Their Respective Unorthodox Moves

What they didn't know was that Zephyr and the others weren't the only ones watching the footage captured by the Den Den Mushi on the island.

In Marineford, Kong, Sengoku, and some vice admirals who happened to have no assignments had gathered for the rare occasion as well.

Besides them, there were the commanders and adjutants of the various G-branch bases, as well as Garp, who was on some unnamed island and had made a point of taking two days off to watch his son perform.

In the distance behind Garp stood eight great mountains, one of which had already lost its peak.

It had to be said that Zephyr's plan had provided these high-ranking Marine officers with some quality entertainment.

The Four Blues didn't get the same treatment.

"So those are the Logia users? The Magma-Magma Fruit really is powerful," Fleet Admiral Kong remarked as he watched the high-definition footage in midair.

In the footage, Sakazuki unleashed a terrifying magma fist that engulfed two pirates charging at him. Screaming, they and their swords gradually melted into ash.

Kong didn't say anything about Sakazuki being too eager to kill, though. After all, the pirates who had died at his own hands numbered in the thousands.

Meanwhile, Borsalino, shown in another feed, had yet to encounter anyone. He strolled along with both hands in his pockets.

"By the way, how is Vidal's adopted son, Bullet, doing? Didn't Vidal send a report under Cornell's name, asking for Garp to take Bullet as his disciple?"

"He's enrolled already, but I want to see how he actually performs before telling Garp about it," Sengoku replied, turning his head.

"That way, if Bullet isn't as good as they say, that bastard Garp won't come looking to give me trouble. Let's observe him for a year first."

"What if he really is the superlative physical combat genius described in the report?" Fleet Admiral Kong asked with a smile.

"Then all the better. If Garp won't take him, Zephyr or I can," Sengoku said seriously.

"Huh?"

Just then, an exclamation from one of the vice admirals watching with them caught the attention of the two top brass. "Look, what's Borsalino doing?"

Although there wasn't a soul around Borsalino in the footage, he activated his fruit ability, transformed into a beam of golden light, and flew into the sky.

"Isn't he just revealing his position by doing that?"

But everyone soon found out what he was up to. On the warship off Z Island, Zephyr watched the footage, his face darkening.

"That bastard is trying to slack off!"

As it turned out, once Borsalino reached a certain altitude, he flew straight toward the center of the island, and at considerable speed.

Why should I walk all the way there and fight those pirates who are bound to be fierce? Borsalino thought, pursing his lips as he flew in the form of a golden flash. What a hassle!

I might as well wait for them in the center and fight whoever shows up. Maybe no one will be left by the end. They might all beat each other up out there.

At that moment, he became the star of the show. It wasn't just the people watching the live broadcast who were surprised by his actions.

The other forty-nine cadets and the pirates on Z Island were also looking up at the golden meteor streaking across the sky.

Vidal and Sakazuki recognized him at a glance. Dragon and the others who hadn't met him could more or less guess who it was too; after all, they all knew he was the Glint-Glint Fruit user.

"Wow, isn't that a bit much?"

Vidal admitted he was envious. In some respects, Borsalino's ability really was more convenient than his Forest-Forest Fruit.

That meant the bastard could just drink fresh water and eat fruit in the central area, taking it easy while waiting for the others to tire themselves out, couldn't he?

He might even get to sleep for half the day or so.

[Bang!]

"Hm?"

A gunshot suddenly rang out. Vidal turned his face slightly, and an instant later, something whistled past his ear and struck the ground behind him.

On a small hillside in the distance, the pirate holding a long musket saw that he had missed. His expression darkened, and he quickly changed position, hiding behind another part of the hill.

"Damn it, how did I miss? His attention was clearly focused on the sky!"

He had always been confident in his marksmanship. Before his capture, he had been a reasonably well-known gunslinger in the West Blue, often taking assassination contracts issued by gangs.

He had even hunted down some Devil Fruit users thanks to a Seastone Bullet he had obtained by chance. Unfortunately, it had been confiscated after his capture!

"Attacking without a sound and firing from ambush. Pirates really are despicable." A calm voice drifted into his ears, and the pirate's expression changed drastically.

"This is bad!"

[Crack—]

Just as he instinctively tried to move away, a bare tree trunk suddenly burst from the ground beneath his feet.

"Wh-what is this?!"

In the blink of an eye, the twisted trunk bound his entire body tightly. A moment later, green branches and leaves sprouted from it.

Just like that, the first living tree appeared on Z Island!

Except its trunk was spiral-shaped, with a living person wrapped inside it and only his head sticking out.

"Stop struggling and save your strength." At some point, Vidal's figure, standing over three meters tall, had appeared in front of the pirate.

The pirate saw that no matter how he struck it with the butt of his musket, he couldn't so much as chip the bark. He looked up in despair.

"C-can you spare me?"

Even he thought it was impossible as he asked. After all, he had been fully intent on killing Vidal earlier. But to his surprise, Vidal gave him a friendly smile.

"Sure."

"R-really?!" The pirate's face lit up with delight, and hope of survival stirred in his heart once more.

"Yeah. Now listen carefully." Vidal looked into his eyes and said, "The purpose of this free-for-all is to determine the last three people standing. I assume you know that."

"Yes, yes, yes!" The pirate nodded repeatedly.

"So I don't want to waste too much energy before the final battle. If you want to live, you'll have to follow my orders and fight for me!"

The pirate was stunned. What kind of unorthodox move was this? A Marine wanted a pirate like him to fight for him?

"Not just you. I'll try not to kill the other pirates I meet, either. You'll have some temporary 'teammates' then," Vidal continued.

"That way, won't your chances of surviving to the end be greater? I can also save myself a lot of energy and trouble."

With that, his gaze turned cold, and he asked with a smile, "Are you in?"

The pirate swallowed nervously. He knew that if he said no, he would die on the spot.

Did he even need to think about it?

"I'm in!" The pirate nodded emphatically. A wretched life was better than a good death. Every extra second alive counted, and as long as he lived, he had a chance!

"Let me warn you: you can attack me again, but you'll only get one chance." Vidal controlled the tree to push him out from inside.

"I understand." The pirate repeatedly voiced his agreement, his face full of fear.

"All right, let's go find you a few teammates. You alone aren't much use. Of course, if you know where anyone is, you can tell me," Vidal said with a smile.

"I do, I do!"

The armed pirate hurriedly pointed in a direction and said, "I saw three people over there earlier. They were wearing prison uniforms, just like me."

"Good. Lead the way!"

The smile on Vidal's face grew even brighter. In his view, he couldn't just focus on fighting in this free-for-all; he also had to show what he could do in other areas.

After all, his goal wasn't just to become an Admiral, but a Fleet Admiral, a rank above that!

The exciting Z Island free-for-all had officially begun! If you have ideas for the plot, could you share them for discussion? Maybe... I could even copy—oh, no, take inspiration from them, right? (Just kidding.)

Those of you with recommendation votes, don't forget to give them to me. This new book of ours is still very young and needs everyone's tender care. There's a long way to go yet!

Also, with this chapter, the book has reached exactly 100,000 Chinese characters, but it only has 580 bookmarks so far. Other books have over a thousand by the time they reach 100,000.

I'm honestly pretty disappointed. I thought my writing wasn't good enough. Sigh, my only hope now is that this round of recommendations does better. Friends who have read this far, if you think it's decent, please bookmark it. Thank you.