For several moments, no one spoke.
The name belonged to a scientific organization that had officially ceased to exist years ago, yet the people associated with it continued shaping the sea through weapons, poisons, artificial life, and discoveries surrounding the Lineage Factor.
Vegapunk had been its greatest mind, but he had not been its only one.
Law turned the ledger toward himself.
"These are not complete medical records. Most of the pages use codes instead of names, and several sections were deliberately removed."
Zephyr nodded.
"Buckin carried only what she needed to maintain Weevil's condition. The pirate crews we captured knew nothing useful beyond the fact that she regularly purchased medicine and specialized nutrients through intermediaries."
Ain pointed toward a repeated notation along the margins.
"What does this mean?"
Law studied it.
"'WB sample viability.' The initials could refer to Whitebeard, but that is not proof. It could be a project designation, a donor code, or something Buckin invented to support her story."
Zephyr folded his arms.
"There are two possibilities I consider credible. The first is that Weevil was born naturally and later altered through experiments using someone else's Lineage Factor. The second is that he was created artificially from the beginning, using genetic material taken from a powerful subject."
"Whitebeard," Ain said quietly.
"Possibly," Zephyr replied. "His physical strength makes the claim tempting, but resemblance is not evidence. Weevil lacked Newgate's skill, judgment, Haki control, and everything else that made him one of the strongest men at sea."
Zaraki traced one finger along the rim of his cup.
"The second possibility fits better."
Zephyr looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because his strength and the rest of him didn't match," Zaraki said.
"A man does not reach that level by accident. Even someone born with a monstrous body should collect habits, scars, enemies, and experience along the way. Weevil had the power of someone who survived hundreds of battles, but he fought like a child swinging the first weapon placed in his hands."
Law considered that.
"Artificial growth could explain the mismatch, but it would not prove he was a clone. A natural child modified from infancy might develop the same way, especially if Buckin deliberately prevented him from thinking independently."
"Which is why I said it fits better, not that it's proven."
Zephyr's eye narrowed slightly, apparently surprised by the restraint.
Zaraki noticed.
"What?"
"I expected you to announce that you had solved the entire conspiracy and then threaten to cut whoever disagreed."
"I can do that later if the conversation gets boring."
Ain almost smiled, though the expression faded when Zephyr opened another document.
"This was hidden inside the lining of Buckin's satchel. It lists payments to laboratories that stopped officially operating after MADS was dissolved. Some later came under World Government control. Others disappeared into the underworld."
Law read the page.
"There is no direct reference to Vegapunk."
"No," Zephyr said. "And that matters. Buckin may have worked with someone from the old organization, stolen material from one of its laboratories, or purchased Weevil after another project failed. We cannot claim the Special Science Group created him simply because the same field of research eventually reached them."
Ain looked toward Zaraki.
"But the Government is developing something intended to replace the Warlords, isn't it?"
Zephyr's restored right hand tightened on the table.
"Sengoku never gave me details. I know only that the SSG has become important enough for the Five Elders to question whether the Seven Warlords are still necessary. Whatever Vegapunk is building now may have nothing to do with Weevil personally."
Zaraki leaned back in his chair.
"Maybe not personally. The direction is obvious, though. If the Government can manufacture fighters strong enough to obey orders, they will eventually prefer them over pirates who demand privileges and ignore summons."
Law's mouth curved without humor.
"Which makes competing for a Warlord seat somewhat less attractive."
"You were interested in what the title allows," Zaraki reminded him. "Use it before they decide the title allows nothing."
"That is a remarkably cynical piece of advice from a Marine."
"I spend time around pirates."
Zephyr looked between them.
"You are both treating this like a political inconvenience. If the science behind Weevil is connected to a larger project, then the Five Elders may already possess far more advanced results."
Zaraki's golden eyes sharpened at the possibility.
He did not mention the system reward or his private suspicion that stronger artificial fighters might produce valuable battles.
Neither Zephyr nor Law needed to know how the system measured enemies, and he had no intention of explaining it.
"Then we find proof before we decide what exists," he said. "Weevil was strong, but he was also unfinished in every way that mattered. If there are better versions somewhere, guessing about them won't make them appear."
Zephyr studied him.
"You say that as though you intend to go looking."
"I was already planning to inspect the remaining candidates on Sengoku's list. Now I have another reason."
Ain frowned.
"You cannot simply move from one candidate to the next and challenge all of them."
Zaraki glanced toward her.
"That depends on whether they make the same mistake Weevil did."
"The evaluation is supposed to determine whether they can cooperate with the Government."
"And fighting me is an excellent test of cooperation."
Law rubbed his temple.
"You understand that sentence means the opposite of what you think it means."
"It worked with the giants."
Ain looked from him to Bepo.
"The giants he mentioned earlier?"
Bepo immediately lowered his head.
"Sorry."
Zaraki ignored the question and looked toward Zephyr.
"What names are left?"
