BOOM!
The reinforced wall of the mayor's office exploded inward, sending debris and dust flying everywhere.
A massive Demon Dog crashed through the hole, its paws crushing the floor tiles as it landed.
Behind the giant dog, a man dressed in white clothes with striking silver hair slowly descended through the dust cloud, landing silently on the floor.
It was Ray and Chouchou.
Not long after Zephyr had arrived at the building, Chouchou had been lurking near the office in his harmless puppy form.
With his keen hearing, he had eavesdropped on the entire conversation inside.
Realizing the situation, he immediately reported everything to Ray using their specific ability: Bloodline Communication.
To Ray, the situation was simple.
Franky had to be taken back because they needed a shipwright. Iceburg was also a legendary shipwright who could help with the Going Merry, so Ray figured he might as well take him along too.
However, there was another layer to Ray's decision.
He had realized Zephyr's dilemma.
Ray looked at the former Admiral, who was standing there with a conflicted expression.
Ray knew exactly what the old man was thinking. Zephyr was struggling between his conscience and his orders.
He wanted to save Iceburg, but if he forcibly took the mayor from the CP9, he would be openly defying the World Government and the Celestial Dragons.
As an old man in retirement, Zephyr probably didn't care about the punishment for himself.
But he had two young students, Ain and Binz, standing right behind him.
They had bright futures ahead of them. Zephyr would never want to ruin their careers or put them in danger because of his own "recklessness."
Ray smirked internally.
If that's the case, I'll just make it easy for him.
If Ray intervened, it would simply be a conflict between "evil pirates" and the government.
The Straw Hat Pirates had already offended the Celestial Dragons by stealing slaves, so adding one more offense to the list didn't matter at all.
Helping Zephyr out of this awkward situation and doing the former Admiral a favor wasn't a bad deal.
Of course, Ray was pragmatic; if Iceburg wasn't useful to the Straw Hat Pirates, Ray probably wouldn't have bothered interfering.
...
As Ray announced that he was taking the prisoners, the atmosphere in the room shattered.
Rob Lucci's face twisted in rage.
His mission was already compromised, and now this pirate was mocking them?
"Kill him!" Lucci barked.
Without even asking what Ray intended to do, the four CP9 members moved as one.
They were masters of Rokushiki and they launched an attack on Ray and Chouchou instantly.
Soru!
They vanished from their spots, moving at speeds invisible to the naked eye.
Sensing the four assassins approaching from different angles, Ray stood perfectly still.
He didn't raise a hand to block. He didn't bother to dodge.
He simply stood there, curious to test the limits of his physical body against these so-called superhumans.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
The attacks landed simultaneously.
Ray took three Shigan directly to his chest and shoulders.
At the same time, Lucci, the strongest of them, unleashed a secret technique, the Rokuougan, slamming his fists into Ray's stomach with a shockwave intended to rupture his internal organs.
The impact blew the remaining furniture away.
But when the dust settled, Ray was still standing there, looking extremely bored.
"It stings a little," Ray muttered, dusting off his shirt.
When the four agents saw that Ray was completely unharmed—not even a bruise—they immediately leaped back in horror.
"Impossible!" Kaku shouted, looking at his finger which was throbbing with pain.
"It felt like punching solid diamond!"
Lucci's eyes narrowed with cold sweat forming on his brow.
'Does this guy also know Tekkai? No... even with Tekkai, he shouldn't be able to take a Rokuougan without flinching.'
'I've never seen a human body this hard.'
While the men were shocked by the physical disparity, Kalifa had a different reaction.
The moment she had struck Ray, she had gotten a close look at his face.
Now, retreating to a safe distance, her cheeks were flushed a deep red.
She fidgeted, adjusting her glasses nervously, looking as if she had countless words stuck in her throat.
After struggling for a long time, she finally pointed a shaking finger at him.
"You... you sexually harassed me!"
Standing by the doorway, Binz couldn't hold it in anymore.
He burst out laughing.
"Pfft Hahahahaha~! Hey Ain, look at this woman. She's pathetic. She actually developed feelings for an enemy in the middle of a fight!"
Binz waited for his partner to laugh with him, but there was no response.
He slowly turned his head to look at Ain.
She had fallen into that dazed state again.
Her eyes were locked on Ray, and her hands were extending and retracting rhythmically, as if she wanted to grab him but was holding herself back.
Binz's face dropped.
"What the actual fuck..."
With no other choice, Binz whispered to his teacher.
"Zephyr-sensei, please use your bad breath to snap her out of it again."
Zephyr's vein popped.
"Shut up, Binz."
...
Ray stood in the center of the room, feeling quite speechless about the chaotic situation.
'I really should have worn a mask when flying over earlier,' he thought.
Being too handsome is a tactical disadvantage.
However, the experiment was a success.
He had tested the strength of his physical body. Without using any Haki or Demonic powers, he could completely withstand attacks from elite government agents.
The terrifying potential of his "Great Demon Physique" was becoming increasingly apparent.
He also roughly understood the power level of CP9.
'These guys are... kinda weak,' Ray concluded.
'At least compared to the monsters we will face later.'
The current Luffy could definitely handle Lucci with ease.
But they were too weak for Ray to take seriously.
However, he decided not to kill them yet. They would make excellent practice dummies for the rest of the crew.
'I'll leave them for Usopp, Nami, Robin, Chopper, and Franky to level up,' Ray decided.
Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji need stronger opponents.
Having made up his mind, Ray raised his hand.
