Purururururu… Purururururu…
Inside a brightly lit office, an energetic elderly man wearing a white suit and rimless glasses was taking a rare break from his work. Smiling contentedly, he carefully watered his beloved Judd Orchid plant.
But the sudden ringing of a Den Den Mushi broke his pleasant mood.
"Look at that… these useless subordinates never leave you even a moment of rest."
The old man sighed, grabbed a rag from the flower stand, casually wiped his hands, and sat down behind his desk. By the time he picked up the receiver, his expression had already turned serious.
"Colonel Crone. It's been a while."
The Den Den Mushi's originally blank expression changed into the weary middle-aged face of Colonel Crone, the Marine officer from the 91st Branch who enjoyed observing events from the sidelines. The snail coughed violently before finally speaking.
"Teacher Zefa, it's been a long time. How has your health been?"
"You sound weaker than this old man," Zefa replied calmly. While holding the receiver in one hand, he casually picked up a stack of exam reports belonging to Marine trainee officers and began flipping through them.
"Now tell me—what happened in the West Blue?"
"Teacher Zefa… do you remember the Chain-Chain Fruit? The one that Marvin ate."
"The Chain-Chain Fruit… the Devil Fruit that can only create zippers on objects?"
Zefa continued reading through the exam reports absentmindedly.
"I remember it. What about it? Has it appeared in the West Blue again?"
As he read further through the exam sheets, his frown deepened.
Look at these disgraceful scores.
This year's trainee officers are the worst class I've ever taught.
"To be precise, it was obtained by a West Blue gang leader two years ago. The previous commander of the 91st Branch reported it to Headquarters, but Vice Admiral Strawberry said—"
"Yes, yes, I know," Zefa interrupted.
"Strawberry believed both the Chain-Chain Fruit and Marvin were embarrassments to the Marines."
Zefa sighed.
"I've always said that Devil Fruits themselves aren't weak. Marvin simply lacked imagination when developing his ability."
"And besides, he had only eaten the fruit for a short time before encountering the 'Copper Apple' Pirate Crew, whose combined bounty was 140 million Berries."
"His defeat was unavoidable."
Zefa actually remembered that fruit very clearly.
Although he himself wasn't a Devil Fruit user, he had fought countless ability users.
The Chain-Chain Fruit required extraordinary creativity and tremendous stamina to use effectively.
Marvin had been steady and disciplined—but lacked innovation.
To put it bluntly, Marine Captain had been the peak of his potential.
After eating the fruit, Marvin had reportedly trained for an entire month but could only use it to open a few zippers on warships to store extra food and water.
That foolish child…
"Alright," Zefa said, tossing the crumpled exam sheet aside.
"You didn't bring up the Chain-Chain Fruit without reason."
"What happened?"
His posture straightened as his expression turned serious.
"…Someone ate the Chain-Chain Fruit and within ten minutes defeated three major figures."
"First 'War Bull' Talma Pippin, then 'Gun-Tail Snake' Suleiman Shaon, and finally 'Bandit' Capone Bege."
"The first man is the same gang leader who obtained the fruit two years ago. The second is the head of the Suleiman Family, the largest underworld organization in the West Blue. The third is the leader of the rising Capone Gang."
The Den Den Mushi perfectly mimicked Colonel Crone's expression—half frightened, half confused.
"Ten minutes?"
Zefa grabbed a pen and sheet of paper.
"Continue."
"How strong are those three gang leaders? Give me the Marine simulation bounty estimates."
"Yes, sir."
Crone began listing the figures.
"Talma Pippin — Zoan-type Ox-Ox Fruit, Buffalo Model. Estimated bounty: 40 million Berries."
"Suleiman Shaon — Zoan-type Snake-Snake Fruit, Needle-Tail Snake Model. Estimated bounty: 42 million Berries."
"Capone Bege — uh… just received updated intelligence. He's a Paramecia-type Castle-Castle Fruit user. Our branch has set his simulated bounty at 70 million Berries."
Zefa quickly wrote the numbers beside their names.
After staring at the paper for a moment, he removed his glasses and rubbed his temples.
"How old is this person?"
"And what's his background?"
