Ku Knows Everything.

Gentle Fist: Air Bullet!

A technique Morito had created based on the principles of Flying Shigan, allowing Chakra to be fired into an enemy's body from a distance without sacrificing power.

Having distance meant having time to dodge, while accuracy and lethality became uncertain factors.

Fortunately, Vulture was unaware of Morito's abilities and had not guarded against it.

The attack struck home.

Vulture seemed to freeze in place as if his system had crashed. His pupils relaxed naturally, and the light gradually faded from his eyes.

His life force was extinguished. He was completely dead.

Even after killing Vulture, Morito's attack was not over.

He kicked Vulture in the chest, sending him flying toward the frozen, dilapidated pirate ship.

Crack!

Vulture's corpse landed directly on the ice sculptures of the Luo brothers.

Kuzan's Ice-Ice Fruit had frozen them from the outside inward. They were brittle and fragile, and the violent impact instantly shattered them into a floor of ice fragments.

"The corpse has been smashed into ice fragments. They shouldn't be able to determine the cause of death now, right?"

Morito muttered under his breath.

Ku understood everything clearly. Now that the loose ends had been cleaned up, he no longer had to worry about trouble later.

He had merely destroyed two frozen corpses by accident.

Morito turned and walked toward Kuzan. He crouched beside him and reached out to pat his face.

Whether it was the Marines or the Vulture Pirates, most of their attention had been focused on the main battlefield atop the glacier.

Most people had seen Vulture suddenly soar into the air, as if someone had thrown him onto the wrecked ship.

However, Vulture did not spread his wings and fly out again for a long time.

The answer was obvious. Vulture had lost. He was either dead or unconscious.

The commotion on the main battlefield died down, and the sounds from the warship's secondary battlefield also vanished.

Silence. Utter, deathly silence.

The scene aboard the warship seemed frozen in place. Everyone stood there blankly, even forgetting to deliver the final blow to their opponents.

"What happened? Wasn't Boss Vulture in the upper hand just now?"

"Could something have happened to Boss Vulture?"

"Don't make wild guesses! Our Vulture Pirates are one of the Golden Lion's main fleets. Don't you know how strong Boss Vulture is?"

"Then why hasn't Boss Vulture shown up yet?"

At those words, the pirates of the Vulture Pirates all turned their heads. The question had voiced what was in their hearts.

If Boss Vulture wasn't unconscious or dead, why had he crashed into that wrecked ship and then gone completely silent?

The Vulture Pirates' First Mate was no weakling and was proficient in Observation Haki.

Despite sensing repeatedly, he could not detect Vulture's presence.

Was he really dead?

Only the dead gave off not even the slightest trace of presence.

The air suddenly grew heavy.

With Vulture dead, there was no way their group could defeat the Marines.

After a brief silence, the Vulture Pirates' First Mate swung his saber, forcibly driving back Momonga and Kazan, who had joined forces against him.

"Retreat!"

Vulture was dead. There was no point in continuing the fight.

The pirates of the Vulture Pirates had arrived quickly, and they retreated just as quickly, vanishing from the edge of the glacier and snowfield in the blink of an eye like a receding tide.

Naval combat training was Morito and the others' mission, not the mission of the Marines aboard the warship.

The Marines aboard the warship would only offer assistance when absolutely necessary. Now that the Vulture Pirates had withdrawn, they would not help pursue them.

The more pirates they captured, the more military merit would be recorded. Everything depended on the personal ability of these Reserve Navy members.

Momonga, Kazan, and Ulysses were all injured, which was enough to show how powerful the Vulture Pirates were.

The three did not recklessly pursue the Vulture Pirates for merit. Instead, they quickly cleaned up the battlefield.

"It seems our worries were unnecessary."

"Indeed. There is no doubt about Kuzan's strength."

Momonga and Kazan had originally intended to finish off their opponents as quickly as possible and go help. They had not expected Kuzan to turn the tables and kill Vulture so quickly.

Momonga and Kazan exchanged glances, and both saw the shock in the other's eyes.

Sometimes, comparing people really was enough to make one despair.

Kuzan was not much older than the two of them. Momonga, especially, was a student in the third class of the Elite Class, just like Kuzan.

They had started from the same line, yet he could no longer even see Kuzan's back.

Kuzan was the genius with the best chance of becoming the fourth monster in the Naval Academy!

"Once this mission ends, Kuzan should have enough military merit to be promoted to Rear Admiral. I wonder whether he'll choose to do what those three monsters did and refuse to graduate until he becomes a Vice Admiral, or apply for graduation directly?"

"He's already a Rear Admiral?"

Hearing Momonga murmur, Kazan slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

Some people spent their entire lives without ever becoming Rear Admirals.

These monsters were still young, yet the military merit they had accumulated in their twenties was already enough to make them Rear Admirals—and not just any Rear Admirals, but Rear Admirals of Marine Headquarters.

