Meanwhile, Binz, whose call had just been hung up, scratched his head in confusion while looking at the Den Den Mushi. "What's that guy up to?"
Why suddenly call, ask where they were, and then hang up?
He originally thought Ian was calling to ask about Zephyr-sensei's condition and to try to persuade him to return. He had even prepared to refuse and firmly declare he would obey Zephyr and definitely not tell Ian anything, but... That was it?
Ask where they were and then hang up?
Is he planning to come personally?
If he was planning to come personally, shouldn't he ask about the final Endpoint? What's the point of asking where they were?
What's the use? They wouldn't stay here forever!
As Binz wondered whether he should tell this to Zephyr-sensei…
"Binz!"
Zephyr's voice suddenly came, startling him so much he flinched as if he'd been caught doing something bad, and he quickly hid the Den Den Mushi.
He then plastered on a bright grin and ran outside to Zephyr. "Zephyr-sensei!"
"What were you doing?"
Zephyr frowned. "Who just called you? It wasn't Ain, was it?"
"No! Definitely not Ain! Please believe me, Zephyr-sensei!"
Binz patted his chest loudly. "Just some boring guy, no need to mind him!"
"A boring guy? Why are you so nervous?"
Zephyr looked at him suspiciously, sweeping his eyes at him up and down. "Don't tell me it was..."
But before he could finish…
"Enemy attack!"
Someone suddenly shouted loudly.
A cannonball whistled past and exploded beside the warship, splashing up huge waves and causing the ship to shake.
Seeing this, Zephyr didn't continue questioning Binz. His eyes sharpened instantly, and he rushed forward and yelled: "Hold the line! And fight back!"
Binz: "..."
Watching Zephyr run ahead, Binz quietly let out a breath of relief. Then he hurriedly followed while putting on a serious expression: "What's wrong with you guys? You only noticed now? The cannonballs are already in our faces! Hurry up and fire back!"
…
Very soon, the battle ended.
It was just that the nearby branch fleet accidentally discovered them.
Although there was a Vice-Admiral on the enemy ship, they were still defeated when facing Zephyr's fleet.
You have to know, although Zephyr sailed out with only one warship, looking like he only had a few people, no one knew how many people could come out of his body.
It's imaginable that when that Vice-Admiral saw that only one warship could actually produce so many people, he was dumbfounded on the spot: [No one told me that a warship could hold this many people!]
It was just that, although Zephyr and the others won, no matter what, that was still a Marine's Vice-Admiral.
Therefore, Zephyr's side still suffered quite a bit of damage.
"Zephyr-sensei, the warship..."
"Can't hold on anymore?"
"No, but it should only be able to last until we reach our destination."
"That's enough."
Hearing Binz's words, Zephyr nodded expressionlessly, then looked at the darkening sky. He spoke without hesitation: "Continue forward!"
After saying that, he looked at his exhausted subordinates behind him. "Binz, arrange them, have them rest in shifts. Aside from those who need to stay on the ship, the rest should go into my body to rest, especially the injured ones. Let them be treated inside my body."
With the Castle-Castle Fruit, he had already created within his body a complete, self-sufficient Marine fleet system.
At present, aside from a lack of personnel and warships, and from having insufficient officers and commanders, in some sense, he was practically a miniature Marine Headquarters himself.
Perhaps the technology, equipment, and manpower inside his body were not as plentiful as those at Marine Headquarters, but he had everything he needed.
As soon as Zephyr's order fell, Binz responded with a firm yes and immediately went down to convey the order without hesitation.
After Binz left, Zephyr turned his head again, looking at the still‑calm sea beneath the night sky.
Then a trace of complexity flashed in his eyes.
"Is it time to end this?"
...
At the same time, night had also arrived for Ian's group.
Of course, they didn't stop either. They continued sailing toward their destination, riding the wind whenever there was wind, and when there wasn't, Kuma pushed them forward with no pause at all.
At this moment, they had already crossed the Calm Belt and re-entered the Grand Line.
Of course, they still needed dinner, especially Kuma, who had been acting as their driver for so long. That stoic face of his was already full of exhaustion, so of course, he needed to replenish his strength.
After the ship was pushed forward by the sea breeze, everyone began preparing dinner.
Although it was said that everyone helped... Dinner was actually cooked entirely by Kuma alone.
The others only did light prep work and cleaning.
As a stay‑at‑home dad, Kuma's cooking skills were quite good. Ace kept eating nonstop while giving constant thumbs‑up as he praised Kuma's cooking.
After dinner and a simple cleanup, everyone was ready to rest.
Once the ship was on the proper course and the wind direction didn't change, there wasn't much to worry about.
They also assigned someone for night watch, that was the spirited Enel.
This guy's Mantra was pretty good. As long as an enemy entered the range of his Mantra, he could immediately sense them. Sometimes they had already detected the enemy before the enemy noticed them.
Originally, Ian had planned for Ace and Enel to take the night watch together, but Ace, after eating, had already run to the bow and fallen asleep.
So it was only Enel alone.
This kid eats and then sleeps. After they returned, he definitely needed a good scolding.
Of course, whether there was one more or one less person didn't matter much. If it were someone Enel could one‑shot, having Ace there wouldn't make a difference.
And if it was someone Enel couldn't one‑shot, and the enemy boarded the ship, having Ace or not still wouldn't matter.
By then, they would immediately notice and quickly wake up.
At this moment, the night was already deep. But aside from Ace, who fell asleep right after eating, the others were still awake.
Even Enel, who was assigned the night watch, only leaned his right hand against the mast, propped up his chin, lying sideways and dozing off, not truly sleeping.
Ian couldn't help feeling speechless for a moment, but after glancing at him once, he ignored him.
Instead, he walked to the ship's rail and stood beside Ain, who was quietly standing there, looking at the sea.