Two days later.
In the first half of the Grand Line, under clear skies and calm weather, a massive warship sat motionless on the sea, its Marine flag fluttering proudly in the wind.
Splash… splash…
The current rolled gently, making a clear, pleasant sound.
At the same time, from a more distant stretch of sea, another large warship slowly approached, sailing toward the one already waiting in place.
Its hull cut through the calm surface, sending ripples outward.
Before long, the two warships met.
Then, a middle-aged man in a Marine justice coat stepped out, crossed the boarding stairs, and moved from the first ship onto the second.
A closer look revealed that he was a Headquarters Vice Admiral.
He was somewhat heavyset, with a smooth bald crown and hair only growing along the sides of his head, giving his face an oddly comical appearance.
At his waist hung two swords.
Clearly, this was a highly accomplished swordsman—
a true dual-blade expert.
This man was Vice Admiral Gilmie of Marine Headquarters, an extremely capable swordsman who had mastered both Armament Haki and Observation Haki.
Once his feet landed steadily on the deck, Gilmie walked deeper into the other warship and soon arrived at the broad main deck.
"Vice Admiral Gilmie."
The cadets standing on deck—including Smoker, Tina, and the others—immediately greeted him with deep respect.
As Marine trainees facing a Headquarters Vice Admiral, it was only natural for them to feel a little nervous and restrained.
Clearly, this was the same warship Zephyr had used to take the cadets out to sea for their graduation trial.
A moment later, Zephyr arrived as well.
"Admiral Zephyr."
The instant he saw Zephyr, Vice Admiral Gilmie immediately adopted a respectful posture.
That was how strict Marine hierarchy worked.
Rank mattered.
The only people who could casually ignore that structure were rare old monsters like Garp.
"Fleet Admiral Kong already briefed me."
"Come with me."
"Whitebeard's 'son' is being held in the lower prison deck. He's bound in specially made chains."
"And…"
"He's already heavily wounded. He's awake, but he's so drained that he can barely move."
"Do not feed him too much. If you let him draw enough nutrition from food, his recovery speed will become a serious problem."
"At that point, even those special chains might not be enough to hold him."
"That would be a real headache."
As Zephyr led Gilmie toward the prison, he carefully laid out the details.
"Understood, Admiral Zephyr. I'll personally supervise him."
Gilmie nodded seriously.
He knew exactly how dangerous Whitebeard's "son" was.
This was a monster whose strength was comparable to that of a pirate worth hundreds of millions of berries.
Even for him—
a Marine Vice Admiral—
there was no absolute confidence that he could take down a beast like that.
So when dealing with a man like Weevil, no amount of caution was excessive.
Very soon, under Zephyr's lead, Gilmie arrived outside the prison.
And there, he saw Edward Weevil clearly for the first time.
Thick, specially made chains—each as thick as a man's arm—wrapped around Weevil's entire body, binding his limbs and locking down every movement.
And beyond that—
his body was still covered in countless wounds.
He was badly battered.
Covered in injuries from head to toe.
Anyone could tell at a glance that he had suffered devastating damage.
There was no way he would recover anytime soon.
Without food and proper nourishment, it might take an eternity for those wounds to heal.
At close range, Gilmie sharply sensed something else as well—
an overwhelming pressure radiating from Weevil.
Even bound.
Even gravely wounded.
The man still gave off a terrifying sense of oppression.
Gilmie was certain of one thing.
Before suffering these injuries, this pirate must have been unbelievably strong—
far beyond anything he himself could casually handle.
Otherwise, even in such a wrecked state, Weevil would never have been able to project this kind of pressure.
"He's strong."
"Whitebeard's 'son' really does live up to the name."
"They say he has Whitebeard's youthful strength."
"From what I'm seeing now, that rumor doesn't look exaggerated at all."
Gilmie studied Weevil with a grave expression.
Fortunately, Weevil was already badly hurt.
Otherwise, Gilmie honestly had no confidence he could safely escort this monster all the way to Impel Down.
Just thinking of it made him glance toward Zephyr with even more respect.
"Admiral Zephyr, on this sea, only someone like you could easily capture a pirate of this level."