Yet they were still unsatisfied, swearing not to graduate until they became Vice Admirals!

"Although we aren't needed, we should still go take a look!"

"Yeah. We've finished cleaning up here, too."

Above the frozen sea, cold mist swirled.

Kuzan had already regained consciousness.

The instant he opened his eyes, he sprang up with a kip-up and shouted, "Don't fight Vulture! Run! You're no match for him!"

"Hm? Where's Vulture?"

He released his Observation Haki, but Kuzan could not sense Vulture's presence.

Had the battle ended?

When Kuzan came to his senses, he realized the oppressive atmosphere was gone. The sounds of battle on the ice field and aboard the warship had also disappeared.

What was going on?

Kuzan was bewildered.

Just then, Momonga, Kazan, and Ulysses arrived at the main battlefield.

They came to stand beside Kuzan and Morito.

The three swept their gazes around and saw Vulture's corpse, the pirates' corpses, and the Luo brothers' corpses.

The Luo brothers had not been Vulture's match and had been killed.

Kuzan had exhausted himself to kill Vulture and had also suffered severe injuries.

Morito had merely dealt with some minor pirate goons.

The logic was perfectly sound, and everything followed naturally.

"If Kuzan hadn't appeared, we probably would've all died here."

Momonga understood everything and sighed.

The Luo brothers' strength was average, but they were by no means weak. Even Momonga would have had to stake his life and rely on a bit of luck to defeat them.

Since even the Luo brothers had been killed by Vulture, they naturally had not been his match either.

Only Kuzan could defeat Vulture!

"I was still too weak. I need to train even harder."

Kazan put away the smile on his face. Although he had only been classmates with the Luo brothers for a day, he was still saddened by the death of his companions.

Ulysses remained silent, but a trace of grief could be seen in his eyes.

Kuzan was still completely bewildered.

He had defeated Vulture?

Why couldn't he remember it?

And what was wrong with his face? It felt as if it had swollen to twice its size! He could not feel anything at all, as if it no longer belonged to him.

Momonga, Kazan, and Ulysses looked toward Kuzan at his words.

Everyone turned their heads, and their eyelids began twitching violently.

Who the hell was this?

Second Master?

If not for that wild, nest-like mop of hair and the familiar voice, they truly would not have recognized that swollen, pig-like face.

Vulture had hidden his strength so deeply that he could beat Kuzan into a pig's head!

Fortunately, everything was over now.

"Congratulations. Once this mission ends, your military merit will be enough to promote you to Rear Admiral."

Momonga offered his congratulations, and Kazan and Ulysses followed suit.

Once he had calmed down, Kuzan began to recall what had happened.

If he remembered correctly, Morito had knocked him unconscious.

And during the time he had been unconscious, Vulture could not possibly have died for no reason.

That left only one truth!

Morito had killed Vulture!

Kuzan gave Morito an unreadable look, only to see him standing off to the side like an innocent spectator, acting as if the matter had nothing to do with him.

Seeing that, Kuzan hesitated.

Could it not have been Morito?

No, it was definitely Morito!

Morito had killed Vulture?!

When he thought of that truth, Kuzan's pupils shrank slightly, and his heart was shaken to the core. Only someone who had fought Vulture knew how powerful that man truly was.

Armament Haki, Observation Haki, and a Zoan Devil Fruit!

His true strength was worth a bounty of at least three hundred million!

"Now that Vulture has been killed, Golden Lion won't let this go. I'm afraid our patrol mission will have to end ahead of schedule."

Since Morito had not claimed the credit, Kuzan chose to respect his decision.

It was not that Kuzan coveted the military merit for killing Vulture. Rather, he remembered Zephyr's instructions to protect Morito.

A tree that stood above the forest would be struck by the wind. If a genius exposed himself too early, it would only bring danger.

With the monstrous talent Morito had displayed, if he grew steadily, he might become the next Marine Admiral in the future.

Military merit? Wouldn't that come to him with a casual grab?

When Morito's gaze shifted toward him, Kuzan nodded. "I understand everything."

Morito: "???"

What exactly did you understand?

Kuzan said no more. He merely gave Morito a reassuring look before ordering, "Clean up the battlefield quickly, then set sail. We need to rendezvous with Teacher Zephyr as soon as possible."

Morito was the nominal leader, but everyone present trusted Kuzan more.

Once Kuzan finished speaking, everyone immediately got to work.

Twenty minutes later, they broke through the ice, finished cleaning the battlefield, and all boarded the warship. They prepared to return and rendezvous with Zephyr's flagship.

Just as the warship raised anchor and set sail, a medium-sized warship appeared at the distant edge of the glacier.

The warship Morito was aboard was forced to stop.

Kazan's eyes lit up. "Teacher Zephyr is here!"

