Night fell, blanketing the sea in a cold, damp breeze. On the deck of the Marine flagship, the silence was heavy enough to crush.
Smoker lit one cigar after another, the thick, acrid smoke swirling around him like his own agitated thoughts. Nearby, Hina leaned against the ship's rail, the delicate cigarette between her fingers glowing erratically in the dark. The soldiers stood at their posts in silence, their eyes occasionally drifting toward the horizon as they waited for any sign of their leader.
Time crawled by, one agonizing minute at a time.
Suddenly, the jarring ring of a Transponder Snail shattered the oppressive quiet. Smoker snatched the still-purring device and answered it with an impatient grunt. The snail's features immediately morphed to mimic the sharp, scowling face of CP9 Commander Spandine.
"Hey! What in the world are you Marines doing?!" Spandine's voice screeched from the receiver. "Why haven't you landed on the island yet? Are you just going to sit there and let the Devil Child escape?!"
Spandine had just received a report that the Marine fleet was still anchored miles off the coast of Ambri Island, making no move to advance. If they didn't act, he wouldn't get any credit to present to the Five Elders. The thought of his missed promotion sent him into a rage, and he had called to demand an explanation.
His tirade was met with a disdainful snort from Smoker. "It's not your place to tell us how to do our jobs, you CP9 rats. Go back to hiding in the gutters where you belong."
Before the stunned Spandine could reply, the hot-headed Marine captain slammed the receiver down, cutting the connection. Teacher Zephyr had given them their final order: wait on standby. As soldiers, they followed military command. CP9 meant nothing to them.
"Damn it!!"
Inside CP9's temporary command post, Spandine furiously smashed the Transponder Snail's receiver onto the table. "A bunch of useless Marines! Just you wait! When I catch Nico Robin, I'll be sure to tell the Five Elders all about your incompetence!"
"Sir… what should we do now?" a surviving agent asked cautiously.
Spandine whirled on him. "What else can we do?! We wait, you idiot!" he cursed, before turning his glare on Who's-Who, who was huddled in a corner like a stray dog. If it hadn't been for that fool's reckless ambition, most of their elite agents wouldn't have been wiped out, and they wouldn't be in this powerless position. Even with Takero off the island, their numbers were too low to risk another assault.
Who's-Who knew he was at fault and lowered his head, not daring to speak. Across the room, Rob Lucci watched the scene with cold indifference, as if he were merely an observer to their failure.
"I just hope… that old man Zephyr knows what he's doing," Spandine muttered. With no other options, he had to place all his faith in the Marines.
More time passed. The sun had long since disappeared, and a bright, full moon climbed high into the night sky, casting a cool silver light across the water.
"Do you think… something went wrong?" Hina finally asked, extinguishing her cigarette. She couldn't hide the worry in her voice.
"No way!" Smoker's tone was firm. "Teacher's strength is among the greatest on this sea. There's no way that brat could be his opponent."
Hina sighed and looked up at the sky. "Well… tonight's moon is certainly round…"
Before she could finish, a panicked shout echoed from the crow's nest. "Someone's coming from the southeast sky! Someone's flying this way!"
Every Marine on deck snapped their heads in that direction. In the next second, their eyes widened in shock. Silhouetted against the cool moonlight, a young, black-haired man was flying toward them at incredible speed.
And slung over his shoulder was the unmistakable form of their legendary former Admiral—'Black Arm' Zephyr.
The sight was so unbelievable, so utterly impossible, that it broke the discipline of the soldiers. One of them mumbled in a daze, his voice barely a whisper. "Admiral… Admiral Zephyr… he lost…"
Everyone stared, paralyzed, as the young man descended slowly from the sky, their minds unable to process what they were seeing.
Takero didn't seem to care what the Marines were thinking. He hovered above the flagship's deck and casually tossed Zephyr's unconscious body downward, his tone as flat as if he were returning a borrowed book.
"Here's your old man back. He's pretty banged up. You should probably get him treated before he kicks the bucket."
It was Smoker who broke out of the collective shock. He instantly transformed into a column of white smoke, darting forward to catch Zephyr's heavy body before it hit the deck.
"Medics! Now!" he roared at the still-dazed soldiers, cradling his weakly breathing teacher. "Get him the highest level of emergency treatment immediately!"
His orders jolted the others back to life. They scrambled into action, carefully carrying Zephyr below deck to the medical bay. Once his teacher was in safe hands, Smoker slowly turned around. He looked up at the black-haired young man floating above them, his eyes burning with a mixture of anger, helplessness, and disbelief.
"Teacher Zephyr… actually lost to you…" He couldn't begin to imagine the shockwaves that news would send across the world.
Takero simply picked at his ear, completely unfazed by Smoker's murderous glare. "Alright, you've got him back," he said with a yawn, looking bored. "I should go find something to eat."
With that, he turned, and a crimson streak of light shot across the night sky, disappearing in an instant.
"What?! Zephyr was defeated?!"
When Spandine received the news from his informant among the Marines, he leaped from his chair. The teacup in his hand fell and shattered on the floor. Without a moment's hesitation, he rushed to his communication equipment and used the highest-level encrypted line to contact the Room of Authority in Mary Geoise.
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