?"
"That's what I'm worried about," Sengoku sighed. "I just hope he doesn't get into trouble. Of all of us, he's had the hardest life."
The world called the Marines incompetent, but who could possibly understand their struggles? He knew the World Government was corrupt. But until it fell, someone had to maintain order, to give the common people a sliver of hope.
Once the world lost its order, once it descended into true chaos, how many would die in the ensuing wars? The common people thought they could change their fate through war, but in a conflict that engulfed the world, they would be the ones to die in the greatest numbers, their bones the foundation for new thrones.
Sengoku, Garp, and the other high-ranking officers... they were doing everything they could to prevent that great maelstrom from arriving.
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G-5 Branch.
"The Neo Marines?" Gion murmured, putting down the intelligence report she had just received.
The former Marine Admiral and Head Instructor of Marine Headquarters, Zephyr, had entered the New World and announced the formation of a group dedicated to hunting pirates.
"It seems Teacher Zephyr is expressing his dissatisfaction with Headquarters," she thought.
The news spread like wildfire. Some sympathized; others sneered.
Zephyr's actions were a clear message to the Marines: I'll catch the pirates you're too scared to touch. It was a slap in the face.
Anyone else would have been arrested and thrown into Impel Down.
But Zephyr was different. He had dedicated his entire life to the Marines. In his youth, his achievements had been on par with Garp's and Sengoku's. He had only retired to a teaching position after his wife and child were murdered by pirates.
As Head Instructor, he had trained a vast number of the current generation of officers. He still held immense influence.
Considering the potential blowback, Sengoku and Garp had suppressed the dissenting voices within the Marines, allowing Zephyr to stir up trouble in the New World.
Besides, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. To some extent, it would alleviate the pressure on the Marines in the New World.
If Marine HQ could tolerate the Seven Warlords, what was one little "Pirate Hunter" group? In fact, the Neo Marines were a lot like the old G-5—a force to do the dirty work the Marines couldn't.
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