Zephyr and the Recruit Camp

Another day passed, and the Flying Pirates finally found a place where they could gather raw materials.

Although the Flying Pirates had little contact with the sea below, it wasn't entirely nonexistent. With things like Den Den Mushi, it wasn't difficult to gather information even from tens of thousands of meters in the sky.

"Found it! This should be the origin of the Mandora Fruit, and it's the most crucial ingredient in the entire potion," Dr. Indigo said, holding a giant telescope and looking down at the sea from a mountain peak on the Floating Island.

"Kyahahahahaha! Then, I'll go and move the island up now! After that, we can expand production and modify all those weaklings. The first step to ruling the world begins!"

Golden Lion was in a good mood and prepared to descend.

"Wait, Lord Shiki. There seem to be ships near the island below. They look like Navy ships! Should we avoid them?" Dr. Indigo took a closer look and said.

"Navy ships?" Golden Lion's voice carried a hint of nostalgia. "No need to avoid them anymore. I will tell these Navy dogs directly that Golden Lion has completely returned."

In the past, Golden Lion, in order to carry out his "great plan to destroy the East Blue," or perhaps due to a stroke, had always acted cautiously and had never been noticed by the Navy. Now, the recovered Golden Lion would no longer be so timid.

Minos, standing nearby, had a vague premonition, especially when Golden Lion said he had returned.

The Navy ship below must be hiding a big shot... otherwise, it wouldn't trigger my danger sense.

However, Minos wasn't afraid. After all, Golden Lion was there to take the brunt of it!

The top brass of the Navy basically each had their own ships; there was no possibility of two Marine Admirals sharing one ship. In other words, even if Golden Lion pulled that ship up, at most, only one top-tier combatant would appear. Under such circumstances, his own safety should be guaranteed.

A moment later, Golden Lion, who had already descended to the sea, activated his ability. The entire island began to rise continuously, becoming part of his floating island cluster. The Navy ship was also pulled up and thrown directly onto the island.

"Kyahahahahaha! Let me see which lucky Navy dog I've caught!"

Golden Lion laughed heartily as he walked towards the ship that had run aground on the shore. Then, with a boom, the entire deck of the Navy ship suddenly exploded. A cannonball the size of a human head crashed onto him with a roar, exploding completely.

This... could it be Garp? Seeing the scene of him throwing a bomb, Minos gripped his weapon and guessed inwardly.

"Golden Lion, you bastard, you're not dead yet!" A mighty roar echoed as a Navy general with purple hair, a muscular physique, and a white Justice coat on his back walked out. His wrists were covered in dense, black Armament Haki.

"Kyahahahahaha! So it's Zephyr! Where's your original ship? Why did you switch to this kind of ship?"

As the smoke from the explosion gradually dissipated, Golden Lion, who was unharmed, appeared. The cannonball from before seemed to have hit Golden Lion directly, but in reality, it had already been split in half by Golden Lion before that. Coupled with the defense of Armament Haki, Golden Lion naturally suffered no damage.

"Hmph," Zephyr snorted, a flash of anger in his eyes. Golden Lion's words had hit a sore spot.

Marine Admirals, and even some powerful Vice Admirals with long service records, had their own independent modified ships. Just like Garp had his own dog-head ship, Zephyr was no exception.

But that was when he was on the front lines. Later, after Zephyr's family was killed by pirates, he withdrew from the front lines and transferred to teaching, becoming a Marine Instructor.

Naturally, after withdrawing from the front lines, his powerful private modified warship could no longer be used. Now, Zephyr usually sailed on training ships, which looked no different from the ships used by ordinary Captains.

This was also why Golden Lion hadn't recognized it at first. Precisely because it was a small warship used by a Captain, Golden Lion hadn't even used Observation Haki.

Because of Golden Lion's words, and thinking of his deceased family, Zephyr's expression turned very grim. "I thought you had died somewhere unknown after escaping from prison! I didn't expect you to reappear after lying low for ten years... Wait!"

Zephyr glanced at Golden Lion, whose body was intact and had no ship's wheel on his head, and his eyes widened: "You, you actually recovered from your injuries!"

Although Zephyr hadn't witnessed Golden Lion's injuries firsthand, he had heard about them. Both the severed leg and the ship's wheel on his head were extremely severe injuries. It could be said that it wouldn't be surprising if Golden Lion died at any moment.

This was also why, for the past ten years, Golden Lion hadn't appeared, and Marine Headquarters hadn't been suspicious. In their minds, this Great Pirate from the previous era had probably already died quietly in some corner.

However, Zephyr now found that Golden Lion not only hadn't died but had also recovered from all his injuries. Judging by his aura, he seemed even more powerful than during his peak.

"This is really troublesome now," Zephyr muttered.

Since his family died, Zephyr had retreated to the sidelines, his will had become depressed, and his strength had declined significantly. He had initially thought that Golden Lion, with his severe injuries, would be in an even worse state than him. He never expected Golden Lion to have fully recovered, which inevitably filled his heart with worry.

He didn't worry about himself. After all, he was already old and had lost his entire family, so he naturally had nothing to be concerned about.

But his students...

"Teacher Zephyr! We're here to help you!" Just then, a group of Marine soldiers surged out from the ship's cabin. Although they wore Marine soldier uniforms, their auras were vastly different from before.

These people were, of course, not ordinary Marine soldiers but reserve officers from the Marine Training Camp, or rather, the cream of the crop for this batch of Marines.

However, even if they might become the pillars of the Marines in the future, it couldn't change the fact that they were currently just a group of slightly stronger grunts.

Looking at his group of students behind him, Zephyr's expression was incredibly grim. Golden Lion, on the other hand, couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Zephyr, are you expecting these little brats behind you to help you defeat me?!"

The current strength of these guys wasn't even enough to defeat the Scraps and Rags under Golden Lion's command. They hadn't even awakened Armament Haki. In the battle between Zephyr and Golden Lion, these people wouldn't be able to help; instead, they would become a burden.