Chapter 564 - 404

Chapter 405: The Strongest Enemy Z (Part I)Let's move our camera away from that place filled with the aroma of roasted meat and cheerful laughter, and turn to a... uh, godforsaken deserted island several hundred nautical miles away from Zou."Plop—!!"A charred thing, in a super undignified posture, slapped face-down onto the soft sand, kicking up a large cloud of sand.The waves washed over him time and again, as if performing his final baptism.If there were any Marine biologists present, they would surely go crazy with joy, thinking they had discovered a new species. Because this thing's appearance was simply too... abstract.It had a humanoid body and limbs, but its size was nearly that of a small whale.Its skin was a charred black from being struck too hard by lightning, and it was still emitting wisps of blue smoke.This thing was none other than Jack, the Great Signof the Beasts Pirates, who had just experienced the "Straw Hat Luffy New World One-Day Tour VIP Package."One has to admit, the vitality of an awakened Ancient Zoan Devil Fruit user is truly a damn bug.After tanking that Advanced Armament Hakiwhich could annihilate everything, then free-falling at high speed from the sky for several hours, and finally landing face-first...After such a series of events, a normal person would have died three hundred times over, yet Jackwas actually still hanging on by a thread.Although this breath of life was only slightly better than nothing.The bones throughout his body were like a pile of crushed crackers, his internal organs were likely a mess of mush, and the only thing proving he was alive was that heartbeat, so weak it was almost imperceptible.Just as Comrade Jack lay on the beach quietly reflecting."Who am I?""Where am I?""What just happened?"At that moment, a burst of cheerful conversation drifted over from behind the nearby reefs."Brothers! See that! This is the New World! This is the charm of extreme sea fishing!""That Armored Tyrannosaurus Fish just now—if it weren't for the quick reactions of me, the Sea Fishing King A Niu, our boat would have been dragged to the bottom of the sea by it!"A man who looked quite comical, wearing a flashy fishing suit, was holding an image den den mushiand livestreaming with spittle flying everywhere."Old friends, keep the gifts coming! Give me a follow! Want to see me take on Sea Kings with a fishing rod? If you do, type '666' in the public chat!"Behind him, his two other companions were skillfully processing the strange fish they had caught while unable to help but complain."I say, A Niu, can you stop bragging? If that fish hadn't knocked itself out by hitting the reef, we'd be livestreaming from the bottom of the ocean right now.""Exactly! Taking on Sea Kings... last time that Giant Sea Rabbit almost melted your fishing rod."The man called A Niu didn't even blush, continuing to brag to the camera:"Amateurs! You guys are just amateurs! This is called tactics! Understand? Utilizing the terrain's advantage is the basic literacy of us professional fishermen!"Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed that massive "illegal construction" on the beach."Huh?"A Niu froze for a moment, then his eyes lit up. He immediately pointed the camera over there and said in a low, extremely excited voice:"Family! Family! It's appeared! It's appeared! On the beach ahead, a giant unidentified stranded creature has been discovered!""Estimated body length over ten meters! Appearance is super rare! This... could this be the legendary... Mammoth Sea Kong?!"His two companions also leaned in curiously."Holy crap! It really is! What new species of Sea King is this? Its looks are too abstract, right? It looks like it's been blown up.""Look at that metal jaw, and those tusks... hiss, why does this look a bit familiar to me?"One of the fishermen, who was a bit more knowledgeable, scratched his head, feeling like he had seen this "new species" somewhere before.He rummaged through his backpack for a long time and pulled out a tattered bounty poster booklet.He flipped through the pages one by one, muttering to himself."Donquixote Doflamingo... doesn't look like him. Gekko Moriah... even less so. Trafalgar Law... the size doesn't match..."Suddenly, his hand stopped, and his whole body seemed petrified, motionless."Hey, A Qiang, what's wrong? Did you find it? How much is this thing worth?"Sea Fishing King A Niu was still excitedly calculating.The man called A Qiang slowly and extremely stiffly raised his head. His face was pale, his lips were trembling, and he pointed at a page in the booklet, then at the charred figure on the beach, his voice shaking."Niu... Brother Niu... This... this isn't a fish...""Nonsense! If it's not a fish, is it a person?""He... he's... he really is a damn person!!!"A Qiang practically cried out."Beasts Pirates... Great Sign... Jack... Bounty... One... One billion Berries!!!"...The air instantly froze.The smile on A Niu's face stiffened, and the image den den mushi in his hand fell to the ground with a "clatter," the livestream instantly going black.Three people, six eyes, stared blankly at that unconscious, humanoid natural disaster worth one billion, their brains collectively crashing.Fear, like a cold tide, instantly submerged them."If... if he wakes up, we're all dead, right?""Dead? That would be getting off easy! Didn't you see what it says on the bounty poster? 