Adjusting course towards the White Tiger, Bill and his Officers stayed above deck to keep watch.
They could tell for the past day that the White Tiger was adjusting course to keep up with them, and seemingly on cue, as the Frontier Run changed course to their direction, they changed to a more direct route.
He didn’t know what to expect when they neared the large wooden ship but judged that they would have two shells left by the time they came into contact.
Since the situation was make-or-break, Bill decided to use the cannon slightly more liberally than he had been before in order to create some distance between the Frontier Run and pirate vessel. He wanted the ship to get at least a thirty-minute head start so they could coordinate with the former Admiral.
He figured that if Zephyr judged that further battle was unavoidable, at least then he would have another fighter for backup. Then again, if former ‘Admiral’ Zephyr was a traitor like ‘Vice Admiral’ Vergo, well, their situation couldn’t get much worse than it was now.
Firing one shot after another the two navy ships inched closer with the Frontier Run outpacing the pirate ship as planned. With still some distance to sail, Bill started to be able to make the White Tiger out clearly.
It was a huge, dark, seven-sail frigate and had the situation been better he would have marveled that a sailing ship would come equipped with a ram, and that ram take the form of a giant blade.
After some time passed and they neared closer to the point of no return, Bill told Sasha and the others to keep an eye out while he went ahead to investigate.
If not for the rest of the crew, Bill knew he could have long ago left the Whitebeard Pirates in the dust.
He could use Moon Walk for hours at a time and then dive down to incredible depths without needing to resurface for air, so long as he wasn’t immediately overpowered and killed, he could truly be near impossible to catch.
But his responsibilities didn’t allow that. After jumping from his ship deck and nearing the White Tiger, he saw roughly 300 white clothed men and women in a flurry of movement.
Quickly scanning the deck, Bill first saw three people looking back at him then others who were giving orders and pegged them all as the ship’s officers, then deeming that he’d seen enough, he quickly headed over.
Starting from several dozen kilometers away, by the time he was a hundred or so meters from landing the normal sailors had seen him and fallen behind the three people he assumed were in charge.
Landing down not far from the trio, he looked around one more quick time before saying: “I apologize for boarding without invitation! but I’m under the impression that this is the flagship belonging to the former Admiral, Zephyr?”
In front of him stood two men standing on both sides of a dark-blue haired swordswoman.
Expecting the woman to answer, he was mildly surprised when it was the male long-armed tribe member who yelled back assertively: “State your name and rank and be respectful when you call Zephyr-sensei’s name!”
Confused for a split second over the fact that surely, they knew the situation, Bill didn’t argue and quickly replied: “My name is William D. Ox, Science Division, Captain of Procurement! Is the former Admiral on board or not?!”
Before any of the trio could answer, a door on the far side of the ship swung open and Bill watched as a one-armed old man with purple hair stepped out on the deck. He stood over eleven-foot-tall, and Bill recognized the man instantly from the description given to him by the others.
‘He’s only got one arm?!’ Bill thought in alarm but didn’t let it show while the former Admiral crossed the space between them in long strides.
Getting into suitable shouting range, Zephyr yelled out: “That’s one hell of a cannon you’ve been firing! We heard the explosions days ago and to our surprise it was a Marine turning tail and fleeing from some pirates!
Then shifting his tone as he got nearer, the former Admiral asked a question that was really a condemnation: “Now, why would a Marine run from pirates?”
To this accusation, Bill’s face deepened, and he thought: ‘Is this old man really asserting that Marines should never retreat?’
Though that idea was ignorant on many levels, Bill didn’t have time to argue with the former Admiral. He needed help and he needed it right away.
“Five days ago, our ship passed by an island called Foodvalten. There we were urged into battle by a Vice Admiral whom we were ferrying. Despite taking casualties we defeated our enemies but in the moment of victory we were betrayed!”
