Chapter 134: Path Of Revenge, 2
“Zephyr seems to have found that guy.”
“That guy? You mean······ that damned guy?”
“It was a clue discovered by the Black Prince. Zephyr brought people and went to the Black Algae Sea Area together with the Black Prince.”
“As expected, he’s hiding in the New World.”
Navy Headquarters, a building blending various architectural styles towered over the land. This massive structure was the central nervous hub for tens of millions of Navy personnel, the core of the great net enveloping the entire world. Commands issued from here influenced changes across the world.
As the supreme ruler within this building, Fleet Admiral Sengoku sat in his chair, letting out a worried sigh.
Vice Admiral Tsuru, who had come to submit her report, sat on the sofa, holding a teacup and sipping tea slowly. She understood Sengoku’s pressure, but she couldn’t truly share his burden. The position of Fleet Admiral was both a dazzling glory and an immensely heavy load.
“Zephyr······”
Mentioning his old friend, Sengoku hesitated to speak, then wanted to speak but stopped again, ultimately saying nothing, merely emitting a series of continuous sighs.
“Sengoku, what are you worried about?”
Unable to stand watching His Excellency the Fleet Admiral appear so dispirited, Vice Admiral Tsuru helplessly lifted her eyelids and proactively raised the question, opening the topic.
“Tsuru, do you think······ Zephyr might break his own rules?” Sengoku asked hesitantly.
“You mean the rule against killing?”
Vice Admiral Tsuru stated it directly.
“I’m a bit worried about him,” Sengoku admitted frankly. “I’m not sure if finding that damned guy is good or bad for Zephyr. If it can help Zephyr let go of his obsession from now on, that would naturally be best, but I’m very worried that Zephyr······ when he breaks the rule he set for himself, he might lose control and go berserk?”
This question······ seemed a bit like worrying unnecessarily.
Zephyr, as a former Navy Admiral, former Navy Chief Instructor, and current Commander-in-Chief of the Pirate Guerilla Squad······ At sixty-eight years old, Zephyr was no green boy. A veteran who had weathered countless storms wouldn’t be so easily shaken by wind and waves.
However—
Vice Admiral Tsuru seriously considered Sengoku’s question.
They were old friends with Zephyr, joining the Navy at roughly the same time. The young boys and girls formed a small group, facing life and death together, battling wind and waves. Over the years, they had stumbled along, eventually standing together at the peak of the Navy.
They knew Zephyr’s temperament well.
Precisely because they understood Zephyr’s character, Vice Admiral Tsuru knew Sengoku’s concern was possible.
Both of them had personally killed people. They still remembered the feeling of killing resisting pirates for the first time—that intensely complex sensation had accompanied them for most of their lives, destined to haunt them until they were buried together or reduced to ashes.
Unfortunately, Zephyr had never killed a single enemy.
Even knowing that killing was the most effective way to solve problems, Zephyr preferred to expend several times more effort and suffer severe injuries himself rather than personally take anyone’s life. So······ neither Sengoku nor Vice Admiral Tsuru knew what Zephyr would become after breaking his own precept and tasting the flavor of killing.
“Sengoku, for this matter, we are willing but lack the power.”
After deep thought, Vice Admiral Tsuru reached a conclusion.
“We can’t stop him from seeking revenge for that past incident under the banner of caring for Zephyr. Besides, the New World isn’t a place we can easily intervene in. Sengoku, sighing here is just wasting time. Instead of spending time lamenting, I think you could review the documents piled on your desk.”
“Let Zephyr handle his own affairs. No matter the final outcome, we can only wait.”
Not only did his attempt to seek some mental support fail, he even got lectured. Fleet Admiral Sengoku smiled bitterly, didn’t argue with Tsuru, and guiltily lowered his head to start reviewing the various piled-up documents and reports on his desk.
————
Those concerned with the changing winds in the New World weren’t just the Navy. The Revolutionary Army had also been continuously watching the Eckmond Kingdom, their partner that provided them with substantial convenience. When Prince Elus took action, Dragon, who had returned to the Revolutionary Army base in the New World not long ago, received the intelligence.
