Zeff looked at the photo of the little girl in his hand and smiled, "She's very beautiful." He handed the photo back to Hilder, who carefully took it and put it away, his tone a little proud, "Isn't she?"
At this moment, the fleet had begun to turn its bows after receiving orders. Zeff watched the fleet change direction and speed forward, asking, "Did you find pirates?" Hilder's expression became a little more serious, "That's right. Just west of Wano Country, a fleet of ours was annihilated. According to the last message from headquarters, it was remnants of the Beast Pirates, led by Jack the Drought, a pirate fleet of dozens of ships, and their target was likely the last end point island. It should be the last of the Beast Pirates' main force."
Pirates, unlike the Navy, might not have as many people on each ship, but they had numbers... However, the Navy was not to be trifled with. They would chase and bombard them with long-range fire first, which would likely destroy many of those dilapidated pirate ships. After that, it would come down to the strength of their top fighters. At worst, they could achieve a mutual destruction.
Zeff nodded slightly, his expression solemn, "end point... Then we really need to hurry and catch up." If they detonated it, all the sacrifices made so far would be in vain." Hilder suddenly laughed, "No problem, don't worry." Hahahaha! He looked very animated, thinking of something, "Those foolish pirates won't succeed." Commander-in-Chief Maurice at headquarters just told me that the magma beneath the end point had already been drawn out by Fleet Admiral Sakarski. The destruction of the second end point island was also a ruse. We just need to quickly catch up to the remnants of the Beast Pirates' ships and trail them, pretending we don't have enough warships, and slowly wear them down. If their target is end point, they shouldn't turn back to fight, but rather try to reach it quickly, since they can't catch up to us anyway. This way, by the time we reach the last end point island, at least a third, if not half, of the Beast Pirates' remnants' dozens of ships will be destroyed, making it easier to fight."
Although he said it would be easier, there was already a sense of determination in his words... Zeff let out a sigh of relief, "Is that so?" Sakarski really deceived the whole world." Hilder's tone was full of reverence, "Yes." Fleet Admiral Sakarski is truly..." He was speechless. Perhaps from the moment the war began, Fleet Admiral Sakarski had already planned for this day. What foresight... Zeff looked into the distance and smiled, "That's good then." I can fight with all my might." Ain, with sky-blue hair, frowned slightly, looking worried, "Teacher Zeff."
Zeff, gazing at the sea, turned back. He recalled Hilder's words and suddenly felt a sense of release. Life is bound to have regrets, but some regrets may not need to exist... Zeff smiled and looked at the worried Ain, "Do you still need to call me teacher now?" Ain was stunned, "Eh?!" She hadn't had time to react. Hilder, standing beside them, chuckled, looking at her with a smile.
Seeing the smile on Hilder's face, Ain finally realized what was happening. Her face quickly turned red, and she stammered to Zeff, "Fa... Father..." Zeff smiled with relief, "Yes." He spoke with some emotion, "I may not be able to attend your wedding with Sott." So please accept this "father" call in advance. When I get to the underworld, I'll have to tell your mother properly that Sott has found a very good wife." A gentle smile involuntarily appeared on his lips, as if recalling something.
This war... Zeff had never intended to return alive from the beginning. Dying peacefully in bed was absolutely unacceptable to him, and the older he got, the more he missed the people of the past. Especially when Sott grew up, and the fledglings were ready to fly. Filled with love for Sott, born from his longing for his wife and guilt towards his son, Zeff's heart suddenly felt empty. He often sat by his wife's photo at night, unable to sleep. Now that his son had found a good wife, and one he had watched grow up... The moment Ain uttered the word "Father"... For Zeff... There were no regrets...
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Ten thousand meters below the Red Line, at the bottom of the sea.
Roar!
Roar!
Roar! Roar!
The anxious roars of ancient beasts echoed in the endless darkness of the deep sea. These were the voices of ancient Sea Kings communicating, several super-giant Sea Kings, thousands of meters long, gathering together and swimming towards Fish-Man Island. "Something's wrong!" "Faster!!" "Our King!!! Is in danger!!!" These super-giant Sea Kings were the ancient Sea Kings who had been waiting for the reincarnation of the ancient weapon, Poseidon, known by the name 'God', for hundreds of years. And the true body of Sea King Poseidon was actually a mermaid princess who appeared only once every eight hundred years, possessing the ability to communicate with Sea Kings. She could control these thousands-of-meters-long Sea Kings and the endless sea beasts on the ocean, easily destroying the world or saving it... These Sea Kings had existed from ancient times to the present. Their long lives had granted them a certain precognitive ability... Just as they had foreseen the birth of the King in the era when Roger reigned supreme, and now... They foresaw the King's death!!!!
No!