Zephyr did not answer immediately.
He gathered the files into a neat stack, then pulled a sealed page from the folder Sengoku had originally given him.
Weevil's name had been marked at the top. Two others remained beneath it.
"I was ordered to observe and report, not hand Marine intelligence to a pirate submarine."
Law leaned back.
"Then perhaps you should ask the Marine who brought the submarine into your harbor."
Zephyr's eye shifted toward Zaraki.
Zaraki held out one hand.
"You can give me the page, or I can wait for Morgans to print the names after someone leaks them. One method saves time."
"You have become even more troublesome since Garp vouched for you."
"That sounds like his problem."
Despite himself, Zephyr gave a tired laugh. He folded the page once and handed it over.
"Those names are not confirmation of appointment. They are candidates the Government considered worth investigating. Do not start another war and claim I authorized it."
"I won't claim you authorized anything."
"That was not the reassuring part of the sentence."
Zaraki opened the page and read the remaining names without comment.
Law watched his expression closely but could not tell whether either candidate surprised him.
Zephyr's tone became more serious.
"There is another matter. Ain's visual recording captured your arrival and most of the battle. G-9 knows you are alive, and too many Marines saw you for the information to remain hidden inside this harbor."
"Then tell Garp before he hears it from someone else," Zaraki said. "Tell him I'm alive, I'm still working, and he can stop tearing apart the Grand Line looking for a body that isn't there."
"I'll tell Sengoku and Garp directly. The public report will say only that an unidentified Marine reinforcement assisted the rescue until Headquarters decides how to handle your return."
Law's eyes narrowed.
"And my involvement?"
Zephyr looked at him.
"You used your ability to save my students, treated civilians without asking who would pay you, and kept Z-1 from becoming a grave for everyone aboard. I will not pretend that did not happen."
"That answer may turn my temporary arrangement with Zaraki into a public alliance with the Marines."
"Then the detailed report remains classified until Sengoku decides otherwise," Zephyr said. "I owe you that much."
Law regarded him for a moment, then gave a slight nod.
Zephyr turned back to Zaraki.
"If the papers we recovered point toward Government research, digging further may bring attention from people even Garp cannot shield you from. Suspicion alone will not make the Five Elders move, but evidence, public accusations, or interference with an active project might."
Zaraki folded the candidate list and slipped it inside his coat.
"I'm not planning to stand in Marineford Square and shout about secret laboratories. But if someone comes after me because I found something they wanted buried, I'm not going to hide in a cellar and hope they lose interest."
"I expected that answer."
"You sounded like you wanted a different one."
"I wanted to know whether you understood the danger."
"I understand it. I just don't find it persuasive."
Zephyr shook his head.
"I could arrange a place for you at one of my training bases until Headquarters settles the situation."
"No."
The refusal was immediate, but Zaraki did not leave it as a single empty word.
"I did not survive Kaido, cross Kuraigana, fight Mihawk, and come all the way back through Paradise so I could sit behind Marine walls waiting for politicians to decide whether I'm inconvenient. There are two candidates left, Law still wants to know whether the Warlord seat is useful, and I have giants on Little Garden expecting an answer. I'm finishing what I started."
Law glanced toward him.
"You have become remarkably generous with my travel plans."
"You were going to follow the Warlord investigation anyway."
"I was going to do it with more planning and substantially less property damage."
"Then plan while we travel."
Bepo raised one paw from beside the door.
"The Polar Tang is ready to leave whenever Captain gives the order."
Law looked around the table, realized everyone was waiting for him, and sighed.
"We leave after the final group of wounded is transferred to G-9. I want the outer hull checked twice before we dive, and no one is bringing another giant aboard."
Zaraki stood and stretched, every joint in his body still protesting the fight despite Law's treatment.
"They wouldn't fit."
"That has never stopped you from creating a problem before."
Outside, the rescued townspeople gathered along the harbor while Marine crews worked beneath lantern light.
Z-1 would remain behind for repairs, and Zephyr would return aboard a G-9 vessel with Ain, Binz, and the surviving recruits.
Before Zaraki left the wardroom, Zephyr called after him.
"Brat."
Zaraki looked back.
Zephyr raised his restored right hand and closed it into a fist.
"Come back to Headquarters alive this time. Garp may be willing to search every sea for you, but the rest of us have work to do."
Zaraki grinned.
"Tell him to save the lecture until I get there. It'll give him something to look forward to."
Several hours later, the Polar Tang slipped beneath the surface of Hells Island's harbor.
Law stood at the navigation table with the remaining candidate list spread before him, while Bepo adjusted their course toward the first route.
Zaraki leaned against the control-room wall, Nozarashi resting at his waist and the newly acquired knowledge of the Eight Gates waiting privately in the back of his mind.
He did not become light, leap into the clouds, or vanish across the ocean under his own power.
The submarine carried him into the dark water, leaving the damaged harbor behind as it headed toward the next name on Sengoku's list.