“The culprit who attacked the Navy training ship five years ago······ So that’s how it is.”
Dragon held a photocopied portrait in his hand.
The man in the painting had a bloated, ball-like rounded body. No neck was visible on the portrait; his head was directly attached to his body. Was it because he was too fat to see his neck?—Dragon’s attention wasn’t on such trivialities. His focus was on the man’s mustache.
A mustache curved up like a crescent moon.
“A worshipper? Or······”
Looking at that distinctive mustache, Dragon fell into speculation. In this sea that revered strength, idolizing the strong was a natural habit. For a household name like Whitebeard, worshippers were as numerous as the fish in the river. Every year, the Navy caught many fools who secretly tattooed the Whitebeard Pirates’ flag on themselves.
Imitating Whitebeard’s crescent mustache was especially common. Once, a group of rookie pirates had the wild idea to impersonate the Whitebeard Pirates, scaring off a country’s royals without firing a shot and plundering a defenseless royal palace bloodlessly.
Of course, those audacious fools didn’t meet a pleasant end. After scaring off a country’s royals, they also alarmed the nearby stationed Navy, ultimately provoking a Navy Admiral. Not one of those fools escaped; all were thrown into Impel Down to eat prison food.
“Nearly wiped out a ship of recruits, severed one of Zephyr’s arms······ Though it was the cause of Zephyr’s condition, but······”
The Navy training ship attack five years ago wasn’t a secret to Dragon. After all, it was a guy who could sever Zephyr’s arm. He had wanted to try recruiting this monster, but unfortunately, the other hid too well. Unless the Revolutionary Army spared no expense to mobilize everyone for a massive search······ That was impossible.
The Revolutionary Army’s many informants and chess pieces weren’t to be wasted like that.
Moreover, in Dragon’s view, perhaps this man in the photo really had some connection to Whitebeard? Compared to that likely artificially trimmed mustache, the terrifying power that severed Zephyr’s arm might truly prove he wasn’t entirely unrelated to Whitebeard.
“However, since Prince Elus has made his move, we don’t need to intervene in this matter for now.”
Dragon set down the portrait, or rather, the bounty poster.
“What a shame! Zephyr is a target who could be turned.” Terry, the Revolutionary Army’s intelligence control officer—a man wearing a bear helmet—smoked a cigarette with regret.
“No matter. Prince Elus going to such lengths to help Zephyr and the Pirate Guerilla Squad······ His motives are far from pure. Zephyr has likely already been regarded as something in his pocket by him. If we intervene, it would be tantamount to snatching someone from him.”
“······What a shame!”
Someone sighed.
If they could turn Zephyr, this former Navy Admiral, to the Revolutionary Army’s side, it would deal a massive blow to the World Government and the Navy. Even knowing the possibility was low, a group of people still strove and worked for that slim hope.
“Nothing to regret.” A smile appeared on Dragon’s face. He picked up the white ceramic cup and took a sip of the cold tea. “As long as Zephyr isn’t standing against us, that’s already a big help. And······ there may still be opportunities for cooperation in the future.”
He was so convinced that Prince Elus had rebellious bones behind his ears.
Especially after collecting intelligence on Prince Elus’s activities in the Holy Land during the World Conference: Executioner Dillon returned to Alabasta with the king and princess of the Alabasta Kingdom, while Alabasta’s guardian deity, known as Falcão, appeared at Prince Elus’s side.
And the Jermma Kingdom.
Initially, the Jermma Kingdom had contact with Prince Elus through the Revolutionary Army. After the World Conference, King Judge took his mobile kingdom back to North Blue, but at the same time, some people went to the Eckmond Kingdom.
Prince Elus’s strength and influence were still expanding.
Sooner or later,
Prince Elus would declare war on the World Government.
————
The Pirate Guerilla Squad was like a sieve; any new developments leaked out at the fastest speed. It wasn’t strange that the Navy could always grasp the Pirate Guerilla Squad’s trends. Strictly speaking, the Pirate Guerilla Squad was also part of the Navy—a specially numbered branch.
