Zephyr's Wine

"I am BOSS Lynn Barik!"

"I hereby declare war on the Celestial Dragons!"

"I'm at the southern port. If you've got the guts, come and catch me, you bastards!"

Click.

The Den Den Mushi went dead.

Silence.

The entirety of Island Three fell into a deathly hush. Even Saint Cainmas, the man at the center of it all, stood there dumbfounded.

Did that brat named Lynn understand what he had just said?

Declare war on the Celestial Dragons?

A mere slave dared declare war on the Celestial Dragons!

The Celestial Dragons represented the World Government.

Lynn Barik was declaring war on the World Government!

Unforgivable! Absolutely unforgivable!

Saint Cainmas's face flushed red with rage as he berated the Marines beside him. "What are you all standing around for? Go catch him! Catch him!"

"Uh... Oh, yes, sir!"

The Marine Major General present was quick on the uptake. Now that they had an identified culprit, there was no need to continue that absurd indiscriminate bombardment!

Besides, that damned Celestial Dragon had personally ordered them to apprehend someone.

"All hands, listen up!"

The Marine Major General picked up a Den Den Mushi and shouted to the surrounding Marines, "All Marines on Island Three, proceed to the southern port immediately and apprehend the criminal!"

A not-so-bright recruit suddenly asked, "Sir, don't we need anyone to guard the cannons?"

The Major General smacked the recruit on the head. "Follow orders!"

"Yes, sir!"

Under the Marine Major General's command, all Marines on Sabaody Island Three ceased their bombardment, grabbed their weapons, and hurried toward the southern port.

Urged on by Saint Cainmas's incessant shouting, the Marine Major General also picked up his weapon and headed for the southern port.

Yet inwardly, he silently thanked the man named Lynn Barik.

Lynn had enraged the Celestial Dragon by declaring war, prompting him to issue an order for Lynn's arrest and indirectly bringing that indiscriminate bombardment to an end.

"Whether you meant to or not, thank you!"

It was truly wonderful that the absurd indiscriminate bombardment had stopped!

Meanwhile—

The southern port.

After declaring war on the Celestial Dragons, Lynn directly crushed the Den Den Mushi's receiver.

The receiver had been installed on the Den Den Mushi. Crushing it would not harm the creature itself, but it would destroy its ability to communicate.

"That means we've temporarily lost contact."

A sweet taste suddenly rose in Lynn's mouth, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood. "Cough... cough. How long until the Marines on the island get here?"

"About five minutes." Zephyr fiddled with the tiny Den Den Mushi and sighed. "Lynn Barik, if I had met you earlier, you would have become an outstanding Marine."

"Teacher Zephyr, there are no ifs in this world. My past doesn't determine my future, either."

Lynn spent Energy Value as the injuries within his body gradually improved.

Energy Value: 100/1500.

Once his Energy Value had fallen to just one hundred points, Lynn stopped healing himself. After all, he and Fisher Tiger still had to put out to sea soon, and he needed to save some Energy Value in case of emergencies.

More importantly, standing before him and Fisher Tiger was an insurmountable mountain.

Black Arm Zephyr!

But before Lynn could speak, Zephyr suddenly clutched his injured abdomen, his face twisting in pain.

"Ugh! What a heavy punch. I let my guard down!"

What a textbook ham performance.

Lynn froze for a moment, then smiled. "Teacher Zephyr, I don't think the Marines have acting classes."

"This is my thank-you gift to you, brat."

Zephyr said seriously, "As a Marine, there are certain lines that, once crossed, can never be uncrossed."

"Like that absurd indiscriminate bombardment just now."

"You stopped that bombardment, so you saved my students."

"Thank you."

Zephyr lowered his head slightly and thanked Lynn.

Then, Zephyr pointed to the warship behind him.

"This is a training ship for recruits. There isn't anyone aboard right now. Keep a low profile after you set sail, and you won't draw attention along the way."

Lynn paused, then broke into a grin.

"Teacher Zephyr, take care of yourself."

"Hmph. I don't need a brat worrying about me."

Zephyr waved a hand, then suddenly remembered something and warned him, "Oh, right, Hero brat. If you become a pirate someday, I'll hunt you down to the ends of the earth!"

