City of Dreams! Major Naito

It was too fast. Byrnndi World had only escaped from Impel Down last night, and today he had already slipped into the deep sea from the Sabaody Archipelago.

That made the Marines sent to search near Impel Down look foolish.

"So, can we confirm that Byrnndi World has two different Devil Fruit abilities?"

Vice Admiral Tsuru folded her arms, her tone grave. "And someone met up with them. Someone planned all of this from behind the scenes."

"And the person who met up with them was a Lunarian."

Zephyr added.

"Whew-"

Sengoku let out a breath. "Let's notify the people in the New World first. Have G-1 Base and G-5 Base get moving and see if they can find any trace of them."

"Two bases alone probably won't be enough."

Vice Admiral Tsuru said.

The New World was vast. Even its entrance region alone was more than those two bases could cover.

"Those people will show up in the New World sooner or later. There's no need to keep the news under wraps."

Vice Admiral Tsuru said, "Spread the news about them across the seas. Plenty of people should help us look for them."

"True."

Sengoku nodded thoughtfully. "Leaving everything else aside, that Lunarian woman alone will attract plenty of people who want her. At the very least, Charlotte Linlin will definitely make a move."

"Then that's what we'll do. It wouldn't be a bad thing to let the scum tear each other apart."

The Fleet Admiral made the final decision.

"I have an idea too."

Zephyr spoke slowly.

"Go ahead, Zephyr. Why hesitate in front of us?" Sengoku looked at him.

Zephyr said slowly, "I want to form a fleet and pursue them myself. I'll also clear out pirates in the New World while I'm at it."

"Zephyr?"

Vice Admiral Tsuru looked at her old friend in surprise.

After the tragedy all those years ago, the Zephyr who had always charged bravely ahead had disappeared.

Vice Admiral Tsuru had thought she would never see him again.

But now, she saw a long-absent fire in Zephyr's eyes.

"Zephyr?"

Sengoku was somewhat surprised as well. "What are you thinking?"

"I bear an inescapable responsibility for what happened this time."

Zephyr's voice was solemn, his tone resolute. "So I have to make up for it myself."

Whenever Zephyr remembered that old woman thanking him for his help, he couldn't accept it.

He was the one who had sent the mother and son to Impel Down, and he was also the one who had watched the escapees get away.

He felt he had to do something.

"You..."

Fleet Admiral Sengoku was at a loss too. "What did it have to do with you?"

But seeing the determination in Zephyr's eyes, Sengoku could only shake his head helplessly. "All right. It's not a bad thing for you to return to the front lines, but there's one thing."

A strange smile suddenly appeared on the usually stern Fleet Admiral's face. "You've been away from the front lines for so many years, Zephyr. Can you still keep up with the seas as they are now?"

"Even if you catch up to that group, can you take them down?"

"You really look down on me, don't you, Sengoku?"

Zephyr pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, his smile growing brighter. "I'm Black Arm Zephyr!"

"Good!"

Sengoku slammed his hand on the desk. "I approve the formation of a special fleet. It'll be called the Marine Guerrilla Unit, an independent unit that answers only to me. Your duty will be to pursue pirates in the New World, and those escapees will be your first target."

Those damned escapees had at least brought about one good thing.

Looking at Zephyr's expression, Sengoku knew his old friend had truly returned.

That scum had rekindled the fire in Zephyr's heart.

"You can choose your own personnel."

Sengoku said, "I'll give you one Vice Admiral slot."

Every Headquarters Vice Admiral was a vital fighting force. Assigning one to a newly formed unit was already a luxury.

"Good, but I have one request, Sengoku."

Zephyr said, "I want to pick a few people from this class of recruits."

"Oh?"

Sengoku raised an eyebrow. "Still can't let go of that prized disciple of yours?"

Zephyr said seriously, "That boy Naito will become a pillar of the Marines' future! I'm going to train him into the finest Marine there is!"

"Do as you please. Just don't take all the recruits. The other units are waiting for their new members too."

At the same time.

Recruit training camp, training ground.

Naito was hitting an iron block as usual.

He struck the enormous iron ingot with punch after earnest punch.

This time, however, Naito was a little distracted.

Once he entered the New World, his strength wouldn't be enough.

It wasn't that his actual strength was insufficient. With the strength of a Shichibukai and the ability to fly at will, Naito believed he could live comfortably in any corner of the sea.

It was "Marine" Naito's strength that wasn't enough.

Vice Admiral-level strength was enough to put on a show in the first half of the Grand Line, but in the New World, it really wasn't much to boast about.

But training his body wouldn't produce results in a short time.

So he could only work on his ability and Haki.

Haki was simple. He only had to ask Teacher Zephyr about advanced Armament Haki techniques.

As for his ability, wasn't it time to upgrade the "Illusion-Illusion Fruit"?

It could only create visual and auditory illusions, and anyone with a little Observation Haki could see through them. It was really a little too weak.

"So you really were here."

A voice came from behind him. "Weren't you dead tired when we got back?"

Naito glanced back.

It was Binz, wrapped in bandages, wearing a cast and leaning on a crutch.

"Binz? You're still alive?"

"Who's going to die?! I went to the hospital to get my injuries treated, not to say goodbye to a corpse."

Binz rolled his eyes, then grinned. "But Naito, how does failure feel?"

Naito tilted his head. "Lost? As I recall, the only ones who fled with their tails between their legs were you and those escapees."

"You call that fleeing with their tails between their legs?"

The corner of Binz's mouth twitched.

Naito's narcissism really was beyond that of ordinary people.

Besides, you bastard, didn't you say I looked cool during the day?

"Sigh..."

Quite suddenly, Binz sighed for no apparent reason. He turned to look at the dark night sky in the distance. "Naito, do you think I'm too weak?"

He hadn't been able to put up any resistance against a single escapee. If Naito hadn't come to his aid in time, he would already be dead.

What happened today had hit Binz hard.

But Binz didn't hear the answer he wanted. All he heard was the sound of thump, thump, thump.

He turned back in confusion and saw that Naito had already started hitting the iron block again.

"Hey! You're just ignoring me? I finally worked up the courage to have a heart-to-heart between men!"

Without turning his head, Naito said, "Talking to an idiot makes me look like an idiot too."

The corner of Binz's mouth twitched. "Oh! Going straight for personal attacks now?"

Naito paused his punches for a moment. He glanced back slightly and gave a gentle smile. "Honestly, Binz, you don't think you can compare yourself to me, do you?"

"Hey! At least give me a word of comfort!"

Binz really wanted to hit someone.

What's with that warm smile when you're saying something like that?!

"So..."

Naito finished what he was saying. "For you, comparing yourself to yourself is enough."

Binz froze.

Compare myself to myself?

Then the bandaged man suddenly smiled. "So you do know how to say the right thing. But..."

"Naito, you really are looking down on me, aren't you?!"

Chapter 18: City of Dreams! Major Naito

After briefly playing the role of a sympathetic big brother, Naito soon finished training. He returned to the dormitory, took a bath, and settled comfortably into bed, ready to sleep.

He could finally get some proper rest.

A little-known fact: when his consciousness entered the Dream World, his body was essentially asleep, so both his mental and physical strength could recover.

The rank conferment ceremony scheduled for tomorrow had been postponed because of the sudden search mission, but the incident had ended so quickly that the ceremony would go ahead tomorrow morning after all.

He still had to get up early, so he had better make the most of his time to rest.

The next instant, Naito entered the Dream World.

He appeared above a town.