But besides the Navy, there were quite a few spies from different influences.
The Revolutionary Army was just one of them.
“The Den Den Mushi’s bio-waves have been a bit too active these past few days.” Inside the bridge, Prince Elus leaned obliquely on the sofa, toying in his hand with a toy that helped the elderly and children exercise the flexibility of their limb-end nerves.
“I have no shameful secrets here.”
With only one arm, Zephyr couldn’t spread the newspaper out in front of him, so he laid it flat on the coffee table, bending down to read the news reports on it.
“The Jermma Kingdom has very advanced biotechnology.”
Looking at the one-armed Zephyr, Prince Elus suddenly remembered the Jermma Kingdom’s technology. “You’ve surely heard of their clone soldiers. Since they can produce complete clones one by one, perhaps they can help you remake an arm.”
“······”
Zephyr raised his head.
Losing an arm had been a huge blow to him, striking both body and mind. His strength had declined sharply as a result. Though he could still thrash many pirates who tried to take advantage of him with one hand, compared to those at the world’s peak, he had undoubtedly fallen from the clouds.
If he could compensate for the lost arm.
He might truly return to the heights he once reached.
“Kid, when did you pull the Jermma Kingdom to your side?”
“Not long ago. We met during the World Conference. I made friends with King Judge. After this matter ends, I’ll contact King Judge back home and ask if he can custom-make an arm for you. But I think it shouldn’t be a problem.”
Arm regeneration—Prince Elus could do such a thing himself; it wouldn’t stump the Hogyoku’s miracles.
However, having already used this power to cure Zephyr’s malignancy, remaking an arm for him······ Prince Elus wasn’t that generous. Miracles required soul consumption as fuel, especially this kind of creation from nothing, materializing substance.
Zephyr’s malignancy would take his life, but missing an arm wouldn’t kill him the next moment.
Moreover, compared to using the Hogyoku’s power, using the Jermma Kingdom’s technology to make an arm for Zephyr was also a good choice. The Jermma Kingdom’s biotechnology level was quite high; their modification human and clone technologies proved their deep expertise in human body research.
“We’ll talk about it later!”
Zephyr dropped the topic.
He straightened his back, stood up, strode to the helm, and gazed out through the bridge’s bulletproof glass windows at the distant ocean and sky, and the black silhouette appearing on the sea horizon. “Telescope!”
A military binocular telescope was handed over.
Zephyr took the telescope and looked toward the black silhouette on the sea horizon. “It’s an island······ This island should be our destination, right?” He turned his head and asked Prince Elus.
“If there are no other islands in the Black Algae Sea Area behind this one, I think······ this should be Black Thorn Flower Island.” Prince Elus walked over, his right hand open with fingers together, cradling an irregularly shaped small paper piece.
This paper piece, only the size of a fingernail, was slowly moving directly forward, no matter how Prince Elus turned his body or hand—the paper piece always moved in one direction. This thing was a Life Card, a New World specialty, made from a person’s fingernail and some special materials.
It was a very magical little thing.
It represented a person’s vitality.
The Life Card would slowly shrink when its owner weakened, grow larger upon recovery, and turn to ashes when the owner faced mortal danger······ In the New World, this thing wasn’t just for monitoring life and death. Because Life Cards had mutual attraction properties, they were often used as guiding tools in the New World.
Compared to the complex Log Pose, the Life Card, always pointing in one direction, was clearly simpler and easier to understand.
If not for the need to find islands during sea voyages to replenish fresh water and supplies, the troublesome Log Pose might have long been discarded in favor of Life Cards······ Of course, this was just an unreliable fantasy. The Log Pose was still very important, and excellent navigators who could master it were even more precious treasures.
“That guy······ is on this island······”
Zephyr gazed at the island still at a considerable distance, and a chilling killing intent like frost silently spread. The navigator, helmsman, and others in the bridge shivered, fearfully eyeing the intimidating Commander-in-Chief, but not daring to leave their posts, only gritting their teeth and enduring at their stations.