A shimmering whip of light materialized in his grip.
Light Whip!
Before Lucci or the others could react, Ray lashed out.
The whip moved faster than Soru. It wrapped around all four agents in a single fluid motion and yanked them violently.
"Get lost," Ray said calmly.
With a flick of his wrist, he sent them flying out of the shattered office wall, hurling them far into the distance, tumbling down toward the massive waterfall at the base of Water 7.
CRACK!
When the whip attacked, it had deliberately changed direction at the last second, slicing through the iron chains binding Franky and Iceburg.
"Let's go," Ray said, turning to walk out.
Chouchou sighed.
'Master really doesn't like to talk to strangers,' the dog thought.
Resigned to his duty as the transportation unit, Chouchou used his massive tail to scoop up the confused Franky and the injured Iceburg.
He then leaped out of the hole, flying toward the beach where the Straw Hat Pirates were waiting.
Throughout the entire process—from the wall exploding to CP9 being yeeted into the sky—Zephyr hadn't moved a muscle.
He didn't participate, but he didn't stop it either.
Seeing Ray disappear into the night with the "hostages," Zephyr finally smiled.
A weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
"Ain, Binz," Zephyr said, his voice lighter. "Let's follow them."
The battle had taken less than ten seconds, but it gave Zephyr a much clearer understanding of Ray's terrifying strength.
"The Celestial Dragons are really being foolish," Zephyr muttered to himself as he walked.
"To try and capture someone like him... they should have sent an Admiral, or two. No wonder Sengoku warned me not to fight Ray."
"If it came to a life-or-death battle," Zephyr admitted grimly, "even with Aokiji helping me, one of us would probably end up dead."
At the same time, Zephyr felt a deep sense of gratitude.
Without Ray's sudden interference, Zephyr would have been forced to choose between his duty and his morals.
Ray had saved him from that choice.
...
The group moved quickly.
Within minutes, Ray and Chouchou returned to the rocky docks.
Chouchou gently placed Franky and Iceburg on the ground.
The Straw Hat Pirates immediately gathered around, checking on the injuries and explaining the situation to the confused shipwrights.
While everyone was sharing information, Zephyr arrived with Binz and Ain.
Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji immediately tensed up, watching the former Admiral warily.
But when Ray explained that Zephyr needed Iceburg to help save the civilians, the hostility lowered significantly.
Iceburg, holding his bruised ribs, listened to Zephyr explanation about the impending Buster Call.
His face turned pale.
He realized the gravity of the situation immediately!
"I understand," Iceburg said, his voice firm despite his pain. "We have to move. Now."
Leaving Franky with the pirates, Iceburg followed Zephyr back to the mayor's office to coordinate the city's survival.
...
The Mayor's Office
An hour later, the administrative building was bustling with chaos.
Security personnel were running back and forth, phones were ringing off the hook, and shouting filled the hallways.
The massive hole in the wall where Ray had entered was a stark reminder of the earlier violence, and the bloodstains on the lower floors from CP9's purge had been discovered, adding to the panic.
But Iceburg didn't let the panic take over.
He immediately activated Water 7's citywide broadcast system.
"Attention, citizens of Water 7," his voice boomed across the island. "This is Mayor Iceburg. We are facing an unprecedented crisis..."
He informed all citizens about the high tide and the impending "danger," urging them to evacuate.
He arranged for officials to coordinate with the Sea Train schedule and directed Zephyr's Marine guerrilla warships to the civilian docks to act as transport vessels.
"Children, the old and women board first!" Iceburg commanded his staff.
"Anyone who can walk, move to the high ground!"
Iceburg was like a machine.
His movements never ceased. He was on the phone, signing papers, and shouting orders simultaneously.
"Mayor, please rest!" a subordinate begged, seeing Iceburg sway with exhaustion.
"I can't stop!" Iceburg shouted back, slamming his hand on the desk.
"If I rest for even a minute, dozens or even thousands of residents might die tomorrow! As the mayor, it is my responsibility to protect them!"
Zephyr stood in the corner of the office, silently watching.
He had already given his ships the orders, so there was little else for him to do but guard the mayor.
The more he watched, the more certain he became.
'Iceburg is a good man,' Zephyr thought. 'He treats his people like his own children.'
At the same time, his anger toward the World Goverment and CP9 grew hotter.
'Greedy fuckers,' Zephyr thought bitterly, clenching his fist.
They are willing to kill a good official like this, willing to burn a city of innocents, just to get a weapon blueprint.
'Under such leadership... where is this world heading?'
He sighed and turned to look at the sofas in the office.
Sitting there, casually drinking tea and guarding the perimeter, were Nami, Usopp, Chopper, Robin, and a small white dog.
The Straw Hats had sent a team to protect Iceburg in case CP9 returned.
Zephyr smiled wryly.
It was an absurd scene.
A former Marine Admiral and a group of pirates, working together.
"Aren't you afraid I'll arrest you?" Zephyr asked the group.
Nami took a sip of tea and smiled confidently. "Old man, I can already tell what you're thinking. You're not that kind of guy."
She placed the cup down. "Besides, don't we all have the same goal right now? We are all here to protect Mayor Iceburg."
Zephyr shrugged. "Yes, that's right."
He looked out at the window, gazing at the dark ocean.
"But I can't take action against CP9 directly due to my position. If those agents crawl back up from the waterfall and come looking for trouble... I'll have to leave it to you pirates."
Robin closed her book and smiled, her eyes turn increasingly dangerous.
"Leave it to us."