"Full speed ahead — get us out of here!" Beckman ordered the helmsman immediately.
"Understood!" The man wiped beads of sweat from his forehead as he spun the wheel hard.
Beckman walked to the stern and stood beside Shanks, both gazing back toward Artemis, which was already shrinking to the size of a sesame seed on the horizon.
"What did you just realize?" As one of the first to follow Shanks, Beckman was always quick to read his captain's thoughts.
"He is far too dangerous. Much as I might want to, this is not the time to move against him." Shanks shook his head.
"I agree, but why exactly…"
"Enough of that! We survived — let's throw a feast!" Shanks avoided the question entirely, turning around with a grin and heading straight for his crew.
That man…
Beckman sighed, scratching the back of his head. He could not force the answer out, but he knew one thing for certain: sooner or later, they would have to find a way to deal with Grimm.
Back on the shore of Artemis, Mannoroth climbed out of the sea, while Shirahoshi collapsed exhausted onto the rocks.
Violet sat beside her, gently stroking her hair and speaking soft words of comfort.
Grimm walked to the other side of the young mermaid and looked out over the ocean.
The surface was calm and peaceful now, showing no trace of the horde of sea beasts that had swarmed there only five minutes earlier.
"Have you reached your limit?" Grimm asked flatly, his tone revealing nothing of his feelings.
Shirahoshi caught her breath and replied in her usual soft, gentle voice, "Yes."
"Well done. For your first time using your power in a real battle, you pushed the Red‑Hair Pirates to their breaking point." Grimm gave her a word of praise.
"Thank you!" Shirahoshi beamed with a sweet, innocent smile.
Only seven years old, and already capable of putting one of the Four Emperors on the defensive — it was impossible to imagine how powerful she would become in the future.
True, the sea was her natural domain, but for most pirates, the vast majority of their battles did take place on the water.
Elsewhere, the Julius Pirates were one of the twenty‑eight fleets under the Whitebeard Pirates — though in the two years since Whitebeard had claimed the rank of Emperor, his forces had expanded rapidly to more than forty fleets.
Due to frequent clashes with other pirates and the remaining three Emperors, that number had now settled at thirty‑seven.
Captain Julius was close to fifty years old, with a thin white goatee that covered most of his chin.
Strapped to his back was a specially modified harness fitted with two cannons that could be raised to his shoulders to fire small shells.
Two more gun ports extended from his waist. He was not a Devil Fruit user, and held a bounty of 130 million Berries — originally 100 million, but the moment he joined Whitebeard's crew, his bounty jumped by 30 million.
It was clear just how fearsome a reputation Whitebeard carried.
That day, Julius and his few dozen men — sailing in the first half of the Grand Line — suddenly found themselves under attack by the Marines.
WHOOSH!
A blinding flash of light erupted without warning. Julius and his crew squeezed their eyes shut, unable to bear the brightness.
A few seconds later, as the glow faded, Julius opened his eyes — and saw a man standing casually atop the ship's main mast.
"A‑Admiral Candidate… Kizaru!" Even as a subordinate of Whitebeard, Julius could not help but pale at the sight of the man's monkey‑like face.
Alongside Aokiji and Akainu, Borsalino was no ordinary Vice Admiral — they had recently been given the new title of Admiral Candidates.
The moment Sengoku was promoted to Fleet Admiral, these three would step straight into the highest rank of the Navy.
It was also a clear sign of how highly their strength was regarded.
"Pardon me for dropping in!"
Borsalino stood with his hands in his pockets, leaned slightly forward, and spoke down to the pirates below.
"Captain Julius of the Whitebeard Pirates — would you mind dying for me?"
"Tch. We're close to Marine Base G‑2, but I never expected to run into him."
Julius flicked his beard, raising all four of his cannons to rest on his shoulders and hips.
"Stay calm, everyone! This is the open sea, and he is a Devil Fruit user. We have the advantage here!" Julius shouted, rallying his crew. In such moments, the captain's resolve made all the difference.
His words worked instantly. The pirates, who had been trembling with fear, steeled themselves and readied their weapons.
"How terrifying… so very terrifying…"
Borsalino kept his usual infuriatingly relaxed smirk. "But I'm afraid I'm not the one you'll be fighting today!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the sea beside the ship erupted in a spray of foam.
A massive man, nearly three meters tall, leaped onto the deck — his weight sending the entire small vessel shuddering violently.
"Z‑Zephyr?!"
Julius stumbled back two steps in shock. Even facing Borsalino had not rattled him this badly.
As a pirate from the previous generation, he knew exactly how terrifying Zephyr had been in his prime — unlike many younger pirates, who barely recognized the name.
The man standing before him wore dark sunglasses, hiding his gaze, and was dressed in the standard Marine officer's coat.
Compared to the Zephyr who would later bear the cursed red mechanical arm, this one looked far more like the legendary instructor of old.
The only difference was his completely blank, expressionless face.
From up on the mast, Borsalino called out, "Right then — he's all yours, Instructor Zephyr… or rather, the Government's Human Weapon — ZP‑1."
The designation ZP was taken from the initials of Zephyr's name.
Though the lead scientist, Dr. Vegapunk, had originally planned to call these units Pacifistas, he had ultimately chosen the name ZP in honor of Zephyr himself.
Hearing Borsalino's words, the figure — no longer truly Zephyr, but the weapon known as ZP‑1 — swung his fists and launched into battle with astonishing speed, trading blows with Julius and his crew.
"Watch out! His Haki is top‑tier!" Julius shouted, while looking for any opening he could exploit.
Using only brute strength, ZP‑1 quickly knocked out more than a dozen pirates.
Seeing his chance when one of his men fell, Julius darted around behind the machine and took aim at the back of its head.
"You're finished, Zephyr!"
Four small cannons fired simultaneously from his shoulders and waist, the shells slamming directly into the back of ZP‑1's skull.
The older pirate clenched his fist in triumph. "Too slow to cover yourself with Armament Haki, aren't you?!"
But as the smoke cleared, everyone stared in disbelief. ZP‑1 stood completely unharmed — not a drop of blood, not a single scratch.
Only a strange, glowing red pattern had appeared across its forearm.
"What… what in the world is that?!" Julius' eyes went wide with shock.
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