59 In the Eye of the Storm #59

As he stood at Marineford before tens of marine soldiers in neat rows, Cedric cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "I'm sure Warrant Officer Isuka already briefed you all about our mission, but I'd like to say a few words before we depart," He said in a grave tone.

"Our target in this deployment is General Gasparde, a criminal and traitor so heinous he's known as the Marine's greatest stain..." Cedric said, standing straight as he looked at the marine soldiers. "Our mission is to catch him alive or retrieve his head..." He went on and started pacing in front of the soldiers.

"Whatever the case may be, I wouldn't consider the mission a success unless everyone standing before returns to their family alive and in one piece," The young man stated. "As for Gasparde, I'll personally take him down once we track him down..." He added as he stopped walking.

"All you need to do is get me there and leave the rest to me... and until then, I expect everyone to do their jobs without any heroics..." Cedric continued as he scanned the faces of the soldiers, most of which were frowning. "Do I make myself clear?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sir, yes sir," The marine soldiers exclaimed in unison before breaking formation and heading into the ship, each taking their respective station as they prepared to set sail.

"You realize you've just told your own crew you have zero trust in them, Commander Strode, don't you...?" Isuka calmly remarked with a frown as she approached Cedric. "They're all Marine soldiers who signed in despite knowing the dangers... ridiculing their resolve won't earn their respect..." She added as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Words are meaningless..." Cedric said, shaking his head as he turned to Isuka. "Almost everyone in Marineford knows how I joined the Marines... no pep-talk will be enough to earn the soldiers' respect..." He added with a shrug.

"I'm not one for speeches either. I'm more of an action guy..." The young man continued with a grin. "But that's enough chit-chat. Let's get going..." He concluded as he turned around and leaped directly into the ship without waiting for a reply.

Isuka sighed and messaged her forehead in frustration as she turned to Ain, who shrugged in response. Confounded, the two women could only shake their heads in unison as they boarded the marine battleship.

...

Somewhere in the Grand Line

As a fierce storm raged on, a single ship with a majestic gilded hull and the head of a mighty dragon as its figurehead steadily cut through the turbulent sea waves, seemingly unaffected by the violent weather.

She was the Salamander, a former marine, steam-powered battleship, personally commandeered and modified by General Gasparde after his desertion of the Marine Corps.

Aboard the ship stood her captain, General Gasparde, a cruel smirk splitting his face as he held an elderly, thin, shriveled man by the neck, dangling him over the stormy waters.

"You're no longer useful to me, you old fool..." Gasparde said, his marine coat swaying with the rough sea winds as he looked the elder in the eyes with a mocking expression. "You know what I do to useless people, don't you?" He harshly asked, unaffected by the man's struggles.

"No... no, please!" The elder said as he to struggled without stop, clawing at Gasparde's hands and coughing due to the lack of oxygen. "I've served for two years... I'm just a bit sick right now..." He added in a pleading tone, his legs flailing in the air.

"I just need some rest, and I'll be back to shoveling coal... please don't kill me...!" The old timer continued to plead, but his pleas fell on deaf ears as Gasparde dropped him into the water once he stopped talking.

"Oy, Needles..." Gasparde called to his mate without bothering to give the elder a second glance even as he screamed for help, the violent waves taking him into their cold embrace.

At Gasparde's words, a tall, muscular man with short blonde hair and a tattoo of the marine symbol crossed by an X on his face walked up to the pirate captain from behind. "What is it, captain?" He asked in a calm voice as he stopped behind Gasparde.

"The Dead End Race is fast approaching, and I'm short on competent underlings..." General Gasparde said as he turned to his first mate. "Steer us into the nearest island, and prepare the men for a raid..." He added, his grin deepening as he spoke.

"Let's gather some more comrades, shall we...?"

...

The Grand Line

Somewhere near Foolshout Island

"This storm is crazy. We need to head to the nearest island..." Cedric said with a frown as he stood beside Isuka on the quarter, feeling the ship rock and sway with the waves. "It's raining fish, for fuck's sake," He added with a scowl as a small fish fell on his head, slapping his face with its tail.

"It's because of the typhoon... It's taking fish out of the water and flinging them all over the place..." Isuka calmly explained as she pointed toward the gigantic hurricane to the ship's broadside.

"As long as we stay away from the typhoon, we'll be okay..." The Warrant Officer said, but her words did not impress the young man as he gave her a skeptical look. "Well, there's a slight chance the storm will send a sea king flying toward the ship..." She added in a dismissive tone.

"But the odds of that happening are minuscule at--" Isuka said, suddenly halting as a gigantic shadow engulfed the ship. She looked up and couldn't help but gulp at the sight of a snake-like sea king falling straight toward the vessel.

"Incoming! Take cover! Hold on to something! Quick!!" The marine soldiers shouted as they, too, noticed the sea king, each hurrying to grab onto something in a panic.

"Minuscule, my ass, that thing is heading straight toward the ship," Cedric said, chuckling despite himself. "Just steer us away from the storm. I'll do something about the big guy," He added as he threw away his spear and jumped into the air, meeting the sea king halfway through.

With a grunt of effort, Cedric punched the sea king in the face and sent it flying away from the ship, much to everyone's surprise. The giant beast landed in the water, only to be swallowed by the waves, causing the marine soldiers to cheer.

"Stop shouting and get back to your positions. It's not over yet," Cedric instructed as he landed on the ship, and sure enough, the snake-like sea king quickly emerged from the water as soon as he stopped talking.

The marine soldiers hesitated momentarily before hurriedly running to their respective positions, handling the sails and cannons as they prepared to fight the sea king.

"Half sail... prepare for a sharp turn!" Isuka instructed, and the marine soldiers promptly obliged as she turned the wheel to face the rapidly approaching sea king with the battleship's broadside.

"Rais the sails. Slow down the ship!" She continued as she held on to the wheel for dear life to keep it steady. "Fire!" She concluded as the sea king got within firing range, and the marine soldiers obliged.

Eight of the battleship's thirty canons fired in unison, each and every canon ball hitting the sea king in its face and neck and injuring it in the process. However, the beast shrugged the pain and wounds off with a roar as it continued charging the ship.

Seeing this, Cedric frowned as he walked up to the broadside, preparing to repel the sea king, but he had to stop himself as Isuka resumed barking orders at the marine soldiers.

"Full sail! Catch the wind and let'er rip!" She instructed, and the marine soldiers instantly obliged, causing the ship to speed past the giant beast, causing it to sink into the water as it tried to lunge at the vessel and bite into its broadside.

"That's pretty impressive..." Cedric said with a grin as he walked up to Isuka. "But that thing is pretty persistent..." He added, pointing toward the back of the ship as the sea king emerged and closed in on them. "Get me close, and I'll take care of it..."

At Cedric's words, Isuka nodded. "Head to the bow and wait for my signal," She said, and Cedric raised an eyebrow but still obliged after a momentary pause.

"Leave the canons! All hands on the anchor and the lower decks! Prepare to patch up any holes!" The Warrant Officer instructed, and the marine soldiers complied as they left the canons, two heading for the anchor while the rest climbed down the hatch to the lower decks.

Isuka waited for the Marines to get into positions before taking a deep breath and spinning the wheel to the left with all her strength. "Drop anchor! Now!" She instructed.

The ship ceased moving forward as the anchor dropped, but it continued turning and only stopped when its bow faced the sea king, much to Cedric's amazement.

Still, he quickly gathered his bearings and smiled before jumping into the air as the sea king approached, meeting its charge halfway with his spear.

...

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