"Those bastards…
Daring to interrupt my vacation…
They are absolutely unforgivable!"
A massive golden eagle soared across the sky, wings slicing the clouds like blades. Its keen eyes swept the sea below like a living radar. Even as it searched, it grumbled nonstop:
"Not that it matters…
I probably won't get the chance to teach them a lesson.
Big Bro Longinus will show them what true fear is."
"Target located… over there."
Gregory's wings tucked as he spiraled downward in a sharp dive.
Landing on the deserted island in human form, he surveyed the eerie scene and sighed.
"As expected…
When it comes to dealing with enemies,
Big Bro Longinus never leaves room for mercy."
He scratched his cheek.
"What was it he said again?
'Treat the people with the warmth of spring,
treat the enemy with the cruelty of deep winter.'
Guess it's those convictions that make him the legend he is."
Gregory walked deeper into the island.
Not a drop of blood stained the ground.
No mangled corpses.
No signs of struggle.
Just bodies—
cleanly struck down before they even realized it.
All wearing blissful smiles,
as if they'd died in a moment of ecstatic delirium.
Placed in the silence of a dead island,
the scene was eerie enough to chill the spine.
"Good thing I've seen this enough times,
or I'd eventually die of a heart attack,"
Gregory muttered, exhaling shakily.
A calm voice answered,
"My apologies.
Against this level of opponent,
I really don't have the habit of making a bloody mess."
Longinus stepped from the trees, justice coat fluttering behind him, moonlight silvering hair and shoulders. Not a speck of dust clung to him.
"Haha! Didn't know you were that close, Boss!"
Gregory grinned without a hint of shame.
He glanced around.
"They're all cleared out already?"
"Yes.
Small fry like these don't take long."
Longinus walked ahead, Gregory falling in step.
"Seriously…
These idiots actually thought they could target you.
Do they even know what 'death wish' means?"
They reached a clearing. Gregory shifted again into his massive golden eagle form. Longinus leapt cleanly onto his back, and the island shrank into a dark speck as they soared into the night sky.
"Right, Boss," Gregory asked as they cut through the wind,
"how'd you break free from the seastone cuffs?
Don't those usually have only one matching key?"
"Simple.
Excavate your body's potential.
Imprint intention into the mind.
Let every part of your body move as naturally as your fingertips.
Once you master that, you can perform things ordinary people think impossible—
like… reshaping your hair into a key to unlock seastone cuffs."
Longinus said it lightly, as if he were explaining how to boil water.
Gregory was silent for a long moment.
"…Alright.
Seems I'm exactly the 'ordinary person' you just described.
I need some time alone.
And don't ask who 'Alone Time' is."
Longinus chuckled softly and said no more.
He could explain—
that the technique was Life Return,
secretly known as the "seventh style" beyond the Six Powers.
He had incomplete knowledge of the Rokushiki,
but in the past two years he had managed to master
Shave and the one technique most suited to him—
Life Return: bodily control.
With his preternatural Observation Haki
and the abnormal strength of his soul,
Life Return came almost… naturally.
With Gregory's top speed,
they crossed several island regions swiftly
and soon landed at the temporary Marine base.
As they touched down, a crowd of Marines swarmed toward them.
"Major Longinus! We knew you'd be alright!"
"Those weak pirates could never harm Major Longinus!"
Gregory, now human again, waved them aside.
"Cancel the Battleaxe Pirates' bounty.
Big Bro Longinus has wiped them out."
"Woooaaah!
Major Longinus is amazing!"
In the prison,
Battleaxe Rock—relocated to a normal cell due to his "good behavior"—
looked up, confused by the cheers outside.
"Uh… Mister Marine, did something happen?"
Since Rock had behaved embarrassingly well
and helped dampen local pirate violence,
the guards didn't dislike him much.
One guard answered:
"The Battleaxe Pirates were wiped out.
Those idiots thought seastone cuffs would cripple Major Longinus—
but by the time they learned how strong he really was,
it was far too late."
"You, you… you can't slander me like that!"
Rock turned red with indignation.
"I have nothing to do with the Battleaxe Pirates anymore!"
Then he thumped his chest.
"I knew Bart was seeking death!
That moron actually dared oppose Major Longinus!"
The other officers, originally resentful of their cowardly captain,
immediately switched tone:
"Captain wise!
Captain mighty!"
"Idiots!" Rock hissed.
"There's no captain here!
We're just fellow inmates redeeming ourselves!"
His crew nodded rapidly.
"Yes!
We will turn over a new leaf!
Reform ourselves!
Study hard!
Advance every day!"
Outside, dawn broke through the clouds—
a symbolic light like the Marines' rising star, Longinus.
Risking his life—
the responsibility and resolve of a true Marine.
Unbending justice—
a Marine Major who reforms even brutal pirates.
Longinus flipped through the newspaper
and set it aside with a sigh.
Brigadier General Adkin laughed.
"Don't mind it.
In these increasingly chaotic times,
the Marines need icons.
With your flawless image,
the higher-ups won't waste the opportunity."
"I've gotten used to it."
Longinus smiled wryly.
"I've appeared in the papers often enough these past two years.
But… some of this stuff really is over the top."
His gaze drifted to several bold headlines:
"Ending the Pirate Era — The Vow of the Marine's Light!"
"Inherited Will — Vice Admiral Garp Praises the Young Hero!"
"Admiral or Fleet Admiral?
Where Should This Marine Prodigy's Path Lead?"
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