One Piece: Surrounded at Marineford? Just kidding!

Chapter 253: Don't die at Zhang Yi's hands!

Dawn breaks on the edge of the clouds, and the sky is slowly turning white.

The deck of the Moby Dick still smelled of a hangover.

The banquet was over, and the pirates lay sprawled out, snoring while hugging empty wine barrels, occasionally uttering a few words in their sleep.

In the silence of the deck, three figures stood on the ship's side.

Chenye stood with his hands behind his back. Aokiji Kuzan leaned against the railing with his hands in his pockets, his tall body slumped, and his breath quickly dissipated.

Zefa, standing between the two, had a constantly shifting expression in his eyes.

Chen Ye's treatment transformed him completely. The old scars on his body were still there, but the deathly aura was gone.

He resembled a lion that had just woken up, except that his eyes had lost their ferocity and gained something else.

A night of revelry and unsuspecting drinking sprees did indeed allow him to release the pent-up frustrations that had been weighing on his heart for over a decade.

"Are you leaving already?"

A deep voice sounded from behind.

The white-bearded man, carrying the supreme grade sword "Murakumogiri," stood like a mountain beside the gangway connecting the two ships.

Behind him, Marco, Joz, Vista, and the other captains had also woken up early and stood quietly, their eyes filled with farewell to the strongman.

Following the white-bearded man's gaze, a brand-new medium-sized sailboat was moored next to the Moby Dick.

That wasn't a pirate ship; it wasn't flying any flags.

The ship has strong lines, is entirely black, and is made of solid materials, giving it a style that can withstand the storms of the new world.

This was a farewell gift that Whitebeard had arranged overnight and that the shipwright had urgently reinforced.

Zefa stared at the ship, his Adam's apple bobbing.

A former Marine Admiral who has spent his entire life catching pirates is now about to receive a gift from his "pirate" rival.

In the past, this would have been a great disgrace.

Now, he just took a breath of cold air.

Zefa's lips moved, as if he wanted to say something harsh, but seeing the white-bearded man's open eyes, he finally just let out a muffled groan from his nose.

He turned around, looking directly into the white-bearded man's golden, full-moon-like eyes, his voice hoarse.

"Newgate, I will remember this favor."

Zephyr paused, his eyes sharpening like knives once more, a proud expression befitting "Black Arm."

"But don't think that a drink and a ship can change anything. I'm still the same Zeff who hates pirates."

He clenched his newborn right fist, and his knuckles cracked.

"If we meet again on the battlefield, we will still be enemies. Then, I will show no mercy."

Marco and the others frowned, but the white-bearded man threw his head back and laughed.

"Gurarararara!"

The laughter dispersed the morning mist and startled several seagulls into flight.

The white-bearded man slammed the handle of his Murakumo-giri sword heavily onto the deck with a dull thud like a drum.

"Zeffa, you old devil, you're still so unlovable! But..."

The white-bearded man lowered his head, his eyes filled with approval of his fellow human.

"Just stop looking like a pathetic, suicidal dog! Now that you've been given a second chance at life, you'd better live like a human being!"

The white-bearded man waved his hand, pointing towards the vast sea.

"This sea is vast! Go, Zephyr! Don't die in memories, die in the new wave! Go and see what this new era that Chenye kid talks about is really like!"

"To die in the new wave...?"

Zefa muttered to himself, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, as if mocking himself, or perhaps feeling relieved.

"Hmph, I don't need you to lecture me."

After saying that, he turned and walked away, striding onto the springboard.

Aokiji scratched his messy curly hair and waved lazily at Marco and the others.

"Oh dear, thank you for the treat. The wine is indeed excellent."

Marco rolled his eyes.

"Next time you come, you might be an enemy, Kuzan."

"Who knows?"

Aokiji's eyes, however, were unusually clear.

"Perhaps the rules of this sea will have changed by the time we meet again."

Chen Ye nodded to the white-bearded man.

"Let's go, Dad."

As soon as Chen Ye finished speaking, he flashed and landed on the deck of the new ship.

The three boarded the ship one by one.

The sailboat untied its moorings and was about to depart, but Zefa stopped in his tracks.

He stood at the stern, turned around, and gazed through the parted sea surface, finally landing on the flag flying high on the Moby Dick.

A skull with a crescent-shaped beard.

The symbol he once hated the most.

At this moment, in the morning light, the flag was particularly dazzling, yet also exceptionally real.

There was an indescribable emotion in Zefa's eyes.

He sacrificed his family, students, arm, and dignity for the banner of justice, only to be betrayed by that banner in the end.

Now, at the moment when he most wanted to die, it was the man under the pirate flag who accepted him, gave him dignity, and sent him on his journey.

"Justice... Evil..."

Zefa closed his eyes, took a breath, as if trying to swallow the complex taste into his lungs.

When he opened his eyes again, his gaze was unwavering.

"Let's go!"

He gave a low shout and didn't turn around.

The sailboat set sail, its white sails billowing in the wind, leaving behind the enormous shadow of the Moby Dick and heading towards the vast ocean.

On the deck of the Moby Dick, the crew members gradually woke up and watched the departing sailboats. Some waved, and some whistled.

The white-bearded man simply stood there, long sword in hand, like a statue, watching his old nemesis until the ship became a small black dot on the horizon.

……

We've been away from the Moby Dick for an hour.

The only sound was the crashing of waves against the hull.

Zefa sat cross-legged in the middle of the deck, wiping his right arm, which needed to readjust.

He needs to rediscover the feeling of fighting with his fists.

Aokiji moved a recliner over, I don’t know where he got it from, and put on an eye mask, ready to take a nap.

Chen Ye stood at the bow of the ship, the sea breeze ruffling the hem of his clothes.

The boat beneath my feet is moving at a steady speed.

too slow.

At this speed, it would take at least half a month to reach Baltimore, the latter half of the Grand Line.

A lot can happen in half a month.

"The world government must have gone mad."

Chen Ye suddenly spoke, his voice not loud, but very clear.

Aokiji pulled down his blindfold, revealing one eye.

"Oh my, that's for sure. Former Marine Admiral Zephyr, former Marine Admiral Kuzan, plus a Time Emperor with a bounty of 7.5 billion... With these three together, the Five Elders probably won't be able to sleep."

Zefa snorted and stopped what he was doing.

"It's good that they're panicking. It's time for those arrogant pigs to feel fear."

Chen Ye turned around, leaned against the ship's railing, and smiled playfully.

"Since they're panicking, we can't keep them waiting too long. Besides, that guy Long is probably waiting for our 'surprise' too."

He glanced at the sails, then at the sea, and shook his head.

"This ship is too slow."

Aokiji yawned.

"There's no way around it, the wind's blowing down. Unless you can make the wind stronger... or, I could pave a path with ice?"

"No need for that."

Chen Ye straightened up, and a strange wave spread out.

He turned to look at Zephyr and Aokiji, his golden eyes gleaming.

"Hold on tight, you two."

"I need to speed up."