"Umi wa mite iru sekai no hajimari mo
Umi wa shitte iru sekai no owari mo.
Dakara izanau susumubeki michi e to.
Dakara michibiku tadashii sekai e..."
On a deserted island in the New World, Zephyr sat on the railing of his ship, drinking alone and humming his favorite song, "Ocean Guide."
"Zephyr-sensei." A young woman walked up behind him. She was wearing a white Marine recruit uniform and was no older than fifteen. She had sharp, shoulder-length hair and large, sparkling eyes that could rival a stage actress's.
This was one of Zephyr's students from his current batch. Her name was Ain, a user of the Paramecia-type Return-Return Fruit and had considerable strength.
Zephyr stopped humming and placed the bottle to the side, wiping the drops of alcohol from his lips. "The World Government, is it?"
"Yes, please head to the Punk Hazard sea area to rendezvous." Ain requested respectfully.
Punk Hazard was a lush, prehistoric jungle island rich in resources and controlled by the Marines. It was also located very close to the starting point of the New World, so there was a high possibility that the Heavenly Tribute would pass through there on its way to Mariejois. For this reason, it was chosen as the primary rendezvous point for all of the Heavenly Tribute in the New World. Once all of the treasure was gathered there, it would then be transported to Mariejois in one go.
As for the Heavenly Tribute from the World Government's member nations in the first half of the Grand Line, that was Zephyr's responsibility. He was in charge of the New World's portion.
"Sigh…" Zephyr let out a rare long sigh. He hated this mission from the bottom of his heart. The things he was escorting belonged to those garbage Celestial Dragons.
"Urgh!" Zephyr's expression suddenly tensed. He quickly took out the tranquilizer from his coat pocket and sprayed it into his mouth. His face gradually returned to normal.
'Damn it, a little bit of motivation is all it takes to…' Zephyr thought angrily.
"Zephyr-sensei…" Ain said with concern. This was Zephyr's last batch of students. After he finished teaching them, he had decided to resign and would not take on any new students.
"I'm fine. Let's go. To Punk Hazard," Zephyr said, waving his hand. The thousands of Guerrilla Unit members under his command quickly assembled in a well-trained manner.
'I'll just think of it as collecting trash!' Zephyr thought to himself, relegating the Heavenly Tribute to the category of "trash."
....
In Alucard's territory, inside the castle ruins of the Arderay Kingdom, a Den Den Mushi with the same curved sunglasses and pink feather coat as Doflamingo was placed on a small wine table
next to Alucard. It mimicked Doflamingo's expression and voice perfectly, saying, "The location is confirmed. The final rendezvous point is Punk Hazard. Zephyr and the CP-0 will lead the escort to Mariejois. It's the perfect time to make a move."
Alucard pressed the Den Den Mushi's shell, stood up, and walked out of the castle. As a crowd of people watched eagerly, he waved his hand and said, "Let's go."
These simple two words made Wolf, Stragus, and the others' eyes light up with excitement.
Meanwhile, on the Kuja Pirates' ship in the New World, since the Yonko were constantly monitored, a full-scale assault would surely attract the Marines' attention. So the Kuja only sent out one ship.
"It's been so long since I've been on a mission with my Master. I-I'm so excited~" In her private room, Hancock held her hands to her face, wiggling her body in excitement.
Viola was the hidden second-in-command of the Kuja Pirates. Her powerful observation abilities made her an essential part of the mission. The two sisters were also separated for this mission, as Sandersonia remained on Amazon Lily. Her strength was not yet enough to participate in this battle.
The two pirate crews planned to rendezvous first before moving on.
Ignoring Hancock's almost-overwhelming enthusiasm, Viola, after hearing her sister's "hee hee" sounds multiple times, felt a faint blush on her brown face when she saw Alucard. She quickly began her reconnaissance work. "One o'clock direction, two hundred nautical miles, there's a Marine battleship. Judging by the commander's rank, he's a Rear Admiral."
"Sink it."
Any ship that dared to enter a Yonko's territory was undoubtedly for surveillance. While Big Mom and Whitebeard's crews might have internal spies, Alucard's forces didn't have to worry about that with Viola on their side. The incident with Laliya was a lesson the Kuja Pirates learned the hard way.
....
"Fleet Admiral Kong, all five of the battleships sent to monitor the Yonko Alucard have lost contact in the last two days," an officer reported in the Fleet Admiral's office.
"Is the Alucard Pirates planning to attack? Who are they going after?" Kong's expression was grave. He wasn't thinking about the Heavenly Tribute because it was top secret, and Alucard's style of operation wasn't about money, but about killing. It was no wonder Kong was thinking this way.
"Well… We don't have any intel yet," the officer said with a difficult expression.
Thump!
Just then, another Marine soldier walked in and reported, "Fleet Admiral Kong, the Donquixote Pirates have left their temporary base. We haven't been able to figure out their objective yet."
"Then find out!" Kong scolded him sternly.
"Yes!" The Marine soldier quickly responded and ran out to investigate.