Chapter 63: The Yellow Sparrow, The Storm Petrel
“Reef all the sails! Hurry!”
A deep voice pierced through the torrential rain curtain. A navy officer with short purple hair and a sturdy build stood on the deck directing operations, surrounded by navy soldiers shuttling back and forth, running themselves ragged.
“Yes, Admiral Zephyr!”
Boom!
Boom—crack!!!
Lightning raging in the clouds illuminated the terrified expression on that soldier’s face.
『Can I still make it back alive, back to Marineford, and see my family again?』
The scene like divine punishment made this outstanding trainee from the navy training class tremble uncontrollably, but he still suppressed his fear and went to untie the ropes on the mast.
……
Fast!
Too fast!
And too sudden!
Like the goddess presiding over the weather suddenly flying into a rage, this storm, strong to the point of being eerie, dealt a heavy blow to the originally high-spirited navy.
Before that soldier could reach the mast braving the storm and gale, a dozen-meter-high wave crashed against the ship’s side, flipping almost everyone on board to the ground.
The gale mixed with rainwater hit the body like lead bullets, making it hard to move.
“Garp, how’s your side? Be careful not to let the fleet get scattered by the waves!”
Stabilizing his footing, Zephyr took out the Den Den Mushi to inquire about his teammate’s situation on the other ship.
“I’m fine! Damn it, the weather in the New World is still so erratic. We were clearly just half a day away from Hachinosu Island!”
A vigorous voice came from the other end of the Den Den Mushi, but mixed with the crashing roars of wind and waves, it sounded distant at times and close at others.
“Hey! Bogard, steady the helm!
Never mind the rest, leave all the waves to me!”
Hanging up the Den Den Mushi, the navy man named Garp jumped into the air and directly punched the incoming giant wave, scattering it into mist filling the sky.
“Everyone, grab hold of anything nearby. Be careful not to get thrown off the ship!”
After giving the order, Zephyr, like Garp, used Moonwalk to shatter the giant waves assaulting both sides of the ship one by one.
“Admiral! The Eternal Pose seems to be malfunctioning! It’s spinning wildly!”
“What?! Damn it!”
“A storm of this magnitude is absolutely rare even in New World history! Could someone have done something?”
Hearing the news that the pointer had malfunctioned, Zephyr immediately lost his composure. Losing direction in this situation was simply fatal.
“Admiral Zephyr! Ropes, the mast!”
When it rains, it pours. While Zephyr was thinking of countermeasures, the ropes fixing the mainsail suddenly snapped, and the sail, abruptly losing restraint, tore a huge crack in the mast.
At the same time, due to the sudden change in force, the ship body rocked dramatically once.
“Ah~! Help! Save me!”
“Hurry! Someone pull me up!”
Gurgle gurgle~
Several navy soldiers fell into the sea during this jolt because they couldn’t hold onto the ship. Hearing the cries for help, Zephyr didn’t hesitate and immediately flipped into the sea to fish those soldiers out.
“Ze, Admiral Zephyr!”
The soldiers, who had already swallowed several mouthfuls of seawater, didn’t finish their grateful words before Zephyr threw them back onto the deck one by one.
After confirming everyone had been rescued aboard, Zephyr leaped up and jumped back onto the ship.
However, the situation showed no sign of improvement. At this rate, sinking was only a matter of time.
『Damn it! This won’t do!』
Zephyr looked at the navy soldiers sprawled everywhere, anxious inside.
These soldiers were all elites trained at Headquarters, the navy’s future middle management.
But facing this storm that was strong to the point of being eerie, even these elite navy men struggled to hold on. If this continued, they might all perish before reaching Hachinosu Island.
Thinking of this, Zephyr made a decision.
“All officers with the rank of lieutenant and above! Watch the soldiers around you. Don’t let them fall into the sea again!”
Zephyr loudly issued an order, then quickly ran into the cabin under everyone’s gaze.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Soon, the sound of steel friction came, and Zephyr rushed toward the ship’s prow dragging a thick iron chain.
Click!
He threw the chain with all his might to lock the ship’s prow firmly, tied the other end around his waist, and then plunged straight into the turbulent sea.
“Admiral Zephyr!”×n
The officers and soldiers on the ship were all dumbfounded by this sight.
“Puff~ Ha~”
Zephyr in the sea poked his head out, exhaled, and then directly started swimming while towing the warship!
He actually intended to tow the warship out of the storm belt with his own body alone!!!
It must be known that the navy’s standard warships were a size larger than the flagships of ordinary pirate crews. Moreover, as an admiral, Zephyr’s ride was an enhanced version with even greater displacement, exceeding that of ordinary warships by a wide margin.
And this colossal thing, which normally required six large sails to pull, was now being dragged along by a human not even as big as a spot on its hull!
Rainwater and seawater alternately slapped Zephyr’s face, blurring his line of sight, but he remained calm at this moment.
『It’s impossible to continue to Hachinosu Island now. The most important thing is to get out of here first. I remember the direction of the Calm Belt should be that way…』
With the Eternal Pose malfunctioning, Zephyr could only roughly judge the direction of the Calm Belt based on years of experience.
In theory, their current location shouldn’t be far from the Calm Belt. Dragging the ship that way should at least get them out of this storm.
It must be said that Zephyr, as a veteran navy man with rich experience, had become an admiral at a young age, and his personal ability was quite outstanding.
In such an environment, even the most battle-hardened navigator could only resign to fate, but Zephyr, a mere soldier, keenly found a way out and executed it decisively.
Without him, probably none of the navy on this ship except the officers would make it back alive.
And in comparison, some vice admirals called ‘heroes’…
“Kuhahaha! Zephyr, your brain works as well as Sengoku’s!”
Seeing Zephyr’s action, Garp burst out laughing, then took off his upper garment and imitated him by jumping into the sea to pull the warship forward.
“Swimming race, start now! Haha!”
“Garp, you idiot! Wrong direction!”
Garp, swimming hard with his head down, paused upon hearing Zephyr’s shout, then asked.
“Huh?! Not this way? We’re not going to Hachinosu Island anymore?”
“Can you still find the direction to Hachinosu Island in this situation?
And in our current state, going there would be no different from sending the soldiers to their deaths?! Hurry and swim after me!”
“Oh, oh… Got it.”
Hearing this, Garp immediately turned around and obediently followed behind Zephyr.
Fortunately, due to the haste, there was no time to assemble too many forces. Zephyr and the others had only brought two warships; otherwise, there’d be no third person now who could tow a warship.
Just like that, braving the torrential rain, gale, and massive waves, the navy’s top combat powers acted as sea haulers, dragging the two massive warships bit by bit out of this apocalyptic scene.
