"Arrogant fellow!"
Hearing his opponent dare to call him trash, Babaros burst into laughter.
"Do you really think putting all your strength into a flying slash can defeat me? That's just the delusion of an ignorant fool!"
Provoked, Babaros could no longer endure and leaped from the pirate ship.
A sinister grin spread across his face as he gazed at the marine, who waved at him, a one-handed axe resting on his shoulder.
"I acknowledge your courage, but I..."
As his tone grew fiercer, Babaros underwent a strange transformation. In an instant, his human head turned into a massive elephant's head, with gleaming ivory tusks protruding on both sides.
Human-Beast Form!
"I'm the user of the Elephant-Elephant Fruit."
"Evil Elephant Assault!"
Babaros suddenly leaped into the air and pointed his head toward Ian, who stood at the bow of the warship.
A terrifying aura emanated from him, as if he had truly transformed into a giant elephant.
Yet as he charged, staring at the Marine who stood unyieldingly, axe on his shoulder, facing the attack with pride, Babaros couldn't help but feel a bit of admiration.
What a fine man of the sea!
"I'll be gentle, so you will have the strength to kneel down and call me captain later."
With these words, Babaros, mid-air, didn't hesitate, and slammed down on the enemy below.
In the blink of an eye, a terrifying pressure overwhelmed Ian, as if to crush him.
However, in the face of such pressure, Ian remained unyielding, facing it with pride and independence, earning Babaros's admiration even more.
Such a proud swordsman!
Even as he drew near, Babaros couldn't help but let out a bold, hearty laugh.
"Ku ku..."
But before he could finish that booming laugh…
At that very moment, just as he was about to smash into Ian, the proud swordsman suddenly drew in a deep breath.
Just as Babaros expected him to raise his axe to block, suddenly…
"Instructor Zephyr!"
A shout broke the terrifying pressure, and before Babaros could react.
Bang!
A massive black fist instantly smashed into his face, extinguishing his laughter and the so-called Evil Elephant Assault.
And with it came a voice: "Boy, you just slapped me twice, and now you have the nerve to ask me for help? When did such a thick-skinned Marine appear in the West Blue?"
"...?"
Hearing this, Babaros, who had just been struck by the fist, instantly understood what was happening.
He had been tricked!
This shameless brat had tricked him!
This brat had deliberately led him to jump over!
Just as he was about to be hurled back, time seemed to freeze, and Babaros stared at a hateful face in disbelief.
A face devoid of the heroic spirit he had shown earlier, filled only with indifference.
And this sinister fellow even dared to raise his middle finger at him?!
Asshole!!!
But at this moment, Babaros, brimming with rage, was powerless to do anything.
Time seemed to have resumed, and in a single breath, Zephyr's fist had sent Babaros flying.
"Captain!"
Ian lowered his axe from his shoulder and retracted his raised middle finger while glaring disdainfully at Babaros, who smashed hard into the sea surface.
"What an idiot!"
What time is it now? Still thinking of a duel?
There's no time for that!
They were on an escort mission. If this drags on... Even if they take down this one pirate, there might be another!
"That guy clearly wanted a fight with you. Who would have thought he would be outsmarted by you… No, even I was fooled. Observation Haki, huh? You could sense me coming…"
Zephyr, also watching the sinking pirate, showed a hint of emotion on his face.
After saying that, he changed his tone, put his hands on his hips, and laughed heartily.
"But, that's really cool, Hahaha!"
However, as he laughed, Zephyr's eyes began to moisten again.
This guy must be remembering what happened this morning!
Ian didn't bother the old man's brooding.
Meanwhile, the four people who had rowed the boat had all boarded.
Looking at the boat, still a short distance from the warship, Ian immediately realized that the four of them had used the Moonwalk to get aboard at the last moment.
"You bastard!"
Enchi cursed while panting.
"I'm the captain of this warship! Damn it, you've taken over my power! My colleagues would be laughing their heads off if they knew."
As soon as he boarded the ship, he started talking nonstop.
Seeing the marines snickering nearby, his face turned red, then pale, and he roared: "How dare you laugh? You bastards, do you know who your captain is? Go back and write me a 1,000-word self-criticism!"
"No! Captain!"
As Enchi berated his wailing marines, Zephyr's two remaining students stood nearby.
"Hey, the Lieutenant from the West Blue."
Binz, seemingly in good spirits, bowed down as he spoke. "Thank you so much."
Ain, on the other hand… Still wore her cold, aloof expression, though she looked like she had something to say but held back.
But now was not the time to worry about that.
Although they had defeated another Pirate crew, no one knew how many more would follow.
They had to leave this place quickly.
All they could hope was that the news of Instructor Zephyr regaining his spirit would spread, to intimidate those brainless pirates!
Ian ignored the three of them, even Zephyr. He looked at the marines before him, waved his hand, and shouted: "Keep going!"
"Understood, Lieutenant Ian!"
"Hey, hey, hey, I'm the captain of the 315th Branch!"
"Lieutenant, the Elephant Pirates..."
"Don't worry about them. Keep going. They can't salvage their captain that quickly."
"Where's their captain?"
"Don't worry about that either."
"Yes, Lieutenant!"
"I told you, I'm the captain of the 315th Branch! You idiots!"
Amidst a flurry of curses, the warship set off again, cutting through the Elephant Pirates, who were busy trying to salvage their captain, and continued forward…
Meanwhile, at Marine Headquarters, in the Admiral's office.
"Didn't I order all branches at the Grand Line to block the route and prevent all pirates from entering?"
"You actually let pirates slip in? What are you all doing?"
"Hold them at all costs! Even if you can't, you'll have to! I've already notified that bastard, Garp; he's on his way. Aokiji has already been dispatched."
"Shut up! You have only one goal: protect Zephyr!"
"Click… Gacha!"
As the Den Den Mushi was disconnected, Sengoku took a deep breath to calm his inner irritation and returned to his spacious Fleet Admiral's chair.
Then he rubbed his forehead with a slight headache. "This is a critical moment! Nothing else can go wrong."
The New World is already in chaos. If something happens to the Marines' Chief Instructor at this moment, the situation at sea will be even worse!
"I really shouldn't have given that jerk a leave. He always disappears at crucial moments."
Reclining in a spacious chair, Sengoku rubbed his forehead and closed his eyes, and just as he was about to rest...
"Purururu… Purururu…"
The Den Den Mushi rang again.
Sengoku's eyelids twitched, as if he didn't want to answer the call, but he finally sighed, answered, and said directly: "I hope this is good news!"
However, as soon as he finished speaking, his face suddenly lit up with excitement, as if he had heard something good.
He even slammed the table excitedly and stood up. "This is really good news. Don't let your guard down. Keep alerting me, and don't let any more pirates get in at this time."
"Click… Gacha!"
He hung up the Den Den Mushi again, but his face still beamed with joy.
Remembering what the other party had just said, his eyes flickered slightly. "West Blue 315th Branch?"
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