They were all panting heavily, their eyes bloodshot and wide with excitement, resembling demons that had just crawled out of the abyss.
"I can't wait to torture that little brat."
"I've never killed an Admiral's family member before. What a pity about that woman—she was so determined to die, forcing me to end her with one slash."
The pirate who had cut down Zephyr's wife wiped his blade, feigning regret, though his words only fueled the bloodlust of the others.
"True. She was quite beautiful."
"A waste of a good toy. But we can take our time torturing Zephyr's brat once we find him."
Although Zephyr was known as the "Non-Killing Admiral," he had filled the prisons to the brim over the years.
Many of these pirates had crewmates, captains, or brothers rotting in Impel Down because of him.
They derived a perverse, sadistic pleasure from the idea of defiling his family.
Even without the mysterious bounty, the chance to hurt Zephyr was enough to draw them like sharks to blood.
"Where are you hiding, kid?"
"Come out, little mouse! I can't wait to send you to hell!"
"Search faster, you fools! He has to be on this ship!"
Listening to the chaotic smashing and shouting outside, the purple-haired child inside the cabinet squeezed his eyes shut, tears leaking out.
But he didn't make a sound.
He firmly remembered his mother's final command.
His small, trembling hands tightly gripped a dagger.
It was a birthday gift from his father.
Zephyr had given him this exquisite blade, hoping that one day, his son would grow up to be an outstanding swordsman of the Navy.
'Father... where are you?'
On top of a high cabinet in the storage room, the young child clutched his father's gift, praying for the arrival of the strongest man he knew.
...
Meanwhile, somewhere on the surface of the Grand Line.
A massive figure with purple hair, wearing the coat of an Admiral, was running across the ocean surface at breakneck speed.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Every step Zephyr took on the air created a sonic boom.
His brows were furrowed, his heart pounding with an anxiety he hadn't felt in decades.
He never expected that pirates would be bold enough—or organized enough—to target his family while he was away.
Upon receiving the distress signal, he had abandoned his fleet, using Moon Walk to sprint ahead alone.
"Hold on... Daddy is almost there."
Zephyr muttered to himself, his lungs burning as he pushed his physical limits, tearing through the wind toward the Island.
...
"Let me see if the little mouse is in here?"
As the pirates smashed through the ship, the only remaining unsearched room was the storage hold.
Exchanging glances, the pirates revealed cruel, yellow-toothed smiles.
They had an idea.
They didn't want to find the target immediately.
They wanted to let the fear marinate.
CRASH!
They kicked open the storage room door, stirring up thick dust.
"Little brat... I'm going to find you soon~."
A one-eyed pirate stepped in, deliberately raising his voice.
"Are you in here?"
Thwack!
The pirate stabbed his cutlass into an empty barrel, then ripped it sideways, shattering the wood.
He knew perfectly well the child wasn't inside, but he relished the thrill of the game.
"Hehe, hiding in the dark? I can hear your heart beating!"
The one-eyed pirate's accomplices joined in, shattering every barrel, smashing crates, and overturning shelves.
After destroying everything at ground level, the one-eyed pirate turned his gaze upward.
He began to walk slowly toward the tall cabinet in the corner.
He had known the kid was there from the start.
He stopped in front of the cabinet doors.
Creak!
"FOUND YOU!"
The pirate flung the cabinet doors open.
Inside, curled among ragged clothes, was the boy.
Hearing the doors open, the boy's heart sank into the abyss.
When he looked up, the ferocious, scarred face of the pirate was inches away.
"AHHHH!!!"
Driven by pure survival instinct, the boy thrust the small dagger forward with all his might.
Clang.
It was futile and the pirate didn't even dodge.
He simply bit down, catching the small blade between his yellowed teeth.
"Nice try, brat."
A large, calloused hand reached in, grabbed the boy by his purple hair, and yanked him out.
Bam!
He was slammed hard onto the wooden floor.
"Cough... hah..."
The impact nearly knocked the breath out of him.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth—his internal organs rattled by the force.
"Hahaha! Did you really think you were hiding?" The pirate spat the dagger onto the floor. "I just wanted to play. With your head, I'll get at least thirty percent of the bounty!"
He grabbed the boy by the neck, lifting him off his feet like a doll.
"I need to take you to the Captain. Let's go meet your executioner."
The one-eyed pirate dragged the choking boy onto the deck.
"Boss! Boss! Look what I found! It's Zephyr's spawn!"
The Pirate Captain, a man with a heavy coat and a cruel visage, turned around.
His eyes lit up with malicious glee.
"Quick! Bring him here!" The Captain laughed, his voice rasping. "I'm going to torture him myself! I'll make him understand the pain Zephyr inflicted on me years ago!"
This Captain was a criminal Zephyr had captured back in his early days.
He had escaped prison, bided his time, and accepted the dark money from the shadows to carry out this hit.
He grabbed the boy's hair, forcing him to look up.
"Struggle! Cry! Scream for your daddy!"
The boy kicked frantically, tears streaming down his face, but the grip was iron.
"Bring that woman's corpse over here!" the Captain shouted suddenly. "I want a photo. A family reunion!"
The surrounding pirates roared with laughter.
They dragged the wet, lifeless body of Zephyr's wife next to the Captain.
"Boss, say cheese!"
The Captain placed a heavy boot on the mother's corpse while holding her weeping son in the air by his hair.
He grinned, a look of pure evil plastered on his face.
Click.
The camera flashed.
"Beautiful," the Captain sneered as he looked at the developed photo. "When Zephyr sees this... he will shatter."
He had the money and the revenge.
Now he just needed to tie up the loose end.
"Kid, blame your bad luck. Who told you to be Zephyr's son?"
The Captain's hand tightened around the boy's neck.
He began to squeeze, intending to snap his neck.
"Die."
CRACK-BOOM!
A pillar of blinding blue light descended from the heavens!
The lightning bolt struck the Captain's arm with surgical precision, incinerating the nerves and forcing his grip to release instantly.
"ARGH!"
Before the thunder could even reach their ears, a second flash of lightning materialized on the deck.
A young man with earlobes stretching to his chest stood there.
In one arm, he held the coughing, terrified boy. In the other hand, he gripped a golden trident, leveled at the pirates.
Arcs of electricity danced violently around his body, turning the wooden deck black where he stood.
"You scum of the seas," Enel's voice was low, trembling not with fear, but with a divine rage.
"How dare you lay hands on the family of an Admiral?"
Enel looked at the weeping boy in his arms, remembering how Zephyr had treated him—not as a monster, but as a student.
"Calling you trash would be an insult to garbage."
"Who the hell are you?!" The Pirate Captain clutched his charred arm, stepping back. "You're just some brat! Kill him!"
The Captain drew his cutlass with his good hand, coating it in Armament Haki.
The other pirates followed suit, surrounding the intruder.
"El Thor!"
A massive beam of lightning obliterated three pirates instantly, reducing them to ash.
The Captain's eyes widened. "Logia... You're a Logia user!"
He grabbed a nearby crewmate and held him up as a human shield.
"Get him! He's just one man! He looks exhausted!"
The Captain was right about one thing—Enel was pale.
He had expended a massive amount of energy piloting the Ark Maxim at maximum overdrive to get here in time.
"Hurry, hurry up and kill him!" The pirate captain grew anxious, leading the charge as he raised his cutlass and charged toward Enel.
"Don't you think it's a bit too late for that?" Though Enel's face was extremely pale, he was still quite satisfied with his technique.
"As long as I can kill you and that brat in your hands, it's never too late!"
Covered in Armament Haki, the pirate captain broke through the lightning blockade and rushed to Enel's side.
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