Chapter 102: I Heard You Don't Have Children
After enjoying two puffs of Zephyr's high-end cigars from his days as an Admiral, Smoker didn't continue smoking and directly stubbed the cigar out in the ashtray.
He knew that Zephyr's health wasn't good, and the smoke would affect him.
That's right—Zephyr suffered from severe congenital asthma, and his previous devastating defeat was also related to a sudden attack of this condition.
Now his physical condition was declining even further. When he occasionally got excited, he even needed to inhale spray medication to alleviate his discomfort, which seriously affected his ability to demonstrate his full strength.
This type of congenital disease was difficult for even the Navy's medical support system to completely cure for Zephyr.
They could only provide him with conservative treatment. Doctors had previously suggested some high-precision surgery for Zephyr, but after such surgery, he would have to retire to a support role and could no longer easily engage in combat.
Zephyr couldn't accept this type of treatment in his heart, because he still harbored hatred and was unwilling to completely lose his power like this. The Admiral who was once called "Don't Kill" now had blood on his hands. Later, when the pirate who had killed many of his students became a Warlord of the Sea, he felt completely betrayed by the Navy and walked toward true extremism.
"Bane is a good friend I met in East Blue. He also yearns for justice in his heart and will join our Navy later. He told me long ago that he particularly admires you, Teacher Zephyr. Coming to headquarters this time, he said no matter what, he hoped to pay his respects to you," Smoker, serving as intermediary, quickly spoke up for Bane.
"Hahahaha," Zephyr laughed happily upon hearing this, then said modestly, "I'm just an old man plagued by illness now. Are you disappointed after seeing me?"
"How could I be?" Bane immediately shook his head. "Your injuries are precisely proof of your honor. The Navy's current strength owes much to your contributions."
"Being recognized and respected by young people like you brings me great comfort," Zephyr said with feeling.
However, Bane keenly noticed a flash of helplessness and pain in his eyes.
"Speaking of which, I haven't introduced you yet. This is Dr. Genos, a top-tier biological scientist and also my companion. I came specifically to visit you this time hoping to help you solve some problems," Bane said, patting Dr. Genos on the shoulder beside him.
"Oh?" Zephyr looked somewhat puzzled. "My problems? What problems?"
"Some minor issues with your body," Bane said softly.
As soon as he finished speaking, Zephyr's expression became somewhat strange, then he looked seriously at Dr. Genos and said, "You mean to say this doctor can cure my illness?"
"Congenital asthma mostly stems from genetic defects and deficiencies. Conventional medical methods are indeed difficult to cure," Dr. Genos pushed up his glasses and said with great confidence. "However, for me, this isn't much of a challenge."
Seeing such a confident Dr. Genos, Zephyr was also surprised. He looked at Smoker, only to find that Smoker also looked completely bewildered.
Before the teacher and student could exchange words, Dr. Genos continued, "Not only that, I can also solve your disability problem. I've already developed very stable and safe solutions for limb regeneration technology."
At this, Zephyr completely lost his composure, his aura involuntarily emanating as he looked at Bane and Genos: "If you're here to mock me, I will truly get angry!"
With advancing age and the torment of physical ailments, Zephyr's strength compared to his prime could be said to have decreased by seventy to eighty percent. When fighting enemies, he could only briefly maintain peak condition before quickly falling into weakness. This feeling was extremely uncomfortable for someone who harbored hatred and had once been a top expert on the seas.
If his life were fulfilling, enjoying such a peaceful retirement wouldn't be bad.
But now, he couldn't let go, so he had considerable need for anything that could restore his strength.
However, he couldn't easily trust Bane and Genos, who had just met him and abruptly brought up such topics.
This conversation was too simple and crude! Discussing this on the first meeting?
"Senior, this is Marine Headquarters!" Bane said in a deep voice, looking at the slightly agitated Zephyr.
These words made Zephyr's heart brighten. Yes, this was Marine Headquarters. They had come all this way here, so they couldn't possibly be here to mock him, much less dare to do anything harmful to him here. Otherwise, they could never leave this island alive.
