diff --git a/packages/google-cloud-storage/cloudbuild/run_zonal_tests.sh b/packages/google-cloud-storage/cloudbuild/run_zonal_tests.sh
index 2d42ce6d5f68..7baabf888753 100644
--- a/packages/google-cloud-storage/cloudbuild/run_zonal_tests.sh
+++ b/packages/google-cloud-storage/cloudbuild/run_zonal_tests.sh
@@ -4,10 +4,12 @@ echo '--- Installing git and cloning repository on VM ---'
 sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y git python3-pip python3-venv
 
 # Clone the repository and checkout the specific commit from the build trigger.
-git clone https://github.com/googleapis/python-storage.git
-cd python-storage
+git clone --no-checkout --depth 1 --sparse --filter=blob:none https://github.com/googleapis/google-cloud-python.git
+cd google-cloud-python
+git sparse-checkout set packages/google-cloud-storage
 git fetch origin "refs/pull/${_PR_NUMBER}/head"
 git checkout ${COMMIT_SHA}
+cd packages/google-cloud-storage
 
 
 echo '--- Installing Python and dependencies on VM ---'
@@ -27,4 +29,3 @@ export GCE_METADATA_MTLS_MODE=None
 CURRENT_ULIMIT=$(ulimit -n)
 echo '--- Running Zonal tests on VM with ulimit set to ---' $CURRENT_ULIMIT
 pytest -vv -s --log-format='%(asctime)s %(levelname)s %(message)s' --log-date-format='%H:%M:%S' tests/system/test_zonal.py
-pytest -vv -s --log-format='%(asctime)s %(levelname)s %(message)s' --log-date-format='%H:%M:%S' samples/snippets/zonal_buckets/zonal_snippets_test.py
diff --git a/packages/google-cloud-storage/cloudbuild/zb-system-tests-cloudbuild.yaml b/packages/google-cloud-storage/cloudbuild/zb-system-tests-cloudbuild.yaml
index 26daa8ae92d9..868d13958474 100644
--- a/packages/google-cloud-storage/cloudbuild/zb-system-tests-cloudbuild.yaml
+++ b/packages/google-cloud-storage/cloudbuild/zb-system-tests-cloudbuild.yaml
@@ -23,6 +23,41 @@ steps:
         cat /workspace/.ssh/google_compute_engine.pub > /workspace/gcb_ssh_key.pub
     waitFor: ["-"]
 
+  - name: "gcr.io/google.com/cloudsdktool/cloud-sdk"
+    id: "cleanup-old-keys"
+    entrypoint: "bash"
+    args:
+      - "-c"
+      - |
+        #!/bin/bash
+        set -e
+
+        echo "Fetching OS Login SSH keys..."
+        echo "Removing all keys."
+        echo "---------------------------------------------------------------------"
+
+        FINGERPRINTS_TO_DELETE=$$(gcloud compute os-login ssh-keys list \
+          --format="value(fingerprint)")
+
+        echo "Keys to delete: $$FINGERPRINTS_TO_DELETE"
+
+        if [ -z "$$FINGERPRINTS_TO_DELETE" ]; then
+          echo "No keys found to delete. Nothing to do."
+          exit 0
+        fi
+
+        while IFS= read -r FINGERPRINT; do
+          if [ -n "$$FINGERPRINT" ]; then
+            echo "Deleting key with fingerprint: $$FINGERPRINT"
+            gcloud compute os-login ssh-keys remove \
+              --key="$$FINGERPRINT" \
+              --quiet || true
+          fi
+        done <<< "$$FINGERPRINTS_TO_DELETE"
+
+        echo "---------------------------------------------------------------------"
+        echo "Cleanup complete."
+
   # Step 1 Create a GCE VM to run the tests.
   # The VM is created in the same zone as the buckets to test rapid storage features.
   # It's given the 'cloud-platform' scope to allow it to access GCS and other services.
@@ -63,12 +98,12 @@ steps:
           sleep 15
         done
         # copy the script to the VM
-        gcloud compute scp cloudbuild/run_zonal_tests.sh ${_VM_NAME}:~ --zone=${_ZONE} --internal-ip --ssh-key-file=/workspace/.ssh/google_compute_engine
+        gcloud compute scp packages/google-cloud-storage/cloudbuild/run_zonal_tests.sh ${_VM_NAME}:~ --zone=${_ZONE} --internal-ip --ssh-key-file=/workspace/.ssh/google_compute_engine
 
         # Execute the script on the VM via SSH.
         # Capture the exit code to ensure cleanup happens before the build fails.
         set +e
-        gcloud compute ssh ${_VM_NAME} --zone=${_ZONE} --internal-ip --ssh-key-file=/workspace/.ssh/google_compute_engine --command="ulimit -n {_ULIMIT}; COMMIT_SHA=${COMMIT_SHA} _ZONAL_BUCKET=${_ZONAL_BUCKET} CROSS_REGION_BUCKET=${_CROSS_REGION_BUCKET} _PR_NUMBER=${_PR_NUMBER} bash run_zonal_tests.sh"
+        gcloud compute ssh ${_VM_NAME} --zone=${_ZONE} --internal-ip --ssh-key-file=/workspace/.ssh/google_compute_engine --command="ulimit -n ${_ULIMIT}; COMMIT_SHA=${COMMIT_SHA} _ZONAL_BUCKET=${_ZONAL_BUCKET} CROSS_REGION_BUCKET=${_CROSS_REGION_BUCKET} _PR_NUMBER=${_PR_NUMBER} bash run_zonal_tests.sh"
         EXIT_CODE=$?
         set -e
 
@@ -80,6 +115,7 @@ steps:
     waitFor:
       - "create-vm"
       - "generate-ssh-key"
+      - "cleanup-old-keys"
 
   - name: "gcr.io/google.com/cloudsdktool/cloud-sdk"
     id: "cleanup-ssh-key"