"They're back! Dock Seven! It's... it's the Vanguard! Major Yas's ship is back!"
At Dock Seven in Marineford, a shrill cry shattered the afternoon stillness.
The Marines preparing equipment and moving supplies on the dock all stopped what they were doing and turned in unison toward the harbor entrance.
The sleek, gray-black Vanguard-class high-speed gunboat glided steadily and quietly into its berth, bathed in the golden sunset. Its hull still looked brand-new, without so much as a scrape. Only the flag bearing the word "Justice," fluttering at the bow, seemed even brighter and more striking than when it had departed.
An eerie, deathly silence instantly fell over the dock.
Everyone wore the same expression-disbelief.
"How... is that possible? How long has it even been? Didn't they only leave this morning?" A clerical officer responsible for logging ships entering and leaving port checked his watch, then rubbed his eyes hard, his voice trembling.
"Less than ten hours... I watched them leave myself! Did... did they run into a storm and turn back early?" a sailor beside him speculated.
Most people immediately agreed with that guess.
"That must be it! I told you! A green recruit leading a bunch of rookies, and he thought he could wipe out 'Butcher' Gore? Getting away alive was already a miracle!"
"Hahaha! You should've seen them when they left. That brat named Yas was strutting around like he owned the place, and now he's come slinking back, hasn't he? What a disgrace!"
Jeers and mocking laughter quickly spread through the crowd.
Just then, a tall major with a vicious scar on his face strode over, surrounded by a group of field officers. His name was Raymond, and he was the very major who had first stepped forward in the square to challenge Yas's appointment.
With a cigar in his mouth, Major Raymond watched the Vanguard slowly come to a stop, an undisguised sneer of satisfaction curling his lips.
"Well, well, if it isn't the youngest major in Marine history! What's wrong? Were the winds and waves of the Grand Line so rough they blew you back?" Raymond deliberately spoke loudly enough for everyone nearby to hear. "There's no shame in failing a mission. Young people need a few setbacks. Just learn your place and keep your tail between your legs from now on."
The field officers behind him burst into laughter as well.
In their eyes, Yas must have returned empty-handed, perhaps even fled in disgrace. Now they could finally trample this "genius," who had risen through luck and connections, beneath their feet.
The Vanguard's gangway was lowered.
Lieutenant Bullet was the first to step off. His face was somewhat pale and his steps unsteady, as though he had exhausted himself in a fierce battle.
Seeing him like that, Major Raymond's smile widened. "Bullet, you troublemaker. Regretting following this wet-behind-the-ears brat on his little escapade now, aren't you? Get over here and report to your superior how you fled in the face of the enemy!"
But Bullet merely gave him a cold glance, a trace of the pity one might show an idiot in his eyes. Ignoring Raymond, he walked straight to the harbor duty office's window and slammed a ship's log and mission report, still carrying the salty scent of the sea breeze, onto the desk.
"Marine Headquarters Major Yas departed aboard the gunboat Vanguard at eight this morning to carry out the mission to eliminate the Butcher Pirate Crew." Bullet's voice was hoarse yet exceptionally steady, each word driving like a nail into the hearts of everyone present.
"The mission is complete."
"What?" The registration officer froze, thinking he had misheard. "What... did you say?"
Major Raymond stopped laughing too and approached with a frown. "Bullet, what the fuck are you babbling about? Mission complete? You probably didn't even catch a glimpse of the Butcher!"
Bullet did not argue. He simply untied the enormous oilcloth-wrapped pack on his back, then abruptly emptied it onto the duty office's desk!
Thud!
A head rolled out, still bloodstained, its face frozen in terror!
The horrific scar running from its forehead to its chin looked particularly hideous in the sunset!
"This is..." Staring at the familiar head he had seen countless times on wanted posters, the registration officer fell straight out of his chair in fright. His lips trembled, unable to form a single word.
The sneer on Major Raymond's face instantly froze! He stared fixedly at the head, as though a bolt from the blue had struck him squarely on the skull!
"B-Butcher Gore?! This... this is impossible!" Raymond shrieked, his voice distorted by horror!
How was this possible!