When he said this, the eyes of everyone listening narrowed, and he continued: “Many Marines were killed by the traitor and arresting him took a long time. Before we could finish collecting our casualties and leave the island, we were attack by Whitebeards 3rd and 12th Division Commanders!”
Any Marine stationed in the New World knew the Pirate Emperor’s crews by memorization but for Whitebeard, who was known as the ‘Strongest Man in the World’, there was given special attention.
Nodding his head in understanding, Zephyr seemed to change his tone somewhat when he replied: “What’s your name, Captain?”
“He’s William D. Ox! A part of the Science Division!” Chimed in the long-armed man excitedly before getting cut off by the blue-haired women: “Quiet! Shuzo!”.
Making sure to remember the name, Bill also heard the bearded guy call her Ain, and then realized that these were Marineford Academy Recruits who had been in the same class with Ricky and Sasha.
Nodding his head to this, Bill said clearly: “It’s as he said, Instructor Zephyr. Also, am I correct that the three of them are Ain, Shuzo, and Binz?”
Giving a nod of his own, the former Admiral asked how Bill knew their names and was visibly surprised by the answer: “Sasha Zima and Riccio Occhiali are two of my best friends and went to the Academy, in fact, once they dropped out they joined my Department. Once they heard about the attack, they wanted to meet you, that’s one of the reasons we’re here to begin with.”
Of course, that was only one of the reasons. Bill had also needed to go to Zou with Miyagi and then Egghead Island to get the Devil Fruit examined.
But still, this was the answer that Zephyr needed to hear, and he said much more understandingly: “They’re good Marines, but Marineford Academy shouldn’t have anyone who hasn’t signed the extended service contracts and I was hard on them because of it.”
Though Bill could somewhat understand Zephyr’s point, he still believed that his friends were wronged. The simple reality was that they didn’t make the rules. They were allowed to join the Academy and that’s all there should have been to it.
Thankfully, he didn’t have to say this because Zephyr continued: “I understand now why you withdrew. Whitebeard’s Division Commanders are too much for such a young Captain to deal with, you’re lucky to escape with anyone aliv...”
Shaking his head before the old man had even stopped talking, Bill told him the story as quickly as he could.
He started with the fact that there had already been the 6th and 15th Division Commanders on the island along with two allied Captains, the fact that they had captured all four but were only able to secure Blamenco on the ship thanks to the seastone cell, and finally that it had been Vergo who had betrayed them all.
The only thing that Bill knew for sure was that Vergo’s reasoning for the assault hadn’t totally been a lie. ‘Fire Fist’ Ace had indeed been captured and handed over by another pirate named Marshall D. Teach.
All this information hit Zephyr and the rest of his crew like a ton of bricks, and while the majority of the crew was whispering about Vergo, Zephyr himself started to say angrily “This is why we should have never…” before cutting himself off and asserting:
“You killed a lot of Whitebeards pirates on the island, but the reason why they’ve been chasing you is Blamenco. That old man is crazy and believes his Commanders are his children, they won’t let a single one of them go without a fight.”
Shrugging his shoulders, Bill said quickly: “We can give Blamenco back, but not ‘Vice Admiral’.” Seeing Zephyr nod to this, Bill then said: “Another problem we have is ‘Thunder Lord’ McGuy has sworn to have a duel with Ricky to the death. This isn’t something I’d agree to even before Fossa cut his arm off!”
“Riccio had his arm cut off?!” exclaimed Shuzo, and even Zephyr subconsciously touched his own stump before declaring: “Ok, I understand. Captain Ox, I’m no longer in the Marines but if you’re willing to listen to an old man, we can get your people out of this.”
Agreeing to this, the idea was straightforward and effective.
Jozu was one of the most powerful people in the New World, only just below the Admirals themselves. Due to his age and handicap, Zephyr could not defeat the pirate but out on open water he didn’t need to.
He and Bill would go alone to negotiate with the Frontier Run just out of cannon range. They would first offer terms, but if things went south, Zephyr assured Bill that he could hold off Jozu for just long enough for Bill to destroy the ship with the King Cannons acting as backup.
