War Is Coming!

Golden Lion is a man of his word. If he said he would flatten Marine G5 Branch, he wouldn't wait until tomorrow.

Controlling the floating islands, Golden Lion led his crew to the skies above Marine G5 Branch.

He directly air-dropped a massive floating island.

That day, a huge shadow fell over Marine G5 Branch, like a comet crashing into Earth.

RUMBLE!!!

A deafening roar erupted, as if the end of the world had arrived!

Marine G5 Branch, a forward operating base in the New World, was attacked by the Flying Pirates. Base Commander Vice Admiral Hilton died in battle, and the entire G5 Marine base was razed to the ground.

Including all civilians on the island, not a single soul survived!

When the news reached Marineford, the entire Marine Headquarters was shaken.

Marshal Steel Bone Kong immediately convened an emergency meeting with the top brass of the Headquarters to discuss how to deal with Golden Lion and the Flying Pirates.

Admiral Sengoku, Hero Garp, Chief of Staff Tsuru, and all other high-ranking officials of Marine Headquarters were present.

The air in the entire conference room was heavy and solemn.

Everyone's heartstrings were taut.

Each person sat upright with a grim expression. Even Garp, who was usually carefree and unreliable, sat rigidly with his arms crossed.

The incident at Marine G5 Branch in the New World was too heinous.

Not only did Golden Lion kill all the Marines and civilians at Marine G5 Branch, but it was also a direct provocation against the Marines by pirates!

If this matter was not handled properly, who would trust the Marines in the future?

The reputation of Marine Headquarters would suffer a severe blow.

The World Government's prestige would be damaged!

Just moments before, the Five Elders had called Steel Bone Kong, demanding a stern handling of the incident and informing him that the World Government would arrange for CP0 to cooperate fully.

CP0 is Cipher Pol -AIGIS0, the World Government's top secret intelligence agency.

It also had elite intelligence members from CP1 to CP9.

The Five Elders' attitude was unyielding, clearly furious about the G5 Branch incident.

Killing Golden Lion was non-negotiable!

Marine Headquarters, conference room.

Steel Bone Kong sat at the head of the table, with Sengoku, Garp, Tsuru, and others seated on either side in order.

Over ninety percent of Marine Headquarters' elite officers were gathered here.

"I'm sure everyone has heard about the events in the New World. Everyone has a detailed battle report on their table, please take a look first."

Steel Bone Kong broke the silence in the room with a grim expression.

Hearing this, everyone picked up the documents before them.

The tragic state of G5 Branch was evident in the photographs. A floating island several times larger than G5 Branch had fallen, smashing the G5 Branch into the seabed.

The Marines on the island did not die on the front lines or in battle against pirates, but were crushed to death by the falling floating island.

The civilians on the island didn't even have time to react, sinking to the seabed along with their homes and the island.

The island where the New World's G5 Branch was located was now covered by a new island; a massive floating island rested on the former site of G5 Branch!

"If Golden Lion isn't eliminated, the seas will not be peaceful!"

"Damn pirate!"

"How despicable, not even sparing civilians!"

Marines and pirates fight, life and death are their own business.

But these were civilians, completely defenseless, an entire island's worth of people!

The Marine officers clenched their fists, their knuckles cracking. No impassioned words were needed; the tragedy depicted in the photographs was more persuasive than anything.

They wished they could fly to the New World right now and capture every single pirate from the Flying Pirates!

However, they couldn't fly.

Flying to the New World using only Geppo? It was terrifying that only a handful of people in the entire Marine Headquarters could achieve that.

They couldn't fly, but the Flying Pirates could.

Golden Lion's strength was undeniable. What was even more infuriating was that he was a user of the Float-Float Fruit, which allowed him to make islands float and fleets float.

This was how the Flying Pirates got their name.

This alone made it exponentially more difficult for Marine Headquarters to exterminate Golden Lion.

"Anyone with an idea can voice it. Today's meeting has only one purpose! And that is to destroy Golden Lion for me!"

Steel Bone Kong slammed his fist on the table in front of him and roared.

Everyone obediently shut their mouths upon hearing this.

Admiral Sengoku, known as the "wise general," was also frowning, and his aide Tsuru remained silent.

Defeat the Golden Lion?

If the Golden Lion were willing to fight head-on on land or at sea, it might be possible.

But he was flying in the sky.

You're smart, and he's not stupid. Unless the Golden Lion's brain was flooded, why would he give up air superiority to fight a naval battle with you?

Wasn't airdropping islands more appealing?

Moreover, besides the power of the Float-Float Fruit, the Golden Lion's own strength was also among the top in the seas.

His Haki and swordsmanship were both top-notch on the seas.

Even in a one-on-one fight, no one at Marine Headquarters could claim to be sure of victory against the Golden Lion, not even the peak combatant Hero Garp!

"Why has everyone gone quiet?"

Steel Bone Kong's expression grew increasingly grim.

The meeting at Marine Headquarters to discuss defeating the Golden Lion wasn't directly related to Morito.

Morito returned to Marineford with Zephyr's main ship.

The two arrived at the back mountain of the Naval Academy, in a secluded, deserted forest.

Zephyr was conducting individual Haki training for Morito.

Haki is a latent power possessed by all humans in the pirate world; it's an innate ability.

Similar to "aura" or "intimidation," it exists like an instinct.

However, the vast majority of people cannot realize this power or are unable to unleash it throughout their lives.

Haki is divided into three types.

Observation Haki, which allows one to strongly sense the presence of others.

Armament Haki, like invisible armor, which can also evolve into an offensive power, touching the true body of a Logia-type user.

Conqueror's Haki, which can intimidate or knock out enemies with one's own imposing presence.

Zephyr does not possess Conqueror's Haki; all he could teach Morito was Observation Haki and Armament Haki.

Especially Armament Haki.

Zephyr was known as "Black Arm Zephyr" because his Armament Haki was so powerful that it turned his wrists black when attached to his hands during combat!

In the clearing in the forest, Zephyr and Morito stood about ten paces apart.

Zephyr twisted his neck, his bones cracking, "It seems I couldn't test your true strength last time."

"I'm going to get serious this time!"

Being able to defeat an enemy of Vulture's caliber without a scratch, Zephyr believed that even with Armament Haki, he couldn't kill Morito.

Besides, Morito had that spinning turtle shell defense.

Vulture had escaped from him three years ago, and Morito had defeated Vulture, which meant Morito could also escape from him!

Perfect logic, beat him to death!

Buzz!

Zephyr's body sank, and Armament Haki attached itself to his hands, instantly turning both fists, including his wrists, black!

Morito's eyelids twitched upon seeing this!

He was still just a child!