North Blue.
The Kingdom of Godo.
The capital of this prosperous World Government affiliated nation was now in utter chaos.
Boom!
Boom!
Continuous, massive explosions echoed. Huge flowers of flame bloomed throughout the city, fire radiating, flames raging.
"It's the Flevance people!"
"Run! Run! They're devils in human skin!"
"No! Mama! Save me!"
Chaos had arrived.
"Hahahaha! Die! Die! All of you, die!"
On the roof of a building in what was once a bustling commercial street, a man with a maniacal laugh was carrying a single-shot rocket launcher, continuously firing rockets at the buildings below. His rocket launcher was very advanced, far beyond the mainstream rocket launchers of today's seas. Reloading was incredibly convenient; he just had to insert the standard warhead into the barrel, and he could fire again immediately, taking only tens of seconds from start to finish. So, even though it was just him, he had already left the entire street wailing.
But, he wasn't alone.
"You dogs of the World Government! All of you go to hell with us!!"
On another street not far away, several men carrying heavy machine guns were also laughing wildly. Cold bullet belts rattled furiously, and hot muzzles spat out a storm of bullets. Blood splattered, severed limbs jumped. Humans, at this moment, were as fragile as ants before the malice of their own kind; they could do nothing but wail and flee.
The same thing was happening in many parts of the city. Creation and order were difficult things to achieve, but destruction and chaos often only took an instant.
The center of the chaos was the Royal Palace. Its gates were tightly shut. A team of over a hundred Flevance people, armed with various heavy weapons, were bombarding the palace. Soon, they had smashed the recently reinforced palace gates to smithereens.
At this point, the Royal Army, hiding behind the gates, could no longer feign death and had no choice but to retaliate. However, their firepower was not on the same level. In their initial engagement, even with an absolute numerical advantage, the soldiers were so suppressed they couldn't even lift their heads. The weapons had a generational gap.
Inside the palace, the King paced like an ant on a hot griddle. "Why aren't the Marines here yet! Damn Flevance people! I never provoked them!" A year ago, at the World Conference, he had personally heard Flevance's tearful account of what happened in their country. At that time, he felt great sympathy for those who had suffered so much. Although he was a high and mighty king, he was not without compassion.
However, all that sympathy had long since vanished. The Flevance people were lunatics! Even if Lead Poisoning wasn't a fatal infectious disease, they deserved to be eradicated! Over the past year, the Flevance people had persistently launched attacks throughout the North Blue. Whether it was an affiliated nation or not, they seemed unable to tolerate any happiness. Because they had no future, they wanted to extinguish all laughter on this sea. Countless people died because of them, countless families were torn apart. And most importantly, they caused widespread panic throughout the North Blue, leading to immense economic losses. All affiliated and non-affiliated nations intensified their security checks, but it still didn't work.
For example, this time, the Flevance people actually infiltrated directly outside his Royal Palace! This was definitely not normal! Someone must be cooperating with them! Otherwise, people could sneak in, but how did the weapons get in? How did they get such advanced weapons? How were these weapons transported into this country?
But now wasn't the time to think about these things. His Majesty, the King of this country, was sweating profusely. If the Marines didn't come to support them soon, wouldn't the palace be breached? Although there had been cases of kings being killed by Flevance people in the past year, those were always weak, non-affiliated nations.
Would he be the first king of an affiliated nation to be killed? The more the king thought about it, the more he trembled with fear. Damn Flevance people! Indeed, you truly have no right to live in this world! All of you deserve to die!
As the king trembled and cursed, outside the Royal Palace.
"Hahahaha! Charge in!" The deranged Flevance people roared with laughter. Even when occasional retaliation from the soldiers brought down many of their comrades, they didn't care. In fact, even those Flevance people who were shot and fell still laughed madly, continuously attacking the palace until they finally died. This was also a major reason why the North Blue was now terrified of the Flevance people. These lunatics were truly abnormal; they would do anything for their revenge.
