The heat of the battlefield intensified. The Donquixote Pirates knew that compared to a Yonko's crew, they were at a disadvantage in every way. They focused all their energy on transporting the Heavenly Tribute, planning to take their share and retreat immediately.
Zephyr, who had already run a few hundred meters away, stopped short when he saw that Alucard was blocking his path again. He stood his ground, saying nothing, while Alucard slowly walked toward him. Zephyr stayed on guard but was also curious about what the other man wanted to do.
When Alucard came to a stop beside Zephyr, their shoulders level, he suddenly opened his mouth and said a few words in a low voice that made Zephyr's expression turn serious.
"You… What did you mean by that?" Zephyr half-turned his head to ask.
"You'll see everything there, and then you'll tell me your decision." Alucard left without turning back. "I'll let you off the hook this time. Remember to pay me back for this favor."
Zephyr clenched his jaw, deciding to temporarily cast aside Alucard's words. He rushed to where Ain and the others were. The thousand-plus Marine recruits he had brought with him had already lost half their numbers. When the Marines saw Zephyr's arrival, it was as if a mountain had appeared to shield them, and they instantly felt relieved.
"By Alucard-sama's order, he has reached an agreement with Zephyr. The Marines will no longer be part of the battle. After we take care of the CP-0 agents, we will quickly seize the Tribute," Stragus ordered.
The pirates heard this and began to retreat. Seeing Zephyr's back, the Marines said in disbelief, "Zephyr-… Sensei, did you make a deal with a pirate?"
In every Marine's heart, Zephyr was the most righteous and incorruptible Marine, holding himself to the most stringent standards in his every action. Making a deal with a pirate was simply unimaginable.
"Don't worry about it! Just retreat now!" Zephyr shouted, leading his troops onto the ship. Even though he had many questions, Zephyr's position in the army was still unquestionable. Under his command, the retreat was carried out in an extremely orderly fashion. In just a few minutes, everyone had quickly fled the island with their injured and set sail from Punk Hazard.
"Zephyr! You bastard!" The CP-0 agents were furious when they saw the Marines, their most important guards, leave. Their faces turned green with rage.
"Fuffuffuffu… This is quite a sight to behold. The Marines are abandoning the government." Doflamingo didn't miss a single chance to taunt the government. He turned to a CP-0 agent wearing a red oni mask and asked, "May I ask, if you were to return safely and report this, what kind of punishment would Zephyr receive?"
"Hmph!" The man snorted and said nothing, but the animated expression on his mask indirectly gave the answer.
"Young Master!" Suddenly, the whirring of a helicopter came from the sky. Looking up, they saw Buffalo carrying Baby 5 in the air, shouting to Doflamingo, "Pica-sama and the others have already taken our share to the ship! We can retreat now!"
"Fuffuffuffu… Is that so? In that case, I won't interfere any longer." Doflamingo used his String- String Fruit ability to float up. He then said to the people below, "My apologies, but I'll be taking my leave. Fuffuffuffu…"
With that, Doflamingo retreated from the battlefield as fast as he could.
"Tch, that scheming Sea Scourge," Urdaha spat. He then said, "Forget it. After we kill the government's dogs, we'll take our share."
The battle quickly became a one-sided affair. In less than half an hour, all the government's special agents were annihilated. Now, only three of them remained, kneeling on the ground and on the verge of death. Their white CP-0 uniforms had been burned crimson, and each of them had serious injuries.
"Government dogs are the most worthless of all…" Urdaha said, raising his katana to decapitate the three of them.
"Wait." Urdaha's expression froze. He looked to the side and said in a daze, "Alucard-sama." Alucard walked up to the three men and said flatly, "These three are to be kept alive."
"W-why, Alucard-sama?" Urdaha and the others were confused. "They'll be of great use," Alucard said with a sinister smile.
Two hours later, Alucard's pirate ship was on its way back. When Hancock saw the numbers on the tally sheet, even her eyes, accustomed to her own immense wealth, twitched. She and her two sisters understood the Celestial Dragons' extravagance more than anyone, but they never expected that what they had witnessed was just the tip of the iceberg. The number on the sheet was enough to provide Amazon Lily with enough food and clothing for at least ten years. Most importantly, this was only the value of a single year's Heavenly Tribute.
"Ahahaha, we're rich, we're rich!" Urdaha grabbed a handful of gold coins from a treasure chest, scattering them and then grabbing another handful, unable to put them down. After repeating this several times, Urdaha stood up and raised his hand, shouting, "Men! Let's have a feast!"
"OHHH!!!"
In reality, Alucard and his crew only got about 30% to 40% of the total Heavenly Tribute. This was because they had only stolen the Heavenly Tribute from the government-affiliated nations in the North Blue, West Blue, and the New World.
As for the Heavenly Tribute from the East Blue, South Blue, and the first half of the Grand Line, another team was responsible for escorting it. But even so, this large sum of money was enough to drive anyone crazy.
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