"...Kill them all!"

As the Marine's icy order fell like a cold ship's anchor, silence engulfed the entire devastated block.

Tick.

Raindrops began to fall from the night sky, spreading across the ground, growing heavier with each passing second.

The rain poured steadily, like a vast curtain draping over the world.

Cold rifles, gleaming sabers, rows of tense Marine soldiers...

At that moment, the world felt like a grave where hearts were laid to rest.

"So what you're saying is... if I don't move, you'll kill me too?"

The purple-haired old man in a Marine coat finally spoke, his hoarse voice low and steady.

His head was bowed, icy rain streaming down his deeply wrinkled face, making his pallor even more striking.

A lit cigar clenched between his teeth glowed faintly red in the dark rain, burning stubbornly.

But his bloodshot eyes were filled with rising fury.

Under that fierce, unyielding gaze, the gathered Marines and officers all took a step back. Their expressions shifted uneasily, none daring to approach.

Just sitting there on the muddy ground, the old man's presence alone exuded a weight and resilience that felt insurmountable.

"Zephyr. Don't make this more difficult than it needs to be."

A deep voice rose from the crowd.

The Marines instinctively parted to make way as Sengoku, wearing his Admiral's cloak, stepped forward with a grim look on his face.

"You know full well, as a Marine, you cannot defy the World Government's orders."

Sengoku stared down at the purple-haired figure seated in the mud, his tone cold and unyielding, though his eyes betrayed a complicated emotion.

"Orders, huh... Sengoku, you're still as rigid and timid as ever."

Zephyr slowly lifted his head and looked calmly at the comrade he had served beside for so many years. Then he suddenly let out a contemptuous snort.

"Just because the government gave the order... does that automatically make it right?"

Sengoku froze. Seeing that look of disdain in Zephyr's eyes, a surge of anger rose from his chest. He gritted his teeth and shouted,

"Zephyr! Get a grip! This isn't the time for childish outbursts!"

"Do you even know what that brat Daren did!?"

"He massacred hundreds of elite Celestial Dragons on Philseque Island! He nearly wiped out their entire younger generation!"

The moment those words were spoken, the students behind Zephyr were struck dumb, frozen in place like they'd been hit by lightning. It was as if their souls had been sucked right out of them.

"Even if it's that bastard Daren... this is just too much…"

Tokikake muttered, dazed, unable to believe what he'd just heard.

Gion's face went pale. She stumbled back two steps, barely able to stay on her feet.

Shuzo and the other cadets stood rooted to the spot, horror etched into their faces.

Not far off, Magellan, still wearing his gas mask, looked utterly confused. Though he didn't fully understand the gravity of what Admiral Sengoku had just said, the looks on everyone's faces made it painfully clear—this was serious.

In this vast sea, the Celestial Dragons were the supreme nobility of the world, possessing unmatched power, wealth, and status.

Anyone who dared to lay a hand on them—no matter their rank or background—would be dealt the harshest of punishments.

Even someone like Vice Admiral Garp's own son, Monkey D. Dragon—once one of the Marines' brightest stars—was forced to abandon the Navy and become a wanted fugitive after killing just one Celestial Dragon. He became one of the most dangerous criminals on the seas.

Dragon only killed one.

But Daren... slaughtered hundreds.

No one could begin to imagine how the World Government would retaliate.

And yet, Zephyr's tone remained utterly calm.

"That's why an event like the one on Philseque Island should never have happened in the first place."

"Besides, Sengoku, even if Daren really did slaughter hundreds of Celestial Dragons—so what?"

"Everything he did has nothing to do with the people living in this courtyard, does it?"

Sengoku's anger surged at Zephyr's stubbornness. He stepped forward and grabbed Zephyr by the collar, gritting his teeth.

"You know damn well—"

He froze mid-sentence.

Because as he lifted Zephyr's collar, his eyes caught sight of the bodies stacked in the corner behind him.

A CP0 agent lay there—his head, chest, and abdomen had been completely obliterated by a brutal display of martial might. The sight was horrific.

But that wasn't what shocked Sengoku the most.

Zephyr's Marine coat slid from his shoulders and fell to the ground.

Underneath, a purple shirt.

And a sleeve—hollow and empty.

"Your... your arm..."

Sengoku's pupils shrank. His face twisted with disbelief.

Drip.

Bright red blood fell from the stump of Zephyr's severed arm, spreading through the puddles on the ground.

"It doesn't matter. Just an arm."

The unnatural calm on Zephyr's face made Sengoku feel like he didn't recognize him at all.

His pale lips parted with a faint smile.

"No matter what a Marine has done... his wife and child are innocent, aren't they?"

Zephyr looked straight at Sengoku and asked the question quietly.

Sengoku's hand, still gripping Zephyr's collar, trembled—then fell still.

Rain splashed on his calloused hands and bounced off. He didn't move.

"Answer me, Sengoku!!"

Zephyr's eyes turned red with fury as he roared.

"Weren't his wife and child innocent!?"

The world fell silent.

The rain grew heavier.

The former Admiral's voice echoed through the storm, laced with grief and wrath, ringing endlessly in the downpour.

Sengoku pressed his lips tightly together. His hand slowly let go of Zephyr's collar.

"Zephyr... you know very well... it's never that simple."

His voice was hoarse.

Looking at Sengoku's tense, storm-darkened expression, Zephyr suddenly let out a quiet laugh.

"No, Sengoku. It's actually very simple."

"You just made it too complicated."

"You want to follow the World Government's orders and take Toki. I want to protect her—and her child. That puts us on opposite sides from this moment on. See? It really is that simple."

A stream of smoke curled from Zephyr's mouth like a dragon. His purple hair whipped violently in the wind and rain.

Black lightning crackled around his remaining arm, intensifying with each pulse. Then it exploded—an overwhelming force like an abyss bursting forth, spreading in all directions.

"If you want to take Toki, then step over my corpse to do it."

"Come on... my comrade."

Black lightning surged, tinged with red, swirling like a storm.

"Last time, I wasn't here…"

Zephyr's aura climbed furiously, so intense that Sengoku and every Marine present went pale.

"But this time... it's different!"

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