Pirate: I'm about to do something big!

Alyosha hovered in the air, watching the black dot rapidly flying towards him in the distance.

The sonic boom, accompanied by a violent gust of air, rushed towards us.

In the blink of an eye, the other party had arrived in front of Alyosha.

It was a pterosaur with a wingspan of up to fifteen meters, its entire body covered in black clothing, and two burly men were standing on the back of this enormous creature.

Both are tall and robust, veritable little giants.

There was also a blazing flame between the pterosaur's back and head.

The black pterosaur flapped its wings, and dense crescent-shaped flames detached from its back, heading straight for Alyosha.

Alyosha neither dodged nor evaded, but instead swung the serrated energy wheel formed from his life force in his palm as a weapon.

Crescent-shaped fireballs exploded in the air, obscuring Alyosha's vision.

The attackers had no intention of engaging Alyosha. With a flap of their wings, they swooped down from the sky, skimming across the sea, their target being Hanafuda, who was standing on the pirate ship below.

"Hanafuda-nii!"

A burly man standing on the pterosaur's back shouted Hanafuda's name. His body also changed as the pterosaur skimmed low over the sea. His nose on his face suddenly lengthened, turning into a thick and long elephant trunk that rolled up Hanafuda.

Having rescued the person, the other party did not linger with Alyosha and flew towards the nearest island.

That is the location of the Navy Headquarters' G-1 branch, which is located near the New World Seas.

The harsh words of Hanafuda, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, were also left in the air.

"Navy kid, G-1 branch or my men, you choose! Hahaha!"

Hanafuda's unpleasant laughter echoed in the wind.

Alyosha didn't not want to pursue; he simply couldn't catch up.

Over the years, he has developed various functions of the Six Powers he learned through his monstrous physique and his innate top-level special Observation Haki. For example, the Moon Walk, which can only stay in the air for a short time, was developed by Alyosha into the Flying Technique from the Dragon Ball movie.

However, he cannot accelerate his flight through a burst of energy like the martial artists in Dragon Ball. His Moonwalk: Flying only provides Alyosha with the same ability to float in the air as Shiki.

To move at high speed in the air, Alyosha had to use the short-range displacement skill "Shave" from the Six Powers.

So rather than saying Alyosha was flying in the air, it would be more accurate to say that he was running in the air.

Since Alyosha's strength has not improved further, his two legs are naturally not as fast as others' flying speed.

But Alyosha was not in a hurry.

Hanafuda clearly had no intention of giving up so easily; on the contrary, he planned to get back at them because of the arrival of his helpers.

He dared not abandon his men so easily.

Although pirates are known for their wickedness and lack of trust among themselves, often resorting to swords at the slightest provocation, once someone reaches the level of Hanafuda, they must be mindful of their reputation, especially in the New World.

Hanafuda simply left today, but tomorrow the news that Marine Rear Admiral Alyosha defeated the Hanafuda Pirates will spread like wildfire throughout the world.

In the New World, pirates of all ranks will know that Hanafuda, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, abandoned his subordinates to save his own life. Therefore, when pirates enter the New World and want to establish a connection, they will put Hanafuda, one of the Seven Warlords, last.

Since they're all out here doing this dangerous business of piracy, who wouldn't want to follow a boss with a respectable reputation?

Understanding the intention behind the flower cards, Alyosha smiled.

He looked toward another battlefield on the sea, the battlefield where Hanafuda's men were on their ships and where the elite trainee marines were fighting.

Just as Alyosha was fighting Hanafuda, the six pirate ships controlled by Hanafuda's men had already engaged in boarding combat with Alyosha's three recruit warships.

With Zephyr, a retired naval powerhouse from the old era, in charge, this boarding action did not turn out to be one-sided.

On the contrary, Zephyr regarded this boarding action as a practical exercise for these elite trainee marines against the pirates of the New World.

With six top fighters—Zeff, Cyrus, Sentomaru, T. Penn, Binz, and Ain—in charge, the situation of this live-fire exercise was completely under Zeff's control.

Whenever things went wrong on the battlefield, Zephyr would send Cyrus and his men to provide immediate support.

This is where the advantages of Binz and Ain, both Devil Fruit users, become apparent.

Binz is a user of the Lush Fruit, which allows him to make the seeds he throws grow rapidly in a way that defies the laws of nature through his body movements. Ain, on the other hand, is a user of the Rewind Fruit, which causes anyone or anything she touches to go back twelve years.

