That presence did not come from Observation Haki.
It was a resonance born from battle instinct.
The Zaraki Kenpachi template had sensed, somewhere in a distant stretch of sea, a powerful opponent worth fighting.
Zaraki licked his dry lips, and the battlelust that had only just settled began rising once more.
"Hey, Buffalo."
Zaraki turned his gaze toward Atmos, who was still sitting on the deck, and asked casually, "Around this sea, besides you lot, are there any other big names wandering around? For example... one of the Beasts Pirates' Three Calamities? Jack?"
Atmos was still trying to calm the chaotic aura inside his body. When he heard that, he froze and looked up at Zaraki as if he were staring at a monster.
How exactly was this man's brain built?
He had just cut his ship in half, and now he was already asking about the location of another Emperor commander?
"Jack the Drought?" Atmos's voice was hoarse. "Why are you asking about him? That lunatic is much harder to deal with than I am. Wherever he goes, nothing is left standing."
"Oh? Perfect."
Zaraki's eyes lit up, shining like a hunter who had found prey.
"Do you know where he is?"
Atmos fell silent.
He could not understand the way this Marine thought at all.
Had this man joined the Marines purely to find people to fight?
Then an absurd thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
'This guy keeps insisting on seeing Pops... Don't tell me he wants to take a swing at Pops too?'
No.
Impossible.
The moment that thought appeared, Atmos crushed it himself.
That was Whitebeard, Edward Newgate.
The Emperor of the Sea capable of destroying the world!
No one would dare think like that.
"Zaraki!"
Yamakaji and Gion finally recovered from the repeated shocks and quickly walked to his side, their expressions extremely grave.
"Are you really planning to keep going deeper?" Yamakaji's voice carried a plea. "This is already the heart of Whitebeard's territory. Any farther and we'll be entering the Moby Dick's main fleet area! That'll trigger an all-out war!"
"You are strong, yes."
Gion spoke as well, her sharp eyes fixed on Zaraki as she tried to find even the slightest hesitation on his face.
"But the Whitebeard Pirates are a massive force. If you barge in recklessly, the Marines will pay for it even if you survive."
"Who said I'm alone?"
Zaraki smiled, then turned into the sea wind, his tone calm.
"Vice Admiral Yamakaji, report to Fleet Admiral Sengoku if you want. Tell him I'm conducting a high-level unofficial visit. He'll understand the rest."
That was not a discussion.
Yamakaji opened his mouth, but in the end, it only became a sigh.
He knew very well that he could not stop a monster who had already made up his mind.
"...I understand."
He gritted his teeth, as though making an important decision.
"If you insist on going, I can't let you go alone. Fleet Admiral Sengoku sent me to keep you from making the situation worse, and if I return without even following you to the edge of the fire, he'll skin me alive."
"Don't misunderstand."
Gion added coldly from the side, her hand resting on the hilt of Konpira.
"I simply want to witness with my own eyes just how high a wave an unprecedented monster like you can raise across this sea. And..."
She lifted her chin, battle intent rising in her eyes.
"Once this matter is over, I will formally challenge you as an Admiral candidate."
"You can challange me anytime."
Zaraki only turned his head and gave her a casual glance before walking toward the cabin.
That feeling of being completely looked down upon made Gion's brow twitch hard.
Zaraki paid them no more attention and walked straight to the gravity training room in the middle of the warship.
It was not the full strategic facility left under supervision at Marineford, but a stripped-down shipboard chamber installed under Sengoku's temporary authorization before departure.
Its output was limited, its safety mechanisms were crude, and the technicians who had fitted it into the warship had complained for half a day, but for people like Zoro, Sanji, Smoker, and Tashigi, it was still more than enough to squeeze blood and potential out of their bodies.
Dull impacts and heavy breathing were coming from behind the thick iron door.
Hiss—
The hydraulic door slowly opened, and a hot wave mixed with the scent of sweat and steel rushed out.
A figure staggered out from inside, soaked from head to toe. Sweat dripped continuously down the sharp lines of his face.
It was Smoker.
When he saw Zaraki standing at the door, he was first startled, then immediately straightened and said in a deep voice.
"Sir. They're still inside."
He stepped aside, making way for him.
Zaraki looked in.
Inside the huge training room, Sanji was practicing his kicks under several times normal gravity.
Every time he raised his leg, it was as if the air had been sucked dry, producing a dull explosion.
On the other side, Zoro was even more ridiculous. He was doing one-handed push-ups with a small mountain of weight plates stacked on his back.
Sweat had soaked through his green bandana as he clenched his teeth and kept going.
"Those two brats are real beasts."
There was a trace of complicated emotion in Smoker's voice.
"That drive of theirs makes me feel like all those years I spent in Loguetown were a waste of life."
Tashigi stood nearby, clearly interested in the training room despite the nervousness she tried to hide.
Her fingers kept tightening and loosening around Shigure's hilt, and her eyes followed Zoro's movements as if she were trying to carve every detail into her mind.
"I can see why Headquarters values this room."
Gion's voice carried a trace of skepticism as she glanced at the scene inside the training chamber.
"But brute force alone is dangerous. If they rely only on pressure without understanding Haki itself, their foundation will become unstable. Tashigi, remember this. Haki is the core of a true powerhouse."
Then her eyes shifted toward Zaraki.
"I'm very curious, Zaraki. What method did you use to make these brats touch the threshold of Haki before they've even built a proper foundation?"
The mockery and doubt in her words were completely undisguised.
"Vice Admiral Gion."
Before Zaraki could speak, Smoker stepped forward and blocked her, his tone extremely serious.
"With all due respect, you don't understand him at all. His method is far more effective than you imagine. He isn't teaching us a shortcut. He split open a mountain in front of us and then told us that if we want to cross it, we have to carve our own path."
Gion's expression instantly darkened.
A Headquarters colonel dared refute her face-to-face?
Smoker did not look at her again.
He merely nodded slightly to Zaraki.
"Sir, there should still be some time before we reach Whitebeard's main fleet. I can train for another three hours."
After saying that, he took a deep breath and turned back into the steam-filled gravity room.
Boom!
The heavy iron door closed tightly again.
Zaraki looked at the door, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Just then, his Observation Haki caught movement coming from a corridor on the other side of the cabin.
That presence was somewhat weak, but inside it burned an unyielding will.
Then came a set of deliberately quiet yet still clearly audible footsteps, mixed with several muffled curses, drawing closer and closer.