"If it were Teacher Zephyr, he should have come from behind, from the direction of Marine Headquarters. But this warship is approaching from straight ahead."

Kuzan shook his head and analyzed the situation. "It may be a warship returning to Marine Headquarters."

The fleet consisting of the one large and three small warships carrying Zephyr, Dragon, Borsalino, and Morito had departed from Marine Headquarters.

Zephyr's flagship was behind the three smaller warships.

After receiving their earlier distress signal, Zephyr should also have approached from behind. How could he have gone around and ended up in front of them?

The only explanation was that the approaching warship was not Zephyr's flagship!

The distant warship soon drew closer.

It was indeed not Zephyr's flagship!

The warship's prow was shaped like a savage tarantula. It was obvious that the approaching vessel was the flagship of Marine Headquarters' Vice Admiral Tarantula.

"Vice Admiral Tarantula? Why is he here?"

"He probably saw the large area of frozen sea created by Kuzan and guessed that a battle had taken place here, so he came to provide support."

"That makes sense. We aren't far from Marine Headquarters, after all."

Everyone analyzed the reason for Tarantula's appearance, each offering their own opinion.

Kuzan, however, did not think so. He remembered Zephyr repeatedly warning them to be wary of Vice Admiral Tarantula, and he also knew something about Morito's history.

During the Training Camp examination, Onigumo had lost to Morito.

And Tarantula was Onigumo's father.

Onigumo, who had been hailed as a genius and expected to enter the Elite Class, had lost. He could not even become a Marine, and would spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.

It was easy to imagine how furious and disappointed Tarantula must be.

It was only natural for Tarantula to hold a grudge against Morito.

"I don't think it's that simple. Don't stray too far from me later."

Kuzan reminded him kindly.

Morito was somewhat surprised by Kuzan's behavior. He had not expected the lazy Kuzan to be the sort of person who was cold on the outside but warm-hearted underneath.

If I'd known this would happen, I should have used a different way to wake him earlier.

Morito secretly glanced at Kuzan, whose swollen face had yet to fully recover, then silently looked away.

It wasn't me. I didn't do it. I don't know!

I only slapped him twice.

It swelled up on its own!

Before the medium-sized warship had even fully approached, a figure wearing a Vice Admiral's coat came flying through the air, stepping on Geppo.

Bam!

Tarantula landed steadily on the deck.

His gaze swept around the deck. When he saw Kuzan, he looked somewhat surprised. Hadn't the intelligence said Morito was the leader?

Only Momonga, Kazan, Ulysses, and the Luo brothers—five people in total—had boarded the warship!

Then, when Tarantula saw Morito, he wore an expression of barely restrained anger.

Had the plan actually failed?

Tarantula's eyes darkened, and a wave of fury surged within him.

He had not only released false information to lure in the Vulture Pirates; he had also planted a mole in the navy. His goal had naturally been to cripple Morito.

What was going on here?

Not only was Morito unharmed, but Vulture's corpse was lying at the edge of the deck. Even the two Luo brothers had disappeared without a trace?

The Luo brothers' dismembered remains had all been packed into body bags, along with the bodies of the fallen marines.

"I noticed that a battle had broken out here, so I hurried over."

"How are your casualties?"

Tarantula could not directly ask about the Luo brothers, so he probed indirectly.

What Tarantula cared about was not whether the Luo brothers were alive or dead, but whether his plan had been exposed.

If the Luo brothers had died at the hands of pirates, it did not matter. They were merely two pawns that could be replaced at any time. If they died, so be it.

But if Morito had discovered the Luo brothers' purpose, then once he became wary, it would be difficult to make a move against him in the future.

"Thirteen people were lost, including the two brothers, Luomen and Roer. Some of the warship's cannons were also destroyed."

"Overall, our casualties weren't too serious."

Momonga explained, since the battle had not lasted very long.

Hearing this, Tarantula secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

The Luo brothers had died at the hands of pirates, so this only meant that the plan had failed this time. Next time, he definitely would not let Morito survive unscathed!

"Where are you headed, Vice Admiral Tarantula?"

"The Vulture Pirates are one of the main forces under Golden Lion's Flying Pirates. We've already informed Teacher Zephyr and are preparing to return and rendezvous with him."

Kuzan's implication was that Zephyr knew what had happened here, and that Zephyr's flagship was right behind them.

Tarantula had naturally become a Vice Admiral because he was an old hand at this sort of thing. How could he fail to understand Kuzan's hint?

Tarantula's strength was no weaker than Kuzan's current level.

In a one-on-one fight, Tarantula would have the greater chance of victory.

But it was impossible for Tarantula to kill everyone aboard this warship before Zephyr's flagship arrived, then disguise it as the work of the Vulture Pirates.

Tarantula gave Morito a deep look, then grinned.

"Since you're all safe, I can rest easy. I have another mission, so I'll be leaving first."