'Wherever he goes, it's like a drought demon passing through, not a single blade of grass remains'! We might be sucked dry alive by him!"However, after the extreme fear passed, an even crazier emotion—greed—erupted like a volcano!One billion Berries!!!What kind of concept was that?!It meant they could buy every bubble car on the entire Sabaody Archipelago!They could walk tall in any shipyard in Water 7!They could even go to the plaza in front of the Holy Land Mary Geoise... spit on the ground, and then run away!"Should... should we do it?"A Niu swallowed hard, a dangerous light gleaming in his eyes."How?! He's Jack! Even if the three of us were added together, it wouldn't be enough to fill the gaps between his teeth!""But he's unconscious now! Look at him, he's clearly seriously injured! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"A battle began to rage within the three of them.Reason told them to run, but another voice in their heads was screaming: We're rich, we're rich!Finally, it was A Qiang who slapped his thigh and came up with a damn genius idea!"We... we report him!""Huh?"The other two were completely bewildered."Think about it!"A Qiang became more and more excited as he spoke."We can't beat him, but the Marines can! We just need to make a call, and the Marines will come and take him away. Won't we get a share of that bounty?!""That makes sense!"A Niu suddenly saw the light. He immediately picked up the den den mushi from the ground and tremblingly dialed the Marine reporting hotline."Hello... is this the Marine?"A lazy voice came from the other end of the den den mushi:"This is the Marineford New World G-5 Branch. If you have something to say, say it quickly. I'm busy playing cards.""I... I'm reporting something!"A Niu took a deep breath and shouted with all his might."I've discovered a super large... illegal construction on a deserted island in the XX sea area!!!"The Marine on the other end was clearly taken aback:"What's that? Illegal construction? You've got the wrong number, haven't you? We're the Marines, not urban management.""No! It's an illegal construction!"A Niu got anxious, fearing the other party would hang up."He... he looks like a person, but he's bigger than a house! He has tusks and a metal jaw! Most importantly... he's worth one billion!!!""...Beep... beep... beep..."The call was hung up.A Niu held the den den mushi blankly, looking at his companions in dismay.It seemed that getting this bounty wouldn't be as easy as they thought.——————————On the other side of the New World, a massive, jet-black submarine with a menacing design was silently navigating the deep sea.This was the flagship of the NEO Marines.Inside the flagship, the atmosphere was suffocatingly oppressive.Zephyr, the former Admiral and now the man who made the whole world tremble, was alone, quietly wiping his massive Sea Stone mechanical prosthetic limb—the smash.His movements were incredibly earnest and full of ritual, as if he weren't wiping a weapon, but a tombstone.Behind him stood his two most capable subordinates, Ain and Binz.Looking at their teacher's lonely and resolute back, Ain finally couldn't help but speak, her voice trembling slightly."Teacher... do you really have to do this?""Destroying all the [End Points] in the New World might eliminate the vast majority of pirates, but... it will also involve countless innocent civilians.""This... this is different from the justice you once taught us..."Zephyr's wiping motion paused, but he didn't turn around."Ain,"His voice was hoarse and low, like the scraping of rusted iron."The justice I taught you was to protect civilians. I have never forgotten that."He slowly turned around, a fire of madness burning in his cloudy eyes."But—!""When the cancer of piracy has already spread to every corner of the world, when the very people who make the rules are themselves condoning evil and acting in collusion, any mild treatment becomes meaningless!"His voice suddenly rose, filled with suppressed rage."The pain of scraping the bone to cure the poison is the only choice!""As for the civilians... that is a necessary sacrifice that must be made... to usher in a New Worldwithout pirates!"In Zephyr's eyes, phantoms of his tragically murdered wife and child flashed by. The bone-deep pain caused the veins to bulge on the hand gripping the smash."I... have long since had no way back!"Seeing the unshakeable sorrow and resolve in their teacher's eyes, Ain and Binz's hearts trembled.They looked at each other, seeing hesitation and reluctance in each other's eyes.They remembered the gentle elder who used to smile and hand them towels and drinks after training;They remembered the hero who, when they were lost, would clap his broad black arm on their shoulders and tell them, 'The road of justice is long, but we will arrive.'But in the end, their bone-deep trust and reverence for their mentor overrode all the doubts in their hearts.They knew how deep the despair must be to drive a hero to this point."Clack!"Ain and Binz snapped their feet together and straightened their backs at the same time, giving Teacher Zephyr the most standard and impeccable Marine salute!"We are willing to follow Teacher Zephyr!""To sweep away the evils of this world, we will not hesitate even in the face of ten thousand deaths!!!"Their voices echoed in the empty room, firm and resolute.Zephyr looked at the two students before him, a flash of gratification in his eyes, but more than that, an unspeakable sorrow.He raised the cold smash, pointing to the first island marked with a red circle on the sea chart."Target, the first [End Point]—Fas Island.""The overture of destruction shall begin there."