Gilmie spoke from the heart.
This time, he had come from Marineford under Fleet Admiral Kong's direct order to take custody of Whitebeard's "son" and escort him to Impel Down.
But Kong had not told him the full story.
So naturally, Gilmie assumed that Zephyr had personally defeated and captured Weevil.
After all, judging by Weevil's pitiful condition—
who else could have done this except an Admiral?
"Me?"
"You've got the wrong idea."
"I wasn't the one who captured Whitebeard's 'son.'"
Zephyr laughed.
"…What?"
Gilmie froze.
His face filled with confusion.
He instinctively asked,
"If it wasn't you, then who was it? Who else would have that kind of strength?"
"And besides, Whitebeard's 'son' is being held in the prison of your warship."
"On this ship…"
"other than you, there's only a group of students."
The more he thought about it, the less Zephyr's words made sense.
If not Zephyr, then who else could it be?
A bunch of cadets?
Don't be absurd.
Those kids on deck looked young enough that most of them probably hadn't even killed a pirate before.
How could they possibly deal with a monster like Edward Weevil?
Impossible.
That was what Gilmie told himself.
"Come on."
"I'll let you see for yourself."
"The one who really captured Whitebeard's 'son.'"
Zephyr smiled mysteriously.
Then, under his orders, several cadets dragged Weevil's huge body out of the prison, hauling him forward by his chains.
Fortunately, Weevil was so badly injured that he could not resist.
Otherwise, those few cadets working together might not even have been able to move his massive body.
Rumble… rumble…
With a series of heavy sounds, Weevil was dragged all the way from the prison deck up onto the warship's main deck.
For a moment, even the Marines aboard the other ship caught sight of his massive frame and the savage aura still pouring off him.
At a glance, they could tell—
the pirate being held here was the real thing.
A top-tier monster of the sea.
Otherwise, he could not possibly emit such terrifying pressure.
Hiss—
A number of Marines instinctively sucked in cold breaths.
"This guy…"
"is seriously strong."
"He gives off more pressure than Vice Admiral Gilmie."
"No wonder he's called one of the sea's top pirates."
"They say Whitebeard's 'son' has strength comparable to a pirate worth hundreds of millions of berries. Looks like that rumor wasn't exaggerated at all."
The Marines couldn't stop whispering.
At that moment, as Weevil's huge body was dragged onto the deck—
Kai appeared as well.
After two full days of treatment and rest, most of his serious injuries had already healed.
Only a small portion of his wounds still remained.
Overall, his fighting strength had recovered to about eighty percent.
Eighty percent of Kai's full power was still more than enough to handle pirates worth over a hundred million berries with ease.
"Teacher Zephyr."
Kai walked over and stopped beside him.
"How are the injuries?"
Zephyr asked with a smile.
"About eighty percent recovered."
Kai answered honestly.
"What a terrifying body."
"In just two days, you've gone from heavily wounded to lightly injured."
"You really are a monster, kid."
Zephyr gave a helpless laugh.
Then he turned and gestured toward the Vice Admiral beside him.
"This is Vice Admiral Gilmie of Headquarters. A master swordsman."
"Just now…"
"Vice Admiral Gilmie was very curious about who exactly captured Whitebeard's 'son.' At first, he assumed I was the one who took him down."
"But I told him he was mistaken."
"And now that the real culprit is finally here…"
"I won't need to explain it for you."
After a pause, Zephyr patted Gilmie on the shoulder and smiled.
"Gilmie, weren't you asking who captured Whitebeard's 'son'?"
"Well, here he is."
"He's standing right in front of you."
The words hit like lightning.
Vice Admiral Gilmie stared blankly at the five-year-old child in front of him.
His brain went completely blank.
"W-what the hell?"
"What did I just hear?!"
"You're saying a pirate on Whitebeard's 'son's' level was defeated and captured by this five-year-old child?"
"I must be dreaming."
"I've definitely lost my mind."
Gilmie stood there in utter shock.
He stared at Kai's young face and began seriously questioning reality.
A five-year-old…
defeated and captured a great pirate whose strength rivaled pirates worth hundreds of millions of berries?
Was that really possible?
It was unbelievable.
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