Chapter 516: Repel the enemy, the youngest officer in history! (Two in one)

Intense flames lit up on the warship deck, and the thin and small Ace was already covered by spiral flames.

The iron-wrapped deck was also affected by Ace's devil fruit ability at this moment, and the red-hot iron showed signs of melting.

"Great Flame Ring·Flame Emperor!"

As Ace's low voice sounded on the deck, the flames circling around him suddenly gathered above his head.

Ace raised his palms to the sky, and the gathered flames condensed into a huge fireball with a diameter of four or five meters above his head. In Bakin's astonished eyes, Ace waved his arms forward, and the fireball fell directly towards Bakin's position.

"!!!"

Ace's attack was very loud, and the sailors on the deck saw this scene and their faces changed suddenly. They didn't dare to stay on the deck for long, and they rushed to the side of the ship and jumped into the sea without thinking.

These surviving naval cadets had no intention of retreating when facing the two killers, Weeble and Bakin.

But when they noticed Ace's attack, they chose to jump into the sea to escape. They were far more afraid of Ace's attack than Weeble and Bakin.

"Dang!!!"

The figures of Zefa and Weeble met, and the blades in their hands also collided with each other, making a loud golden sound. Zefa, who was fighting with Weeble, was also paying attention to Ace and Sabo.

The moment the fire on the deck lit up, Zefa noticed it. He saw his eyes twitching slightly, and the long sword in his hand shook vigorously. After removing Weeble's power, he had no intention of entangled with Weeble at all. He jumped directly and quickly left the deck and flew into the air.

Weeble didn't react to what happened at all. He only felt a burning breath coming from behind him. He looked back hurriedly and was greeted by a sky full of fire.

"BOOM!!!!"

After the fireball fell on the deck, it exploded directly, and a loud roar was heard on the warship. The flames instantly covered the entire front deck, and the surrounding railings were blown away by the impact of the flames and disappeared.

The bright sunlight was also covered by the rising flames at this moment.

The whole ship was already in a sea of ​​fire.

"Swish!"

Zeffa, who dodged in time, had already leaped to the top of the ship's secondary mast. The scorching air waves rolled up from the deck, making Zefa, who was standing on the top of the secondary mast, twitch his eyes slightly, looking at the sea of ​​fire below, and trembling with fear.

"Zi--"

At the same time, a flash of lightning flashed out from the sea of ​​fire. At the moment when the lightning was in the air, arcs of electricity shot out and hit the ropes of the lifeboats hanging on the side of the warship. At the same time as three or four small lifeboats fell into the sea, Sabo's figure also appeared on the top of the observation tower not far from Zefa.

"Ace! What on earth did you do, you idiot!?"

Sabo, who escaped from the sea of ​​fire, couldn't help but complain to Ace, who was still on the deck in the sea of ​​fire. As a user of the Flame-Flame Fruit, such a sea of ​​fire is like returning home to Ace.

Unlike Ace who attacked recklessly, Sabo's previous attack was much more subtle. The two natural devil fruit users have terrifying power that is almost destructive. Even though the devil fruit's ability has not yet awakened, the range of attack is far from comparable to that of Kuzan and Sakaski.

But now, it is easy for them to cover the warship with their attacks.

In order not to accidentally hurt friendly forces, Sabo was very restrained when he attacked just now.

"There is no other way. Without such an attack, there is no way to cause damage to the enemy."

In the sea of ​​fire, Ace jumped up and jumped onto the top of the cabin. He lowered his head slightly and looked at the black shadows in the sea of ​​fire. There was no joy on his face, and his tone seemed a little heavy.

Under his attack, the bodies of the navy killed by Bakin before might have turned into ashes at this moment.

Ace felt guilty about this.

But he was mature and sensible, and he could see it clearly. He knew that there was nothing he could do.

As Ace said, if he didn't use this level of attack, he couldn't hurt the enemy. Ace understood this truth. After hearing this, Sabo lowered his head slightly and fell silent. He obviously understood this truth.

And Zefa didn't say anything from beginning to end. He just looked at the flames below and carefully searched for the enemy's traces.

Is the battle over?

Not necessarily.

"Mom?!"

"Mom! Where are you?!"

In the middle of the deck, a tall figure swung the long sword in his hand, and the violent wind dispelled the flames around him. Weevil's figure also appeared in the sight of Zefa and others.

At this time, Weevil was calling his mother anxiously. Because of Ace's attack, his skin was burned with a large area.

The clothes on his body had been burnt black by the flames, forming black blocks that stuck to Weeble's skin. Threads of blood flowed out from Weeble's wounds and merged with the burnt clothes.

