While the chaos of the city behind him seemed stressful and agitating, Zeff felt completely relaxed as he kicked back in a chair on the deck of The Fancy. A fishing pole in his hand and a cold beverage in the other was what he truly needed to decompress. While he had to admit that he had a soft spot for the kids, he certainly hadn't expected that joining up with the new Rocks Pirates would make him a part time babysitter.
He didn't mind it too much though, especially on days such as this when he could get a bit of a break. The sunshine beaming down on his face and the sounds of the splashing waves beneath him were actively soothing his mind, and he couldn't help but let a satisfied smile wash over his face.
"You seem to be quite content for a criminal, Red Leg Zeff," a calm and suave voice said over his shoulder.
Zeff sighed deeply, knowing that no matter who was speaking that they would surely be disrupting his peace. He turned slowly in the direction of the voice, and the smug face of the man floating in a yellow pinstripe suit immediately began to annoy him. At this point in his time traveling the Grand Line, someone with the ability to fly was nothing new to him, though the golden glow that surrounded him was a new feature.
"You're…glow is getting in my eyes kid, what do you want?" Zeff asked, not allowing the fishing pole to move from his hand.
"You are under arrest by order of the World Government for conspiring with the pirate captain Rocks Xebec," the young man said, attempting to portray an air of authority as his voice cracked multiple times.
"…what's your name, kid?" Zeff asked as he slowly stood to his feet.
"Captain Borsalino, though I don't known why that-" he began to say before Zeff swung his right leg at the young marine's jaw. The speed at which he had started his attack had appeared as a blur to the surprised captain, and he barely had enough time to follow Zeff's movements with his eyes, let alone make an attempt to defend himself. The combination of fire that the friction of his leg produced and the ice armor he manifested through his devil fruit made a burst of steam erupt directly into Borsalino's face, and the impact of the strike itself caused a resounding crack to echo through the otherwise calmer seas.
"Freezer Burn Fracture!" He shouted as his strike rocketed the young marine across the sea, the force of Zeff's strike launching him so far that he was no longer visible within a couple of moments.
"If I don't even know your name, you probably shouldn't be coming after me," Zeff said to himself as he walked toward the bow of the ship and looked toward the city.
The chaos that he had been hearing had gotten louder by the minute, and the fact that the marine he had just launched mentioned Rocks by name was certainly not a good sign. Zeff took a breath before holding his hand out over the sea. A narrow bridge of ice formed between The Fancy and the docks, and the Rocks Pirates chef began to step down toward the makeshift bridge when he heard the sound of the Den Den Mushi ringing on the small table he had set up next to his chair. Quickly walking over and grabbing the purple snail, he gruffly answered into the receiver.
"Yeah, it's me, I'm coming down… you want me to bring what?" Zeff asked as Rocks' garbled voice came through the speaker.
***
The screams and cries of the citizens of Water 7 fell on deaf ears as both Kyo and Rocks collided in a deafening clash of Haki. Though Rocks was infusing a significant amount of Armament into his blows, the overwhelming force of SIlveraxe's blows were too much for him. He felt his feet digging into the concrete as he was being pushed back, and his straining muscles compared to the ease at which Kyo carried himself indicating how cast their current difference in strength was.
"Dying must have really taken a lot out of you, Captain," Kyo said with a smirk as he continued to push Xebec back.
"Do you take pride in fighting weakened opponents, Kyo? I figured you would have some weird mobster code of honor about that type of thing," Rocks said with a forced smile before breaking their clash and jumping back.
The space he cleared was minimal, and Kyo had already started dashing after him again before he even had a moment to catch his breath. Just before his massive axe could come down on Rocks' head though, a shimmering blue barrier appeared out of thin air between the two, blocking Silveraxe's strike without a single crack forming. The warlord raised his eyebrows in confusion, though any questions he had were quickly answered as 3 figures appeared from underneath the bridge behind Rocks.
"You alright captain?" Sakazuki asked as he continued to hold his barrier firm.
"I thought it over, and I think I'm going to take you up on that generous offer, Rocks. Give my boys a little bonus though, it's more than fair for having to be without my joyous presence for a whole year, tah!" Tom exclaimed before looking over at Silveraxe. "Do we…plunder him? I don't know how pirates work," Tom asked as he raised his fists.
"Xebec, is that you?" Saul asked with shock in his voice and recognition in his eyes.
"Saul? You made it off of God Valley?" Rocks asked with the combination of his physical exhaustion and the surprise of seeing a random familiar face.
"I joined the Navy a few years ago, but…" he said as he looked around at the destruction that had been wrought on the city. "I think I'm quitting," he said as he balled up his fists and narrowed his eyes toward the warlord.
"Oh boy, there's so many of you," Kyo said with sarcastic fear. "There's no way I can win without a little help," he said as he looked out toward the sea.
Rocks group followed Kyo's gaze, and Tom audibly cursed as they saw 3 approaching Navy ships. While a few platoons of soldiers were nothing for them to deal with, Rocks braced himself and gripped his sword tightly, his Observation Haki indicating the presence of at least 4 others just as strong as Kyo.