Just One Ship Short!

Break!

As Zero's words fell, several azure blade arcs burst from Startled Dragon's blade, striking the warship's deck again and again.

To increase their power, he even coated Startled Dragon with Armament Haki. The resisting Marines could not hold out for even a moment before being swallowed by wave after wave of blade arcs, and cries for help rose continuously from the warship.

"Devil, he's a devil!"

"Help!"

"Run! We can't hit him! Jump into the sea!"

The smarter Marines jumped overboard first, but a few who failed to escape in time met their end inside the ship's hull!

If Zero had been the person he was in his previous world, he might have felt uncomfortable about this. But after fighting an enormous number of enemies in the Trial Space, he found that he seemed to have become numb to it.

Zero did not know whether that was good or bad, but at least it had not caused him any trouble so far, and that was enough. As for the future, who could say for sure?

After a while.

"Whew, I finally took one down!"

Zero let out a breath, glanced at the slowly sinking warship and the Marines desperately seeking rescue on the sea, then did not linger. He stepped through the air again and launched an attack on the next warship.

He wanted to finish the mission in one go, but these warships were clearly not as fragile as he had imagined. At the very least, they were far sturdier than Iron Fist Fullbody's shabby vessel. They were not so easy to destroy, so he had no choice but to board them to speed up the mission's progress somewhat!

Fortunately, the opposing Marine forces mainly consisted of ordinary soldiers. Even the few high-ranking Marine officers were merely commanders, so Zero encountered little resistance.

Soon, Zero sank the second warship with Startled Dragon, and those Marines followed in the footsteps of their predecessors.

"Next... the third one!"

As though he sensed something, Zero looked into the distance. A Marine fleet was gradually coming into view. There were so many ships that he could not make out their exact number, and his heart sank as his movements unconsciously quickened.

With this many warships, even he would not be able to keep it up for long!

Just after Zero sank the third warship, cannonballs began whistling past him one after another. He had no choice but to stop and look toward their source, only to find that the Marine fleet had already drawn close!

Left with no choice, Zero suspended his campaign of destruction. He turned and sped toward the direction the Going Merry had departed in, successfully escaping before the fleet reached the area!

At that moment, aboard a Marine warship.

A Marine officer was reporting the battle's losses to someone on the other side of a screen.

"Reporting to the Commodore, we lost three warships this time. The missing personnel have not yet been counted, but it is estimated that more than a hundred Marines will—"

Before he could finish, the person on the screen abruptly interrupted him. "Where did that pirate come from? How could he crush our warships so easily? What the hell are you all doing?"

"According to the Marines who returned, that pirate is the Executioner, who has a bounty of fifty million Beli. The Straw Hat Pirates he belongs to previously defeated several famous pirates in the East Blue in succession, and they even had contact with Mihawk, one of the Seven Warlords."

"What did you say?"

Listening to the officer's report, the person on the screen seemed somewhat shocked. After a long while, he said coldly, "Tell Eric to keep an eye on that pirate. Our priority remains Dragon Bone. As for the Straw Hat Pirates, we'll deal with them properly after we obtain Dragon Bone!"

"Yes, Commodore!"

To Zero's surprise, he had thought Usopp had already sailed the Going Merry to their agreed meeting point. Instead, not long after escaping the encirclement, he spotted the Going Merry.

Zero landed on the ship, where Usopp immediately greeted him with concern. "Zero, you're finally back! Are you all right?"

"Usopp, why are you here?"

"Hehe, I was worried something might happen to you, so I came to support you! Zero, listen to me, don't rush off by yourself again next time. You may be strong, but there could always be someone even stronger, right?"

Rather than feeling uncomfortable at Usopp's reprimand, Zero felt a faint warmth well up in his heart.

Being cared about like this... felt pretty nice.

"Got it, got it."

Zero smiled and showed Usopp that he had taken his words to heart. Only then did Usopp stop lecturing him, and the two of them set the Going Merry toward the place they had agreed to meet their companions.

Before long, the Going Merry reached a rock that looked remarkably like Usopp's long nose.

Luffy and the others had already been waiting there, while the Millennium Dragon lay on a wooden board with its eyes shut, though it was unclear whether it was asleep or simply resting with its eyes closed.

After the two sides reunited, they followed the previous plan and tied the Millennium Dragon's rope to the ship, using the Going Merry to tow it in search of Lost Island.

Although Zero already knew the direction of Lost Island beforehand, he did not say it outright. That would have robbed the journey of its sense of adventure. Besides, he wanted to see the ruins left behind after Lost Island sank and satisfy his curiosity.

It was not until the food Apis had made was accidentally dumped onto the Millennium Dragon's head by Luffy that they stumbled into the general direction of Lost Island—it lay east of Warship Island. The group then changed course and headed for their destination.

"There seems to be something ahead..."

Hearing Luffy speak from the bow, everyone turned to look. Then, under their astonished gazes, Luffy slowly vanished, and eventually the Going Merry itself gradually disappeared from the sea.

This bizarre occurrence left the pursuing Marine fleet utterly confused. They had no idea what had happened, and in the end, they decided to remain where they were and wait for the Going Merry to reappear.

The Going Merry arrived in a sea region shrouded in mist.

The fog was so thick that no one could see their surroundings. Just as they were trying to figure out what waters they had entered, rain suddenly began pouring from the sky.

As the torrential rain fell, massive waves rose across the sea. Seeing that the Millennium Dragon's rope was about to come loose, Zero leaped across the deck several times and finally caught it before it slipped free. Luffy also stretched out his rubber arm and firmly grabbed the Millennium Dragon's wooden board, preventing it from being swept away by the wind and waves.

After the sea finally calmed, the view before them opened up. At Zero's reminder, they noticed a faint island in the distance.

They now knew that the island was most likely the legendary Lost Island!