One Piece: New Order

Chapter 405: Vice Admiral Hillber

Carlo nodded. "Yes."

Yet he did not leave immediately. Instead, he stood beside Sakazuki as silence filled the atmosphere.

A moment later, Sakazuki looked at him and patted his shoulder. "Go."

The moment he finished speaking, his body turned into a mass of magma without any hesitation. He melted straight through the fortress, sank into the island below, and disappeared from sight.

He was going to guide the magma gathered within the deepest parts of the planet’s core, the magma connected to the entire New World’s underground veins...

Carlo stood there blankly for a long time before taking a deep breath, his voice trembling slightly.

"Yes..."

So this day had finally arrived...

He clenched his teeth tightly as his figure instantly vanished. Simultaneously, the unconscious Luffy in his hands and Shanks’ head from the execution platform disappeared as well...

* * *

At the same time, morning.

New World, ruins of Wano Country.

The only remaining All-Star of the Beasts Pirates, Jack the Drought, had gathered dozens of pirate ships here. But before them was nothing except an endless ocean.

Wano had disappeared...

They even began wondering whether this place was truly Wano in the first place...

Yet with all their years of sailing experience and calculations, there was absolutely no chance they had made a mistake. The only explanation was that Wano had been erased.

Nobody could believe it, especially Jack.

Although he already had some guesses in his heart, personally witnessing this scene still left him unable to accept it.

Wano had disappeared. King had lost all contact. Even Kaido, the invincible figure in his mind, had vanished as well.

Putting all those pieces together led to only one conclusion. A conclusion nobody could accept.

Boom!

Jack slammed his fist violently into the deck, shattering most of it apart as his furious roar exploded outward.

"Damn it!! What the hell happened!!!"

A pirate nearby swallowed nervously before asking in a trembling voice, "J-Jack-sama... what do we do now..."

Jack turned his scarlet eyes toward him and roared, "How the hell should I kno—"

But he forcefully stopped himself midway, suppressing his anger with difficulty.

In the past, he had always followed orders, but now nobody remained to give him commands anymore. He had to figure things out himself.

The sound of his furious breathing echoed around everyone. Moments later, Jack suddenly thought of something and looked toward the navigator with a savage expression.

"That End Point island or whatever, there’s still one left, right? As long as we blow it up, all the Marines in the New World will die with us, correct?"

’Who the hell wants to die with you?!’

The navigator’s face instantly tightened as he cursed internally at this madman before speaking carefully, "But Jack-sama, if we do that, then we—"

Boom!

The navigator clutched his chest as he was blasted backward.

Jack radiated violent killing intent as he stared at the navigator with bloodshot eyes while walking toward him. "I’m asking you if that’s true."

Ignoring the shattered bones in his chest, the navigator frantically nodded. "Y-Yes... yes... YES!!!!"

Jack’s expression darkened as he spoke coldly. "Good..."

* * *

New World, Wano Country direction, Encirclement Fleet.

The massive Marine fleet had already approached the former ruins of Wano. This fleet was led by Marine Headquarters elite Vice Admiral Hillber, with Zephyr overseeing the operation.

Inside the central warship, Hillber ate breakfast while speaking into a Den Den Mushi.

"Mm. Mm. Understood."

After the brief conversation, he hung up the call and summoned a messenger.

"Once Headquarters sends the coordinates, change course immediately and move at full speed. We’ll pursue the remnants of the Beasts Pirates."

"Yes, sir."

The messenger quickly ran off to deliver the orders.

Hillber rapidly finished the food on the table, set down the utensils, tidied himself up, then put on his hat and Justice cloak before walking outside.

Once he stepped out of the cabin, he saw Zephyr standing in the distance holding a Den Den Mushi while gazing far ahead. Beside him stood Ain.

Hillber walked over.

Ain noticed the movement behind her. The moment she realized it was Hillber, she was about to greet him when he waved his hand, signaling there was no need for formalities.

Stopping beside Zephyr, Hillber leaned against the railing. "Thinking about Soter again, Instructor Zephyr?"

Zephyr stared at the Den Den Mushi in his hand before smiling and lowering it. "Yeah. What father wouldn’t think about his son?"

He put away the Den Den Mushi.

Hillber shook his head beside him. "I wouldn’t. My brat’s only six years old and already a complete little demon..."

As he spoke, he took out a pack of cigarettes and offered one to Zephyr.

Zephyr shook his head, so Hillber placed it in his own mouth, lit it, then took a deep drag before slowly exhaling.

"Haa..."

Zephyr looked at him and smiled. "You really don’t miss them?"

Hearing that, Hillber sighed softly. "I do. But so what? How could life possibly be without regrets? Emotions only wear down conviction. I don’t want to cry in front of that little brat. Otherwise, where would a father’s dignity go?"

He shrugged casually as if it did not matter much.

Zephyr could not help laughing. "You’re really stubborn. When it’s time to express your feelings, you should express them. Otherwise you’ll end up like Soter and me back then. We clearly cared about each other, yet we were separated for so many years by nothing more than a thin sheet of paper."

Hillber rolled his eyes.

’Showing off your son again...’

He replied irritably, "Oh, give me a break. My brat isn’t anything like Soter. I’d already be thanking the heavens if he can protect his mother and younger sister properly."

Zephyr looked surprised. "You have a daughter? Since when?"

Hillber reached into his pocket and took out a photograph. Looking at it, he smiled softly, his eyes carrying deep affection and reluctance as he handed it to Zephyr.

"She’s a year and a half old. It happened before I was transferred from the Grand Line to the New World, and her birth was exactly what strengthened my resolve to request the transfer.

"After all, I already have both a son and daughter now, so I don’t have any regrets anymore.

"I don’t want them growing up in a world ravaged by pirates either, even if it means they might lose their father’s love from a young age. The suffering we endured is enough for one generation..."

Leaning against the railing, Hillber’s gaze slowly drifted into the distance as if he could vaguely see his hometown before him.

Although he claimed he had no regrets, that was only because he had experienced too much over the years. The pain had already numbed him.

How could a person truly live without regrets...?

The houses looted by pirates. His parents’ severed heads. The town consumed by flames. The children hidden away in basements by the adults. The few survivors who later joined the Marines. The comrades who fought beside him one after another, only to die along the way...

Until now... even the hometown in his memories had long changed its name. Everything from the past had disappeared completely.

Among all the comrades who once supported each other through life and death, only he remained alive.

Nowhere left to return to.

Perhaps that was what those words truly meant.

That place called "home," which had existed ever since he first came into this world... why had it disappeared now...?

He could no longer find it...

And that was exactly why he stood here today.

He did not want his children to someday lose theirs as well. He hoped that upon this sea, where this incompetent father had struggled his entire life, his children would one day laugh freely and without restraint.

Instead of suffering the ruined life brought by pirates, or experiencing the pain of having nowhere left to return to...

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