Let's rewind time a little—
Back to the returning Navy fleet.
On the giant dog-headed warship—
"Garp! You bastard! How dare you!"
The legendary hero Garp was being scolded directly by the Five Elders.
"All just for a few hundred civilians—you let the Cross Guild escape?!"
The Navy hero casually dug at his ear and replied offhandedly, "I've already explained clearly. That bastard Ian killed Tokikake, beat Gion leaving with an inch of her life, Kuzan got seriously wounded and even lost an arm, and Zephyr was heavily injured too. How exactly were we supposed to fight the Cross Guild in that state?"
"You all know very well how strong that bastard Red is. Even I wouldn't be able to take him down so easily."
The same man who had earlier handed Redfield a brutal beating said this without even blinking.
"If you want to blame someone, then blame that bastard Ian!"
"Garp! What kind of attitude is that?!"
The Five Elders were fuming.
Among all the Navy, this bastard was still the most unruly of them all!
Inside the ship's cabin, in a medical bay—
Vice Admiral Gion lay silently on the hospital bed, her skin pale as paper, an oxygen mask covering her face as she remained unconscious.
Zephyr, wrapped in bandages across his head and body, sat quietly by her side.
Once a mighty Admiral of the Navy, a man who had trained countless rising stars, now looked completely defeated, his head bowed low, eyes empty and devoid of light.
Never before had he felt so powerless.
Tokikake had been killed right in front of him—burned to nothingness by that bastard Ian.
And all he could do was watch.
Helplessly.
He had struggled, tried to stop it, but his efforts had been meaningless. All he could do was stand there, eyes wide open, as Tokikake was reduced to ash.
And not just Tokikake...
Gion too had been beaten to the brink of death right in front of him.
Her ribs were completely shattered, her lungs torn to pieces, even her spine had suffered critical damage.
Just a bit more, and she would've been beyond saving.
And it was all because of his own powerlessness.
Zephyr raised his hand and covered his face.
Memories surged back—of that day, so many years ago, when he had lost his family.
He had been just as helpless.
Just as broken.
Pirates...
At that moment, the door to the medical room was suddenly pushed open.
Kuzan stepped inside, his face pale, his expression grim, clutching a Den Den Mushi tightly in his hand.
"Kuzan?"
Seeing his beloved student walk in, Zephyr snapped out of his despair and stood up, worried. "You should be resting in bed! What are you doing here?"
The boy was gravely injured too.
Ian's punch had done massive internal damage, and the worst of it—his entire left arm had been burned away.
Kuzan looked at his teacher, who stood before him with deep concern.
But when he opened his mouth, no sound came out.
He didn't know how to tell Zephyr what had happened.
The man had already suffered so much from this failed operation.
Would he really be able to handle hearing this next piece of news?
"Kuzan?"
Zephyr already sensed something was wrong. He quietly asked, "What's going on?"
Kuzan took a deep breath.
"Zephyr-sensei, what I'm about to say… I hope you're mentally prepared."
Zephyr's pupils twitched slightly, forcing a faint smile. "You've learned to keep secrets now? Just tell me what's going on."
Aokiji lowered his voice. "The G-5 base was attacked by pirates."
Zephyr's eyes instantly widened.
G-5 base?
"The kids were patrolling near the base. On their way back, they ran into the attacking pirates…"
"…"
Zephyr's body suddenly trembled. He staggered back two steps, instinctively gripping the armrest of Gion's hospital bed. His already pale face turned even more ashen. His lips moved slightly.
"How… how are they?"
Aokiji looked at his teacher—the man who had always been spirited and confident, determined to train heroes for the Navy—now looking as withered and desolate as fallen leaves in the autumn wind.
Though it was just a few simple words, Aokiji felt their weight heavier than a mountain.
"None… survived."
"…"
Zephyr stiffened abruptly.
His entire body froze as if Aokiji's words had turned him to ice.
Then—
"Phut!"
Blood burst out as the Navy's chief instructor fell backward to the ground.
"Zephyr-sensei!!"
G-5 Base.
Inside the prison.
"You damn bastards! Let me out right now!"
Miss Buckin shouted loudly, "What the hell are you doing? Damn Navy! Weren't you the ones recruiting the Warlords?!"
She never expected to be immediately captured by the Navy the moment she arrived at this base.
Who could have expected those damn Navy fools to be so unreasonable!
After tricking them off that warship, they immediately started bombing!
"Mom! Since when did I become a Shichibukai?!"
In the nearby prison cell, the foolish son was still completely unaware of the situation and smiled dumbly.
"Idiot!!"
Miss Buckin couldn't help but scold, "You're about to lose your life, and you're still talking about Shichibukai!!"
At that moment, heavy footsteps suddenly echoed from the end of the corridor.
It was a man exuding a deadly, cold aura.
Under the dim prison corridor lights, Miss Buckin saw his face clearly. The old woman's pupils visibly contracted sharply.
"Ze... Zephyr!!"
Bang!!
Zephyr kicked open the door of the cell holding Whitebeard Jr., then hardened his arms and roared as he lunged forward.
"How dare you!!"
His fists, hardened with Armament Haki, relentlessly pounded on Weevil.
"You damn bastard!!"
Those kids were the future of the Navy — full of ideals about justice and dreams of becoming heroes!
They had their whole lives ahead of them!
There was absolutely no way their lives should end like this!
"Waaah! Mom! Save me!"
Weevil screamed in pain. Though tough and resilient, he was no match against Zephyr's powerful Armament Haki-enhanced fists.
"Bastard! Zephyr! Stop hitting my son!!"
The old lady, desperate as her beloved son was about to be beaten to death, didn't care about her words and struggled forward, trying to squeeze through the bars.
"Stop it! Didn't you say you wanted to recruit the Shichibukai? And you were the ones who started the attack!!"
Is there any reason left in this world?
But Zephyr ignored everything. He wanted to kill this scum who had murdered his disciple right then and there!
Such trash didn't deserve to live in this world!
At the end of the corridor, Aokiji and Garp quietly watched the entire scene.
Aokiji's expression was somewhat downcast.
"Zephyr-sensei…"
The Navy hero sighed deeply.
Could it be that the Zephyr who never kills was finally going to disappear?
At that moment—
"Vice-Admiral Garp!"
The base commander hurried over, his face flushed red with anger barely restrained.
"Hurry, tell Zephyr-sensei to stop!"
Garp asked, "What's going on?"
A chill ran down Aokiji's spine, as if he was about to reveal some terrible truth.
The Rear Admiral in charge of the base grit his teeth and said, "The World government knows about this!"
"They intend to recruit Whitebeard Jr. as the new Shichibukai!"
Garp and Aokiji's expressions changed sharply.
Almost simultaneously, they both turned toward the prison cell.
Inside the cell, Zephyr, who had been beating Whitebeard Jr., stopped and stared blankly over his shoulder.
"Did you hear that? Zephyr! Did you hear, you old bastard?!"
Miss Buckin also heard the Rear Admiral's words and shouted out, "Weevil is now a Shichibukai! You can't lay a hand on him anymore!!"
Zephyr was stunned.
A chilling sensation suddenly spread from the depths of his heart.
**********
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