"We're the first to take down an affiliated nation's king, right? Then we must make sure he has a memorable death!" While launching their assault, the Flevance people were also discussing, "How about chopping him into mincemeat and making meat patties? Hahahaha! Will his children like them?"
"You're being too soft this time—"
"Hahahaha! Idiot! His brains splattered so high!"
At this moment, a cold snort suddenly descended from the sky.
"What a bunch of lunatics!"
A dark figure suddenly plummeted.
Boom!
The earth instantly shattered. A powerful shockwave immediately blew all the Flevance people away. Their boasted weapons were completely useless at this moment.
"Waaaah!"
The rioters vomited blood, falling to the ground in disarray, countless bones broken. Not a single one had the strength to stand up.
"Scum, that's enough."
A purple-haired man stood there, the wind whipping his cloak of justice behind him.
Behind the shattered palace gates, the soldiers first froze, then burst into ecstasy.
"He, he's—Mr. Zephyr!!"
"It's the Marine G-5!!"
At the same time, Marine soldiers in uniform surged into the city like a tide, beginning to deal with the Flevance people frantically attacking everywhere.
"Hound Blaze!"
Completely disregarding their location within the city, Sakazuki flicked his right hand, and a dog-headed stream of magma consumed a small Flevance squad. Sakazuki's face was grim, showing no satisfaction or relaxation from having killed the attackers.
Who is behind them? Who is providing them with weapons?
"Haha... haha! You really... arrived fast!" On the other side, in front of the palace, Zephyr's gaze was drawn to a laughing Flevance man. The man's eyes were filled with mockery. "Justice is never absent, is it?"
Zephyr merely glanced at him, casually flicking his only remaining left hand.
Pfft.
The man's head simply exploded.
"Hahahaha! Good kill!"
But immediately, almost identical mocking laughter rang out. "Go on and kill us all! Anyway, we've broken even today!"
Zephyr looked closely at these individuals. Without exception, not a single one had a trace of fear in their eyes. After all, those who dared to carry out such suicidal attacks never intended to return alive. What did they have to fear?
"All of you deserve to die," Zephyr said indifferently. "No matter what you've been through, it's no excuse for such wanton acts."
"Hahahaha! What fine words!" Another man laughed maniacally. "Before I knew about Lead Poisoning, I thought the same way you do!"
"However, before I kill you," Zephyr's brow furrowed slightly, "do you know Dragon? Take me to him." These brazen individuals might not be easy to make talk. He would have to use some methods.
But.
"Dragon? Oh! I know him!" A man laughed deliriously. "The son of the Marine hero who's been hanging out with that Trafalgar guy, right? Hahahaha! So funny, they seem to have invited quite a few people over."
"You really do know!" Zephyr nodded slightly, unsurprised.
"Hehehehe! Not just know! How about I help you find them?" the man said, grinning.
"What?" Zephyr was genuinely startled by this guy's words. What did this guy mean? He didn't seem to be giving in due to fear at all.
"Those cowards who planned to just wait for death from the start are one thing, but the most disgusting ones are those invited by Trafalgar! They said they wanted revenge, but then they couldn't bring themselves to do it!" The man's bloodshot eyes fixed on Zephyr. "Heh heh, Marines, you'll help us, right? Your justice will surely make them face reality, right? Hehehehehe! Go and make them understand that no matter what, we Flevance people only have a path to death! Revenge, at least it's a valuable way to die! Hehehehehe!"
Zephyr's fist clenched suddenly.
Madmen! The most insane pirates he had ever seen were nowhere near the level of derangement of these Flevance people! More than a year ago, they were just law-abiding civilians...
Zephyr slowly exhaled. He had seen the most fanatical Flevance people. Now, he would go see the slightly more orderly ones.
New World, Velvet Island, Stussy's base, home to the New World's famous Pleasure Quarter.
A large snail rested on the sea near the island's shore. The appearance of this giant snail brought tremendous shock to the bustling island. After all, by now, it was no secret that Roa the Calamity had taken over the Germa Kingdom and was gallivanting around the New World with his Snail Grand Fleet.
