Ten days later, at the port of Sandora Island, a coastal city in Alabasta, Vivi, dressed in a pure white princess gown, her sea-blue curly hair gently ruffled by the sea breeze, quietly watched the Kirin depart.
Her beautiful face showed no sadness of parting, only anticipation for the day of reunion.
Rorschach and Hibari had told her they would definitely return to Alabasta again.
"I really look forward to that day."
Thinking of Rorschach, Hibari, and the others' smiling faces, Vivi couldn't help but show a faint smile.
"Vivi, it's time to rebuild the royal capital. Your father needs your help. Before Major Rorschach and the others return, we must use our own strength to turn this country into a beautiful land where everyone lives in peace and prosperity."
Cobra called out to Vivi, who was standing at the port.
"Coming, Father!"
Vivi took one last look at the Kirin warship gradually disappearing from her sight, then turned and ran towards the crowd.
In front of her, Cobra, who had taken off his luxurious royal robes and changed into simple, plain clothes, looking no different from an ordinary farmer, was followed by Pell, Chaka, Kohza, and countless royal guards, citizens of the capital, and refugees, all similarly dressed.
Everyone's face bore a smile, and their eyes held anticipation for the future.
Above the vast blue waves, the salty sea breeze gently brushed, and the massive Kirin warship unfurled its sails, sailing steadily along its predetermined course.
This time, Rorschach wanted to go see Reverse Mountain.
It was well known as the intersection point for the four seas leading to the Grand Line.
Ships traveling between the four seas and the Grand Line, or the New World, all had to pass through the currents of Reverse Mountain, converging at the Twin Capes, the lighthouse where Laboon the whale resided.
Although the North Blue and South Blue were actually located in the New World.
However, due to the two Calm Belts separating the oceans, except for Marine warships embedded with Seastone, other ships could not directly enter the New World from the North Blue or South Blue.
Rorschach wanted to go there to see if he could wait and catch some pirates coming from the four seas.
If not, he would go back to North Blue or visit East Blue.
In his last call with Jonathan, the old man, bringing his granddaughter, was wandering around East Blue and had taken down quite a few pirates there.
However, Jonathan still hadn't found the pirate hunter Zoro, whom Rorschach had recommended.
He heard that Jonathan was currently staying at Zoro's hometown, Isshin Dojo in Shimotsuki Village, debating swordsmanship with Koushirou.
Perhaps, he should go to East Blue.
After all, that was not only the starting point of the manga story but also the beginning of this grand era of pirates.
On the deck, Hibari sat alone on the Kirin's dragon head, looking at the sea ahead, appearing somewhat unhappy.
"What's wrong? Missing Vivi?"
Rorschach walked behind her, rested his hands on the two upright dragon horns, and teased Hibari.
Hibari nodded, "Yeah, a little."
"If you miss her, then train hard and develop your Kumo Kumo no Mi early. Then you can go to Alabasta to see her and help Vivi irrigate her country."
Rorschach said with a smile, patting her head.
Hibari, like a kitten, rubbed her head against Rorschach's hand, then looked up with a small, pitiful face, saying, "Will Brother Rorschach come with Hibari too?"
"Mhm, I will."
Rorschach's affirmative answer made Hibari very happy, sweeping away the gloom from her face.
Although the little girl had only spent a little over ten days with Vivi, the friendship between the two girls had already grown very deep.
As peers, Hibari and Vivi shared similar high-ranking backgrounds. From a young age, they had few playmates, so they were actually always quite lonely.
They just rarely showed it due to their similar strong personalities.
After waking up, Rorschach did not linger in the shattered royal capital Alubarna. That same night, he piloted the Kirin to Sandora Island.
The reason he stayed there for ten days was out of guilt for the destruction of the royal capital during his battle with Kaido. Rorschach, along with his subordinate soldiers, helped Cobra build some basic structures on Sandora Island, caught large numbers of Sea Kings and fish, ensuring abundant food for Alabasta's refugees.
