The moment those words fell…
Sengoku: "...?"
Tsuru: "...?"
What the hell was he saying?
Not only Sengoku and Tsuru, but even the person on the other end of the line seemed stunned.
After about a second…
"Get lost!"
Zephyr's cold voice came from the Den Den Mushi, and then the call was disconnected.
"Ahh, see? I told you it wouldn't work."
Garp didn't mind at all and put away the Den Den Mushi while smiling at Sengoku and Tsuru.
"Look, Zephyr just told me to get lost! Eh? Sengoku, what's with your face? Why is it turning red and green?"
"I, I, I..."
Sengoku stretched out his right hand and pointed it at Garp with a trembling index finger. He's stuttering so badly that he can barely speak.
Then, unable to hold back anymore, he shouted loudly: "I'll strangle you to death, you bastard!"
…
At Ohara's dock.
Unaware that Marine Headquarters had already sent two Admirals and even set a trap waiting for them, Ian and the others had already boarded the ship and were preparing to set sail.
But the ship still hadn't left the dock, as though waiting for something.
"So slow!"
After who-knows-how-long, Ace, standing at the bow, pressed down his hat: "Why is Uncle Kuma taking so long? I can't wait to beat up the Marines."
Just as he finished speaking, before anyone else could respond, suddenly…
Boom!
A loud explosion sounded from the dock, followed by a deep and muffled voice: "Sorry, I'm late!"
As the voice landed, everyone raised their heads. When they saw that massive, mountain-like figure, their faces all brightened with a smile.
"You're here!"
Ian also smiled and nodded at Kuma. Then, without hesitation, he said to the others behind him, "Let's set sail!"
At Ian's voice, everyone's faces lit up with a smile.
At this moment, Enel sat atop the mast, Ace sat at the bow, Kuma sat cross-legged on the deck, and Ain leaned against Ian's side. Together, they watched as the ship slowly departed from the dock.
Only after the ship had fully left the dock did Ace raise both hands in excitement while laughing: "We're finally sailing! I'm gonna beat up those Marines! Those damn guys dared to bully Zephyr-sensei!"
…
After the ship left Ohara, it headed toward the Calm Belt. Although it was just an ordinary three-masted ship without any power paddles, under Kuma's Devil Fruit ability, its speed was not slow.
As for the destination... The rumors in the New World these days about the New World being destroyed had been making a huge uproar, so obtaining related information wasn't difficult. They just needed to have Grado collect it from the underworld.
However, obtaining the exact destination was rather troublesome.
"Alright, I got it."
Ian hung up the call from Gini.
Because Grado still had many things to deal with, Gini didn't come along this time.
And honestly, with Gini's level of strength, not even being able to defeat Ace, there wasn't much point in him coming anyway.
As Ian put away the Den Den Mushi, he began to ponder.
Gini had collected three possible locations from the black market, but they still didn't know which one was real.
Thinking about it, as for the final Endpoint location, or rather, not just the final one, he didn't even know where the other two were.
Therefore, if they had to search through these locations to find the correct one... At this rate, by the time they found it, they'd probably be just in time for Zephyr's funeral.
"Ian..."
At that moment, Ain seemed to have thought of something, too. Hesitation showed on her face. "Zephyr-sensei, he..."
"No need to worry."
But before Ain could finish, Ian already guessed what she was going to say. He waved his hand and said, "Even if we don't know the exact location, don't forget there's still someone who can tell us. That guy definitely knows."
"Who?"
Hearing Ian's words, Ain froze, puzzled, frowning as she tried to think of who he meant.
Even the two idlers nearby looked over curiously.
"Who else?"
Looking at this group of people who have clueless eyes, Ian felt speechless.
He didn't hide it and said with irritation: "Binz! Did you all forget that guy? Even if we can't reach Zephyr-sensei, we can still call Binz!"
Hearing this, Ain and Enel immediately showed expressions of realization.
Ain even looked a bit ashamed; she had actually forgotten her former colleague.
As for Ace, he scratched his head in confusion until a second later, when he suddenly remembered something.
"Binz, oh, that guy who dresses like a ninja and talks weird! So his name is Binz!"
Ian: "..."
Ian stared speechlessly at Ace, who only now knew Binz' name. No wonder Ace kept calling him that ninja with a pink headscarf; he thought Ace had been giving him a nickname, but it turned out Ace simply didn't know his name!
Not bothering with Ace anymore, Ian pulled out the Den Den Mushi again when he saw Ain's hopeful gaze and dialed Binz.
He hadn't called earlier because he didn't yet have a plan to persuade Zephyr to return.
If Zephyr discovered it, knocking him out would become troublesome. But now that they had decided, there was no need to hide anything.
Soon, the call was connected, and the Den Den Mushi turned into one wearing a pink headscarf and looking like a ninja. "Hello, who is it?"
"It's me."
"Ian!"
Upon hearing Ian's voice, the tone on the other side instantly lowered in a sneaky manner. "Why are you calling? Zephyr-sensei said I'm not allowed to contact you guys."
"Nothing much, just wanted to ask, where are you right now?"
"We're at..."
Binz casually blurted out a place name, and before he could ask Ian what he planned to do…
Beep! Beep! Beep!
The call was hung up.
Ian put away the Den Den Mushi, turned to Ain, and said: "We've got the location."
Although Binz only mentioned a place name and not the final Endpoint, knowing the location was enough. They only needed to compare which Endpoint was closest to that place, and they could determine the correct one.
He then turned toward Kuma at the helm and shouted: "Kuma, I'm counting on you!"
"I understand, Mr. Ian."
As soon as the words fell, Kuma acted without hesitation.
As a travel expert, he quickly pinpointed the correct sea area based on the place name. Then he sharply turned the rudder and headed straight for that sea area.
I'm back, guys. Here are the missing chapters: 8 days = 16 chapters.
(P.S. I'm somewhat recovered.)