The sea was calm, its surface smooth and quiet beneath the bright sky.
At the bow of the Navy warship, Zephyr Sensei stood tall as he addressed the group of Marine cadets gathered before him. His voice carried clearly across the deck as he explained various combat principles and battlefield awareness.
The cadets listened attentively.
Standing in the front row were the three most outstanding students of this class, Ain, Binz, and Shuzo.
Ain stood between the two male cadets. Her shoulder length dark blue curly hair swayed gently with the sea breeze. She had a delicate and beautiful face, and her calm temperament made her appear gentle and well mannered.
After listening for a moment, Ain suddenly raised her voice politely.
"Zephyr Sensei, could you tell us about Senior Lloyd's first voyage to sea with you?"
The moment she asked the question, Binz and Shuzo exchanged helpless glances.
Binz leaned slightly toward Shuzo and whispered quietly.
"Ain is doing it again. I remember Zephyr Sensei has already talked about Senior Lloyd, uh, Admiral Black Dragon's past several times."
Shuzo nodded with a faint grin.
"Exactly. Everyone knows Ain is a die hard admirer of Admiral Black Dragon. If she could choose, she would probably ask Zephyr Sensei to tell stories about Admiral Black Dragon eight times a day."
Zephyr Sensei heard their quiet conversation and could not help but smile slightly.
He knew that he had already told the story many times before, but the calm sea and the eager eyes of the students made it a fitting moment to tell it again.
He cleared his throat and began recounting the events in vivid detail.
He spoke about the time when Lloyd had gone out to sea under his guidance for the first time. He described how Lloyd fought alongside Vice Admiral Garp and confronted the terrifying pirate Edward Newgate, the man who would later become known across the seas as Whitebeard.
Ain listened with complete focus.
Even though she had heard the story multiple times, her reaction never changed.
Whenever the story reached the most thrilling moments, her pretty face would blush slightly, and she would subconsciously clench her fists in excitement.
Her admiration for Lloyd was obvious to anyone watching.
Not far behind the cadets, two towering figures leaned casually against the mast.
Admiral Kizaru and Admiral Akainu were observing the scene while speaking quietly to each other.
Kizaru glanced at Zephyr and lazily pouted.
"The old man is still as talkative as ever."
Akainu stood beside him with his arms folded across his chest. He lowered the brim of his military cap slightly but did not respond.
Kizaru continued speaking to himself.
"This training voyage has been rather boring. We are almost returning to Marineford, yet nothing interesting has happened."
Akainu finally spoke, his deep voice calm and firm.
"Since Lloyd arranged this mission personally, there must be a reason behind it. We only need to follow his instructions."
Kizaru immediately raised both hands in a casual gesture.
"Hey, hey, Sakazuki, do not misunderstand me. I am not questioning Lloyd. I am simply complaining because things have been too quiet."
Akainu glanced toward the distant horizon.
"Then stay focused. Until this ship returns to Marineford safely, the mission is not over."
"Alright, alright."
Kizaru straightened his posture slightly and shrugged his shoulders, appearing more attentive than before.
At that moment, far away from the warship, a small boat slowly drifted closer across the sea.
Inside the small vessel stood two figures, one large and one small.
The large figure was an enormous man who looked like a giant monster. His upper body was round and bulky, while his legs were strangely thin and disproportionate. His neck and forearms were covered with crude surgical scars.
His appearance was extremely ugly, and his dull expression made him seem rather foolish.
As he stared at the warship ahead, a thick string of mucus hung from his nose while he spoke.
"Mom, that looks like a Navy warship."
The short old woman beside him squinted toward the distance.
The moment she saw the figure standing at the bow of the ship, a strange laugh escaped her mouth. Her wrinkled face twisted into something that resembled a withered flower.
"My dear son, our luck is excellent today. That ship belongs to Zephyr Sensei."
The large man tilted his head in confusion.
"Zephyr Sensei? Who is that?"
The old woman chuckled sinisterly.
"He is the Navy officer who fought your father, Edward Newgate."