Even if Yas really was strong enough to defeat Gore, there was absolutely no way he could have found him, killed him, and returned with his head in less than ten hours! It defied every principle of seafaring!
"This is only Gore's head." Bullet's voice rang out again, level yet carrying an invisible, suffocating pressure. "As for every member of the Butcher Pirates, their flagship, the Bloody Mary, and one accompanying pirate ship..."
Bullet paused, his gaze sweeping over Raymond's now bloodless face, then said each word distinctly. "Major Yas personally... annihilated them all and erased them completely from the sea. Not one was left."
Boom!
Those words detonated across Dock Seven like ten thousand tons of explosives!
Annihilated them all! Erased them completely! Not one left!
If Gore's head had merely shocked them, those words brought a terror that penetrated to the bone!
The cigar fell from Major Raymond's mouth and hit the ground with a clatter. His entire body shook violently as he watched the young figure walk slowly down the gangway, his white coat not even bearing a single crease. Nothing remained in Raymond's eyes but boundless horror and despair.
Just what kind of monster... had he provoked?!
Meanwhile, at Marine Headquarters, in the Fleet Admiral's Office.
"What?!"
An earth-shaking roar made the entire building seem to tremble.
Marine Admiral Sengoku, known as the "Tactician," abruptly rose from behind the desk, all dignity forgotten. Both hands pressed hard against the desktop, and his signature Frog Glasses had slipped to the tip of his nose in his agitation.
Across from him, an orderly trembling with fear handed over the urgent report that had just arrived from Dock Seven.
Sengoku snatched the report, his shrewd eyes racing across it, taking in ten lines at a glance.
"Departure time: eight o'clock sharp this morning."
"Return time: five forty this afternoon."
"Mission target: the Butcher Pirate Crew. Captain: Gore. Bounty: eighty million Beli."
"Mission result: all targets eliminated. Principal offender Gore has been beheaded. The pirate ship Bloody Mary and its accompanying vessel have been confirmed completely sunk. No survivors."
"Mission carried out by: Marine Headquarters Major Yas."
"Total time elapsed: nine hours and forty minutes."
As the final figure came into view, Sengoku's hands began trembling violently beyond his control!
He jerked his head up and looked at the man beside him, who was leisurely pruning a potted plant as though indifferent to everything.
"Zephyr!" Sengoku's voice had grown hoarse and dry with extreme shock and excitement. "Did you see that? Nine hours and forty minutes! Nine hours and forty minutes!"
Zephyr's pruning paused briefly. He raised his head and pushed up the sunglasses on his nose, a flicker of emotion finally appearing on his otherwise placid face.
"I saw it." Zephyr slowly set down the shears, his voice low. "Under normal sailing conditions, the one-way trip from Marineford to the waters near the Reverse Mountain route alone takes at least two days. He not only found them but wiped them all out... 'Fast' no longer begins to describe that speed."
"It's a miracle! Something only the gods of legend could accomplish!" Sengoku paced excitedly around the office, his chest heaving. "We were worried he was too conspicuous, worried he wouldn't be able to win everyone over! Now it seems we were wrong! Completely wrong!"
"For a monster of this caliber, rules and seniority are all bullshit! He himself is the rule!"
Sengoku stopped, an unprecedented light blazing in his eyes. He gazed out the window at the sea stained red by the sunset, as though he could already see a brand-new era of violence belonging to the Marines, ushered in by this young man!
"In this era, Rocks, Roger, Whitebeard, Golden Lion... those monsters have made the whole world tremble! But now..."
Sengoku took a deep breath and murmured to himself in a voice almost like someone talking in his sleep.
"We Marines finally have one too... an even more terrifying monster of our own!"
Just then, the office door was violently thrown open with a bang!
A tall figure wearing a dog-head hat barged in, picking his nose and laughing.
"Hahahahaha! Sengoku! Zephyr! Didn't I tell you that kid was an interesting one? You wouldn't believe me!"
Garp casually slapped a freshly printed internal bulletin onto the desk and grinned broadly, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.
"Well done! He's got the same flair I had back in the day! Come on! Let's go find him! How could a celebration like this be complete without big chunks of roast meat and senbei!"
Before you continue