He also used his abilities to dig canals, wells, reservoirs, and other water conservancy facilities to help the arid country store precious water resources when the rainy season arrived.
All the gold on the Kirin was left behind by Rorschach.
However, a mere few hundred tons of gold were still far from compensating for the destroyed thousand-year-old capital.
Rorschach also left Vivi the contact information for Water 7 and the Holy Poplar Kingdom, to facilitate their future maritime trade routes.
Rorschach could not offer any more compensation for the time being.
Kizaru had already left with Moria and some Wano Country prisoners of war, returning to Marineford.
Eneru and Hibari didn't go with them. Sengoku didn't insist, especially after learning that Rorschach's strength had made significant progress and that Hibari had also awakened Armament Haki. He decided to let Rorschach and his crew cause a stir in Paradise.
With Rorschach's current strength, unless Kaido or another Yonko caused trouble again, there would be no danger that could threaten him.
On the deck, all the Marine soldiers, including Eneru, had already consciously started high-intensity physical training, which greatly pleased Rorschach.
It seemed that the trip to Alabasta had indeed put immense pressure on them.
Pressure brings motivation, and knowing shame leads to courage and striving for improvement.
He was just wondering if he should release his Armament Haki to train it when the Den Den Mushi in his pocket suddenly rang.
Rorschach took out the Den Den Mushi and answered.
"This is the Kirin, I'm Marine Major General..."
"Rorschach, are you still in Alabasta?"
Before Rorschach could finish, a familiar voice came through the Den Den Mushi.
It was Sengoku.
"Old man, we just left Sandora Island. What's wrong? Do you need to speak with His Majesty Cobra? I can turn back; it's not far anyway."
"No, I need you to depart from Alabasta and head to the nearest Calm Belt sea area."
Sengoku's words made Rorschach freeze.
"Go to the Calm Belt sea area?"
"Yes!" In the Den Den Mushi, Sengoku's voice was low and solemn, making Rorschach's heart suddenly clench.
The next sentence that followed immediately made Rorschach's face change dramatically.
"Zephyr... he's missing!"
"What? Teacher Zephyr... he's missing?!"
Rorschach looked at Sengoku's simulated image on the Den Den Mushi in disbelief, his body trembling violently.
How could this be?
Although Zephyr had lost an arm and suffered a relapse of his asthma four years ago, and his strength was no longer what it once was.
But with a Seastone mechanical arm, he was still the former Marine Admiral, "Black Arm" Zephyr!
Like Garp and Sengoku, he was also a living legend!
With his powerful Rokushiki and two types of Haki, even facing a Yonko of the New World, it would be impossible for him to disappear silently.
Rorschach couldn't imagine anyone who could make a powerhouse like Zephyr unable to even escape or call for help.
"Brother Rorschach, what did you say? Grandpa Zephyr, he..."
In front of Rorschach, Hibari's eyes widened, hearing Rorschach's startled exclamation due to his shock.
Even the Marine soldiers training behind them stopped their movements and quietly put on their gear.
Law, Bepo, and others came forward, looking at the Den Den Mushi in Rorschach's hand.
Rorschach gripped the Den Den Mushi tightly and said in a deep voice: "Fleet Admiral Sengoku, what exactly happened?"
"We're not sure what exactly happened, but we've pinpointed a rough area. We need you to go to the Calm Belt sea area and investigate the situation."
Sengoku sighed and explained the beginning and end of Zephyr's disappearance, as discovered by Headquarters.
It turned out that just a few tens of minutes ago, after Kizaru returned to Marine Headquarters from Alabasta with Moria, Sengoku and the others learned that Zephyr had not gone to Alabasta at all.
Out of absolute trust in high-ranking Marine officers like Zephyr, when they were on active duty, Headquarters would not casually contact them if they didn't initiate contact themselves.
So, Sengoku and Garp had always assumed that Zephyr had already arrived in Alabasta and was currently with Rorschach.
To their surprise, he wasn't.
However, Sengoku didn't panic immediately. He was very familiar with his old comrade's strength and steady character.