Weevil's dull eyes suddenly widened.
"I remember. The Navy who hurt Father was Admiral Black Dragon. He is my enemy. I will definitely kill him one day."
Miss Bakkin laughed again.
"Ho ho ho. Admiral Black Dragon has disappeared for many years. He might already be dead."
Her eyes narrowed as she stared at the warship.
"But Zephyr Sensei was the teacher who trained him. We can start by venting our anger on him. Row closer."
The two figures were none other than Edward Weevil and his manipulative mother, Miss Bakkin.
Weevil's intelligence was already extremely low. After hearing Bakkin's encouragement, he immediately drew his massive long handled blade.
The weapon looked very similar to Whitebeard's famous naginata, Murakumogiri.
Weevil raised the blade and roared toward the warship.
"Zephyr Sensei. I will kill you!"
Bakkin stood beside him with a satisfied smile.
She had no real intention of avenging Whitebeard. Her goal was much simpler.
She wanted the inexperienced Weevil to defeat a famous Marine figure so that he could become known across the seas as the second generation Whitebeard.
Bakkin understood her foolish son's strength very well.
Against a semi retired Marine instructor like Zephyr Sensei, Weevil would not face overwhelming pressure.
Of course, defeating Zephyr completely might still be difficult.
However, Zephyr had brought an entire group of rookie Marines with him on this voyage.
Everyone knew that whenever Zephyr went out to sea, he trained cadets during the journey.
Bakkin had sharp eyesight despite her age.
Earlier, she had clearly seen several young faces standing near Zephyr. Those were obviously Marine trainees.
On the warship, Zephyr Sensei heard the distant roar and turned his head.
By the time he looked down, the small boat carrying Weevil and Bakkin had already reached the side of the ship.
Weevil pointed his blade upward and shouted again.
Zephyr frowned slightly and spoke in a deep voice.
"Who are you?"
Miss Bakkin laughed strangely beside her son.
"Zephyr Sensei, it is fine if you do not recognize my son. But surely you have not forgotten me?"
Zephyr narrowed his eyes and carefully observed the old woman.
However, no matter how he looked at her, he could not recall her identity.
The last time Zephyr had seen Bakkin was during the legendary God Valley incident. At that time, Bakkin's appearance had resembled that of her clone, Stussy.
After so many years, her appearance had changed so drastically that it was almost impossible to recognize her.
Even if Zephyr spent an entire day thinking about it, he would never guess who she was.
Unfortunately, Bakkin did not realize this.
She continued laughing as if she had already cornered him.
However, her smile suddenly froze.
Two powerful figures had appeared beside Zephyr.
Admiral Kizaru and Admiral Akainu had arrived after hearing the commotion.
Both Admirals looked down at the two figures in the boat.
Kizaru raised an eyebrow.
"Oh my. I think I heard someone say they wanted to kill Zephyr Sensei."
At the same time, Akainu stepped forward silently.
Thick smoke began pouring from his body as scorching heat filled the surrounding air.
The temperature on the deck rose sharply.
Weevil remained completely unaware of the danger surrounding him. He also failed to notice that his beloved mother had already begun sweating nervously.
He pointed his blade toward Akainu and shouted angrily.
"Smokey. Move aside. I will kill Zephyr Sensei first, then I will kill you."
The Marine cadets quickly gathered along the ship's railing.
Shuzo stared down at Weevil with disbelief.
"Is this guy an idiot? Does he even know who he is talking to?"
Below them, Bakkin finally realized how disastrous the situation had become.
Her face turned pale.
She jumped up and slapped Weevil hard on the backside.
"Idiot. Turn the boat around and run!"
Weevil obeyed instantly.
He turned the boat around and began rowing away from the warship as fast as he could.
But it was already too late.
A massive fist of blazing magma descended from the sky.
At the same time, countless beams of dazzling light rained down like a storm.
Akainu spoke coldly.
"Great Eruption."
Kizaru followed with a lazy smile.
"Yasakani no Magatama."
===
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