One Piece: A Warlord's Path

Chapter 824: Punk Hazard Arc Conclusion

Kingdom of Clifford.

Royal Capital, Nakor.

Central Tower. Rooftop.

Aeridar lay squinting on a beach chair, clad only in shorts with his upper body bare. Beside him, Zhurong flitted up and down, seemingly having the time of its life playing solo.

Pere pere pere... Pere pere pere...

Suddenly, a palm-sized Den Den Mushi on the nearby table began to ring.

Clack.

Aeridar’s eyes snapped open, a sharp glint flashing within them as he reached out and answered the call.

"This is Aeridar."

"Captain, it’s Jason," came a voice from the other end.

"How did things go?" Aeridar asked tonelessly.

"My apologies... we failed," Jason said, his voice strained. "The entire island of Punk Hazard has vanished from the face of the earth."

"Nani?!"

Aeridar bolted upright in shock. "What the hell happened?"

"Due to our oversight, coupled with Trafalgar Law’s sudden betrayal, the Straw Hat Pirates and the G-5 Marines managed to escape." Jason didn’t dare hide anything, immediately taking the brunt of the responsibility.

"And then?"

Aeridar’s expression darkened. Law’s betrayal was something he had considered possible, yet it still caught him off guard. In the original timeline, Law betrayed the alliance to take down Doflamingo, but with Aeridar’s interference, he had assumed the sheer pressure would have kept the surgeon in line.

After all, with the Chris Pirates and the Donquixote Family joining forces, such a massive power was not something the Heart Pirates and the Straw Hats could hope to oppose. Betrayal should have meant certain annihilation at the hands of Aeridar and Doflamingo.

Did Law actually come up with a scheme capable of rivaling both our crews?

"Cavendish was pinned down by Roronoa Zoro, Otto was defeated by Straw Hat Luffy, and Vergo fell in battle under the combined assault of Law and Smoker," Jason reported in a low voice. "If Enel hadn’t arrived in time, Caesar and I would likely have been captured as well."

Aeridar frowned, confused. "After such an intense battle, the Straw Hats and Law shouldn’t have been a match for Enel. How did it escalate to the point where all of Punk Hazard was destroyed?"

Otto and Vergo were formidable fighters. Even if the Straw Hats and Law won, they couldn’t have done so without paying a heavy price. A fresh Enel should have been more than enough to crush the exhausted Straw Hats, Law, and the G-5 Marines.

"Because of Kuzan!" Jason spat out the name with pure venom.

"Kuzan?!"

Aeridar was jolted. It was then he suddenly remembered, that in the original story, that man did show up at Punk Hazard, saving Smoker just as he was about to be killed by Doflamingo.

Jason’s voice was thick with resentment. "Because that guy interfered, that lunatic Enel went completely berserk. He ended up using Raigo to wipe the entire island of Punk Hazard off the map! We nearly got caught in the blast ourselves!"

"Uhh..."

Aeridar’s lip twitched. That certainly sounded like Enel’s style.

"Fine," Aeridar said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "This was my oversight. As long as you’re safe, that’s what matters. I’ll send a ship to pick you up."

To be honest, after so many years since his soul-transmigration, his memories of the original plot had blurred. He remembered the main arcs, but the finer details escaped him. Otherwise, he would have mobilized personally instead of just sending Enel and the other two.

"Captain, there’s one more thing. Because the destruction of the island caused so much chaos in the surrounding waters, Caesar was accidentally snatched away by them," Jason said cautiously. "Additionally, those children were all taken by the Marines."

"What?!" Aeridar’s brow shot up as a flicker of anger surfaced.

"However, we didn’t come away empty-handed! We managed to capture Nico Robin and ’Black Leg’ Sanji. At most, this battle was a draw," Jason explained quickly.

"Oh? Now that’s not bad at all." Aeridar’s eyes lit up in surprise.

He had been worrying about the several Poneglyphs he’d collected with no one to translate them. Now, it looked like he’d have some stories to listen to after all. While he lamented the loss of the research data on Punk Hazard, what was done was done. Capturing Nico Robin was a massive win as she held a wealth of intelligence regarding the Poneglyphs, the Revolutionary Army, and more.

...

The Kingdom of Bacalderona.

"Dammit! The World Government guys actually found this place... and Elizabeth just had to be away hunting. This is terrible!"

Along the coast, a young girl with long blonde hair was sprinting through the woods, glancing back in terror.

"Don’t run!"

"Myskina Olga, you can’t escape!"

"Stop right there!"

A group of men in black suits was in hot pursuit. Leading them was a figure in a white robe wearing a red mask, his black hair divided into thirteen distinct strands that fanned out like a peacock’s tail.

Suddenly, several vines lunged out from the nearby brush with startling speed, instantly entangling the blonde girl and hoisting her into the mid-air.

"Ah—what is this?!" the girl cried out in shock.

"Nani?!"

"Who’s there?"

The World Government agents were equally startled, skidding to a halt and scanning the surroundings warily.

Rustle, rustle...

The bushes on both sides parted as dozens of muscular men emerged, armed with swords, guns, and cannons. Three figures led them, two men and one woman. One of the men, dressed in flamboyant ninja attire, was the one controlling the dancing vines.

"’Black Arm’ Zephyr!!!"

The lead CP0 agent gasped as he saw the purple-haired powerhouse before him. He cursed inwardly. Damn it, why is he here? Weren’t the Marines supposed to be hunting him down? How did they lose track of this man?!

Indeed, the newcomers were Zephyr, his students Ain and Binz, and their subordinates.

"The Chris Investigation Bureau’s reach is surprisingly formidable; they found this place so easily," Zephyr said tonelessly, eyeing the white-robed agent. "But for CP0 to be mobilized... it seems the Celestial Dragons are truly desperate for the Pure Gold."

"Zephyr-sama, that girl is our target. Please, hand her over," the CP0 agent said, his voice tight.

"Enough of that. I am taking Myskina Olga with me. Something like Pure Gold cannot be allowed to fall into the hands of the World Government," Zephyr replied flatly.

"As expected... how did you find out about her?" The CP0 agent’s face was grim beneath his mask.

His eyes then locked onto Zephyr’s sturdy, muscular right arm. "Your arm... wasn’t it severed? How..."

"Ah, this? Someone helped me restore it," Zephyr said, casually flexing the limb.

Suddenly, the blonde girl, Olga, began to snicker to herself, muttering under her breath, "Hehehe... both sides want me. I’ll just wait for them to start fighting, then find an opening to bolt!"

"Hey, we can hear you!" Binz barked, his lip twitching.

"Oh!" Olga froze, realization dawning on her.

Beside them, Ain rolled her eyes. How is there an idiot this big? She actually blurted out her entire escape plan...