But then, he tried calling every Den Den Mushi on Zephyr's warship, one after another, but none of them connected.
Only then did Sengoku feel that something was amiss.
After checking the communication records between Headquarters and Zephyr's side, Sengoku pinpointed the range of Zephyr's disappearance to within a thousand miles of Alabasta in the Calm Belt sea area.
Because Rorschach had encountered Kaido and later fell into a coma, Zephyr had been maintaining full speed navigation since departing Headquarters and entering the Calm Belt. According to his itinerary, he would have arrived in the waters near Alabasta two to three days after Rorschach woke up.
"Don't be too anxious. Perhaps Zephyr and his crew entered a sea area with abnormal magnetic fields, causing the Den Den Mushi to lose communication, or their warship broke down. In any case, you are to proceed from the coast of Alabasta into the nearest Calm Belt sea area and search continuously, to see if you can find anything. With your ability, I believe that even if you encounter difficulties like strong currents or Sea Kings, you can manipulate the ship to fly into the sky and avoid them. Depart now. Contact me immediately if you find anything. Headquarters will also dispatch warships to investigate."
"Yes, sir! We're departing now!"
After listening to Sengoku's account, Rorschach frowned deeply, continuously trying to recall if there were any particularly strange places in the Calm Belt sea area near Alabasta.
Unfortunately, no matter how much he tried to remember, he couldn't find any descriptions of such areas in the manga.
The only known force living in the Calm Belt was Empress Boa Hancock's Amazon Lily.
But Amazon Lily was located in the Calm Belt not far from Impel Down, thousands of miles away from Alabasta.
"Grandpa Zephyr, please don't let anything happen to him," Hibari's face showed a worried expression.
Among the high-ranking Marine generals, Zephyr was definitely the most respected, without a doubt.
He started as a mere soldier, and with one percent talent and ninety-nine percent sweat, it took him ten years to rise from a rookie to a Marine Ensign.
He then went through countless battles and skirmishes, accumulating strength and becoming the most brilliant Marine Admiral of that era.
He was righteous, kind, and approachable.
After experiencing the pain of losing his family, he resolutely decided to devote himself to training new recruits for the Marines, becoming a new recruit instructor.
Throughout his life, Zephyr trained countless excellent Marine soldiers.
Currently, over eighty percent of the mid-to-high-ranking generals in the Marine system were his students.
A few years ago, this old man, who had adhered to the principle of "justice without killing" his entire life, again experienced the painful ordeal of watching his students die tragically before his eyes at the hands of pirates, and having his arm severed.
Any ordinary person, having suffered such repeated blows of losing family and students they had nurtured day and night, would either go insane or become utterly disheartened.
But Zephyr did not.
He still held onto his belief in upholding justice, and despite his recurring asthma, he had the Marine Science Unit install a Seastone mechanical arm for him.
That mechanical arm represented Zephyr's unwavering conviction!
No matter how desperate the situation, nothing could defeat him.
It wasn't until two years ago, when Akainu returned to Marineford from North Blue and told him about Rorschach.
Zephyr returned to his position as a new recruit instructor, determined to continue dedicating the rest of his life to the future of the Marines.
In that one year, the old man not only taught him combat techniques but also lessons about life, how to conduct himself, and his philosophy of life.
No matter what dangers lay ahead, Rorschach was determined to find that respected old man.
"Palmer! Deploy the side wings! Bepo! Activate all Jet Dial! Everyone prepare for battle! We're departing immediately at full speed for the Calm Belt!"
Rorschach's roar echoed powerfully across the Kirin.
"Received!"
The soldiers roared in assent, taking their respective positions.
Rorschach took off his shirt and cloak, his body swelling and growing, instantly revealing his Blue Scale form. He raised both hands, and the air currents across the heavens and earth surged, lifting the massive hull of the Kirin. Amidst the noisy splashing of seawater leaving the ship's bottom, it broke free from the sea's confines and swiftly flew towards the Calm Belt sea area Hibari had indicated.
(End of Chapter)
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