In the endless dark depths of the ocean, a crimson glow suddenly appeared, followed by countless more, blanketing the Red Line continent directly below Mary Geoise, and also surrounding Fish-Man Island... Upon closer inspection, those crimson glows were flowing magma, emanating intense heat, held in check...
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Ten thousand meters underwater, Fish-Man Island.
Ten minutes before those continuous crimson glows illuminated the entire underwater world with a fiery red hue.
Mermaid Café.
The proprietor was a famous fortune teller from Fish-Man Island, a mermaid revered by the fish-men as 'Madam Shirley'. As she grew older and repeatedly predicted misfortune, she gradually gave up fortune-telling and focused on running the café. But just now, Shirley, who was reading behind the counter, was suddenly struck by a splitting headache, screaming as she clutched her head and fell to the ground, writhing. The mermaids around were bewildered and quickly sent for a doctor. While writhing on the ground, Shirley's mind was filled with images of Fish-Man Island, Sea Kings thousands of meters large, and endless magma covering everything... Shirley, enduring the intense pain, trembled and said, "Quick... Quick..." "Flee Fish-Man Island..." "Quick..." "Ah—!!!!" The excruciating pain caused her to lose consciousness, her breathing gradually fading. She had literally been pained to death... This immense change stunned everyone on Fish-Man Island, as well as Fujitora, who had shed his Marine uniform, and the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Jinbe. The two of them quickly used their Observation Haki to search Fish-Man Island repeatedly, but found nothing. It wasn't until the temperature within Fish-Man Island rapidly rose, and even the ground within the giant bubble began to crack, revealing flowing magma, that they understood the prophecy that had literally pained 'Madam Shirley' to death... A sense of impending doom enveloped Jinbe, who couldn't bear to imagine what would happen next. "How can there be so many magma cracks!!!" Fujitora's expression immediately turned grim, "You go find King Neptune and calm the residents."
The magma flowed unchecked, filling the entire underwater world. Only one person could do this... Fujitora's staff sword was clenched tightly, and he activated his Gravitational manipulation, a purple halo instantly sweeping across the island, enveloping the giant bubble. Taking a deep breath, he said in a deep voice, "Rise!!!!" The entire Fish-Man Island shook violently. This massive island was slowly being lifted, and the magma cracks within the island were squeezed and sealed one by one by Fujitora's ability. He carefully controlled his power, maintaining the integrity of the giant bubble covering Fish-Man Island, and began to float upwards.
But what happened next made Fujitora break out in a cold sweat. Diagonally above the northwest of Fish-Man Island, several abyssal-like presences appeared, filling Fujitora's senses. These were not strong individuals, but boundless beasts... Roar!!! Among them, a Sea King with an incredibly large mouth, capable of swallowing Fish-Man Island in a single bite, held onto the rising island and, protected by several other boundless beasts, swam outwards. Seeing that these beasts had no malicious intent, Fujitora breathed a sigh of relief.
Hiss—
A sound like a hot iron being plunged into cold water rang out. From the endless crimson cracks at the bottom of the sea, magma erupted violently. Giant swords of magma, like a forest, stabbed out, piercing the bodies of these immensely large Sea Kings, piercing the chin of the one with the huge mouth, and also the Fish-Man Island being held within its jaws... Fujitora lowered his staff sword. He knew it was all over. The bubble had been pierced. Boundless waves and pressure washed over them. No one could survive at this depth of ten thousand meters underwater, let alone the imminent eruption of magma swords... He felt a pang of guilt. Perhaps it was his withdrawal from the Navy that had brought disaster upon Fish-Man Island. But then he thought again, something was wrong. The magma swords piercing the Sea Kings were attacking the Fish-Man Royal Palace. Was there something there? But there was no time to think further. Fujitora turned his gaze to the depths of the ocean. Although he couldn't sense Sakarski's presence, that direction was filled with magma, connecting to the Red Line continent. A sighing whisper echoed, "Is this too ruthless..." "Fleet Admiral Sakarski..." As his voice fell, boundless waves engulfed Fujitora's figure, and the entire Fish-Man Island was destroyed.
Rumble rumble rumble—
The magma swords that had pierced the super-giant Sea Kings detonated. The magma expanded wildly, submerging everything around. The scorching magma boiled the seabed, and everything in sight was destroyed...
Deep within the earth.
Sensing that all life had vanished through the magma. Sakarski, merged with the magma, controlled the magma gathered from the veins of the New World to converge at a single point, his indifferent voice echoing, "Useless effort..." It was unclear whether he was referring to Fujitora's attempt to lift the island, the super-giant Sea Kings' attempt to save their king, or the futile struggle of the mermaid princess, named 'God', who had unleashed immense energy at the last moment. Because... No one could escape from Sakarski...