In a remote sea region, two ships floated amidst chaos.

One was a marine battleship.

The other, a small pirate vessel.

The two ships had already come alongside each other, and screams of anguish echoed from the marine ship.

“Edward Weevil, kill them all! We’ve already been exposed, and there’s no chance of becoming a Warlord of the Sea. Let’s seize the riches of this ocean and claim unrivaled fame!” barked Bakkin, urging her son Edward Weevil to unleash his slaughter.

“Edward Weevil, don’t you fear the might of the Marines?” some marine officers shouted, fighting desperately while issuing hollow threats.

“Hahaha! What strength does Marine Headquarters even have left now? All their elites are in the New World, battling the Sun and Moon Pirates. This is the perfect opportunity to make a name for ourselves!” Bakkin sneered triumphantly.

The events on New World’s Lodestar had already spread to the first half of the Grand Line. However, the significant incident in Mary Geoise was still largely unknown to the wider seas.

“Damn it, send an SOS to Marineford! Request Admiral Zephyr’s immediate support!”

While fending off the attack, the marine officers ordered the inexperienced recruits to call for help.

Among the recruits, Ain, the most outstanding of the current training camp, rushed to the ship’s Den Den Mushi, connecting it to Marine Headquarters and eventually to Zephyr.

“Admiral Zephyr! Admiral Zephyr! This is an emergency! The recruit battleship has been ambushed by the pirate Edward Weevil. We urgently request reinforcements!” Ain pleaded, her voice trembling with panic.

Every second counted as marines fell to Weevil’s relentless assault.

Edward Weevil might be dismissed as a minor figure by Kuke, but on the seas, he was a monster—a formidable force among pirates.

At Marine Headquarters, Zephyr was tense. He had just learned of a significant event: Kuke and his forces had invaded the Holy Land, Mary Geoise. The very thought left him paralyzed.

Zephyr was mobilizing all available forces to support the Holy Land. Amid this critical moment, Ain’s distress call reached him.

“An ambush?” Zephyr’s brow furrowed.

But now, Marine Headquarters had no spare forces to deploy. Moreover, memories of being ousted from the training camp lingered in Zephyr’s mind. To him, these recruits held no emotional weight.

Publicly and personally, he neither wanted to nor could provide assistance.

“Hold out. Escape the enemy at all costs,” Zephyr replied coldly, essentially leaving the recruits to fend for themselves.

“Admiral Zephyr, what did you just say?” Ain could hardly believe her ears. They were pleading for support, yet he was telling them to solve it on their own. If they could do that, why would they even ask for help?

Their enemy was the monstrous Edward Weevil, a pirate with a bounty of over 400 million beli, rumored to possess the strength of a young Whitebeard. How could a group of recruits and retired vice admirals stand a chance?

“Marine Headquarters has no available forces,” Zephyr repeated, his tone unyielding. The fate of Mary Geoise, and by extension the World Government, took precedence over a mere training camp.

Ain refused to believe it. “How can there be no one? There are still at least ten vice admirals and strategists like Tsuru in Marine Headquarters, not to mention you, Admiral Zephyr!”

“Are you questioning me?” Zephyr’s tone grew colder.

The truth was simple: no reinforcements could be spared. Sending even a regular vice admiral would be akin to sending them to their deaths, which would only increase the casualties.

“Admiral Zephyr, why? Why won’t you send help? There are…” Ain’s desperate cries were cut off by the sound of the line disconnecting.

The finality of the dead line filled Ain with despair.

Zephyr had hung up.

He had no time to waste on the training camp, as all resources were being directed to protect Mary Geoise. Of course, he wouldn’t disclose the details of the crisis to Ain. There was no explanation, and there would be none.

Ain stared blankly at the silent Den Den Mushi as screams continued to pierce the air. Her trembling hands dialed again and again, but no one answered.

Lost in despair, Ain wandered onto the blood-stained deck like a ghost.

“Any news?”

The marines, fighting desperately and clinging to a sliver of hope, looked to Ain.

“Hurry up, Weevil! Finish them before Marine reinforcements arrive!” Bakkin shouted, urging her son.

The slaughter raged on. The deck was awash with blood as marines and recruits fell one after another.

“Admiral Zephyr refused to send reinforcements. He told us to solve it ourselves,” Ain announced, her voice hollow, delivering the despairing news to her comrades.

“Why?” one instructor asked in disbelief.

How could they be abandoned like this? Were they supposed to watch helplessly as their students and fellow marines died?

“Has Admiral Zephyr lost his mind?” muttered another, his admiration for Zephyr now replaced by anger. These were his former students—how could he turn a blind eye?

Faced with despair, some officers lost their will to fight. Without reinforcements, survival seemed impossible. Their only hope had been a fighting chance with reinforcements. Now, even that was gone.

“Even without reinforcements, we can’t give up! Giving up means death. Fighting to the end still offers a glimmer of hope!”

“That’s right!”

Even the inexperienced recruits gritted their teeth, picking up weapons and preparing to give their all.

Ain drew her short blade, ready to fight alongside her comrades.

The battle continued, with casualties mounting. Edward Weevil’s rampage left corpses trampled beneath his feet.

“There’s no chance. We can’t win,” muttered one of the remaining three officers, bloodied and leaning on a broken weapon. Behind them stood only a dozen wounded recruits. Over 90% of their forces had been wiped out.

“You should jump into the sea. It’s your only hope,” the officer said, his gaze vacant as he looked at the recruits.

“Jump into the sea?” Ain stared at the vast expanse of water. Her teeth clenched so hard that blood trickled down her lips.

As a Devil Fruit user, jumping into the sea was suicide. If she were to die, she’d rather die fighting.

“Why? Why?” Ain couldn’t understand. Why had they been abandoned? Why were they left to die?

The sense of betrayal crushed the marines’ morale. With reinforcements, they might have held on longer. Now, in just a couple of hours, their forces had been decimated.

“Isn’t the Navy supposed to stand for justice?” Ain, just a teenager, couldn’t reconcile this reality with her ideals.

“Edward Weevil, kill them all!”

“Yes, Mama,” Weevil replied, his monstrous figure brandishing a blood-soaked halberd, his eyes glowing red.

Ain caught a glimpse of him and felt the shadow of death looming over her. She closed her eyes, accepting her fate.

“Bow down!”

Suddenly, a thunderous voice rang out.

Edward Weevil felt an overwhelming wave of Conqueror’s Haki crash into him, forcing his knees to buckle under its pressure. Deep within his simple mind, the voice stirred a primal fear.

Weevil collapsed to his knees.

Ain, her eyes tightly shut, slowly opened them, disbelief etched across her face.

——

DONT FORGET POWER STONE

________________________________

P/S: If you are interested, you can read up 50+ chapters at patreon.com/Emik01.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep