Kong's fist still trembled on the dented wood. "Vice Admiral, Admiral—he turns them both down? Does he think he can demand the Fleet Admiral's post?!"
Zephyr drew a long breath. "It's not like that. He told me he doesn't want to be bound by Marine rules. He likes freedom—no chains. In short, he's not interested in being a Marine at all, even as an Admiral."
"…I see." Kong's anger cooled into thought. So it wasn't pride—it was principle.
"Then offer this," Kong said after a moment. "Tell him an Admiral's rank would be in name only. Unless Headquarters recalls him for an absolute emergency, he can live freely and do as he pleases."
"I tried," Zephyr said. "He answered with one line: he won't be controlled by authority—and he refuses to be anyone's puppet."
"Mm." Kong sank back into his chair, the last of his ire ebbing away. A faint, wry respect touched his voice. "Smart kid."
He tapped the desk with one finger, thinking. "Treat him well. If he won't serve with us, then at least let him be a friend. What matters most is that he doesn't become our enemy."
"I was thinking the same," Zephyr replied, nodding.
"But that's not all," Zephyr added. "There's something else."
Kong frowned. "Go on."
"That young man has a powerful backing. When I offered to take him home, he said—even with my strength—I 'don't have the qualifications' to enter his homeland. If a place is closed to someone at my level, what does that say about his family?"
"Family…?" Kong repeated slowly.
For the first time, genuine gravity settled over his face. A lone prodigy was one thing; a hidden clan behind him was another. How deep was their foundation? Why had they remained unseen? When they surfaced, what would they do to the balance of the seas?
He didn't know. And that ignorance itself was dangerous.
"I'm issuing an order," Kong said at last. "No Marine is to provoke that young man."
He continued, voice like steel: "Zephyr, share none of this beyond need-to-know. Quietly investigate the boy's background—especially the family behind him. This world can't afford an unchecked, godlike faction."
"Yes," Zephyr said firmly.
"Win him over if you can," Kong finished. "If you can't, then under no circumstances make him an enemy."
Within days, Marineford convened a closed emergency meeting. Gil's photo circulated internally at speed.
The Fleet Admiral's directive was short and lethal:
"No Marine is to provoke Gilgamesh. Any violation: immediate expulsion—and a perpetual Marine manhunt."