That Jolly Roger made every Marine soldier feel as if they were staring at an omen of death.
The world's strongest pirate crew, the Whitebeard Pirates.
Even if this was only one of their division ships, the pressure it represented was enough to make elite Marines struggle to breathe.
The atmosphere aboard the warship froze in an instant.
Even the wind seemed to stop, leaving only the sound of seawater being split apart as the two ships drew closer.
"Insane... this is really insane..."
Yamakaji's cigar had fallen into the sea at some point. He stared fixedly at the whale-shaped ship before them, cold sweat forming on his forehead.
"How did we run into them here...?"
Gion's expression had also turned extremely grim. Her hand gripped the hilt of Konpira so tightly that veins stood out across the back of it.
She suddenly turned toward Zaraki, her voice carrying a fire she could no longer suppress.
"Zaraki! Order the warship to change course immediately! The mission has been suspended! We have to retreat right now!"
Retreat?
Zaraki's gaze did not shift in the slightest.
He continued studying the pirate ship drawing closer and closer.
The aura coming from that vessel was very different from the Beasts Pirates' pure savagery and desire for destruction.
It felt more like a pack of fierce beasts guarding something important.
"Why retreat?" Zaraki asked, his tone flat, almost casual. "The Five Elders' mission was for me to invite Fire Fist Ace to become one of the Seven Warlords. Whitebeard's people should know where he is, shouldn't they? Saves me the trouble of looking."
His voice was not loud, but it made Gion and Yamakaji's scalps go numb.
"What nonsense are you spouting?!" Gion nearly screamed. "That's a Whitebeard Pirates division ship! Are you planning to force them to lead you to Edward Newgate?"
"No."
Zaraki shook his head, and the curve that appeared at the corner of his mouth made Gion's heart turn cold.
"I only want them to show me the way."
'Show him... the way?'
Yamakaji wondered if there was something wrong with his hearing.
He wanted a Whitebeard Pirates division commander to guide a Marine special envoy to someone on their old man's ship?
The idea was too absurd.... and too arrogant!
Just then, a loud laugh came from the pirate ship across from them, bright and full of mockery.
"Hahaha! I was wondering who it was. Turns out it's the so called War Demon from Marine Headquarters!"
An exceptionally burly man appeared at the bow of the opposing ship.
He wore a helmet with buffalo horns, and the mark of the Whitebeard Pirates was tattooed across his bare chest.
Two huge, exaggerated katana rested on his shoulders as he looked down at Zaraki's warship from above.
"Thirteenth Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, Water Buffalo Atmos..."
Yamakaji forced the name out through clenched teeth, his expression becoming even heavier.
This was no minor figure.
He was one of Whitebeard's battle-hardened commanders.
"I heard you just provoked that madman Kaido near the New World route. What's wrong? Did you tuck your tail and run all the way over here already?" Atmos opened his huge mouth, his voice booming like a bell.
"Are you here to ask our old man for protection, little Marine brat?"
The pirates behind him immediately burst into roaring laughter.
Gion and Yamakaji's faces shifted between blue and white.
However, Zaraki seemed not to hear the mockery at all.
His attention had been completely drawn by the killing aura surrounding Atmos, the presence of a man who had survived countless battlefields.
'Not bad.'
Zaraki ignored the provocation and took a step forward. His voice carried clearly across dozens of meters of sea and entered everyone's ears.
"I am Zaraki, Marine Headquarters special envoy. Under the highest orders of the World Government, I have come to invite Fire Fist Ace to become one of the Seven Warlords."
The deck fell deathly silent.
Gion and Yamakaji felt as if their hearts were about to leap out of their throats.
This madman!
He had actually said something like that right in front of a Whitebeard Pirates division commander!
Zaraki paused, then raised his eyelids.
His eyes looked straight at Atmos as he continued in a tone that sounded almost like an order.
"Now, take me to him."
The smile on Atmos's face froze.
The laughter of the pirates behind him stopped abruptly.
It was as if the air across the entire sea had been sucked away.
A few seconds later, a wave of rage visible to the naked eye erupted from Atmos.
"You damned Marine bastard...!"
Atmos's eyes went bloodshot.
His massive body trembled slightly, and his roar was so thunderous that ripples spread across the sea.
"What the hell do you think you are?! You dare order me around?!"
His murderous aura slammed toward the Marine warship like a heavy wave.
Some of the weaker Marine soldiers staggered backward, their faces pale beneath the weight of that killing intent, and a few nearly dropped their rifles.
Gion and Yamakaji released their own pressure at almost the same time to stabilize the crew.
Yet Zaraki, standing at the very center of that impact, did not move at all.
Even the hem of his clothing barely stirred.
He actually took another step forward, the curve of his smile growing clearer.
"Oh?"
He slowly raised his hand and rested it on the hilt at his waist, feeling the faint hum from the blade as if it were resonating with the battlelust inside him.
"Compared to discussing business, I actually prefer this."
He lifted his head and met Atmos's murderous glare, then grinned, revealing a row of white teeth.
"That look on your face—the one that says you want to kill me right now. I like it."
His fingers slowly tightened around the hilt.
"Seems before we talk about showing me the way, we'll have to fight first."