Carl wasn't convinced that Blackbeard and his crew had drowned. Blackbeard was a Devil Fruit user, and Burgess was severely injured. It didn't make any sense for them to have survived jumping into the sea.
Carl searched the area for a long time, but found nothing. After the ship finally sank, he turned back toward Water 7, a strong feeling in his gut that Blackbeard was still alive. It was just a hunch, but Carl was certain. It was said that good men die young and evil men live on for ages. Blackbeard was too vile to die so easily.
"What a disgusting guy," Carl muttered. "I almost killed Burgess, but Blackbeard had to intervene. But just because Blackbeard survived the fall doesn't mean Burgess did. He was seriously injured and probably died in the seawater."
As he flew, Carl used his powers to scan the entire city, a habit he'd developed. Seeing that his crewmates were all safe and sound, a smile of relief spread across his face. No matter who they fought, whether it was Wilbur or Doflamingo's cadres, the crew had solved their own problems even without him and Luffy there. They had truly grown up.
As for CP9, since they'd come looking for a fight, the Straw Hats had no problem getting rid of them. Robin's revenge would start by getting some interest from Spandam, but the full debt would be settled later. Carl wasn't sure what the World Government would do, but one thing was certain: Spandine had to die.
"Huh? Who's that?" Carl looked up at the Marine warship coming from the direction of Enies Lobby. He saw several familiar faces on the deck: former Marine Admiral Zephyr, Marine Vice Admiral Ain, Binz, and Shuzo. They were the group that had left the Marines to form the Neo Marines after the Summit War. Zephyr had quit the Marines in despair after they appointed Wilbur as a Warlord.
Zephyr hated Wilbur with a passion. He was an instructor at Marine Headquarters, and a few years ago, Wilbur had killed his students and cut off his arm. Zephyr had been hunting him ever since, and when he heard Wilbur was in Water 7, he immediately rushed over.
Carl had nothing but respect for Zephyr. The man had spent his life upholding a strict sense of justice, but the world was cruel to him. Pirates took his family's life, Wilbur killed his students, the Marines betrayed him, and the World Government oppressed him at every turn. His life had been a series of tragedies. In the end, he was even killed by his own students.
Carl looked toward the direction of Luffy's fight. Luffy had promised to take on Big Mom alone, so Carl decided not to interfere. He landed on the giant sword and headed for the port.
On the Going Merry, the crew also saw the Marine warship, but they weren't flustered. The ship wasn't big, and they didn't recognize anyone on board. Assuming they weren't anyone important, the crew didn't pay them any mind.
Suddenly, a muscular old man with purple hair jumped off the warship. Using Geppo, he quickly landed on the port, not far from Wilbur.
"Whoa! The distance was so far! How did he get here so fast?" Zoro's expression was a mix of shock and surprise.
The old man, Zephyr, didn't pay any attention to the Straw Hats. He stared at Wilbur with a look of pure hatred. The Straw Hats and Hearts crew immediately took up a defensive position, but they didn't dare to act rashly. Zoro, Sanji, Law could all feel the oppressive aura coming from the purple-haired man, and his powerful mechanical arm gave off an especially strong feeling.
Ain, Binz, and Shuzo soon arrived on shore and stood behind Zephyr, their faces filled with similar hatred. When Sanji saw Ain, his inner "lovestruck chef" took over, but Nami quickly punched him in the head.
"Sanji-kun, calm down!" Nami yelled, and Sanji instantly snapped back to normal.
"Everyone, don't do anything rash. They're probably here to fight Wilbur," Law said.
It was obvious to anyone with eyes, so Law's warning was almost unnecessary. They could tell the purple-haired man wasn't someone they wanted to mess with, so they decided to avoid any unnecessary trouble.
Zephyr turned to the Straw Hats, looking at them through his cool glasses. "Hey, Straw Hats! What's wrong with that guy?" he asked, pointing at Wilbur.
Marie, calmly munching on a biscuit, replied, "Oh, he's standing on a pattern I drew. His mind is a little messed up, so he's in a weird state. If you want to fix it, just get him off the pattern."
"Why would you tell him that, Marie?!" the crew groaned. It seemed like Marie was afraid of the Marine, which made them look weak.
Marie remained calm. "It's not a secret, so what's the harm in telling him? Besides, that uncle's mechanical arm is really cool, and he looks smart enough to figure it out on his own."
Well, whether the arm was cool or not was beside the point.
Zephyr nodded. "Is that so? Well, before I do that, let me punch the bastard first!" he said, coating his mechanical arm with a powerful layer of Armament Haki and swinging it toward Wilbur.
Wilbur, who was still standing on the pattern, was psychologically against his mother, but he wasn't completely defenseless. He had been staring at Zephyr because he looked familiar. Now that Zephyr was attacking, Wilbur fought back. He raised his large naginata and clashed with the mechanical arm.
Boom!
Wilbur was sent flying backward, but he wasn't injured. The impact had knocked him off the pattern, and his eyes cleared. "What... what just happened? Mom, where are you, Mom?!" he yelled, looking around.
Meanwhile, Little 3 had covered Miss Bakkin in wax, so she couldn't answer him. Wilbur landed hard on the ground and continued to frantically search for her.
Zephyr pulled back his mechanical arm and roared, "Wilbur! Do you remember me?! You killed my first class of students! Today, I'm going to kill you and avenge them!"
The Straw Hats finally understood. The co-authoring was all about revenge.
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