Figarland Shamrock Saint stood on the deck as the sea breeze stirred the hem of his ornate robes.
He turned his head and glanced at the companions behind him.
"What a tedious journey," he said coolly. "The air here even ruins the taste of food."
An elderly man with bulging muscles and a cross-shaped beard, Shepherd Somers Saint, was carefully wiping each finger with a spotless silk handkerchief, his movements unhurried and precise.
Beside him, a tall, slender figure with long, loose hair, faintly revealing the silhouette of a qilin, yawned and lazily leaned against the railing.
"Let's get this over with quickly," he muttered. "This place is nowhere near as comfortable as Mary Geoise."
Limocif Chillingham Saint, Zoan type, Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Mythical Model Qilin.
Behind them, several squads of CP0 agents stood in silence, motionless like statues, their presence tightly restrained.
Before long, the outline of Marine G-3 Base appeared at the edge of the horizon.
The ship entered the harbor without obstruction. There were no inspections, no challenges.
"Hm?"
When the ship docked and Shamrock Saint took in the scene before him, his eyes narrowed slightly.
The vast harbor held no formation of soldiers. No bowing officers. No welcoming ceremony.
There were only three figures.
Three elderly men standing shoulder to shoulder, waiting quietly.
One had a full head of white hair and a physique like a small mountain, casually digging in his nose without a care in the world.
One wore a seagull-patterned Marine cap, his expression relaxed and calm.
The last had short purple hair. His right arm was a brutal mechanical construct, and his body radiated a cold, ironclad authority.
Garp. Sengoku. Zephyr.
The three living monuments of the old Marine era.
"This is wrong…"
Alarm bells rang violently in Shamrock Saint's mind.
Why were these three men, who should have long stepped back from the front lines, all gathered at G-3 Base?
This was not a welcome.
The instant he sensed danger and prepared to issue an order
Boom.
Boom.
Two overwhelming presences descended at once.
One carried the vast, solemn majesty of a Buddha walking the mortal world.
The other burst with the wild, unrestrained dominance of an unrivaled hero.
Sengoku and Garp released their Conqueror's Haki simultaneously.
The two forces intertwined like invisible tidal waves, merging into a colossal hammer that smashed straight into the World Government ship.
Crack.
The pure-white warship groaned under the strain as its reinforced hull fractured inch by inch.
The elite CP0 agents did not even have time to react before their eyes rolled back and they collapsed, foam spilling from their mouths.
"What?!"
Somers Saint and Chillingham Saint's expressions changed drastically as they released their own auras to resist, yet their blood still surged violently within them.
"This… this is…"
Shamrock Saint's pupils contracted sharply. All elegance and composure vanished from his face.
These two old men did not waste a single word.
They attacked immediately.
The Five Elders' suspicions had been correct. The Marines had completely betrayed the World Government.
With only his small team, how could he possibly contend with three legendary Marines?
He reached into his coat, preparing to call for reinforcements.
In the next instant, a dark red figure vanished from the harbor.
Then it appeared directly on the deck.
Cold eyes locked onto Shamrock Saint.
Zephyr's mechanical arm was coated in dense, almost tangible dark red Armament Haki. With a roar that tore through the air, his fist slammed forward.
Shamrock Saint instinctively drew the rapier at his waist and raised it to block.
Clang.
The dark iron fist collided with the blade in a violent impact.
A terrifying force surged through the sword. Shamrock Saint felt himself completely suppressed, unable to move.
Zephyr maintained the pressure with his right fist while his left drove upward, crashing into Shamrock Saint's chest.
A mouthful of blood sprayed into the air.
Shamrock Saint was sent flying. When he staggered back to his feet, his eyes were filled with disbelief.
Marine Chief Instructor Zephyr was supposed to be at death's door.
Warm blood splashed onto Zephyr's skin.
The droplets seemed to respond to an invisible pull, slowly seeping into his body and transforming into pure vitality.
Zephyr drew back his fist, an unprecedented sense of exhilaration surging through his limbs.
How long had it been?
How long since he had thrown a punch this freely?
Renn Hawk had been right.
For someone who had refined physical combat to its absolute peak, ordinary Devil Fruits were nothing but shackles.
But Mythical Zoans were different.
Each one possessed a unique power.
Zephyr could clearly feel it. Under the wash of surging life force, the old injuries that had plagued him for decades, and the strength drained away by age, were being completely restored.
With a sharp motion, Zephyr shook his arm. The mechanical limb that had accompanied him for years slammed heavily onto the deck.
He no longer needed it.
Just a bit more enemy blood.
And he would return fully to his peak.
"Zephyr!"
Shamrock Saint wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and raised his rapier high.
"Cerberus."
The blade let out a strange, vibrating hum as a mass of pitch-black, flame-like clouds erupted from it.
The dark flames rapidly condensed in midair, forming a terrifying beast.
Three savage heads. Six crimson eyes locked tightly onto Zephyr.
Each head wore a metal collar.
Zoan type, Dog-Dog Fruit, Mythical Model Cerberus.
The three heads roared in unison.
"Tear him apart," Shamrock Saint commanded.
The heads shot forward like lightning from different angles, their jaws capable of crushing steel.
"Childish tricks."
Zephyr did not dodge.
Facing the three gaping maws, he simply threw three punches.
The first punch struck the left head head-on, detonating it into a cloud of blood.
The second punch pulverized the right head into dust.
The final punch met the center head directly.
Zephyr's hand clamped onto its upper jaw, fingers tightening.
Crack.
The skull shattered like a fragile eggshell.
In the blink of an eye, all three heads were completely destroyed.
Shamrock Saint's eyes went wide.
Cerberus was a Mythical Zoan.
The headless body of the beast let out a mournful howl and tried to retreat back into the sword.
Zephyr sneered and vanished.
In the next moment, he appeared behind it and brought down a hand strike coated in dense Armament Haki.
The massive body split cleanly in two.
Scalding blood poured out like a waterfall, staining the deck a deep red.
Crack, crack.
The rapier in Shamrock Saint's hand slowly fractured.
"Ability conversion conditions?" Zephyr stood in the pool of blood, looking at him calmly. "The one who developed it is right here."
To fight powerful pirates, the Marines had sacrificed everything, countless outstanding soldiers included.
And these so-called gods had fed a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit, capable of creating top-tier combat power, to a lifeless sword.
What were the Marines to them?
Disposable tools?
Fortunately, this era had already changed completely.
"Ability conversion conditions… the developer?"
Shamrock Saint stood frozen as those words echoed in his mind. A bone-chilling fear shot from his feet to the top of his head.
That technology was Vegapunk's.
The method that allowed objects to consume Devil Fruits.
Vegapunk was at G-3 Base?
When had the Marines moved him?
Hadn't Saturn said Vegapunk was firmly under his control?
Question after question exploded in his mind, plunging him into chaos.
The Marines had not only betrayed the World Government.
They had taken its most important scientist as well.
"Ah…"
Zephyr scratched his head as he looked at Shamrock Saint's deathly pale face, an apologetic expression appearing.
"I was in too good a mood and let it slip."
"Since that's the case…"
"I'll have to keep all of you here."