He was just an old guy in his seventies—surely he wasn't worth such targeting?
"What price do I need to pay?" Zephyr quickly regained his calm mindset and asked straightforwardly.
There's no such thing as a free lunch—having sailed the seas for decades, he knew this principle well.
"Senior, I won't hide it from you—I'm an ambitious person. My reasons for wanting to join the Navy are partly due to genuine thoughts about justice, but also because I want to use the Navy's power to fulfill my aspirations. So I need to quickly gain strong and powerful support within the Navy. After much consideration, only you can give me this support," Bane also spoke directly.
"So you value my influence and prestige within the Navy?" Zephyr unconsciously lit another cigar.
"Exactly," Bane nodded in acknowledgment.
"I can take you as my disciple. Within the Navy, many officers are students I've taught. If you become my student, you'll have a brotherhood relationship with them. Many things will become much more convenient, and there will naturally be people to look after you at headquarters," Zephyr exhaled smoke and softly gave his conditions.
Actually, this was a bit like getting something for nothing for Zephyr, since Sengoku had just called him about it, so Zephyr had originally considered taking Bane as a disciple—not just Bane, but his companions as well.
"That's not enough," Bane said in a deep voice.
"More than that would be inappropriate, Bane," Zephyr shook his head upon hearing this.
The bargaining chip Bane offered was tempting, but not enough to make him unable to refuse. He longed to restore his strength and health, but couldn't satisfy Bane's conditions without limits.
The atmosphere fell silent. Dr. Genos sat beside Bane without saying a word—he obviously followed Bane's orders completely. Smoker felt very awkward now. That bastard Bane hadn't given him advance notice of such a big matter, making him restless.
After about a few minutes, Bane spoke again: "Senior, I can promise that after gaining your support, I will stand firmly on your side and support you with everything I have!"
"Oh?" A flash of obscurity passed through Zephyr's eyes, then he smiled and said, "I'm just an old man who's retired to a support role and can barely still be active at sea. What support do I need?"
Nothing appears suddenly—the Neo Navy was the same. The later Warlord incident could only be called a trigger that caused Zephyr, this powder keg, to explode. But actually, from when he formed the Pirate Guerrilla unit, you could see that Zephyr already had some ideas and preparations in his heart. It's just that no one was thinking in that direction at the time.
After all, he was a former Admiral! After all, he was the Navy instructor who had trained so many excellent officers!
Before he truly lost his mind, who could imagine he would reach that point? If Sengoku and the others had noticed earlier, the situation wouldn't have developed to such a terrible state.
But now, with less than two years until Zephyr formed the Neo Navy, looking back from the results, undoubtedly Zephyr must already have those inclinations in his heart.
"Ahem, you continue chatting. I'm going out for some air—my smoking addiction is acting up," Smoker stepped forward and snatched away Zephyr's cigar again, then directly escaped.
He couldn't stay in this place for another moment.
After Smoker left, Bane spoke: "I won't hide it from you—I've already prepared several trillion berries in funding, as well as a massive intelligence and money-making organization that can guarantee stable sources of income and military supplies."
"Cough cough cough," Zephyr was so startled by these words that he started coughing and nearly had an asthma attack.
After finally suppressing his emotions, he looked at Bane with extremely complex eyes: "How do you know about those inappropriate thoughts in my heart?"
"On these seas, there are some means to see the future—they just haven't paid attention to you," Bane said vaguely.
As a Navy big shot, Zephyr had seen more of the world than Bane had eaten salt. Hearing this, he fell silent and didn't ask further.
After a long while, Zephyr asked in a deep voice: "What do you want?"
"Senior, I heard you don't have children. My parents died early too. If you don't mind, I'd like to take care of you in your old age!" This guy Bane really dared to say it, looking at Zephyr with extremely sincere eyes.
Zephyr never expected such an approach and was completely stunned on the sofa.
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