"Are you going after the Gasparade Pirates?" Simca hopefully looked at him after she finished giving him all the intel she had on this crew. "Ma'am has been assigned to deal with them, and she is searching for them right now."
Robin, who was standing by his side, leaning against the ice wall of their tower in Erumalu, was deeply frowning. Her eyes vacantly stared at the Black Pearl, where Nami, Vivi, Nojiko, and Pascia were playing around, and her heart ached at the thought of what the Gasparade Prirates had done to the children and the parents on the Arrow Island.
She was very unsettled after learning that the Gasparade Pirates were harvesting the organs of the civilians to smuggle them to the Underworld, which was why they had destroyed one town after the other in the past couple of months.
Now, they had gone missing, with no sign of them.
With several Ex-Marines onboard, they knew exactly how to avoid the Government, and they had chosen their targets very carefully.
However, there was a question that bugged her a lot, and before she could raise it, her brother had already voiced it.
"Something is not right. How is it that so many Marines have suddenly turned rogue? A few or several would be understandable, but dozens? And most of them are not from the same base..."
He stopped when he saw Simca averting her eyes.
"Gasparade and his crew are not the only Marines who has gone rogue." Kalifa, who was silent, suddenly said. "Former Admiral and Chief Instructor, Zephyr, has gone rogue as well. He has created an organisation called Neo Marines, and some of his students are part of it. He has also taken control of the first Battle Cyborgs and the Cloned Half-Giant Squad, and he has stolen the Dyna Stones."
Sin and Robin were beyond shocked at her words.
"Neo Marines?"
"He believes that Marines do not represent justice, and so, he has vowed to kill every single pirate, including the Warlords. No matter the cost. Which he decalred would be collateral damage. He intends to destroy the New World."
The Black Siblings furrowed their brows.
"Doflamingo killed his wife and son, attacked the Island where he trained cadets, killing everyone but two who were present there at that time. Zephyr was sick at that time, and he was late to reach the Island. In the battle that ensued, Doflamingo targeted his remaining two cadets, and in order to save them, he lost an arm. The Pirate escaped, having stolen something from the island, and only a few days later, Doflamingo was invited to become of the Warlords of the Sea. The old man bore it for a while, but after Vegapunk gave him his new mechanical arm, he resigned and then went rogue."
"There has never been any news about it." Robin frowned.
"The World Government kept it under wraps, but now, Zephyr has destroyed two of the three Endpoints, and Admiral Kuzan and Admiral Kizaru are currently engaged in a battle with him on Piriodo. Admiral Akainu was on his way, as per the last intel I received."
"Why are you telling me this?" Sin frowned, and Kalifa meaningfully looked at him.
She could not say it outright that she had received orders from Mary Geoise to ask for help in dealing with Zephyr and making sure that his plan does not come to fruition. After all, she was supposed to received orders from Sengoku, not from Kong.
"Piriodo is close to Karai Bari Island."
He chuckled and pushed himself off the wall.
"I don't think Neo Marines and Gasparade Pirates have any connections."
"That's what we believe as well," Sima nodded her head.
He meaningfully looked at the two, and then frowned.
"Robin, set sail. We are taking part in the Dead End Race in a week." He ordered his Vice Captain, who brightly smiled at him.
"When will you be back?"
"By dinnertime, tonight."
"Okay."
Sin then rushed to the Black Pearl and picked up his swords from the Captain's Quarters, and then he headed off towards the New World.
Finding the place was easier said than done even with his speed, especially since he did not possess the Eternal Pose to any place near Piriodo. And to his irritation, it took him over an hour to finally find the island that was entirely covered in Lava right now, but a few sections of it were frozen.
Kizaru and Kuzan were engaged in a deadly battle against their former Sensei, and Akainu was hunting down the Cloned Giants, the Cyborgs, and the Neo Marines.
Sin frowned when he saw the Admiral killing everyone, taking no prisoners, and and right now, he was about to kill a girl, who was around eighteen years old, and was swaying on her feet.
Two of her comrades now lay lifeless a little away from them, and the hatred she held for the Admiral was burning her soul.
Sin wanted to look away, but he couldn't, and instinctively rushed down and blocked Akainu's magma-clad fist with his Nidai Kitetsu.
Instantly, black lightning surround them as the will of two Conqueror's collided, and the shock wave sent the already dizzy girl on her knees.
"That's enough." Sin coldly said and just when the Red Admiral narrowed his eyes, he spoke again. "Don't force me, Akainu. You are not allowed to harm someone protected my me. This girl is part of my crew now."
His words clearly did not please the Red Admiral, but sensing Zephyr rushing their way to save his disciple, Akainu disengaged and rushed to meet him.
"Ain!!!" Screamed the Black Arm.