If such injuries were placed on an ordinary person, he would have lost his ability to fight long ago. Even if he received good medical treatment, the final result of such a large area of ​​burns would only be one: death from infection.

But Weibull was obviously not an ordinary person. At this time, he seemed to be unable to feel the severe pain coming from his body, calling for his mother one after another.

"clatter--"

The subtle footsteps were obscured by the movement when the flames were burning, but both Zefa and Weibull heard it immediately.

In the sea of ​​​​fire, Ba Jin, who was completely charred, slowly walked out, her leopard-print short coat was charred and black, and fell on Ba Jin's body. At this time, Ba Jin's blond hair had been burned into a bald spot, and her whole body was covered with large areas of burns. .

She was in the center of the Great Flame Ring's attack and was seriously injured. At this time, her breath was already weak in Zefa's perception.

Walking out of the sea of ​​​​fire, Bajin had already spent a lot of physical energy. He raised his head slightly and glanced at his son not far away. Bajin's eyes were full of resentment, and then his body actually fell straight forward.

"Plop!"

When Weibull saw this scene, he rushed to Barjin's side. Regardless of the burns on his body, he picked up his mother and captured her on his deck. He glanced at Zefa and others, and looked at Ace's appearance. It is deeply engraved in my mind.

Not daring to stay here any longer, Weibull jumped directly with Ba Jin and left the deck.

"Don't even think about leaving!"

Seeing that the enemy who had killed so many of his comrades actually wanted to escape, Sabo's eyes widened as lightning flashed on his body and he was about to pursue him when he was stopped by Zefa:

"Don't chase, Sabo!"

"The most important thing now is this!"

"This is a new world. The climate can change at any time. The ship is so damaged. If we don't repair it quickly, we will all be buried in this sea."

With that said, Zefa pointed to the deck that was caught in the fire. Ace's attack was terrifying, and the fire was slowly spreading.

Rather than pursuing the enemy, the most important things at the moment were putting out fires and repairing ships. The climate of the new world is changeable. Even great pirates like the Golden Lion were almost swallowed by the tsunami, so Zefa couldn't help but ignore it.

Moreover, although Weibull and Bajin were both seriously injured, it was not easy to capture Weibull. As the battle dragged on, it would be too late to do anything when the weather changed.

Revenge for dead companions is important, but those who survive need to be cherished even more.

"hateful!"

Sabo glanced at the direction Weibull and Ba Jin left with some reluctance, and could only give up.

At this moment, the sailors who fell into the water also supported each other and climbed into the lifeboats one after another. Zefa immediately took action after stopping Sabo. He simply cleared an open space and put down the rope ladder. He rescued a group of marines and started to put out the fire.

"Zi——"

The fire all over the sky gradually extinguished under the water of sea water. Thick water vapor enveloped the entire warship. The deck of the warship was devastated. Even after the fire was extinguished, the place was still billowing with heat.

Ace and Sabo were sent back to the cabin by Zefa, while he himself helped the naval cadets put out the fire and collect the bodies of the fallen cadets.

Even death is not peaceful.

The bodies of these people were all affected by Ace's attack. Their bodies were charred and curled up, and their appearance could no longer be seen clearly.

All the navy went about their work without saying a word, and morale was low.

Resentful pirate for killing his comrade? Resenting Ace for not knowing how serious his attack was and affecting his partner's body?

None of the students had such emotions in their hearts. While they were sad, they just resented their own lack of strength.

The cruelty of this sea is just a glimpse of it.

The partners who were unfortunately killed revealed this cruel reality to everyone. If you want to take the path of the navy, a similar scene may not be the last time you encounter it.

This time they were lucky. Former generals like Zefa were in charge, and Ace and Sabo, two powerful natural elements, also helped a lot. Otherwise, it would be hard to say how many people would be able to stand here now.

"The ship was repaired, the body was collected, and returned to headquarters for burial."

"After a brief repair, go to Thunder God Island and rest there."

Zefa felt the low mood of the students. He did not say any words of comfort, but put on a cold and ruthless look and ordered. However, when his eyes inadvertently glanced at the bodies of the students, the pain in Zefa's eyes was clear. It can't be covered up at all.

In all these years, this is the first time that he has suffered such a heavy loss while leading students in sea training.

Until now, Zefa was a little scared. If it weren't for the two boys Ace and Sabo, all of his students would have been slaughtered by Bajin and his son together.

Fear, rejoice, blame yourself.

Zefa, who was immersed in this emotion, didn't even notice when his student came to him, until the other party spoke:

"Teacher Zefa, are we going to Thunder God Island?"

