The Fleet Admiral's office was vast.
And utterly silent.
Fleet Admiral Kong held the Den Den Mushi in his hand, his eyes filled with disbelief and confusion.
He simply could not process what Zephyr had just told him.
Whitebeard's "son" hadn't been captured by Zephyr?
Then who could it have been?
As far as Kong remembered, neither Garp nor Sakazuki nor Kuzan had left Marine Headquarters recently.
Even the Vice Admirals had mostly remained at Marineford.
The only person who had actually departed Headquarters was Zephyr, leading a batch of cadets out on their training voyage.
Logically speaking—
among the Marines currently at sea, if one had to name a single person with the power to bring down a pirate like Whitebeard's "son"—
that person should have been Zephyr, and no one else.
Kong couldn't think of a second possibility.
"Could it be…"
"you ran into a bounty hunter?"
"But what bounty hunter on this sea could possibly take down Whitebeard's 'son'? You just told me yourself that Whitebeard's 'son' has combat power equivalent to a pirate worth at least 300 million berries."
"There shouldn't be a bounty hunter that strong on this sea."
Kong took a deep breath and pressed the question again.
After a long pause, Zephyr finally answered.
"It was Kai."
The atmosphere froze.
The entire Fleet Admiral's office fell dead silent.
Kong was stunned.
His eyes widened involuntarily, his round stare filling with shock and utter disbelief.
A moment later, he blurted out in instinctive refusal:
"You're sure?"
"Zephyr, have you gone senile?"
"Do you even know what you just said?"
"You're telling me…"
"that the one who took down Whitebeard's 'son' wasn't you, but Kai?!"
"How is that possible?!"
"Kai is only five years old!"
"And you expect me to believe that a five-year-old brought down a great pirate with combat power in the hundreds of millions?"
"You've lost your mind!"
"If you're going to lie, at least make it believable."
Clearly, Kong rejected the entire thing on the spot.
He simply could not accept it.
A five-year-old child defeating a pirate said to possess the same kind of power Whitebeard had in his youth?
A monster whose strength was no weaker than that of a pirate worth 300 million berries?
How could someone like that possibly be defeated by Kai?
"Fleet Admiral, you didn't hear wrong."
"It really was Kai."
"I saw it with my own eyes."
"I personally watched Whitebeard's 'son' get beaten down alive by Kai alone."
"Kai has already reached a level of strength no weaker than a Vice Admiral."
"In just one year, he has trained himself to Vice Admiral-tier combat power."
"Whitebeard's 'son' was brought down by Kai's own hands—beaten into submission bare-handed."
"There was no outside interference. No one stepped in."
"And I was nothing but a spectator from beginning to end."
"It wasn't that I didn't want to interfere. I simply never had the chance."
Zephyr's voice was filled with lingering shock.
"W-what?!"
"So it really was Kai who personally beat Whitebeard's 'son'?"
"And…"
"If I heard you correctly, you just said that Kai has already reached Vice Admiral-level combat power?!"
Kong was stunned all over again.
How old was Kai?
Five.
A five-year-old with Vice Admiral-tier strength?
The thought alone was enough to shatter common sense.
It was unheard of.
Never before seen.
Looking across the entire history of the Marines—
no, across the history of the sea itself—
nothing this absurd had ever happened.
A five-year-old with Vice Admiral-level power.
What did that even mean?
Kong's hand trembled so hard he nearly threw the Den Den Mushi across the room.
"Fleet Admiral, if I hadn't seen it myself, I wouldn't have believed it either."
"But it's true."
"Kai really does possess terrifying combat power."
"He personally defeated Whitebeard's 'son' and captured him alive."
"Of course…"
"Kai was also badly injured in the process. He's already been sent off for treatment. His life isn't in danger."
"Kai and Whitebeard's 'son' were nearly equal in strength."
"But in the end, Kai was the one who came out on top."
Zephyr's voice continued through the Den Den Mushi.
At that moment, Kong was completely dumbfounded.
He stood frozen in place, eyes unfocused, while Zephyr's words echoed over and over in his mind.
