Chapter 785: Chapter 785: Zephyr’s Choice, Two Admirals Meet

"Objective?"

"Would you believe me if I said ’becoming a god’?"

Aeridar tilted his head and grinned. "Of course, not a ’god’ like the Celestial Dragons."

"A god? Hmph." Zephyr gave a contemptuous smirk, looking at Aeridar as if he were a madman.

"Heh heh heh... Zephyr-san, why do you think I’ve invested so heavily in biotechnology?" Ignoring Zephyr’s look, Aeridar chuckled. "The human body is a machine of absolute precision. Controlling it perfectly is hard enough, let alone upgrading it."

"We need a deep understanding of this machine. We take the strengths of other species to perfect ourselves. The XT Serum you use is a product of that research. You know its effects better than anyone!"

Aeridar spread his arms with pride. "To me, a ’God’ is simply a higher form of life that has transcended humanity. If a human evolves to a certain point, Eternal Life + Invincible Strength = God!!!"

"Madman!"

Zephyr’s expression shifted to one of grim realization.

"There is a fine line between genius and madness!" Aeridar replied nonchalantly. "Imagine if I possessed Kaido’s immortality, combined with the impact, vibration, flight, and teleportation of my Impact-Impact Fruit, supplemented by the Float-Float Fruit and Animate-Animate Fruit, all while possessing the future-sight of my Haki and an eternal lifespan..."

"Tell me, how would I differ from a ’God’?"

Aeridar looked up, arms wide. A powerful aura erupted from him, heavy with oppressive weight.

Gulp.

Zephyr swallowed hard, staring at Aeridar in horror. He knew the terrifying truth of Kaido’s immortality. Every time the Marines caught Kaido, they tried everything—blades, axes, hammers, fire, drowning... they even tried feeding him two Devil Fruits to kill him.

The result? That monster was still wandering the world trying to find a way to commit suicide.

Absolute physical power brings absolute strength. One only had to look at Big Mom and Kaido to see that. In terms of sheer biology, those two monsters transcended 99.99% of all species. The titles "Iron Balloon" and "Strongest Creature in the World" weren’t just for show.

Hiss...

If that kind of body were paired with the abilities of the man standing before him, Zephyr shuddered. Such an existence truly could be called a "God."

"That arm of yours is just a prosthetic the Marine scientists slapped on you. I can have my scientists find a way to regenerate a real arm for you," Aeridar said arrogantly. "Furthermore, I can provide you with a long-term supply of XT Serum, returning you to the strength of your prime. Then, even if you go for revenge against Edward Weevil, you’ll actually have the power to finish him!"

"Hmph... I can take him down even now!" Zephyr snorted, displeased at being underestimated.

"Heh heh~"

Aeridar smiled but didn’t argue. "You surely don’t want your students to be buried on this island alongside you for a worthless cause, do you?"

Zephyr remained silent. After the lecture, he understood that continuing his plan was impossible. There was no need to sacrifice Ain, Binz, and the others.

However, the idea of joining Aeridar was a bitter pill to swallow. Whether it was his pride, his lingering sense of justice, his hatred for pirates, or simply his inability to save face, he couldn’t bring himself to cross that line.

Seeing his inner turmoil, Aeridar grinned. "How about this? We do it a different way!"

Zephyr looked up, puzzled. "What way?"

He knew the man wouldn’t just let him go, but he didn’t care as long as his students survived.

"First: Persuade your students and subordinates to join the Chris Pirates!"

"Second: You must retire from the world stage. You will settle in the Clifford Kingdom and are forbidden from any contact with the World Government, the Marines, or the Revolutionary Army. You will remain under my surveillance."

Aeridar said flatly, "Of course, I won’t help a ’useless person’ regenerate an arm or provide XT Serum!"

Zephyr’s eyes narrowed. Settling in the Clifford Kingdom meant being completely under Aeridar’s control, essentially living as a high-profile hostage.

"You can discuss it with your students. But right now, you need to surrender. If you wait much longer, I’m not sure how many of them will be left," Aeridar said, pointing toward the dunes. "Or, you can choose to fight to the death."

"Tell me your choice!"

...

One hour later.

Zip—

A brilliant flash of golden light streaked across the ravaged dunes, arriving in an instant.

"No way... is the battle already over?"

The golden light coalesced into a human form. Borsalino scratched his head, looking at the empty, devastated battlefield. Not far away, the sound of a crowd rose as Marines treated the wounded.

"Admiral Borsalino!"

Someone spotted him and cried out in joy.

"It’s true! Admiral Kizaru is here!"

"Great! Powerful reinforcements have arrived!"

The Marines on the scene erupted. The arrival of an Admiral meant they finally had the backing they needed.

Borsalino pursed his lips and turned to a Marine Captain walking toward him. "Captain, care to tell me where ’Z’ went?"

"Admiral, Z..."

The Captain began to answer, but his jaw dropped. He stared in disbelief at something behind Borsalino. Borsalino frowned slightly and turned around.

A tall, thin man wearing a heavy coat and carrying a shoulder bag stood on a nearby sand slope. Borsalino knew him well; they had been colleagues for many years.

"How scary... am I seeing things?" Borsalino muttered. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"A-Admiral Kuzan!" the Captain stammered.

Borsalino reacted quickly, his lips still pursed. "That’s quite cold of you, Kuzan. Resigning from your Admiral position so easily... quite the carefree life you’re leading."

Indeed, the man before him was the former Marine Admiral, Aokiji.

"Arara... I’m not an Admiral anymore."

Kuzan scratched his head and yawned. "Long time no see. Care for a drink? Perhaps we can talk about Zephyr-sensei."

He gestured with an unopened bottle of liquor in his hand.

Borsalino’s interest was piqued. He put his hands in his pockets. "It seems the incident at the hot spring mountain was your handiwork. Perfect, I could use some relaxation myself."

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