"Cancel my bounty? How generous of you, Sengoku."
Zephyr's Den Den Mushi burst out laughing. "But I've got a question for you!"
"What question?"
"Tell me, why did you make that man one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea!"
Sengoku: "..."
As soon as Zephyr said that, Sengoku's eyelid twitched. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but no words came out.
At that moment, it was as if the two of them were staring each other down through the Den Den Mushi, one waiting for an explanation, the other unable to give one.
After a long silence, a bitter sigh came from Zephyr before his voice sounded again, this time laced with mockery. "Looks like you don't even know how to explain it yourself."
Then, his tone turned wild. "That kid was right, the Marines' justice system is a pile of shit. Since you people don't want to capture pirates, then I'll do it. No matter what kind of pirate, I'll wipe them all out! You still want me to come back? To hell with your damned Marine Headquarters!"
Sengoku: "...?!"
As soon as those words left Zephyr's mouth, Sengoku's expression changed drastically.
Realizing something, he shouted into the Den Den Mushi: "What are you trying to do? Zephyr! What are you going to do?! Calm down! I'll figure something out—"
But the only response was the sound of the call being cut off.
That sound made Sengoku's face turn dark. For some reason, an ominous feeling welled up inside him.
Gritting his teeth while staring at the disconnected Den Den Mushi in his hand, he muttered: "Zephyr, just what are you planning?"
...
Meanwhile, over at the Sibia River Archipelago…
Ain, who had just read the newspaper, widened her eyes in anger. "How can the World Government and Marine Headquarters treat Zephyr-sensei like this? What do they take him for? No, I have to find him!"
"Calm down, Ain!"
Ian immediately stopped her. "Do you even know where instructor Zephyr is right now?"
Ain: "..."
Hearing that, Ain fell silent, her expression filled with sadness and frustration.
"Don't worry, it's not that urgent yet. Instructor Zephyr won't be in danger for the moment."
Seeing Ain's crestfallen look, Ian offered some comfort before turning to the others, his eyes flashing with light. "Right now, we've got something even more important to deal with."
He hadn't expected Zephyr to do something impulsive at this time; everything was colliding at once.
Although it gave him a headache, he knew one thing: He couldn't afford to panic.
He turned toward Village Chief Martin, who was scratching his head helplessly as if unsure what to do, and said: "Village Chief Martin, I need you to—"
But before he could finish, a villager came running toward them while shouting anxiously as he ran: "Thank goodness, you're here, Ian, wait, no, run! The Marines are coming!"
Ian: "...?!"
The Marines?!
Had Marine Headquarters already made their move?
The moment the villager spoke, everyone's expressions hardened. But then…
A helpless voice came from behind the villager. "Hey, hey, hey, I'm right behind you, you know. Is it really okay to say that?"
As those words fell, everyone saw the figure following behind the villager. Ian had already noticed him the moment the villager appeared, which was why he hadn't panicked.
Instead, he smiled at the approaching marine. "Captain Enchi!"
"That's right, I'm here to arrest you. You have really been stirring up trouble lately, haven't you?"
Now, the two of them sat quietly on separate large rocks, no one else around, just the two of them staring at each other in silence.
After a while, Enchi took the cigarette from his mouth, flicked the ash, and said in a wistful tone: "I didn't expect her to be the Devil Child. No wonder something felt off back then. Should I say you're unlucky or lucky? Even after retiring, you still ran into such a mess. Maybe I should've stopped you back then."
"Your daughter is adorable."
"You bastard! Back when you were still in the Marines, you were such a sly one, always dreaming of becoming an admiral. Never thought that after having a kid, you would get so damn sentimental. But looking at you now, at this rate, you really will fight an admiral soon enough."
Hearing Ian's reply, Enchi complained irritably before sticking the cigarette back in his mouth, his expression turning serious. "Anyway, enough about that. Tell me, what do you plan to do now?"
"What else can I do?"
Ian said matter-of-factly. "Of course I'm leaving this place!"
"Going out to sea as a pirate?"
"No. Not becoming a pirate. I'll just find a new place to stay. We'll see after that."
Enchi: "..."
Enchi seemed to understand what Ian meant. He flicked the ash from his cigarette and said quietly, "Yeah, you should leave. This really isn't a good place to stay."
Then he stood up. "Leave quietly. Don't tell the villagers anything. When the sun sets, I'll start the arrest operation."
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me. We're not that close, you bastard."
Ian: "..."
This guy... Still the same as ever!
Watching Captain Enchi's departing back, Ian smiled. Without saying anything more, he stood up, patted the dust off his pants, looked up at the sun high in the sky, and murmured: "Guess it's time to go."
…
Although there was still quite some time before sunset, since he had already made up his mind, Ian did not hesitate and directly gathered Ace and the others.
Although Kuma would have to leave with him, Ace's situation was fine, that eight million Belly bounty... In the East Blue, it might make him someone, but in the West Blue, it really wasn't much.
If Ace separated from Ian, the Marine Headquarters probably wouldn't bother to specially chase him.
After asking Ace if he wanted to return to the East Blue, Ace simply refused and cheerfully said he would go with them.
As for the bounty, he didn't care at all and even complained that it was too little.
Hearing that, Ian let him be.
So after deciding, everyone began to pack.
Ace, Kuma, and Law, those three who had just arrived, really had nothing to pack.
That's right, Law decided to leave too; since he had been exposed, he could no longer return to Swallow Island.
Once he went back to Swallow Island, it would only bring trouble; those forces that had their eyes on the Op-Op Fruit would definitely not let him go!
At the same time, Law's subordinates also planned to follow him.