These two were the two students that Zephyr was most concerned about among the elite marine trainees he brought. They had also gone to the four seas with Alyosha to recruit students before and had stayed by Alyosha's side.

Both of their Devil Fruit abilities were improved under Alyosha's guidance.

As you can see, there are lush, unidentified plants growing on these three warships, connecting the three ships together to form a huge maritime platform.

Those elite trainee marines who were injured in the battle with the pirates were immediately brought to Ain's side.

Ain directly used her Devil Fruit ability to revert the injuries of these elite trainee marines back to before they were injured, locking them in their current state.

Under the command of the veteran naval chief instructor, Zephyr, the battlefield was divided into three parts.

Zephyr was in command, with Cyrus, T. Poon, and Sentomaru as the mobile units. Luffy and his crew formed a temporary medical team and went out with Cyrus and his crew. Cyrus and his crew were responsible for taking down the pirates, while Zephyr was responsible for escorting the wounded marines to Ain for treatment.

There is a clear division of labor, and everyone performs their duties.

"What? They played pretty well."

Alyosha watched as the scales of victory gradually tilted in his favor, and made a sarcastic remark. The serrated aura that had gathered in his palm did not dissipate, but instead aimed at the pirate ship carrying his subordinates, Hanafuda.

Life Energy - Qi Element Severing and Modification - Eight-Part Light Wheel!

The saw-toothed air wheel slipped from Alyosha's hand and grew larger in the wind during flight, splitting into six.

Six towering gas wheels, comparable in height to small warships, attacked from behind the pirates, leaving a massive gash from stern to bow on the six enormous pirate ships in the blink of an eye.

Although the attack did not split the six massive pirate ships in two, and the number of pirates killed along the way was not large, the attack from the rear meant that their leader, Hanafuda, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, had not been able to deal with Alyosha.

Especially when they saw Alyosha suspended in the sky, spotless, while their leader Hanafuda was nowhere to be seen, leaving only the main ship split in two on the sea, the morale of these pirates vanished.

"I surrender! I surrender!"

-----------------

"Ran, you're always doing unnecessary things. Wouldn't it be better to let these kids see some blood?"

The battle ended quickly after Alyosha made his move.

Realizing that their leader, Hanafuda, had run away, and seeing that Alyosha had almost cut up six pirate ships in one fell swoop, these pirates naturally lost their will to fight.

Apart from a few who put up a stubborn resistance and were killed outright, the rest obediently laid down their weapons and surrendered.

Zepha, who had only been in charge of command from beginning to end, was also complaining about Alyosha's actions.

Alyosha shrugged at Zefa's seemingly complaining but actually teasing tone, leaving Zefa somewhat helpless.

As he watched the marines cleaning up the battlefield, Zephyr also looked in the direction of the Navy's G-1 branch. He had also heard the harsh words Hanafuda uttered when she was rescued.

This naval encounter with Hanafuda, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, was, frankly speaking, a matter of saving face for both sides.

The title of Shichibukai sounds prestigious, but aren't they still pirates? They just have the World Government's permission to plunder. In the eyes of ordinary people, they are still those wicked pirates.

If naval warships, which are supposed to uphold maritime justice, choose to back down, it would undoubtedly be a slap in the face to the world's navies.

But now that they've regained their footing, Hanafuda has backed down and wants to use the G-1 branch as leverage to exchange subordinates with Alyosha and his group. Zephyr is considering whether to accept this exchange.

Zefa also left the question of whether to accept the exchange to Alyosha.

"Ran, what do you think?"

"not enough."

"You won't accept the exchange of flower cards?"

"He fired at us first, and we, as the Navy, retaliated and won the victory. On what grounds does he have to exchange hostages with us? What right does he have to exchange hostages with us, just because he is one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea?"

"Ran, don't act impulsively."

Seeing Alyosha's forced smile, Zefa tried to persuade him to calm down.

But Alyosha did not answer. Instead, he walked straight to the platform, looked at the marines who were cleaning up the battlefield, and spoke again:

"Soldiers, we have won!"

Alyosha's voice echoed across the warship, winning cheers from the marines. Alyosha did not stop them, but waited until the cheers subsided before continuing, "But Hanafuda, the pirate who fired at us, refuses to accept his defeat. He wants to exchange the G-1 branch for us."