It would only take one shell to sink the pirate galleon, and even if Bill couldn’t sink the ship himself, he would be able to stop anyone from blocking the shot. Then using the Fish-men Marines, they could pull the ship to safety before any of the Whitebeard Pirates could reach them.
After asking if the crew needed any immediate medical attention, Bill told Zephyr that they were stable enough, and the plan got underway.
Despite his age, Zephyr was able to use Moon Walk well enough to keep up and the two men landed on the Frontier Run one after the next.
Looking around, Zephyr was surprised by the assembled crew in front of him. Fish-men usually did not become Marines, so despite what he had heard from the young Captain, he didn’t expect much.
Whale Fish-men were even rarer than their fishy cousins due to their unique species characteristics, and to see some forty whales looking back at him was a sight probably not found anywhere else in the Navy.
There were human crew too, they were in the minority, but surprising too was another face that the Captain didn’t mention.
“Nelson Royale?”
This was a person Zephyr could never forget. The young Noble from Frauce Kingdom who had both a genius tactical mind and a ‘genius’ appetite.
This former trainee looked rough and clearly had his throat pierced. Looking at Nelson deeply, Zephyr asked with a huff “What happened?” and hearing Nelson low whisper, he turned to Bill and continued: “How’s my former recruit doing?”
Bill answered “He’s a credit to the Navy” without skipping a beat, and Nelson stood a little taller.
After that, Zephyr acknowledged Sasha then spent a moment talking to Ricky, ending his brief discussion with a “Don’t worry about the arm, son. We’ll get you and I both straightened out after this.”
With the pleasantries out of the way, the two went over the plan with the crew and by the time they finished the pirate ship was near enough to start their plan.
Flying away from the Frontier Run, the pirates didn’t throw any more cannon balls and at least didn’t laugh when Bill demanded a ‘Parley’.
Excepting for life and death grudges, pirate traditions held fast to two forms of negotiations.
The first was the Davy Back Fight, where pirate crews could conscript other pirates or bet for some other agreed upon treasure to avoid naked violence. The second was the demand for Parley.
Parley was simply a call for a temporary truce until conflicting Captain’s held a meeting, this sounded obvious, but in the cut-throat life of a pirate, this semblance of societal culture was one of the few things they held on to.
Meeting Bill and Zephyr on the deck was Jozu, McGuy, and Karma.
It was the pirates who spoke first, when Jozu demanded to know: “Is Blamenco alive?”
Nodding that he was, Bill even added that the 6th Division Commander was in moderately good health with everything still attached, and this seemed to somewhat cool the worst of the friction.
Seemingly due to their ranks, Jozu was the only pirate to speak and so replied: “Good, but that doesn’t answer for the brothers you killed on Foodvalten. What do you say to that?”
Taking a deep breath, Bill answered the huge man squarely: “My crew and I were betrayed by a superior officer. A part of his betrayal was to have you all unknowingly act as his confederates. I can offer my apol- “No.” responded Jozu, cutting him off.
“If you were betrayed, either hand the one responsible over or we demand other forms of satisfaction.”
Looking the man over, Bill wondered what he could even offer. He didn’t want to offer either the Honey Badger or Dance-Dance Devil Fruits, he only had 50m Beli in cash – which was sorely needed now after losing all his Snails and Log Pose, and he would not give up Vergo.
Shaking his head, Bill answered naively that they had nothing, even offering the information that half of their crew was injured and as a small frigate they weren’t even stationed in the New World.
Of course, Jozu’s answer to this was simply: “That’s your problem. Either make an offer or Parley’s over.”
Stumped again into thinking, Bill was saved by the former Admiral who spoke through gritted teeth: “I have two rods of pure seastone.” Raising an eyebrow, Jozu considered this.
Even for Marines, seastone was incredibly rare. For pirates, it was impossible to get unless it was stolen. “How large?” Jozu asked to which Zephyr answered, “As wide as your thumb, as long as your forearm.”
