Zephyr Recruits New Soldiers

This time Zephyr left Marine Headquarters "Marineford" with three large warships, one of which was fully staffed.

The other two had only basic personnel, intended to transport the newly recruited soldiers back.

They had traveled across most of the Grand Line, but the recruitment situation was far from optimistic.

The reason was simple: the number of pirates on the seas had increased, and they had become exceptionally vicious, making the danger of becoming a Marine skyrocket.

Recruitment on most islands was dismal—after all, unless life was unbearable or they harbored a deep hatred for pirates, most people were unwilling to take on such a blood-soaked job.

Those who couldn't make ends meet mostly didn't choose the Marines either; instead, they opted for pirates or bounty hunters.

If they were going to risk their necks anyway, the wealth pirates amassed was far better than the Marines' meager pay.

Those with a shred of morality who didn't want to become pirates were more likely to become bounty hunters.

Killing pirates paid better than a Marine's salary, and it came with far more freedom.

For this reason, Zephyr's recruitment mission this time hadn't gone particularly well.

Especially after what had happened, Zephyr was quite exacting about the quality of Marines—he couldn't stand those who just wanted to coast through their service, and he rejected nearly all of them.

This meant that the two empty warships hadn't even been filled with one ship's worth of recruits, falling far short of the target Fleet Admiral Kong had set for him.

A Rear Admiral accompanying him had more than once subtly suggested that Zephyr lower his standards, or else they wouldn't complete Kong's mission and would face punishment upon return.

But Zephyr refused to listen to the Rear Admiral's advice, standing firm and declaring he didn't care about any so-called punishment.

"I was already planning to resign. I only stayed because they begged me to train new Marines.

If the Fleet Admiral isn't happy, he can find someone else to do this job. I didn't want to do it in the first place—why would I fear punishment?

If the Marines I recruit are all worthless scum with no sense of justice, just looking to eat and laze around, then I don't want to teach them."

Hearing Zephyr's words, the Rear Admiral beside him sighed helplessly, feeling that this year's bonus and promotion chances were probably shot, and that he'd be the one taking the blame when they returned.

Zephyr was a Marine Admiral, one of the heroes of the Marines, with students and disciples spread throughout Marine Headquarters. On top of that, he had a stubborn, unyielding personality—he could afford to be headstrong. But a Rear Admiral like him couldn't...

Just as the Rear Admiral was about to earnestly persuade Zephyr again, a Marine soldier hurriedly ran onto the deck to report.

"Reporting, Admiral Zephyr, Rear Admiral Kadaru! A pirate ship has been spotted at the port of Maple Leaf Island. Based on the flag, they appear to be a rookie pirate crew from the South Blue—the 'Iron Arm Pirates.'

Their captain is a wanted pirate by Marine Headquarters, with a bounty of 20 million Belly: Iron Arm Cook."

Hearing the Marine soldier's report, Zephyr and the Rear Admiral named Kadaru were both momentarily taken aback.

They had passed through the Gates of Justice and sailed through the first half of the Grand Line for quite a few days now.

But they hadn't actually encountered any pirate crews, so hearing this report piqued their interest.

The reason they hadn't run into other pirate crews wasn't that there were few pirates in the first half of the Grand Line, but that most pirates, upon spotting three large Marine warships from afar, had long since fled.

Large Marine Headquarters warships weren't something just any Marine officer could command.

A Marine branch captain might at most have a medium-sized warship, but a large warship meant the Marine officer aboard was at least a Rear Admiral.

This was only the first half of the Grand Line, where most pirates were rookies.

Seeing three large Marine warships leading the way, unless they had a death wish, no pirate would be foolish enough to charge straight at them.

Since Zephyr's mission was to recruit new soldiers, they didn't deliberately chase after pirate crews they encountered, so as not to deviate from their course.

They would only fire a few symbolic cannon shots; if a pirate ship got hit, it was just bad luck. Once it escaped the cannon's range, Zephyr and his men wouldn't bother pursuing.

"Iron Arm Pirates? Never heard of them. But with a bounty of 20 million Belly, they must be someone in the first half of the Grand Line.

Notify the crew to prepare for battle. Make sure not a single one of these vile pirates escapes.

Maple Leaf Island is one of the planned locations for a Marine branch, and the red trees on the island are an important resource. Ensure the safety of the island's residents."

Zephyr was a Marine Admiral, and Kadaru was a Rear Admiral. They couldn't be bothered to remember small fry with a 20-million-Belly bounty.

For Zephyr, even pirates with bounties over 100 million were forgettable unless they were exceptionally formidable.

But regardless of whether the Iron Arm Pirates were a strong crew, any pirate was a huge threat to ordinary islanders.

Especially when a Marine soldier handed him the newly obtained dossier on "Iron Arm Cook" from Headquarters, detailing the Iron Arm Pirates' past atrocities, Zephyr's body began to radiate a terrifying aura.

The intelligence showed the Iron Arm Pirates had committed every crime imaginable, poisoning several islands in the South Blue.

When he saw that they didn't even spare children, with an extremely brutal nature, Zephyr was reminded of some unpleasant memories, and his expression turned murderous.

"Admiral Zephyr, the priority now is to quickly eliminate the pirates on Maple Leaf Island. Please issue your orders as soon as possible."

Seeing the terrifying aura emanating from Zephyr, Rear Admiral Kadaru was taken aback. As a teacher, Zephyr was usually quite amiable; this was the first time he'd seen the Admiral so furious.

"Leave some men to guard the recruits on the warships, and send another group to burn the pirate ship at the port. Everyone else will come ashore with me to execute justice!

Get my orders to all warships within one minute. Every second you waste, an innocent islander might die at the hands of those damned pirates."

After leaving these orders, Zephyr, to Kadaru's astonished expression, leaped from the deck and charged alone toward Maple Leaf Island, using Geppo.