Just as the Marine warship was about to plummet into the depths, the two severed halves of the vessel abruptly ceased their descent. They hung suspended in the air, hovering a mere few meters above the ocean’s surface.

Fujitora Issho, his sightless eyes open, stepped out from the ruins of a cabin on the deck. He held his cane sword in a reverse grip, surrounded by a few stray planks of wood floating weightlessly beside him.

"Admiral Issho!"

"Thank goodness! Admiral Issho saved us!"

"Issho-san! That was way too close!"

"I knew it! How could an Admiral possibly lose?" 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

The confusion among the Marines vanished the moment they saw Issho’s silhouette. Cheers erupted, and morale surged back instantly.

An Admiral represents the ultimate military power of the World Government and the Marines. If they were defeated so easily, the Navy would lose all prestige, and their rule would have long since been toppled by the Yonko or the Revolutionary Army.

"Tch." In the sky, Aeridar clicked his tongue in annoyance at the sight of Fujitora, though he said nothing.

"As I thought, the job of a gatekeeper isn’t an easy one," Issho remarked with a shake of his head. He looked up at Aeridar in the sky and sighed.

Up above, Aeridar barked down, "You should know by now, thinking a lone Marine Admiral can block the gates in the New World is looking down on me far too much!"

"I am merely doing what I can," Issho replied as he sheathed his blade, offering no further excuses. "Since even the warship has been destroyed, for the sake of my subordinates’ lives, it seems this mission ends here."

The Marines fell silent at Issho’s words. There was no outcry or protest. They knew all too well that this mission was a temporary assignment; even Marine Headquarters hadn’t truly expected success. Everyone knew "Golden Ring" Aeridar possessed the powers of the Float-Float Fruit; finding him was a challenge in itself.

If Issho’s warship hadn’t happened to be suppressing pirates in the nearby waters, and if Aeridar hadn’t needed to resupply the Chris at Unzan Port, the two parties would never have crossed paths.

"Hmph!" Aeridar let out a cold snort, his anger seemingly unspent. He sneered, "How pathetic! Are you tucking tail already, Issho-san?"

Issho seemed deaf to the mockery. "Failure is failure; there are no excuses. Aeridar-dono, this conflict occurred above the ’bottom line.’ It hasn’t reached the point of no return just yet."

Indeed, Issho’s intervention was less a blockade and more a reluctant delay. Everyone understood that a single warship led by one Admiral and two Vice Admirals was no match for the entire Chris Pirates.

"I didn’t expect you to understand the ’bottom line’ so clearly after such a short time in the Marines. That doesn’t quite seem like your style, Issho!" Aeridar narrowed his eyes, studying the Admiral as if seeing him in a new light.

"I am still who I have always been," Issho shook his head casually. "However, while I may be a mere recruit in the Marines, I have accepted the title of Admiral. Every action I take affects the lives of countless people."

If they had truly "torn the mask off" and gone all out, the combined might of the Chris Pirates could have buried even the highest military power of the Marines in this sea, to say nothing of the thousand subordinates under his command.

The reason Issho could act with such composure was because Aeridar was one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. The Kingdom of Clifford was a member of the World Government and recognized as a "World Neutral Zone."

As long as Aeridar remained a Warlord and the World Government recognized Clifford’s neutral status, the two sides remained partners. As long as the ultimate "bottom line" wasn’t crossed, conflicts would not escalate into a death match.

This was also why Issho had refused to move the battle to land despite the disadvantage of air and sea combat. At their level, even a restrained fight causes massive collateral damage. Had they fought on land, the intensity would have multiplied, and Unzan Port would have been leveled.

Issho knew that would have sent Aeridar into a blind rage. To protect the Neutral Zone’s reputation or save face, Aeridar would have hunted Issho down regardless of the cost. A dead Admiral would trigger an unstoppable retaliation from the World Government, leading to total war, something neither side wanted, especially at this critical juncture.

"Hmph. Then wait for your rescue on the waves. We won’t be giving you any help!" Aeridar growled. He turned and flew back toward the Chris.

While Aeridar was displeased, he had no intention of lingering. Being "blocked" at his front door looked bad, but there was no actual loss. The time lost was negligible for a flying pirate ship. Conversely, a Marine Admiral having his ship destroyed and being forced to yield in front of a crowd meant the Marines were the ones truly losing face.

Hearing this, Issho called out, "Oh? Aeridar-dono, you can’t do that! That violates the rules of the ’World Neutral Zone’!"

The fundamental rule of the Neutral Zone was clear: anyone entering must adopt a neutral status and refrain from private combat. Furthermore, anyone, Marines, World Government, Pirates, Kingdoms, even the Revolutionary Army, could freely purchase supplies.

Violators were to be executed and their bodies hung for three days! (Though Revolutionary Army members had recently been banned from Clifford.)

"To hell with the rules! I’m the master here!" Aeridar shouted back without looking, returning to his ship.

Whoosh—

Under the watchful eyes of the Marines, the massive Chris, a floating fortress of war, soared into the clouds and vanished in an instant.

"Oh! The Marines lost!"

"The Navy surrendered! The Captain is invincible! Long live the Chris Pirates!"

"Marine bastards! Enjoy the sea breeze! Hahaha!"

Cheers erupted from Unzan Port. Backan and his pirates jeered at the stranded Navy. Meanwhile, reporters frantically sent their photos back to their agencies. This news was about to spread across the globe at lightning speed.

On the wrecked warship, nearly a thousand Marines looked longingly at the nearby port.

"Issho-san, the Chris Pirates won’t let us land. What now?" Vice Admiral Maynard asked, his face grim.

"Report the failure to Headquarters. Tell them to keep an eye on the Chris Pirates," Issho said calmly, looking at the sky. "Also, contact G-5 and have Vice Admiral Vergo send two warships as soon as possible!"

"Understood!" Maynard nodded and turned to leave.