After a moment of silence, he said, "Kid, if you had been accepted into Marine Headquarters back then, would you have executed your sense of justice within the Marines?"
"No!"
"Why…?"
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Before he could finish speaking, the call was hung up again. Sengoku's eyelid twitched, and he finally couldn't hold back. He slammed the desk and roared: "That bastard, how many times is it already?! He hung up on me again!"
But after roaring, he looked at the Den Den Mushi in his hand. This time, Sengoku didn't call back.
Instead, he put the Den Den Mushi away, leaned back in his chair, stared at the ceiling light, and fell silent before letting out only a long sigh.
After a moment, perhaps because he stared at the light for too long, which made his eyes sore, Sengoku took off his glasses.
The soreness made him blink repeatedly as he lowered his head and muttered softly: "Cabbage, lettuce… and umeboshi..."
...
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Ian, who had also hung up the call, was frowning while looking at the Den Den Mushi in his hand, as if thinking about something.
But soon, sensing something, he looked up at Robin, who was secretly laughing, and at Ain, who was nervously staring at him.
Ian took a deep breath, then, without any hesitation, showed a determined smile and said, "Gather Kuma and the others. It's time to bring Instructor Zephyr back."
…
In a certain sea area in the New World.
A marine warship that seemed to have just undergone major repairs was floating.
At this moment, a burly figure wearing a black cloak stood with his arms crossed before his chest, calmly gazing at the peaceful ocean ahead.
"Zephyr-sensei, the ship has been repaired."
Binz walked over and said with a serious expression: "Please give your orders!"
"Already repaired, huh?"
Hearing Binz's words, Zephyr slowly turned around and looked at him with a calm expression. "Is the warship heavily damaged?"
"A bit serious."
Binz scratched his head helplessly. "Although we have completed simple repairs and it should run for a short period of time, the ship doesn't have enough materials for a full repair. If it takes more damage, we probably won't be able to fix it. And if we repair it thoroughly now, it might take some more time."
Zephyr: "..."
Hearing this, Zephyr frowned as though deep in thought.
"How about... We wait a few more days?"
Seeing Zephyr like this, Binz hesitated and said, "Can we act after the ship is fully repaired? And after the last two incidents, Marine Headquarters will probably be waiting at the final location, Zephyr-sensei."
His eyes carried a trace of hope. "Maybe we can delay a bit longer, wait until Marine Headquarters relaxes before making our move?"
"Wait longer? We don't have the time!"
But just as those words fell, Zephyr shook his head without hesitation and said coldly: "I can't wait any longer. I'm going to send those damned pirates in the New World into the afterlife right now. Set sail immediately."
As he said this, he crossed his arms again and stared at the vast sea. "If the ship breaks, repair it. If it's destroyed, replace it. We have more than just this one warship!"
"Understood, Zephyr-sensei!"
Hearing his words, Binz stopped hesitating and immediately stood straight.
After hearing Binz's response, Zephyr nodded in satisfaction, yet still didn't turn around or acknowledge Binz standing behind him. He just kept his arms folded, eyes fixed on the horizon.
After a moment had passed, accompanied by the cry of a seagull, Zephyr finally spoke slowly.
"Binz…"
"I'm here, Zephyr-sensei."
"If in the end..."
Zephyr didn't finish his sentence before falling silent again.
After another brief silence, he finally spoke faintly: "Take whoever survives and go to the West Blue to find Ian. Or... returning to Marine Headquarters is fine too."
...
Meanwhile, over at Marine Headquarters, after discovering the true purpose of their former Chief Instructor, the Marines held an emergency meeting to discuss how to stop Zephyr.
Sengoku clasped his hands on the desk, sweeping a serious gaze across everyone before asking in a heavy tone: "Give your opinions. How should we proceed now?"
As soon as he spoke, aside from Garp, who was still cheerful and relaxed, the other marine officers immediately stiffened. They exchanged looks, clearly unsure how to respond to Sengoku's question.
Because that man... Was the Marine Headquarters' Chief Instructor.
How many Marines who uphold justice had he trained? How many pirates had he captured?
And among those present... Who hadn't received Zephyr's teachings?
Even the three Admirals were trained by Zephyr.
One could say Zephyr devoted half of his life to the Marines. He even lost his wife and child to pirates while holding onto his idea of justice. And now they were supposed to capture their former teacher?
How could such a decision be made easily?
The entire meeting room fell silent. Even Kuzan and Borsalino, who had just recently returned, stayed silent, one lowering his visor while crossing his legs, the other lying back lazily with his feet on the table.
Both looked like they couldn't care less.
As for Sakazuki... He was also silent, but with a terrifyingly dark expression.
No one knew how much time passed until a soft sigh broke the silence.
Everyone looked toward Vice-Admiral Tsuru, seated beside Sengoku.
Tsuru, feeling the attention, didn't hesitate. She swept her gaze across everyone and said, "We no longer have the luxury of time. This is the final Endpoint. If the last location is destroyed, it will truly be too late."
Then she looked at Sengoku. "We must send out a fleet now. Whether to capture or..."
She paused briefly: "Kill, will depend on the situation when the time comes. And after so many days, Zephyr may have calmed down. Perhaps we can still persuade him."
Once she finished, the heavy atmosphere in the room seemed to ease slightly.
Yes... Maybe they could still persuade Zephyr.
Thinking this, the officers no longer hesitated and turned to Sengoku, waiting for him to issue orders.
"So be it."
Sengoku didn't take long to decide.
After frowning and thinking for a moment, he let out a long sigh and looked at everyone. "We will follow Vice-Admiral Tsuru's plan."
He then swept his gaze around the room, finally stopping on Borsalino, who was leisurely rocking his chair.