Chapter 687: SFDI - 687
In the chaotic Rocky Port, a person dressed inconspicuously, wearing sunglasses and a peculiar fake beard, moved stealthily through the surrounding debris towards the warship docked in the harbor.
After glancing left and right, the person hid behind a pile of wooden crates and took out a Den Den Mushi from their pocket.
"I’ve approached the target according to the plan!"
The Den Den Mushi’s eyes opened, and it spoke: "Koby, you must be careful. We still don’t know what’s happening on Hachinosu Island.
However, such large-scale chaos must mean an unexpected and serious situation has occurred. You might not receive any further support, so you’ll have to complete the mission on your own!"
The person was none other than Koby, who had already become a Marine Captain. His appearance here was normal, as he was also a central figure in the Rocky Port incident in the original story.
Koby replied, "I understand. Don’t worry, that ship has a special emergency escape device. If I can activate it successfully, the mission will be complete!"
"Then, for our SWORD unit’s rare mission, everything is in your hands!"
The SWORD unit is a special division of the Navy. All its members are young officers who have submitted their resignations to the Navy and returned their numbers.
This unit has considerable autonomy. Ordinary Navy actions are restricted, especially major operations like confronting a Four Emperor’s pirate crew, which require prior World Government approval.
In the original story, on Amazon Lily, Blackbeard, who had intruded, slaughtered many Marines, yet the leading Vice Admiral was still unable to give the order to counterattack.
This truly proved the fact that the Navy is merely a watchdog bred by the World Government.
Perhaps due to this situation, the Navy established SWORD as a special unit.
This unit doesn’t need to seek permission from anyone, even when acting against the Four Emperors, and can operate freely. However, the Navy does not take responsibility or bear the consequences for any of their actions.
While it sounds like a temporary arrangement for taking the blame, it is indeed a desperate measure by the Navy to gain autonomy.
Of course, SWORD also obeys orders from Marine Headquarters and the World Government. This time, Koby accepted a World Government mission as a member of the SWORD unit.
Koby responded, then put the Den Den Mushi back into his pocket. Minimizing his presence, Koby moved closer to the warship.
Stella, casually taking down a few pirates, turned her head and saw the sneaky Koby. She couldn’t sense any threat he posed to Drake, so she didn’t intervene.
Originally, Koby had memorized the ship’s layout, but upon boarding the warship, he found it useless.
Because he immediately saw the large hole leading deep inside.
Sensing that something was wrong, Koby quickly crawled through the hole and reached the core of the warship.
Through the door that had been violently torn off, Koby saw Drake standing beneath the special equipment.
Before he could say anything, he saw Drake suddenly reach out, pierce the crystal round window, and grab the flame within his palm.
Koby’s mouth fell open. When he accepted the mission, he had been repeatedly warned about the danger of the target.
The mission file explicitly stated that the machine carrying the target must never be damaged.
But he watched as someone not only destroyed the unknown machine but also grabbed the object with their bare hands.
What happened next was even more astonishing. He saw Drake raise his hand and stuff the cluster of flames into his mouth.
For a moment, Drake’s body seemed to become transparent, clearly showing a mass of red light moving within his body to his chest, then spreading throughout his entire being.
Scales began to appear at the corners of Drake’s eyes. This flame was so nutrient-rich that even Drake felt uncomfortably full.
However, the benefits were also evident. As he approached the flame, Drake felt a craving emanating from the source of his magic within.
It was the magic itself’s desire for evolution. This was the first time Drake had discovered flames that could promote the evolution of his magic.
Drake realized he had underestimated Vegapunk; to create something like this. Drake truly wanted to meet this "world’s greatest scientist."
Calming the increasingly active magic within him, Drake finally turned to look at Koby, who was still staring in stunned silence.
Looking at Koby, Drake couldn’t help but frown.
The pirate world was full of lunatics, their mental states and thought processes twisted.
Some were obsessive, some extreme, but the most incomprehensible among them was this seemingly normal young man before him.
Everything was due to that inexplicable action during the Summit War in the original story.
At the end of the Summit War in the original story, Whitebeard was already dead, and the intruding Blackbeard Pirates were suppressed by Garp and Sengoku.
The remnants of Whitebeard’s Pirates and a heavily injured Luffy faced the three Admirals, who, despite their injuries, were still at full strength, along with numerous elite Marines.
Luffy, who had been active in the war, was clearly destined to become a formidable enemy for the Navy if he continued to grow, regardless of his identity or potential.
And just as Akainu was about to land a fatal blow on Luffy, Koby suddenly stepped in front of Akainu.
He shouted, "We’ve already had enough sacrifices, let the war end!" which stunned even Akainu!
Akainu probably never expected such a bizarre event to occur. During his moment of confusion, Shanks arrived, ultimately allowing Luffy and the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates to escape.
Although emotionally speaking, Koby saving Luffy was a good thing, preventing the story from ending there. Shanks’s statement that he changed the fate of the world wasn’t an exaggeration.
But the problem was, Koby was a Marine. Did he truly consider his position when he stood in front of Akainu?
Regardless of the internal issues within the Navy or the World Government’s influence, fighting pirates was their duty and their only unquestionable responsibility.
To want to stop a war because he felt the suffering on the battlefield—how naive must one be to have such thoughts?
It was a war; if you don’t have the resolve to fight to the death, don’t step onto the battlefield.
Did Koby never consider that by allowing pirates to escape and return to the sea, more innocent lives would be harmed?
Drake strongly suspected that Akainu, unwilling to see Koby constantly in his sight, had kicked him over to the SWORD unit.
Given Akainu’s personality, it was unlikely he could tolerate someone as clueless as Koby.
However, since the bizarre scene of the Summit War didn’t happen this time, and Akainu didn’t become Fleet Admiral, Koby joining SWORD must have had other reasons.
But thinking about the other members of SWORD, most were elite Marine officers. There was a young man who became a Rear Admiral at a very young age, and the granddaughter of the Marine Grand Vice Admiral Tsuru. They were all young people with considerable backgrounds.
And Koby, as Garp’s disciple, also had a significant background, so his inclusion wasn’t out of place. What Drake was curious about now was Koby’s current objective!
__________________
For more advance Chapters visit patreon.com/bars45.
For 10$- All advance Chapters.
"Schedule"
Monday - Friday - Update 3 Chapters a Day
Saturday - Sunday - Off