Seeming to waver, Jozu shook his head and said: “Not enough, the lives of our brothers are worth more than money or materials. Do you have anything else?”
Breathing heavily, Bill spoke up this time and said: “Listen, we could kill each other here or how about this. You accept that my crew and I were betrayed and that we Marines have to handle our own traitors. You get back Blamenco and I’ll owe you a favor in the future.”
What Bill couldn’t have known was that the Whitebeard Pirates were in the midst of an internal upheaval thanks to Marshal Teach, better known as Blackbeard, and his response about traitors was something Jozu took very seriously.
Seeing Jozu nodding his head that it was agreeable, Bill felt a pain in his heart and for some reason regretted it. But this feeling was gone as quickly as it came, and so not thinking twice about it, the Parley was concluded and after Bill and Zephyr returned to their ships the prisoner was released.
Through this entire time McGuy never said a word.
Seeing the Whitebeard Pirates sail away, the White Tiger pulled alongside the Frontier Run, and Zephyr called down.
“Follow us!”
Looking up, Bill replied: “Were you headed?”
Then, with a ruthless smile, the former Admiral replied: "Prison Island!”
UberNuber If you enjoy the fanfic hit the heart icon and consider leaving a rating!
For various reasons, this chapter didn't end in Jozu's death or even a big fight. Killing super powerful DF users at sea is sort of lazy and not really in the 'manner' of One Piece. Plus, that would prevent any sort of Bill vs Jozu rematch.
Zephyr shown here would have just been recovered from the attack, he doesn't have his Smasher, and the Movie was very very loose on the timetable from the massacre -> Neo Marines. He definitely hates pirates and will kill them, but the Emperors are always in a category their own.
Zephyr and his crew some time before finally forming the Neo Marines
Spoiler [collapse]Shuzo
Spoiler [collapse]Ain (without her sword)
Spoiler [collapse]Binz
Spoiler [collapse]
Adjusting course towards the White Tiger, Bill and his Officers stayed above deck to keep watch.
They could tell for the past day that the White Tiger was adjusting course to keep up with them, and seemingly on cue, as the Frontier Run changed course to their direction, they changed to a more direct route.
He didn’t know what to expect when they neared the large wooden ship but judged that they would have two shells left by the time they came into contact.
Since the situation was make-or-break, Bill decided to use the cannon slightly more liberally than he had been before in order to create some distance between the Frontier Run and pirate vessel. He wanted the ship to get at least a thirty-minute head start so they could coordinate with the former Admiral.
He figured that if Zephyr judged that further battle was unavoidable, at least then he would have another fighter for backup. Then again, if former ‘Admiral’ Zephyr was a traitor like ‘Vice Admiral’ Vergo, well, their situation couldn’t get much worse than it was now.
Firing one shot after another the two navy ships inched closer with the Frontier Run outpacing the pirate ship as planned. With still some distance to sail, Bill started to be able to make the White Tiger out clearly.
It was a huge, dark, seven-sail frigate and had the situation been better he would have marveled that a sailing ship would come equipped with a ram, and that ram take the form of a giant blade.
After some time passed and they neared closer to the point of no return, Bill told Sasha and the others to keep an eye out while he went ahead to investigate.
If not for the rest of the crew, Bill knew he could have long ago left the Whitebeard Pirates in the dust.
He could use Moon Walk for hours at a time and then dive down to incredible depths without needing to resurface for air, so long as he wasn’t immediately overpowered and killed, he could truly be near impossible to catch.
But his responsibilities didn’t allow that. After jumping from his ship deck and nearing the White Tiger, he saw roughly 300 white clothed men and women in a flurry of movement.
Quickly scanning the deck, Bill first saw three people looking back at him then others who were giving orders and pegged them all as the ship’s officers, then deeming that he’d seen enough, he quickly headed over.
