Under the stunned gazes of the surrounding Marines—
Zephyr hurried straight to the Fleet Admiral's office.
Stopping at the door, he raised his right hand and knocked quickly.
Knock knock knock!
The crisp sound echoed down the wide corridor, bouncing off the walls again and again.
"Haa…"
Zephyr exhaled hard, forcing down the turbulence in his chest and trying his best to steady his emotions.
A moment later, Kong's voice came from inside.
"Come in."
Plain and unadorned—yet carrying the overwhelming authority of the Marines' Fleet Admiral.
Creak.
Zephyr pushed the door open and stepped inside.
When Kong saw it was Zephyr, a hint of surprise flashed across his face.
"Why are you looking for me all of a sudden? At this hour, shouldn't you be at the training camp drilling those students?"
Normally, at this time of day, Zephyr would be on Training Field No. 1, working the elite rookies to the bone.
There was no reason for him to appear here out of nowhere.
So naturally—
Kong grew curious about what could bring Zephyr to his office.
"Fleet Admiral, I have something extremely important to report."
"But before that…"
"Please have Garp, Sengoku, and Tsuru come here too. I don't want to explain the same thing to them one by one."
Zephyr looked dead serious.
"All of them?" Kong stared at him, even more puzzled. "What kind of matter is so grand it needs the entire top brass gathered?"
Seeing Kong hesitate, Zephyr took a deep breath and spoke honestly.
"This concerns that kid—Kai."
"That's why I need to tell all of you at once. Otherwise, you'll misunderstand."
The moment the matter involved Kai, Kong stopped treating it lightly.
In Kong's eyes, that four-year-old was the Marines' future pillar.
Anything involving Kai warranted caution.
"Fine. Wait here."
Kong nodded, then picked up the Den Den Mushi on his desk and dialed.
Brru brru brru—
The Den Den Mushi's grating ring filled the office.
Soon, the call connected.
"Big brother Kong?"
Sengoku's voice came through.
"Sengoku. Pass this along—go find Garp and Tsuru, and bring them both to my office. There's something important we need to tell you."
Kong relayed Zephyr's request word for word.
"…Understood."
Sengoku's tone immediately turned solemn.
The line clicked off.
After hanging up, Kong looked back at Zephyr, brow furrowed.
"Now can you tell me what this is about?"
"Fleet Admiral… let's wait until they're all here."
"Otherwise, explaining it is a nightmare."
"Better to…"
Zephyr let out a helpless laugh.
"Better to explain it once—properly—when everyone's present."
Even now, the shock still hadn't fully faded from his bones.
A four-year-old… learning both Armament and Observation in a single day.
Who the hell would believe that?!
That was exactly why Zephyr insisted on saying it in front of everyone at once—
so none of them could dismiss it as nonsense.
Kong studied Zephyr with a strange expression.
"Don't tell me Kai did something outrageous again."
"Or that he caused trouble—"
"—and you were the one egging him on."
Zephyr froze, then spread his hands in disbelief.
"Fleet Admiral, when have I ever encouraged that kid to do anything 'outrageous'?"
Kong rolled his eyes.
"And what about this morning? You forget that fast?"
The mess Zephyr and Kai left behind had forced the Fleet Admiral himself to dispatch people to "clean up."
Even now, it still wasn't fully dealt with.
The Marines who were blasted unconscious by Conqueror's Haki were still recuperating.
Tens of thousands of Marines—down in one shot.
It was practically the most disgraceful incident Marineford had ever seen.
If not for Zephyr's reputation—and Kai's value as a once-in-a-century genius—
Kong would've punished them hard.
"Marineford's biggest 'injury incident' in history—don't tell me you forgot."
"If I hadn't wiped your ass—"
"—you'd be getting cursed out by everyone right now."
"At that point, your lifetime reputation would be smashed to pieces."
Kong sounded exhausted just saying it.
"…Ah."
Zephyr had no comeback.
Because that really hadn't been intentional.
Who could've predicted Kai's Conqueror's Haki would be that ridiculous?
"One burst, and tens of thousands dropped like wheat."
"Enough." Kong waved him off. "I don't want to hear your excuses."
"Since it already happened, my job is to clean it up—fast."
"We'll suppress the impact to the lowest possible level."
"That's the only way your 'glorious reputation' doesn't get ruined."
Zephyr's face turned serious.
"Fleet Admiral… thank you."
While they waited—
A moment later…
BANG!
A thunderous crash shook the office.
The door to the Fleet Admiral's office was forced open with brute strength.
It slammed into the wall beside it with a deafening boom. Wood splinters and dust scattered from the frame, and the entire office seemed to tremble.
"Karp!!!"
Veins bulged on Kong's forehead as he glared at the doorway.
Sure enough—
The one who barged in like that could only be Garp.
Only Garp would dare open the Fleet Admiral's door this violently.
"Sorry, sorry—didn't control my strength for a second."
Garp scratched his head, grinning awkwardly as he walked in.
Behind him, Sengoku and Tsuru followed—both wearing expressions that screamed speechless.
Tsuru, entering last, calmly reached back and shut the door.
"Fleet Admiral," Sengoku asked at once, "you called all of us here so suddenly—what major incident happened?"
Garp also got straight to the point.
Sengoku and Tsuru both looked to Kong.
Kong raised an eyebrow and pointed at Zephyr.
"Ask him. This whole thing is his doing. Even I don't know what's going on."
"Zephyr?"
Garp finally noticed Zephyr, then squinted at him.
"At this hour, you're not in the training camp teaching your students?"
"What are you doing in the Fleet Admiral's office—and why summon all of us?"
A trio of confused gazes locked onto Zephyr.
After a long beat—
Zephyr exhaled heavily, as if forcing down the last of his shaking emotions.
Then he finally spoke.
"What I'm about to say—don't panic."
"And don't doubt whether it's true."
"I only want to say one thing…"
"I'm not qualified to teach that monster, Kai."
"So… please find someone else."
"I'll be honest. I don't have the ability to keep teaching that terrifying monster."
The moment the words fell—
Silence.
Dead silence.
Everyone stared at Zephyr, faces full of shock and confusion.
What?
Out of nowhere—he was refusing to teach Kai?
"That little bastard pissed you off?"
Garp blurted.
Even if Zephyr's strength wasn't the greatest, Garp still acknowledged his teaching ability.
For Zephyr to say he wasn't "qualified"…
Either he was furious beyond measure—
or something else was seriously wrong.
And that was exactly what Sengoku and Tsuru were thinking too.
"You're misunderstanding," Zephyr said, shaking his head. "Kai didn't anger me."
"And what I said wasn't some hidden message."
"I meant it literally."
"All I can say is…"
"I truly am not qualified to teach that monster."
Zephyr laughed bitterly.
"That kid… he's just too damn monstrous!"
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