"Exchange what, Commander Alyosha?"

A marine in the audience called out a question.

"In exchange for these pirates we captured after making a solemn vow and shedding blood, I can tell you now that soon, Zephyr and I will receive Den Den Mushi from headquarters, instructing us to accept the Hanafuda exchange and return these captured pirates to them."

Zefa stood aside, listening to Alyosha's words without offering any explanation.

Because he knew Alyosha was right. Based on his understanding of his old friend Sengoku, he knew very well that for the sake of the bigger picture, Sengoku would order him and Alyosha to accept this exchange of Hanafuda cards, at most making Hanafuda cards pay a large sum of compensation.

After all, no marines died in this battle, and even if some did, they could be compensated with money.

The sailors on the ship listened to Alyosha's words and turned their gazes to Zephyr, the chief instructor of the naval academy, hoping to get answers from this highly respected instructor.

Just then, a communications soldier came to Zephyr with a constantly ringing Den Den Mushi.

"Report, a call from headquarters!"

'Brubrubb~ Brubrubb~'

The unique ringtone of the Den Den Mushi echoed on the warship, drawing the attention of all the marines to the Den Den Mushi held in the hands of the communications officer and to Zephyr standing in front of it.

Faced with the persistent calls from the Den Den Mushi, Zephyr answered the phone in silence.

The appearance of the Den Den Mushi also began to change as Zephyr answered the phone, and Sengoku's voice was also transmitted through the Den Den Mushi.

"Zeffa, is Ran next to you?"

Zephyr glanced at Alyosha standing beside him, then looked down at the marines who were all looking at him, before saying, "He's leading the soldiers to clean up the battlefield. What do you want to say to him?"

There was silence on the other end of the Den Den Mushi, then Sengoku's voice came through again.

"I received a call from the G-1 branch. I already know the situation, and the dyeing is going very well."

"Is that all you wanted to say, Sengoku?"

"...Hanafuda made a condition: he would pay a sum of money in exchange for his men."

"So, you accepted his terms."

"Zeff, Hanafuda is from the Seven Warlords of the Sea."

"He attacked our troop transport ship."

"He could say it was a misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding that would have escalated into conflict if we hadn't backed down? Navy warships yielding to pirate ships? Sengoku, are you awake?"

"Zeffa! Don't take your anger out on me. You know very well that I accepted Hanafuda's conditions for the greater good, and I'm obeying orders!"

Sengoku's voice on the other end of the Den Den Mushi rose several octaves. Anyone with eyes could see just how furious Sengoku was, judging from the Den Den Mushi's changing appearance.

He couldn't understand why Zefa, his old comrade-in-arms who had fought alongside him for many years, would act so foolishly at this moment.

Zephyr certainly didn't want to act recklessly, but looking at every marine he had trained below the stage, and at the way they looked at him, he couldn't bring himself to tell Sengoku on the other end of the Den Den Mushi the words "obey orders."

He knew what a blow it would be to these sailors who yearned for justice if he spoke out.

Their eyes will lose their light of justice.

so···

"I refuse to obey orders, Sengoku. Ran has already gone to deal with the Hanafuda matter, and I can't stop him."

"What?! Zephyr, you!"

After saying that, Zephyr hung up the Den Den Mushi without waiting for Sengoku to say anything more.

The moment Zephyr hung up the Den Den Mushi, cheers erupted from the Marines below!

Zephyr sighed, looking at the cheering marines, and then at Alyosha beside him.

"Ran, do whatever you want. If anything happens, I'll take responsibility for you."

"Nothing will happen, Professor Zephyr."

Alyosha looked at Zephyr, the old marine who held fast to his sense of justice until the very last moment, and offered him words of comfort.

Then he took a step forward and drowned out the cheers of the marines with his own voice.

"Young soldiers, remember this: justice cannot be compromised! Now, I command: target G-1 branch, full speed ahead! Let us celebrate this victory there!"

"Yes, Commander Alyosha!"

Upon receiving Alyosha's order, all the marines on board stood at attention, their eyes resolute, and saluted Alyosha.

Alyosha returned the salute with a military salute.

Then, the three warships, one large and two small, completed the battlefield cleanup at top speed and turned around.

Head straight to the Navy's G-1 branch, located near the entrance to the New World Seas!