Declaration of War

"Have pirates really been here?" Ain couldn’t help asking as she looked over Dressrosa, still peaceful and prosperous as ever. Her eyes turned to Vergo.

Vergo also felt that something was off. Every aspect of Dressrosa was practically bound to the Doflamingo Family, especially Sugar, who could almost be called Dressrosa’s detonation switch.

Even if the enemy had done nothing to Sugar in order to occupy Dressrosa, the entire Doflamingo Family couldn’t possibly have surrendered so easily, could they?

The Donquixote Family had always had a fairly good atmosphere. Doflamingo might have been ambitious and ruthless, but he had always shown great concern for his family. Whether it was an act or sincere, he put on a convincing display, so the Donquixote Family possessed strong unity.

Vergo wouldn’t have found it surprising if some among them had betrayed the family, but he absolutely couldn’t believe they had all betrayed it.

Yet unless everyone—or at least the vast majority—had betrayed it, how could Dressrosa possibly be as peaceful as it was now?

While Vergo was still baffled, Zephyr strode forward with a stern expression. As an old Marine in his seventies, what strange things hadn’t he seen? No matter the problem, once he smashed the opponent flat with his fists, it would no longer be a problem!

After taking only a few steps, Zephyr saw a flash of light before his eyes. A short Tontatta popped out and grinningly handed him a letter.

Zephyr took the letter with an odd look on his face. Once he opened it, astonishment appeared on his face.

"What is that, Teacher?" Shuzo, standing beside him, couldn’t help asking.

"A declaration of war!"

Zephyr’s expression turned grave.

In Dressrosa’s Flower Field, which had already been ravaged once by Yota’s Almighty Push, the beautiful scenery had been blasted into a massive crater.

Later, however, Yota had thrown all the broken rocks back in, so now it looked more or less like an ordinary dirt mound.

At that moment, the group of Marines approached the mound with wary expressions.

From the bottom of his heart, Vergo didn’t really want to follow Yota’s pace.

Who knew how many traps Yota had set here? Not to mention those bizarre Devil Fruit abilities. Many Paramecia abilities could completely ignore the difference in strength between both sides once their conditions were met.

Unfortunately, when working within the Marine system, it was hard to say at the lower levels, but once one reached the upper ranks, one had to uphold a certain degree of justice—no matter how twisted that justice might be.

Since the pirates had sent them a declaration of war, how could the Marines refuse to fight? They couldn’t exactly have the pirates choose some remote area, only for the Marines to insist on destroying Dressrosa instead, could they?

All the way here, the Marines encountered neither trouble nor ambushes. It seemed their opponents had truly called them here for nothing more than a fight.

The more things were like this, the more vigilant Zephyr became. He even vaguely hoped that Yota really had arranged some kind of contingency here.

Because if the other side knew that this group of Marines was coming and still hadn’t prepared any backup, it could only mean that they were confident they possessed the absolute strength to contend with them.

Ordinary small-time pirates might not know their place, but pirates who had served under the Whitebeard Pirates, from Zephyr’s own era, definitely understood the weight carried by a Naval Admiral. They couldn’t possibly be clinging to blind luck.

Yet in the end, Zephyr and the others still encountered no ambush. They saw only Yota standing atop a small dirt mound, both hands tucked into his pockets.

Behind Yota stood the siblings Ulti and Page One, along with Kyros.

Kyros looked somewhat stern, while the siblings appeared much more relaxed. After witnessing Yota beat Kaido senseless, neither of them believed anyone could defeat Yota in a one-on-one fight. The entire Marine force would have to be mobilized for that.

"What is a member of the Whitebeard Pirates doing in Dressrosa?" Zephyr stared coldly at Yota. "Could it be that the Whitebeard Pirates want to start another great war?"

Yota smiled faintly. "No. I merely want to travel around the world on my own. After all… the world is so big. I want to see it for myself."

That sounded less like something a pirate would say and more like an adventurer. Zephyr frowned. Of course, he knew all kinds of people became pirates. In fact, quite a few pirates shared Yota’s desire for adventure.

But considering Yota’s position in the Whitebeard Pirates, saying something like that was rather strange.

It had been said before: ordinary pirates were one thing, but Great Pirates on the level of the Four Emperors and their principal officers generally would not head to the Four Seas or the first half of the Grand Line without special circumstances.

This was an understanding reached between the Great Pirates, the World Government, and the Marines. Yet Yota seemed utterly unconcerned by it.

The only explanation was that this man was extremely confident that the Marines could do nothing to him.

"Hmph! If you want to see something, then go take a look at Impel Down! The scenery there has always been quite distinctive!"

Zephyr casually shrugged off his coat, revealing muscles that looked ready to explode. He fixed Yota with a cold stare.

No matter how much was said or guessed, the Pirate World still ultimately relied on fists. A few verbal jabs and pointless speculation wouldn’t make Zephyr back down.

"I’ve heard of the scenery there. But if I ever get the chance, I’d still prefer to go there myself. I won’t trouble you Marines to escort me."

Yota remained smiling as he simply pulled his hands from his pockets, looking as though he didn’t take Zephyr seriously at all.

"Brat, underestimating me comes at a price." Zephyr raised his enormous mechanical arm and, without another word, fired several huge Sea Stone bullets.

A swirl of black mist rolled from Yota’s hand, instantly swallowing the Sea Stone bullets. Then he opened two tiny Dark Holes and reflected the bullets back.

Zephyr activated his Armament Haki and easily knocked the two Sea Stone bullets away. At their level, ordinary firearms were virtually useless. Even though Zephyr’s arm was a specially made Sea Stone crusher with tremendous power, it could only make use of the Sea Stone bullets’ properties against Devil Fruit users whose abilities were unknown.

Just as Zephyr knocked away the two bullets, Yota flashed before him and threw a punch.

A thunderous boom erupted, followed by a terrifying blast wave. Armament Haki and a body tempered through countless trials unleashed a Havok far stronger than artillery fire, sweeping directly through the entire Marine formation.