Chapter 305

"Who's stronger?"

In the hotel room of Mogu Town, Zefu stared at an unlit cigarette for a long time before answering.

"If we're talking purely about destructive power, Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen is undoubtedly stronger—Marineford was destroyed by his hands."

"However,"

"actual combat outcomes depend on many factors; overall, Rocks' combat skills are superior, but Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen has greater advantages in other areas."

"In a life-or-death duel, the final victory would belong to Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen."

Just thinking of Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen possessing top-tier three-color Haki, an ultimate great sword, a top-tier Devil Fruit, and an almost supernatural recovery ability...

Zefu felt utterly hopeless.

Aside from combat technique needing improvement, Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen leads this era in every other aspect.

For the Marines to face such an unsolvable enemy is truly tragic—a despairing, invincible tragedy.

And if not for his intervention this time, New Marineford would likely have been destroyed by the Four Emperors.

After the Marineford battle, Zefu hated Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen alone; now he was deeply entangled—having both enmity and debt is the most frustrating thing of all.

Can you possibly repay the debt before taking revenge?

"So... like this..."

Enel had never imagined Zefu held such a high opinion of the captain; since joining the Marines, he had never fought any top-tier expert besides Zefu.

He had no concrete sense of the captain's strength.

Zefu's words suddenly made Enel realize—the Lei Shen who brought him to Qinghai and promised to take him to the Infinite Land in three years was almost certainly the strongest man alive.

Enel became even more confused.

The captain was already so powerful and had become a World Noble, a Celestial Dragon—why had he specifically sent Enel to infiltrate the Marines?

It wasn't that infiltration was bad; without the captain's mission, Enel would never have met Master Zefu—but Enel couldn't understand the captain's true intentions.

Was it to control the Marines through him?

The moment this thought flashed through his mind, Enel dismissed it.

From the unintentional hints Zefu had dropped over the past two years and his own observations within the Marines, Enel reached a conclusion—

No matter how many Marines there were, they were useless before the captain; one sweep of Conqueror's Haki would knock them all down.

Then why, exactly?

No one answered Enel's confusion.

Night fell quickly; after checking out with Zefu, Enel hurried to the transaction site.

During his two years of Marine training, Enel had gained some understanding of the three types of Devil Fruits, unlike his complete ignorance during his time on the Skypiea.

Mythical Zoan Devil Fruits were rarer than Logia types, though the captain had once scoffed at this notion.

If he could somehow obtain the Yamata no Orochi form, Enel would undergo a massive power boost—beyond immense physical enhancement, Mythical Zoans also carry additional elemental properties.

Similar to Kaido's Dragon-Dragon Fruit, which grants flame clouds, fire, lightning, and storms.

Enel couldn't help but recall—

Before coming to the Marines, the captain had once presented him with a Mythical Zoan Vampire form... which the young, ignorant Enel had rejected in disgust.

If only it could be heavy again, Enel would never have refused; after all, if he had already eaten the Vampire form, he could have given the Yamata no Orochi form to Master Zefu.

Master Zefu was old.

A Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit could at least strengthen his body, preventing frequent asthma attacks.

Unfortunately, Enel felt his contribution wasn't enough, and he was too ashamed to ask the captain for the Vampire form.

If he could obtain the Yamata no Orochi form tonight, he would definitely find time to contact the captain and beg him to give the Vampire form to Master Zefu.

It's just master and disciple both working for the captain, isn't it?

Enel knew well that Master Zefu harbored deep resentment toward the World Government and the Marines; there was at least some chance he might serve the captain.

The master and disciple lay in ambush near the transaction site, waiting silently for both parties to arrive before killing them and seizing their goods.

Both parties were pirates; killing them was only natural—the Marines killing pirates was only right.

About two and a half hours later.

A tall, muscular figure appeared in the master and disciple's sight—wearing a long, wide black cloak, wielding a massive scythe.

Seeing him, Zefu muttered under his breath.

"Hanafulza of the Saint Saint Saiwen Warlords? Why him? Could the seller be Moonlight Moria?"

It was hard for Zefu not to suspect when one Warlord traveled to another's territory for a transaction.

But when a large pirate ship reached the shoreline, Zefu realized he was wrong.

"Shark Pirate Crew captain Shak."

Thirteen years ago, Zefu's family was killed by pirates; since then, he had hated pirates and memorized the bounties of nearly every pirate on the Grand Line.

The Shark Pirate Crew was a major crew active on Long Chain Island in the Paradise; their captain, Shark, had a bounty of 130 million Berries.

Zefu hid in the shadows, his eyes fixed intently on the negotiating parties, seemingly weighing the possibility of killing them and taking their goods.

If he could hold off Hanafulza, Enel could easily handle Shak; the other pirate thugs were no threat.

Yet before Zefu could move, Hanafulza and the Shark Pirate Crew began fighting each other.

"Master, what's going on?"

"Black-on-black," Zefu sneered. "For pirates, black-on-black is as simple as eating and drinking."

Hearing this, Enel instantly understood.

"So they're low-tier pirates."

Zefu's words died in his throat—the notion of "low-tier pirates" had spawned "low-tier Marines" and "high-tier Marines," a plague sweeping across the entire sea.

Not only pirates suffered from it,

Even the branch navies of the Four Seas and the main Navy itself take pride in becoming a High Navy.

Saint Saint Saint Saiwen, who spoke these words, has lived out the dream of all pirates and holds many believers among the Navy's grassroots.

The specific details of the Marineford War were strictly forbidden from being leaked by the World Government; aside from the Navy's high command, all new-generation Marines who joined through the World General Conscription were kept in the dark.

With Saint Saint Saint Saiwen stepping forward to mediate the war between the Four Emperors and the Navy, Zeff could already foresee the future rift within the Navy.

The Navy's high command holds both a grudge against Saint Saint Saint Saiwen and must acknowledge his favor, while ordinary Marines only know of the favor.

Facing such a difficult enemy, does the Navy still have a chance to win?

The master and disciple held their positions without moving, waiting for the buyer and seller to tear each other apart and produce a result, at which time they would strike with ease to seize the Yamata no Orochi form.

Not only Zeff and his disciple had this thought; the trio of Gecko Moria, the Warlord and lord of the Goa Kingdom, shared it as well.

As the head of the local gang, Moria had long set his sights on this Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit.

"Captain, when do we make our move?"

Behind Moria, his two henchmen, Cat Fushe and Brook, watched the front eagerly, ready to act.

"What's the rush? Wait for them to decide the winner first."

When he followed Captain Saint Saint Saiwen to reclaim Wano Country, Moria had seen Hannafza of the Beasts Pirates; if the Captain was willing to spare Kaido's life, he certainly did not want to miss such a good opportunity.

Today, Hannafza must be beheaded, and Kaido's arm severed first.

To avenge the suffering of the elders and people of our hometown.