"So it's real…?"
Kong found it impossible to accept.
But at the same time, he didn't believe for a second that Zephyr would lie to him about something like this.
Nor did Zephyr have any reason to lie.
And based on Kong's understanding of Zephyr's character—
this was almost certainly the truth.
Which meant—
"Kai, at five years old, defeated a great pirate with combat power in the hundreds of millions?"
"And he's already reached Vice Admiral level?"
"My god…"
Even as Fleet Admiral, Kong could not help losing his composure.
He had never, in his life, heard of anything this outrageous.
"In just one year…"
"That little monster became this strong?"
"I still remember when he first joined the Marines. Back then, he was just a little kid who hadn't even mastered Armament Haki and Observation Haki."
"And now?"
"In just one year, he's become strong enough to stand at Vice Admiral level?"
"How am I supposed to believe that?!"
Kong's throat felt dry.
Unless he had gone crazy—
there was no way a normal person could calmly accept something so world-upending.
A five-year-old had captured a pirate with combat power in the hundreds of millions.
And not just any pirate—
but one said to possess Whitebeard's youthful power.
And Whitebeard was who?
The strongest man in the world.
One of the absolute monsters standing at the pinnacle of the sea.
To say someone possessed Whitebeard's youthful strength—
that was an absurdly high evaluation.
And yet such a pirate had been captured by a five-year-old child.
The more Kong thought about it, the more impossible it felt.
His worldview was on the verge of collapsing.
"Fleet Admiral."
"Even if I understand that this is difficult for you to accept, I still recommend that you send someone to take custody of Whitebeard's 'son' as soon as possible."
Zephyr reminded him weakly.
He could understand Kong's state of mind.
Even after seeing it with his own eyes, Zephyr himself still found it surreal.
So how could Kong—who had not witnessed the battle at all—possibly accept it easily?
"You have my word."
"I'll send someone immediately to handle the transfer."
"But before that…"
"make sure Whitebeard's 'son' stays under control."
"Do not let him escape."
"And send me the coordinates. Choose a rendezvous point."
Kong took a deep breath.
His shock had not subsided, but at least he had regained some ability to think.
"That won't be a problem, Fleet Admiral."
"As for Whitebeard's 'son'…"
"Well…"
"He was pretty much beaten half to death by Kai."
"If he doesn't receive food or nutrition, he won't be recovering anytime soon."
"At this rate, even a Marine Rear Admiral could probably escort him to Impel Down."
Zephyr added.
"That kid really does know how to surprise people."
"No…"
"More accurately, this isn't a surprise. It's a full-blown shock."
Kong laughed bitterly.
In just one year—
Kai had become this strong.
If that monster were given another few years to grow…
wouldn't he become effectively unstoppable on this sea?
Who would even be able to keep him in check?
The thought alone made Kong's scalp go numb.
"That's enough for now."
"I'll send people to meet you and take custody of Whitebeard's 'son.' Then we'll have him sent to Impel Down."
"It won't interfere with the rest of your cadets' graduation training."
Not long after, Kong ended the call himself.
He raised his head and stared blankly at the white ceiling, his mind still dazed.
"A five-year-old Kai captured a top-tier pirate of the sea…"
"And already possesses Vice Admiral-level combat power…"
"It's really hard to accept…"
Kong had always known Kai's talent was frightening.
After all, mastering both Armament Haki and Observation Haki in a single day was something no one in recorded history had ever done before.
Kai was already unprecedented.
But he had never imagined—
that Kai's talent would be this absurd.
In just one year, the boy had become a top-tier monster of the sea.
"A five-year-old with top-tier sea-level combat power…"
"If word of this got out, who would believe it?"
After a long while, Kong forcibly suppressed his shock.
Then, with a thought, he picked up the Den Den Mushi again and placed separate calls to Garp, Sengoku, and Tsuru, ordering all of them to gather in his office immediately.
A short time later, after hanging up the final call, Kong's expression turned strange.
After all—
if Kai had done something this earth-shaking…
then there was no way he wasn't going to make Garp, Sengoku, and the others hear about it too.
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