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Zephyr was forcefully sent flying, his body uncontrollably smashing through the sailboat, gliding swiftly over the sea, stirring up a line of waves.
With a bang, Zephyr crashed into the main mast of a Marine ship two nautical miles away. Cracks appeared on the mast, and the entire ship shook violently.
Zephyr fell powerlessly, kicking up dust on the deck.
"Vice Admiral Zephyr!?"
Rear Admiral Lily was dumbfounded, unable to believe her eyes.
Zephyr was covered in blood, panting heavily. After recognizing the person in front of him, he tilted his head and fell unconscious.
Zephyr was severely injured and unconscious; there was no need to think hard to know that this encirclement campaign had failed.
Rear Admiral Lily was uneasy and was about to order the sailors to turn the rudder and return when a dazzling pillar of fire suddenly appeared before her eyes!
Boom!!
The Heat Breath engulfed the Marine ship, creating brilliant fireworks on the sea.
Kaido, at the Winter Island dock, grinned, the scent of the Heat Breath still lingering at the corners of his mouth.
The next day, at dawn.
As the sunlight tore through the sky, illuminating the horizon with light and brightness, Kaido met Wald in the palace.
Wald excitedly recounted how he sank the Marine ship and engaged in a fierce battle with Vice Admiral Kerber on Tracros Island.
Ultimately, Wald proved to be stronger, defeating Kerber and using 50-times power cannons to blast the Marine ship into smithereens.
"This Marine campaign has failed. Even if the Marine high-ups are furious, they won't dare to send troops again."
Kaido was very familiar with the Marine's tactics; once they encountered a difficult enemy or force, the Marines, apart from sending people to monitor their movements, could only lie low.
"With no Marine interference, we can now rebuild the town and develop our forces with peace of mind."
Kaido mused that this Marine campaign must be related to the Oren Kingdom.
The Winter Island town was destroyed and suffered heavy losses, and the Oren Kingdom must pay for this.
"Wald, tomorrow you will go to the Oren Kingdom. All losses from this incident will be borne by the Oren Kingdom… Also, to prevent them from stirring up trouble behind our backs again, kill half of the kingdom's nobles."
A ruthless glint flashed in Kaido's eyes, his words carrying endless chill.
Wald detested traitors the most. Although they had won a great victory, nearly half of their base facilities were destroyed, reaching a crippling extent.
He naturally gnashed his teeth in hatred towards the Oren Kingdom's royal family.
Wald left, and Kaido sat on the stone throne, his fingers caressing the rough kanabo.
His attack names were mostly inspired by the Five Wisdom Kings, the guardian deities of esoteric Buddhism: Fudo Myoo, Gundari Myoo, Gozanze Myoo, Kongo-Yasha Myoo, and Daiitoku Myoo.
This was closely related to the culture of Wano Country.
As is well known, shrines and temples hold the highest symbolic significance in Wano Country.
Defeating a Marine quasi-Admiral like Zephyr was nothing to be happy about, but it would make the Marines realize that the former Rocks Pirates apprentice was not someone to be trifled with.
In the short term, the Marines would not launch another campaign against him.
Kaido would then be free to embark on long voyages, recruit subordinates, and compete with strong individuals… Two weeks later, at Marineford Hospital.
Zephyr lay in a hospital bed, his entire body wrapped in bandages, his left leg in a cast and suspended.
He wore sunglasses, looking calm, and was puffing on a cigar with one hand.
Noisy sounds came from the corridor outside the door, and Zephyr frowned, looking displeased at the door.
Swish!
The door was rudely pushed open, and Sengoku and Garp, dressed in dark suits, walked in, bickering.
"Osu! Zephyr, Sengoku and I are here to see you!"
Garp greeted with a smirk, his expression looking very punchable.
Sengoku looked serious, wearing round-rimmed glasses, and said gently, "We heard about the Winter Island campaign. How are you recovering now?"
Garp sat casually on the adjacent hospital bed, tearing open a food package placed on Zephyr's bedside cabinet, continuously feeding himself, chewing loudly, and looking at Zephyr.
"As you can see, I should be fully recovered in about three weeks," Zephyr said sullenly.
"To be able to beat you like this, has Kaido grown to such an extent?" Sengoku expressed concern.
The sea was in chaos now, keeping them extremely busy.
The only consolation was that these pirates each had their own schemes; if they united, they would definitely bring an irreversible disaster to the whole world.
Zephyr nodded heavily at the words: "Kaido is a monster. Whether it's Observation Haki, Armament Haki, or Haoshoku, it's completely unlike the level someone in their early twenties could achieve."
"His Observation Haki can cover the entire Winter Island. Every one of my moves seemed to be within his prediction. He… very likely reached the legendary realm of 'seeing the future'."
"His Armament Haki is also very strong; even now, my hands still ache faintly."
"Moreover, he is a Devil Fruit user. After returning these days, I had my adjutant borrow a Devil Fruit encyclopedia from the Marine library. If I'm not mistaken, he should be the Mythical Zoan Azure Dragon Fruit user."
Zephyr shared the intelligence gathered from the Winter Island campaign with Sengoku and Garp.
His heart was restless. Every time he recalled the scene of Vice Admiral Wei Lun desperately clinging to Kaido, he couldn't let it go.
Vice Admiral Wei Lun was dead.
He died on Winter Island.
"A Mythical Zoan… a rare Devil Fruit."
Sengoku's expression was solemn. He gently patted Zephyr's shoulder, comforting him: "Heal well. There will be plenty of time to deal with Kaido in the future."
Zephyr nodded, thinking of the pirates his two friends were responsible for pursuing, and asked, "How are things with Whitebeard and Roger?"
Sengoku glanced at Garp. Garp's eyes widened like brass bells, and he argued, "Why are you looking at me? I didn't intentionally let Roger escape. It's normal for Marine ships to be damaged during battle, alright?"
Sengoku was so angry his teeth itched, wishing he could devour Garp alive: "Every time you go on a mission, either a Marine ship is destroyed or damaged. So far, nearly twenty Marine ships have been destroyed by your hands, Garp! Building one Marine ship costs almost a hundred million Berries!!"
Garp's face turned red, and he stubbornly argued, "You can't completely blame me. This time, Sea Kings really attacked the Marine ship!"
"I told you before, Roger seems to have a strong affinity with Sea Kings. This time, it might have been him who made the Sea Kings attack the Marine ship!"
"Hey, hey, Garp, do you even hear what you're saying?!"
Sengoku glared fiercely at Garp, snatched the food bag from Garp's hand, tilted his head back, and poured all the rice crackers into his mouth.
"Ah, Sengoku, you bastard!" Garp bared his teeth and cursed.
Seeing that the two were about to start brawling in the hospital room, Zephyr spoke to stop them: "Please consider the patient's feelings when you fight."
Seeing that the two showed no signs of stopping and continued to release Haki outwards, Zephyr could only press the call bell by the bed.
A moment later, a burly female nurse walked out, holding Garp and Sengoku by the collars of their shirts, one in each hand.
The two were as well-behaved as naughty puppies.