"Mafia Victor. Seventeen years old. Born in Kori Village in the West Blue."
"Both parents were ordinary fishermen. His mother died in childbirth, and his father died in a maritime accident ten years ago."
"He joined Talma Pippin's gang two years ago and later became one of its officers."
"One month ago he single-handedly defeated six officers of the Suleiman Family, which led our branch to assign him a simulated bounty of 10 million Berries."
"Ten million?"
Zefa let out a quiet laugh.
"Should I say the entire 91st Branch is blind… or that this boy already knows how to hide his strength at seventeen?"
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"How well has he developed the Chain-Chain Fruit?"
"…Terrifyingly well."
Crone's voice lowered.
"He handled the fruit like a fish returning to water."
"His combat instincts are exceptional, and he has already turned the fruit into a highly destructive weapon."
"And I suspect… I suspect he has touched the threshold of Observation Haki."
Two beads of cold sweat rolled down the Den Den Mushi's face.
"You're serious?"
"West Blue? Seventeen years old? Observation Haki?"
If that were true…
Then the situation was extremely serious.
Although Haki occasionally appeared in the four outer seas, it was extremely rare.
Add the condition 'seventeen years old', and it became almost unheard of.
"Oh right," Crone added suddenly.
"Mafia Victor also has a younger sister named Perona."
"She's also an ability user and quite dangerous. We suspect she possesses the Ghost-Ghost Fruit."
Crone remembered the girl who appeared innocent but was actually terrifyingly destructive.
"Your West Blue sure produces some interesting people…"
Zefa leaned back in his chair.
"Very well."
"Once I finish supervising this year's Marine trainee exams, I'll personally visit the West Blue."
"If a talented youngster like that can be recruited into the Marines, he could make a tremendous contribution to peace."
Zefa had no intention of destroying Mafia Victor.
Besides the nickname "Black Arm", he was also known as the "Non-Killing Admiral."
Even when facing pirates, he rarely dealt fatal blows.
Let alone a seventeen-year-old boy.
If the boy's worldview could be corrected through proper guidance…
The Marines might gain a future Admiral candidate.
"Then… should Mafia Victor and his sister Perona receive official simulation bounties in our Marine records?"
Upon hearing that Zefa himself would visit the West Blue, Colonel Crone immediately felt relieved.
No matter how powerful Mafia Victor might be, before Zefa…
One punch would settle everything.
"Of course."
"Why wouldn't we?"
Zefa said calmly.
"Set Mafia Victor's simulated bounty at 100 million Berries."
"If he ever becomes a pirate, that will be his official bounty."
"As for the girl… forget it."
"The Ghost-Ghost Fruit has a fatal weakness. She's not a major threat."
"Alright, if there's nothing else, hang up."
"Yes, sir!"
After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Zefa leaned back in his chair and thought silently for a moment.
Then he straightened up and took out a new sheet of paper.
Carefully, he wrote a single line:
West Blue — Mafia Victor — Chain-Chain Fruit
He then drew two heavy lines beneath Victor's name.
At that moment, someone knocked on the office door.
After receiving permission, a Marine soldier entered and saluted.
"Admiral Zefa, Fleet Admiral Kong requests your presence in his office."
"Understood."
Zefa stood up and adjusted his clothes.
"Did the Fleet Admiral say what it was about?"
"He mentioned that he hopes you will personally accompany this year's trainee training ship."
"Oh…"
Zefa nodded.
"I see. I'll go meet Fleet Admiral Kong immediately. Thank you."
The Marine soldier saluted once more and left the room.
It seemed the trip to the West Blue would have to wait a little longer.
Hopefully that boy Crone can handle things in the meantime.
Before leaving, Zefa paused beside his desk.
His hand gently touched a framed photograph.
Inside the picture was a beautiful short-haired woman holding a small purple-haired boy about two or three years old. They stood in a field of flowers, smiling happily toward the man outside the frame.
"Qing… Nick…"
"Pirates won't run rampant forever."
"The world will become a better place."
"Don't worry."
Zefa picked up his white Marine coat from the hanger and draped it over his shoulders.
On the back of the coat were two large characters:
Justice.