Starting from several dozen kilometers away, by the time he was a hundred or so meters from landing the normal sailors had seen him and fallen behind the three people he assumed were in charge.
Landing down not far from the trio, he looked around one more quick time before saying: “I apologize for boarding without invitation! but I’m under the impression that this is the flagship belonging to the former Admiral, Zephyr?”
In front of him stood two men standing on both sides of a dark-blue haired swordswoman.
Expecting the woman to answer, he was mildly surprised when it was the male long-armed tribe member who yelled back assertively: “State your name and rank and be respectful when you call Zephyr-sensei’s name!”
Confused for a split second over the fact that surely, they knew the situation, Bill didn’t argue and quickly replied: “My name is William D. Ox, Science Division, Captain of Procurement! Is the former Admiral on board or not?!”
Before any of the trio could answer, a door on the far side of the ship swung open and Bill watched as a one-armed old man with purple hair stepped out on the deck. He stood over eleven-foot-tall, and Bill recognized the man instantly from the description given to him by the others.
‘He’s only got one arm?!’ Bill thought in alarm but didn’t let it show while the former Admiral crossed the space between them in long strides.
Getting into suitable shouting range, Zephyr yelled out: “That’s one hell of a cannon you’ve been firing! We heard the explosions days ago and to our surprise it was a Marine turning tail and fleeing from some pirates!
Then shifting his tone as he got nearer, the former Admiral asked a question that was really a condemnation: “Now, why would a Marine run from pirates?”
To this accusation, Bill’s face deepened, and he thought: ‘Is this old man really asserting that Marines should never retreat?’
Though that idea was ignorant on many levels, Bill didn’t have time to argue with the former Admiral. He needed help and he needed it right away.
“Five days ago, our ship passed by an island called Foodvalten. There we were urged into battle by a Vice Admiral whom we were ferrying. Despite taking casualties we defeated our enemies but in the moment of victory we were betrayed!”
When he said this, the eyes of everyone listening narrowed, and he continued: “Many Marines were killed by the traitor and arresting him took a long time. Before we could finish collecting our casualties and leave the island, we were attack by Whitebeards 3rd and 12th Division Commanders!”
Any Marine stationed in the New World knew the Pirate Emperor’s crews by memorization but for Whitebeard, who was known as the ‘Strongest Man in the World’, there was given special attention.
Nodding his head in understanding, Zephyr seemed to change his tone somewhat when he replied: “What’s your name, Captain?”
“He’s William D. Ox! A part of the Science Division!” Chimed in the long-armed man excitedly before getting cut off by the blue-haired women: “Quiet! Shuzo!”.
Making sure to remember the name, Bill also heard the bearded guy call her Ain, and then realized that these were Marineford Academy Recruits who had been in the same class with Ricky and Sasha.
Nodding his head to this, Bill said clearly: “It’s as he said, Instructor Zephyr. Also, am I correct that the three of them are Ain, Shuzo, and Binz?”
Giving a nod of his own, the former Admiral asked how Bill knew their names and was visibly surprised by the answer: “Sasha Zima and Riccio Occhiali are two of my best friends and went to the Academy, in fact, once they dropped out they joined my Department. Once they heard about the attack, they wanted to meet you, that’s one of the reasons we’re here to begin with.”
Of course, that was only one of the reasons. Bill had also needed to go to Zou with Miyagi and then Egghead Island to get the Devil Fruit examined.
But still, this was the answer that Zephyr needed to hear, and he said much more understandingly: “They’re good Marines, but Marineford Academy shouldn’t have anyone who hasn’t signed the extended service contracts and I was hard on them because of it.”
Though Bill could somewhat understand Zephyr’s point, he still believed that his friends were wronged. The simple reality was that they didn’t make the rules. They were allowed to join the Academy and that’s all there should have been to it.
Thankfully, he didn’t have to say this because Zephyr continued: “I understand now why you withdrew. Whitebeard’s Division Commanders are too much for such a young Captain to deal with, you’re lucky to escape with anyone aliv...”