Sin peaked into the future and saw what Sakazuki intended to do, and he quickly grabbed Ai and rushed into the sky, just in time before the ground under her erupted with lava spewing out.
Zephyr merely glanced at him, but then looked towards the dead bodies of his two students, and buried under guilt and rage, he ruthlessly punched the Red Admiral with his Mechanical Arm, powered by a Dyna Stone, and sent him crashing into the nearby hill.
"I will keep her safe." Sin did not want to fight a man so broken, and he just whispered those words and smacked the girl at the back of uer head to make her go unconscious.
He looked into the distance and saw Kizaru picking up one Dyna Stone after another, and taking them into the sky.
Soon, an apocalyptic explosion occurred above, and the Black protected the girl in his arms from the shockwaves.
On the Island, Kuzan and Akainu teamed up to take down Z, and Kizaru soon returned and joined hands with them.
Seeing that they did not really need his help, he quickly picked up the two dead bodies and took them to the nearby island.
He put the girl down as well, and then rushed back to Piriodo, where the battle was about to reach conclusion.
The three did not need his help, and he did not intend to help them either.
Half an hour later, Kizaru buried his Light Sword into Zephyr's heart, holding back his tears, and Kuzan stopped Akainu from destroying their Sensei's body.
In his last moments, Z glanced in his way, and then lowered his head and took his last breath.
"You have grown stronger, Kizaru, Kuzan..."
And those were his last words.
Sin landed right next to him and grabbed the man's body, making them all frown.
"I am going to bury him on the nearby island." He lightly said, and then rushed away, but Kizaru followed him.
The Yellow Admiral frowned when he saw the girl crying her eyes out next to the dead bodies of her friends, and when she was about to look in his direction, the Admiral grabbed Zephyr body from Sin's hand, much to the amusement of the Black.
Sin, however, did not say anything and simply swung his sword three times, creating three deep and large graves, and by the time he lowered the bodies of the two students, Kizaru had taken off Zephyr's Mechanical Arm.
The girl, despite her weakness, grabbed her Sensei's body and lowered it into the grave with her own hands, and Kuzan, who had arrived at the island a few seconds ago, helped her pour the dirt, much to her indignation.
She, however, was smart enough to keep quiet. She knew Zephyr was also a Sensei to both Kuzan and Kizaru.
Sin had not thought that he would be attending a funeral ceremony today when he woke up in the morning. And definitely not that of strangers who meant nothing to him, but here he was, standing quietly as he saw the backs of the three individuals stand there in silence for a good half an hour.
When the Marine ships arrived at the beach, he frowned at the intentions of Akainu, and quickly stepped forward and grabbed the girl.
"Let's go. We will come back here to pay our respects again." He said, and under the eyes of two Admiral, rushed up.
Kizaru blocked his way in the sky.
"You can not take her away..."
"She's part of my crew now." He straightforwardly said, and then smiled. "Do you want to fight with me over her, Kizaru?"
"Why go so for a stranger?" He asked, furrowing his brows.
"I have taken a liking to her." He playfully said, and neither Kizaru nor Kuzan believed his words, much less Akainu, who was listening to their conversation.
"You are troublesome as always, ne..."
Seeing the Yellow Admiral sigh, Sin did not waste any time and rushed away.
He could not get away from Kizaru whilst carrying someone in his arms, and if the man chased after him, he would really have to fight.
Thankfully, he didn't, and the girl in his arms was in disbelief that she was getting to live another day.
"Did you know what Zephyr intended to do?"
The question caught her off guard, and she frowned.
"Yes."
"Do you want to destroy the world? Killing hundreds of millions of children and innocents?"
She gritted her teeth at his question, and stubbornly nodded her head.
"Kill me."
Sin smiled as he sensed that she really wanted to die.
"No, you are precious," He lightly said, met her eyes, and continued. "Your Sensei, in his last moments, regretted everything. He did not want you to die, Ain."
Tears poured out of her eyes at his words, and she started wailing in his arms, holding nothing back anymore.
Sin landed on top of the Red Line with her, and just held her in his arms, allowing her to grieve and mourn those whom she had lost, and shed tears in regret.
When she fell asleep, he held her until the sun started sinking, and then he gently woke her up.
Her eyes widened when he leaned in and kissed her on the lips, and then stood up with her in his arms.
"I will give you power, make you stronger, and one day, you will be able to avenge everyone you have lost without sacrificing your life. And I will only ask you to be loyal to me, girl." He stared into her brown eyes. "I promise you, I will never force you to do something you don't want to do."
The girl stared into his sterling grey eyes, and she did not stop him when he leaned in to capture her lips again.
"Your second chance at life starts now." He playfully said, and then rushed up in to the sky.
She curiously watched him open his locket, she saw a Vivre Card, which was pointing in the direction they were headed.
"Hey, Ain."
"Yes?"
"Do you know..."