Even though Zephyr had left the Marines, his hatred for pirates remained unchanged — especially when a crowd of them stared at him like he was some sort of curiosity.
Veins bulged faintly on his forehead, and he struggled to hold back the urge to strike someone.
Once inside the inner chamber of the cathedral, the guide stepped back and left. Zephyr took a seat on the red carpet directly across from Grimm.
"Don't get the wrong idea — I have no intention of joining your crew."
"Hahaha… so, now that you have seen the true darkness of this world, what do you think?"
Grimm never once mentioned the word "join." He had no need to. Zephyr had nowhere else to turn.
Under normal circumstances, he would have gone on to found the Neo‑Marines — but with such a strong base already available here, it was only a matter of time before he agreed.
"The Admiral who swore never to take a life is dead," Zephyr replied coldly.
Grimm raised an eyebrow, looking interested. "Oh?"
"And there is no longer any such person as Zephyr. I am Z now."
Hearing this, Grimm could not help but recall the younger version of Zephyr he had seen in films from his past life.
"So you have chosen to follow what your heart truly believes?"
"Tell me — would you like to take up a position here?" Grimm asked suddenly.
"What kind of position?" Zephyr shot back immediately.
He had been about to add that he would never harm innocent civilians — but then remembered that Grimm had never actually done so.
"Of course," Grimm said. "You will owe me no loyalty, and you are free to leave whenever you wish."
He knew Zephyr was a man of strong principles and responsibility, even without the uniform, so he spoke with those words in mind.
---
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Just then, the roar of cannon fire echoed through the air. Grimm glanced toward the window, and a crew member rushed into the chamber.
"Captain Grimm! Some reckless new pirate crew has attacked our port again! One of our workers was killed and seven others wounded in the first volley — but don't worry, we'll deal with them at once!"
SWOOSH!
Zephyr stood up from the carpet, flung his heavy cloak open, and strode toward the door.
As he passed the messenger, the man paused, looking confused. He turned to watch Zephyr's back, then looked back at Grimm in bewilderment.
"Lord Grimm… what is this?"
Grimm smiled faintly. "Our recycling station is opening for business — time to clear out the trash pirates."
"Recycling station… melt them down for good, or eliminate them if they refuse! Hahaha — I like that name!"
Zephyr muttered to himself as he leaped into the air using Geppo.
Locking onto the largest ship in the center, he clenched his fist, and a long blade of glowing red blood‑energy materialized in his grasp.
He plummeted from the sky and slammed the weapon straight down onto the enemy's deck.
CRACK‑BOOM!!
The massive pirate vessel — nearly the size of a warship — snapped clean in two like a dry biscuit, and began to sink rapidly amid the surrounding fleet.
"What the hell? Who did that?!"
A crewman ran to the stern and looked up just in time to see Zephyr standing atop the broken hull, the blood‑blade still in his hand.
"Old man — who are you? Are you with the Holy Light Pirates?"
The captain was young, barely thirty years old, and had no idea who he was facing.
Zephyr gave a cold smile. Just as I thought — a wet‑behind‑the‑ears brat, bold enough to attack territory belonging to one of the Four Emperors, yet not even recognizing me.
Standing firmly on the buckling deck, his broad frame unmoving, he advanced toward the pirates. "Remember this name, brats — I am Z!"
BOOM!
With another deafening crash, Zephyr launched his second wave of attacks.
Standing on the flagship, Planck raised a hand and called out: "Cease firing! There's no need for us to intervene."
Some of the more experienced snipers stared in disbelief, especially Mattheus — who had crossed paths with Zephyr many times before.
"Wait… is that really Black‑Arm Zephyr?"
"How should I know? I'm not exactly his best friend!" Planck shrugged.
"But if you value your life, I'd advise you not to call him that name anymore."
Mattheus narrowed his eyes and nodded. One of his men behind him looked confused. "Why not? That's who he is, isn't it?"
"Idiot — didn't you hear him? He goes by Z now!" Mattheus smacked the man on the head and roared.
In less than ten minutes, Zephyr had sent three enemy ships to the bottom of the sea — a display of overwhelming power that left everyone watching stunned.
Only the veteran crew members remained calm; to them, this was exactly what they expected.
---
Two hours later, Indigo made his way to Grimm's quarters.
This man was as brilliant and obsessive as Vegapunk himself, and when he came to see the captain, it was always for serious business — aside from Hancock, Violet, and occasionally Planck, no one else came just to chat.
"Right… so after observing Zephyr's battle just now… I can't be certain if it's the Blood Plague running through his veins, but the power he wields is highly unstable and on the verge of spiraling out of control. I've designed these crystal restraints to lock his arm — so he can only unleash that full strength when absolutely necessary."
Lock his arm? Grimm took the blueprint Indigo handed over. Isn't this exactly like the gauntlets used by the Berserkers in that old game?
He was impressed by Indigo's creativity. Without saying a word, he simply gestured for the scientist to go ahead and build them.
---
Meanwhile, far away… The leader of the Revolutionary Army, known only by his codename: Dragon.
Even within the Marines, fewer than five people knew his true identity — Monkey D. Dragon, son of the Marine hero Monkey D. Garp.
Garp had sent him to the Marine Academy as a boy, but after graduation, Dragon never joined the regular ranks.
Instead, he was assigned to a special division linked directly to the Science Research Department.
Since that department operated as a cross‑agency body between the World Government and the Marines, Dragon's identity remained shrouded in mystery throughout his service.
It was during those years that he met the scientific genius Vegapunk, who had just joined the research division.
Even after leaving the Marines, Dragon listed Vegapunk as one of the most dangerous figures in the world — and kept him under constant surveillance, for his knowledge was far too valuable.
Now, Dragon had turned his attention to Fass Island — the site where the Marines were secretly mining Dyna Stones.
Years earlier, during Fisher Tiger's great slave‑liberation operation, Dragon had already made use of Dyna Stones, and to this day, his men still maintained a presence on the island.
Today, however, new intelligence had reached him: members of Grimm's crew had been spotted on Fass Island.
They were not moving openly, but hiding among the civilian population, seemingly investigating something in particular.
__________________
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