Shaking his head before the old man had even stopped talking, Bill told him the story as quickly as he could.
He started with the fact that there had already been the 6th and 15th Division Commanders on the island along with two allied Captains, the fact that they had captured all four but were only able to secure Blamenco on the ship thanks to the seastone cell, and finally that it had been Vergo who had betrayed them all.
The only thing that Bill knew for sure was that Vergo’s reasoning for the assault hadn’t totally been a lie. ‘Fire Fist’ Ace had indeed been captured and handed over by another pirate named Marshall D. Teach.
All this information hit Zephyr and the rest of his crew like a ton of bricks, and while the majority of the crew was whispering about Vergo, Zephyr himself started to say angrily “This is why we should have never…” before cutting himself off and asserting:
“You killed a lot of Whitebeards pirates on the island, but the reason why they’ve been chasing you is Blamenco. That old man is crazy and believes his Commanders are his children, they won’t let a single one of them go without a fight.”
Shrugging his shoulders, Bill said quickly: “We can give Blamenco back, but not ‘Vice Admiral’.” Seeing Zephyr nod to this, Bill then said: “Another problem we have is ‘Thunder Lord’ McGuy has sworn to have a duel with Ricky to the death. This isn’t something I’d agree to even before Fossa cut his arm off!”
“Riccio had his arm cut off?!” exclaimed Shuzo, and even Zephyr subconsciously touched his own stump before declaring: “Ok, I understand. Captain Ox, I’m no longer in the Marines but if you’re willing to listen to an old man, we can get your people out of this.”
Agreeing to this, the idea was straightforward and effective.
Jozu was one of the most powerful people in the New World, only just below the Admirals themselves. Due to his age and handicap, Zephyr could not defeat the pirate but out on open water he didn’t need to.
He and Bill would go alone to negotiate with the Frontier Run just out of cannon range. They would first offer terms, but if things went south, Zephyr assured Bill that he could hold off Jozu for just long enough for Bill to destroy the ship with the King Cannons acting as backup.
It would only take one shell to sink the pirate galleon, and even if Bill couldn’t sink the ship himself, he would be able to stop anyone from blocking the shot. Then using the Fish-men Marines, they could pull the ship to safety before any of the Whitebeard Pirates could reach them.
After asking if the crew needed any immediate medical attention, Bill told Zephyr that they were stable enough, and the plan got underway.
Despite his age, Zephyr was able to use Moon Walk well enough to keep up and the two men landed on the Frontier Run one after the next.
Looking around, Zephyr was surprised by the assembled crew in front of him. Fish-men usually did not become Marines, so despite what he had heard from the young Captain, he didn’t expect much.
Whale Fish-men were even rarer than their fishy cousins due to their unique species characteristics, and to see some forty whales looking back at him was a sight probably not found anywhere else in the Navy.
There were human crew too, they were in the minority, but surprising too was another face that the Captain didn’t mention.
“Nelson Royale?”
This was a person Zephyr could never forget. The young Noble from Frauce Kingdom who had both a genius tactical mind and a ‘genius’ appetite.
This former trainee looked rough and clearly had his throat pierced. Looking at Nelson deeply, Zephyr asked with a huff “What happened?” and hearing Nelson low whisper, he turned to Bill and continued: “How’s my former recruit doing?”
Bill answered “He’s a credit to the Navy” without skipping a beat, and Nelson stood a little taller.
After that, Zephyr acknowledged Sasha then spent a moment talking to Ricky, ending his brief discussion with a “Don’t worry about the arm, son. We’ll get you and I both straightened out after this.”
With the pleasantries out of the way, the two went over the plan with the crew and by the time they finished the pirate ship was near enough to start their plan.
Flying away from the Frontier Run, the pirates didn’t throw any more cannon balls and at least didn’t laugh when Bill demanded a ‘Parley’.
Excepting for life and death grudges, pirate traditions held fast to two forms of negotiations.