How could the Calamity, with a bounty that had soared to three billion Berries, suddenly appear here? The originally excited people instantly calmed down, each too scared to utter a sound. They then remembered that the owner here, Stussy, was also once a high-ranking cadre of the Rocks Pirates. Could it be that Roa was here to revive the Rocks Pirates?
Of course, this world was never short of people who were a bit dense.
Roa casually pointed, and bolts of lightning struck down, instantly incinerating all the pirates who were yelling and charging towards the shore. At the same time, he held a Den Den Mushi in his other hand, talking to someone.
"So, Zephyr is about to make contact with Dragon and his group?" Roa said leisurely.
"Yes, Boss!" Morgans chuckled. "The Liberty Army, which was only formed a few days ago, is probably about to face annihilation. That guy Dragon is indeed a future star of the Marines, but he's no match for Zephyr."
Roa agreed that Dragon was no match for Zephyr. In the original story, Dragon never actually fought, earning him the nickname "Sweating King" at one point. While he certainly pushed the Celestial Dragons into a desperate situation, he had no actual combat record to speak of. But no matter how strong he would be in the future, at his current age, he couldn't possibly defeat Zephyr, who had refocused his convictions. Not to mention Zephyr also brought Akainu. It was even debatable if Dragon could defeat Akainu.
However, would the Liberty Army really face annihilation?
"Let's look forward to it, Morgans. Just leave everything to the wind." Roa smiled. "Perhaps the final outcome will completely deviate from our expectations."
"Oh? Boss! It seems you have some inside information again!" Morgans' tone was exaggerated. "Then I'll certainly look forward to it!"
"By the way, Boss," Morgans added, "Latest news, Hachinosu Island seems to be looking for you."
"Hachinosu Island?" Roa raised an eyebrow. "Wang Zhi?"
"Of course, it's him."
"Interesting." Roa's eyes narrowed slightly. Hachinosu Island, it had been a long time since he'd been back there.
Soon, Stussy hurried back to the snail's back from the island.
"I got them, Roa-oniisan." The beautiful woman carefully took out two Devil Fruits from her handbag. One was black, shaped like a peach, with many canine-like protrusions and the usual spiral patterns. The other was white, like a pineapple, with protrusions shaped like snowflakes. One was a Mythical Zoan, and the other a Logia. The World Government had urgently sent them to Stussy. He wondered how they managed to deliver them so quickly; did they dispatch the Holy Knights?
Stussy introduced them: "Dog-Dog Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Cerberus Form! And the Logia Snow-Snow Fruit."
"Oh?" Roa raised an eyebrow. Both were Devil Fruits that had appeared in the original story. And they both seemed to be somewhat lacking in prestige. The Cerberus Fruit was fed to Shamrock's prized blade, known as the "Dog-Mouth Sword"; its specific abilities were still unknown. As for the Snow-Snow Fruit, it was presumably granted by the government to someone, then that person was defeated, the fruit reappeared, and was later obtained by Doflamingo's subordinate, Monet, in the original story. This fruit was an inferior version of Aokiji's Ice-Ice Fruit and wasn't particularly outstanding in the original work.
"Good," Roa commented nonetheless. Getting a Mythical Zoan for free, regardless of its strength, was a huge profit anyway. As for the Snow-Snow Fruit, the government naturally wouldn't give Stussy an overly powerful fruit for free. However, it was perfectly sufficient for Stussy; a Logia ability was inherently not too weak.
"I like it too," Stussy said, toying with the Snow-Snow Fruit. "Flying snow can also be a calamity." Her voice was soft and lingering, and her long eyelashes, in Roa's gaze, seemed to be plucking at his heartstrings.
Siren, perturbing my resolve! Roa took a deep breath. His heart was pounding. Although he knew Stussy's intentions, a teenager's hormones were just that irrational.
No! I can't let this continue!
Roa's eyes hardened, and he embraced Stussy tightly.
Siren, I need you to help me with my training!