Elsewhere, the lifeboat carrying Ain and the others encountered Aokiji, who had come to provide support on the way back to headquarters.
As soon as she got on board, Ain hurriedly found Aokiji and told him everything about Kaito going to assist Zephyr and fighting Whitebeard Jr.
Hearing this, Aokiji—who always seemed lazy and indifferent—also grew serious.
He had heard of Whitebeard Jr. This was a brutal and merciless man with a bounty of 400 million all on his own, and his true strength might exceed even that.
He nodded, then after asking Ain for a general location, called over his subordinates and ordered the warship to proceed at full speed.
Once they left, Aokiji thought for a moment and felt that even full speed wasn't fast enough. He stepped onto the deck, jumped into the air, and released a blast of cold air toward the sea, forming a path of ice.
His body turned into a humanoid ice sculpture and merged into the ice path, disappearing from the crew's sight in moments.
After all, both his teacher Zephyr and the rising Marine star Kaito were people Aokiji could not afford to lose.
Some have said that Aokiji has the warmest heart yet ate the coldest fruit.
That's about right.
...
Zephyr stepped out from the Door-Door Space, staring at Whitebeard Jr.'s corpse floating on the sea, a little dazed.
He had watched Kaito's entire battle from within that space, and even now he hadn't quite come back to his senses.
He had always known Kaito was strong—but not this strong.
Based on the power Kaito had just displayed, he was already more than qualified to be considered an Admiral candidate.
Kaito also released his Asura Form, returning his body to normal size. However, his shirt had been torn apart earlier by the four extra arms, leaving him bare-chested for now.
He exhaled a heavy breath. Honestly, this had to be the toughest battle Kaito had ever fought.
Previously, his enemies were either so weak they were instantly defeated, or the strong ones stopped short of going all-out. This was the first time he had truly fought to the death against a powerful opponent—and the battle was incredibly dangerous.
With a quick flash step, Kaito moved to the water's surface next to Whitebeard Jr.'s body. His right hand ignited with black flames, and he slapped it onto the corpse's chest.
Zephyr looked at the action with some confusion. Was Kaito the type to defile corpses?
But what happened next nearly scared Zephyr out of his skin. His arms instantly coated with Armament Haki, ready for battle.
What triggered him was the fact that Whitebeard Jr., who had clearly been dead, suddenly opened his eyes and stiffly turned his neck toward Kaito.
"Kaito, watch out!"
Ignoring his own injuries, Zephyr dashed straight toward the floating Whitebeard Jr., fist covered in Haki, about to punch that fat face.
Bang! Kaito crossed his arms to block the hit.
The impact sent pain shooting up his forearms, and Kaito gave a bitter smile. He was still recovering after the fight with Whitebeard Jr., and that punch had hit him for nothing!
"Zephyr-sensei, you misunderstood. Whitebeard Jr. is already completely dead."
"Huh? Then what's this about?"
Kaito sighed, rubbing the red spot on his arm, and explained helplessly,
"This is one of my abilities—corpse control."
"Corpse control!?"
Zephyr was once again speechless at Kaito's ridiculous variety of powers. Now he could control the dead? As far as he knew, the only one with that ability was Moria, one of the Seven Warlords.
"You killed Moria?"
"Uh… no."
Kaito had to explain that this ability came from the nekomata fruit he acquired during a trial. There was no need to hide it from Zephyr.
Zephyr nodded, half-understanding. It sounded kind of dark, but in Kaito's hands, it felt justifiable—righteous, even!
If anyone dared talk trash about it in the future, Zephyr would be the first to punch them in the face.
While the two were talking, Whitebeard Jr.'s corpse was moving more naturally by the moment. Seeing that, Kaito nodded in satisfaction, opened the Door-Door Space, and casually tossed the giant body inside.
Zephyr couldn't help but ask,
"What are you planning to do with him?"
"For now, I'll keep him stored. When controlled this way, a corpse only retains about 50% of its original strength. Once we're back, I'm going to modify him."
"So Whitebeard Jr. is going to become one of your humanoid weapons?"
"Something like that. Once I gain more authority, I'll assign him to a Marine-affiliated unit."
"Oh?"
Looking at the aging Zephyr in front of him, Kaito felt a twinge in his heart. He patted Zephyr's shoulder and said,
"Zephyr-sensei, don't you think the Seven Warlords system is getting a little redundant?"
Zephyr froze for a moment. But having once served as an Admiral, he quickly understood what Kaito meant.
Kaito was planning to create a powerful military force absolutely loyal to him—and to the Marines.
That thought excited Zephyr.
He had long despised the Warlord system. But even as a former Admiral, he had no power to change it.
Now that Kaito proposed to replace it—how could he not be excited?
As for whether Kaito's idea would work?
Zephyr didn't doubt it for a second. If Kaito was the one proposing it, then it would absolutely succeed.
It had to.
At this point, Zephyr had become Kaito's most loyal supporter within the Marine high command.
...
"Ah la la... So the fight's already over? Looks like I'm late."
A lazy voice rang out.
An ice path stretched across the sea and reached Kaito and Zephyr. A humanoid ice sculpture formed on top of it, gradually solidifying until it became Aokiji.
After rushing all the way here, Aokiji had finally arrived—only to find no intense battle, just Kaito and Zephyr chatting leisurely.
Seeing that it was Aokiji, both Kaito and Zephyr relaxed completely. Zephyr even teased him,
"Kuzan, slacking off again? You only show up after the fight's done."
"Don't say that, Zephyr-sensei. I really did move as fast as I could. I didn't even take a warship—I used my powers the entire way."
Aokiji's voice sounded a little aggrieved. After all, Zephyr had once been his teacher. Students always softened up in front of their mentors.
Since he said that, Zephyr let up on the teasing. He reached out and patted Aokiji's shoulder. Of course, he could see Aokiji had truly rushed here with everything he had.
He was just in such a good mood he couldn't resist joking a little.
And that was only because the one who came was Aokiji. If it had been Kizaru instead, would Zephyr have greeted him so warmly?
Probably not.
Then again, if it were Kizaru, he might've just ridden a cannonball over.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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