The first was the Davy Back Fight, where pirate crews could conscript other pirates or bet for some other agreed upon treasure to avoid naked violence. The second was the demand for Parley.
Parley was simply a call for a temporary truce until conflicting Captain’s held a meeting, this sounded obvious, but in the cut-throat life of a pirate, this semblance of societal culture was one of the few things they held on to.
Meeting Bill and Zephyr on the deck was Jozu, McGuy, and Karma.
It was the pirates who spoke first, when Jozu demanded to know: “Is Blamenco alive?”
Nodding that he was, Bill even added that the 6th Division Commander was in moderately good health with everything still attached, and this seemed to somewhat cool the worst of the friction.
Seemingly due to their ranks, Jozu was the only pirate to speak and so replied: “Good, but that doesn’t answer for the brothers you killed on Foodvalten. What do you say to that?”
Taking a deep breath, Bill answered the huge man squarely: “My crew and I were betrayed by a superior officer. A part of his betrayal was to have you all unknowingly act as his confederates. I can offer my apol- “No.” responded Jozu, cutting him off.
“If you were betrayed, either hand the one responsible over or we demand other forms of satisfaction.”
Looking the man over, Bill wondered what he could even offer. He didn’t want to offer either the Honey Badger or Dance-Dance Devil Fruits, he only had 50m Beli in cash – which was sorely needed now after losing all his Snails and Log Pose, and he would not give up Vergo.
Shaking his head, Bill answered naively that they had nothing, even offering the information that half of their crew was injured and as a small frigate they weren’t even stationed in the New World.
Of course, Jozu’s answer to this was simply: “That’s your problem. Either make an offer or Parley’s over.”
Stumped again into thinking, Bill was saved by the former Admiral who spoke through gritted teeth: “I have two rods of pure seastone.” Raising an eyebrow, Jozu considered this.
Even for Marines, seastone was incredibly rare. For pirates, it was impossible to get unless it was stolen. “How large?” Jozu asked to which Zephyr answered, “As wide as your thumb, as long as your forearm.”
Seeming to waver, Jozu shook his head and said: “Not enough, the lives of our brothers are worth more than money or materials. Do you have anything else?”
Breathing heavily, Bill spoke up this time and said: “Listen, we could kill each other here or how about this. You accept that my crew and I were betrayed and that we Marines have to handle our own traitors. You get back Blamenco and I’ll owe you a favor in the future.”
What Bill couldn’t have known was that the Whitebeard Pirates were in the midst of an internal upheaval thanks to Marshal Teach, better known as Blackbeard, and his response about traitors was something Jozu took very seriously.
Seeing Jozu nodding his head that it was agreeable, Bill felt a pain in his heart and for some reason regretted it. But this feeling was gone as quickly as it came, and so not thinking twice about it, the Parley was concluded and after Bill and Zephyr returned to their ships the prisoner was released.
Through this entire time McGuy never said a word.
Seeing the Whitebeard Pirates sail away, the White Tiger pulled alongside the Frontier Run, and Zephyr called down.
“Follow us!”
Looking up, Bill replied: “Were you headed?”
Then, with a ruthless smile, the former Admiral replied: "Prison Island!”
UberNuber If you enjoy the fanfic hit the heart icon and consider leaving a rating!
For various reasons, this chapter didn't end in Jozu's death or even a big fight. Killing super powerful DF users at sea is sort of lazy and not really in the 'manner' of One Piece. Plus, that would prevent any sort of Bill vs Jozu rematch.
Zephyr shown here would have just been recovered from the attack, he doesn't have his Smasher, and the Movie was very very loose on the timetable from the massacre -> Neo Marines. He definitely hates pirates and will kill them, but the Emperors are always in a category their own.
Zephyr and his crew some time before finally forming the Neo Marines
Spoiler [collapse]Shuzo
Spoiler [collapse]Ain (without her sword)
Spoiler [collapse]Binz
Spoiler [collapse]