"Of course. I'm a hero! Cough, cough..." Lynn patted his chest, only to start coughing dryly again.

"Then I'll give you your reward for keeping our agreement in advance!" Zephyr pulled a key from his pocket and tossed it to Lynn.

"Go take a look in my captain's cabin. There's some liquor in there that I like best."

"That's the boldest liquor on these seas. Consider it a farewell gift for you, Hero brat!"

"Thank you, Teacher Zephyr."

Supported by Fisher Tiger, Lynn turned and walked step by step toward the warship.

Sunlight fell over Lynn and Fisher Tiger, warm and pleasant.

The sea breeze was just right.

It was a fine day to set sail.

Fisher Tiger carried Lynn aboard the warship, had him sit on the deck, then used the monstrous strength unique to Fish-Men to pull up the anchor. After raising the sails, he steered the warship out of the harbor.

A few minutes later, the Marines arrived at the port under the Major General's lead. But all they saw was Zephyr sitting cross-legged there and the warship gradually sailing away in the distance.

There were no fast ships nearby, so catching up to the warship was already impossible.

The Marine Major General approached Zephyr and gave him a military salute.

"Teacher Zephyr, what happened?"

Zephyr looked at the Major General and scratched his head somewhat sheepishly.

"Ah, two young men just ambushed me. One was in his teens, while the other was in his thirties or forties."

"I'm really getting old. I let my guard down, didn't dodge in time, and they stole the only warship and ran off."

"Young people these days really need to conduct themselves properly!"

The Major General was also Zephyr's student, so naturally he understood what Zephyr meant. He could only smile wryly.

"Teacher Zephyr, isn't that excuse a little too halfhearted?"

Zephyr felt that the Major General had a point and nodded. "Don't worry about the report to the Celestial Dragons. I'll have someone handle it."

"Yes, sir!"

The Major General nodded.

Watching the warship fade into the distance, Zephyr let out a helpless sigh.

He might not have been a brute like Garp, who knew nothing about writing reports, but this matter involved the Celestial Dragons and had far-reaching consequences. Given his personality, he was not suited to step forward.

It seemed he could only trouble Tsuru again!

Aboard the warship.

Fisher Tiger found some medicine and bandages in the captain's cabin and was treating Lynn's wounds.

After bandaging him up, Lynn had Fisher Tiger go to the ship's food stores and bring back a huge pile of food.

The Hero Fruit had given Lynn extraordinary regenerative abilities. As long as he had enough Energy Value in his body, no matter how severe his injuries were, he could recover completely using his own power.

And the best way to replenish Energy Value was by eating.

The more delicious and premium the ingredients, the more Energy Value they restored.

Fortunately, this warship had been meant to pick up Marine recruits for a voyage training exercise, so it had prepared enough ingredients for nearly two hundred people.

After subtracting what still needed preparation, there was enough left for around a hundred people.

Thus, after the incident of "the Celestial Dragon getting beaten up," Fisher Tiger witnessed another scene he would never forget for the rest of his life—

The mountain-like heap of food in front of Lynn vanished at an astonishing speed!

Layer after layer...

Before long, Lynn had eaten every last bit of food before him. He could not help letting out a satisfied burp as he exclaimed, "Wow, the Marines eat really well!"

Fisher Tiger could only stare wide-eyed in shock.

That was enough food for a hundred people!

Meanwhile, Lynn examined his own body.

Energy Value: 700/1500.

Three broken ribs, mild inflammation in both hand bones and wrists, multiple internal and subcutaneous hemorrhages...

There were over a hundred injuries of all kinds, old and new wounds mixed together.

With injuries this severe, even aided by the Hero Fruit's power, it would take quite some time to fully recover.

But right now, time was the one thing Lynn lacked least.

Letting out a long breath, Lynn leaned back against the mast, feeling an indescribable sense of exhilaration.

The warship was already far from the Sabaody Archipelago.

After setting their course, Fisher Tiger came over to Lynn.

"I found this while looking for medicine in the captain's cabin."

Fisher Tiger handed over a dark green bottle of liquor. Five letters were written on its label.

JEREZ.

Fisher Tiger scratched his head. "I don't know much about human liquor."

"This is the boldest liquor on the seas, Tiger."

Lynn gazed out at the ocean. "JEREZ. Sherry."