"Tch! I may be ugly, but I've got character!"
Planck clicked his tongue in annoyance, but finally gave the order: "Right now, our enemy is the World Government — first, seize the Heavenly Tribute!"
Seeing the surrounding pirates begin to disperse, the officers of the Donquixote Pirates let out a breath of relief.
Gladius furrowed his brows deeply. "Thank goodness Boa Hancock stepped in — otherwise, the worst‑case scenario would have happened."
"But now that we know what they're thinking, we must leave as soon as we get our share.
We are still no match for them," Trebol said, taking on the role of strategist as he analyzed the situation.
"Understood. Let's get to work!" Diamante grinned.
Meanwhile, the fight between Grimm and Zephyr had reached its peak.
CRACK!
Seizing a split second when Zephyr's guard dropped, Grimm slammed his shield hard into the old warrior's chest.
THUD!
Grimm caught the shield as it rebounded, then rested it against his own chest with a smirk.
"A pity — if it weren't for the power I gave you, you'd already be lying on the ground right now."
No sooner had he spoken than a bullet came whistling from the open sea in the distance, striking Zephyr squarely in the chest.
He barely dodged in time, or it would have gone straight through his heart.
"Caitlyn, there's no need for you to join this fight — I can handle it myself!" Grimm said through his communication system.
"Not to finish him off?" came Caitlyn's sweet voice.
"No need. This is Zephyr we're talking about. Keep him alive — one day he might even become our ally. He's already starting to see the truth behind this world," Grimm replied.
He knew Zephyr was likely planning to leave the Marines within the next couple of years. If he could bring him over to his side, it would be a huge gain.
That was exactly why he had given Zephyr that new power in the first place.
Zephyr, meanwhile, pressed his hand to the wound.
Gritting his teeth, he dug the bullet out himself — the act only tore the gash wider, but as a warrior fueled by rage and blood, such an injury was nothing.
Fresh blood flowed and quickly began to knit the flesh back together.
"Oh? You're learning to wield that power with increasing skill," Grimm said, not angered in the least that Zephyr could command the blood‑force while still retaining some sanity — if anything, he looked faintly pleased.
Ugh…
Zephyr tried to save every last bit of strength he had.
He could see the battle spreading across the shore, and no matter what, he had to buy time for Ain and the others to escape.
With that thought, he gathered his energy into another sword of hardened blood, vanished from sight, and reappeared directly behind Grimm.
CLANG!
Sparks flew as the blood‑blade crashed against the shield.
"There's still too great a gap between us, Zephyr!" Grimm laughed.
Zephyr raised his other hand to grab at Grimm's head, forcing the Emperor to stumble back several meters. Instead of pressing the attack, Zephyr turned and ran.
"Hey now…" Grimm narrowed his eyes.
He knew exactly what Zephyr was trying to do. Normally he might have let him go, but he had other plans in motion — he could not afford to let the old warrior slip away just yet.
The fighting raged on. The Donquixote Pirates were fully aware they were outmatched in every way by an Emperor's crew, so they focused entirely on loading their share of the tribute, planning to take it and retreat immediately.
Zephyr had only run a few hundred meters when he skidded to a halt — Grimm was already standing in his path again.
Zephyr stopped, saying nothing, but remained on guard, wondering what his opponent intended this time.
When Grimm stepped right up to him, their eyes locking, he leaned in and whispered a few words that made Zephyr's expression turn serious.
"What… what exactly are you trying to say?" Zephyr asked, half‑turning his head.
"Go there, and you will see everything for yourself. Then you can tell me your decision," Grimm replied, beginning to walk away.
"I'll let you off this time — but remember the debt you owe. May the Holy Light watch over you, Zephyr."
Zephyr ground his teeth, forcing the confusing words from his mind for the moment.
He hurried back toward the main shore, where he found that nearly a third of the thousand cadets he had brought with him had already fallen.
Seeing him return, the surviving Marines felt their courage return.
"By order of Lord Grimm, an agreement has been reached with Zephyr. The Marines are to stand down. Once we have dealt with the CP‑0 agents, we will seize the tribute immediately!" Stratos called out.
Hearing this, the cadets began to pull back. They looked at Zephyr's back in disbelief, one asking, "Instructor — what kind of deal have you made with these pirates?"
In the eyes of every Marine, Zephyr was a man of unshakable integrity, who lived and breathed the strictest principles of the service.
To think he would strike a bargain with pirates was almost impossible to believe.
"Ask no more questions — just get to the ships and leave!" Zephyr roared.
Even with their doubts, none dared question his authority. Under his command, the evacuation proceeded in perfect order.
Within minutes, all the living and wounded were aboard, and the warships pulled away from Punk Hazard.
"Zephyr — you traitor!"
The CP‑0 agents turned purple with rage, watching their strongest line of defense abandon them.
Fufufufu… "Now this is truly something to behold — the Marines abandoning the World Government!"
Doflamingo laughed, never missing a chance to mock their masters.
Turning to one agent wearing a crimson demon mask, he added, "If you do manage to escape alive and report this, I wonder what punishment awaits Zephyr?"
"Hmph!"
The man only scoffed, but the twisted, furious expression painted on his mask already gave the answer.
"Master!"
The sound of helicopter blades hummed from the sky. Looking up, they saw Buffalo carrying Baby 5 in his grip, hovering dozens of meters above.
"Our share has already been loaded aboard by Pica and the others — are we clear to pull back?"
Fufufufu… "Well done. In that case, we have no reason to stay any longer!"
Doflamingo lifted himself into the air using his String‑String Fruit powers, then called down to the rest, "Excuse me — I'll take my leave now. Fufufufu…"
With that, he sped away as fast as he could.
"Tch — slippery as an eel, that pirate," Planck spat.
"Very well — kill every last one of the Government's dogs, then take what belongs to us!"
The battle quickly turned into a one‑sided slaughter. In less than half an hour, every CP‑0 agent was dead.
Only three remained, kneeling on the ground, barely breathing.
Their white uniforms were stained red with blood, their bodies covered in wounds, as they gasped for air.
__________________
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