“That place is”

Zefa's choice of destination surprised the trainee. Thunder God Island is the territory of the New Navy. Although it is called the New Navy, it has no affiliation with their navy headquarters and is even hostile.

"No need to say more, just go!"

The warship was seriously damaged. Weibull's slash and Ace's attack caused huge damage to the ship. Even after simple repairs, there was no way to support the ship's long-distance voyage in the waters of the New World. They needed a shipyard and professional The shipwright came to repair the ship.

The Navy Headquarters has no base in the New World. The original bases have long been removed. The craftsmen on ordinary islands may not be able to repair the all-iron warships of the headquarters. Only the new navy has such technical strength.

Zefa is not afraid of contact with the new navy, and he is not afraid that the new navy will be unfavorable to him.

His old face is a bit thin no matter where he goes.

"Yes!"

Seeing that his teacher's tone was firm, the students did not say any nonsense, responded and hurried away.

The post-war work was heavy and tedious. Zefa stayed on the deck for several hours, commanding and teaching the students to deal with various things. Until the work was on track, Zefa left the deck and went to the cabin.

At this time, Ace and Sabo were staying in the cabin with Luffy in a low mood. Luffy didn't know what happened on the deck, and Ace and Sabo didn't tell Luffy the details.

They didn't want Luffy to bear this kind of pain.

These students of Zefa have been with them day and night. Ace and Sabo are often taken to the Naval Academy by Zefa. After a few visits, they have become familiar with this class of students.

Among those who died, some had met Ace and Sabo several times, and some even enthusiastically invited the two brothers to eat the specialties of their hometown.

This time, Ace and Sabo were hit hard by it.

"Ka-"

The door of the cabin was opened, and Zefa walked into the room lightly. Looking at the depressed Ace and Sabo brothers curled up in different corners of the bed, he couldn't help but sighed with self-blame:

"I didn't protect them well."

"Such an experience is indeed too early for children of your age."

When can a person mature?

Different people, different experiences, and the final results are different.

When relatives and friends around them pass away, they can mature children like Ace and Sabo.

They are precocious, but they are still far from real maturity.

"Teacher Zefa, I want to become stronger!"

"I want to be so strong that no enemy can take away my partner's life from me!"

Zefal's words made Ace, who was a little depressed, slowly raise his head and speak in a firm tone. Sabo also looked at Zefa with burning eyes. After this encounter, the two people had one more driving force to become stronger.

Becoming stronger is no longer just to realize one's own dream

It is to allow the family and partners that you cherish to survive on this sea, to protect your family and partners.

Zefal's arm was simply bandaged by the accompanying military doctor. Looking at the two young boys with burning eyes, Zefa felt the pain from his arm. It was obviously not a serious injury, but the pain was heart-piercing.

"Okay!"

Zefal nodded in response. Seeing that Ace and Sabo had adjusted their mentality, he did not stay in the cabin for long and turned to leave.

The news that the fleet led by former Navy Admiral Zefa was attacked quickly spread.

It was not the surviving Bakin mother and son who took the initiative to expose this news, but the Navy. The report touted the brutality and terror of pirates, and then changed the subject to praise Zephyr's strength and the excellence of the students.

Also exposed were photos and deeds of two children.

Ace and Sabo, the users of the Flame-Flame Fruit and the Thunder Fruit, two young naval reservists, shined in the battle and joined forces to repel the former Rocks Pirates cadre Bakin and her son Weevil.

Zephyr's presence was deliberately weakened by the Navy to highlight the strength and achievements of Ace and Sabo.

The two "little combat heroes" were also awarded the rank of major, becoming the youngest major-level officers in the history of the Navy.

Taking advantage of the attack on Zephyr, the Navy took the initiative to make Ace and Sabo famous, implicitly establishing the status of these two boys as new generation leaders.

This incident also caused shock to the people of the world.

A big force is most afraid of having no successors. The Navy has a serious generational gap. After the three admirals, no young people who can stand on their own have emerged. This is a consensus within the Navy.

Tsugakuni Yoriichi, who was highly expected back then, has already set up his own company.

The appearance of Ace and Sabo also let the navy see the shadow of future admirals.

Becoming admirals of the navy is the expectation of the navy's top leaders for Ace and Sabo.

Even Sakaski, who has strict military discipline, did not say anything against it after learning that two ten-year-old children were awarded the rank of major.

Instead, he admired these two natural juniors with terrifying abilities.

For Sakaski, he is not afraid of his juniors being promoted quickly, but he is afraid that they have no ability.