Doo-doo-doo-doo...
In a brightly lit office, a spry old man with white hair and rimless glasses, dressed in a white suit, was taking a break, cheerfully watering his beloved Jacaranda orchids. But then the sudden ringing of the Dan-Dan-Mushi broke his good mood.
"See, these foolish subordinates never leave you any time to rest." The old man sighed, grabbing a rag from the flower stand and casually wiping his hands. When he sat back down at his desk, his face had already become serious.
He picked up the Dan-Dan-Mushi receiver and said in a clear voice: "Captain Krone, long time no see."
The Dan-Dan-Mushi's formerly blank expression changed into a middle-aged, troubled face with noticeable forehead wrinkles—it was indeed Captain Krone of Marine Branch 91, who enjoyed observing. The Dan-Dan-Mushi coughed violently, then gasped: "Teacher Zephyr, long time no see, how is your health?"
"Your body is weaker than this old man's. Tell me, what happened in the West Blue?" The short-haired old man with purple hair, known as 'Teacher Zephyr,' held the receiver in his left hand and picked up a stack of Marine trainee officer report cards to review with his right.
"Teacher Zephyr, do you still remember the Zip-Zip Fruit? The one Marvin ate."
"The Zip-Zip Fruit... that Devil Fruit that can only open zippers on objects? I remember it, what's wrong? Did it appear in the West Blue?" Zephyr responded to Krone casually while flipping through the report cards, frowning more and more as he read. Look at these disgraceful report cards; this batch of trainee officers is the worst I've ever taught!
"To be precise, it was obtained by a West Blue gang leader two years ago. The previous head of Branch 91 reported this to Headquarters, but Vice Admiral Hinasu said..."
"Ah, I know, Hinasu considered the Zip-Zip Fruit and Marvin both a disgrace to the Marines. I've always said that Devil Fruits themselves have no inherent strength or weakness; it was Marvin who was too rigid and couldn't develop the ability. Besides, Marvin encountered the 'Bronze Apple' Pirate Crew, with a total bounty of 140 million, not long after eating the Devil Fruit, so his defeat was unavoidable."
Zephyr had a vivid memory of this Zip-Zip Fruit. Although he wasn't an ability user himself, he had fought countless ability users. The Zip-Zip Fruit was a Devil Fruit that required boundless imagination and strong physical support. And that child Marvin was good at preserving but lacked innovation; to be frank, the position of Marine Captain was the peak of his life.
After eating the Zip-Zip Fruit back then, Marvin was very frustrated for a time. It's said that after a month of training, he could only open a few zippers on warships to store more food and fresh water. That foolish child... sigh!
"You wouldn't bring up the Zip-Zip Fruit for no reason, is there something going on?" Zephyr threw the crumpled report card away, sat up straight, and asked with a serious expression.
"...Someone ate the Zip-Zip Fruit and within 10 minutes, successively defeated 'War Bull' Talma Pippin, 'Gun Tailed Snake' Shahm, and 'Vicious Bandit' Capone Bege. The first person was the gang leader who obtained the Zip-Zip Fruit two years ago. The second person was the leader of the West Blue's largest gang organization, the 'Suleiman Family.' The third person was the leader of the emerging 'Capone Gang'." The Dan-Dan-Mushi vividly mimicked Captain Krone's current expression, a mixture of horror and confusion.
"10 minutes? Go on, how strong are these three gang leaders? Just tell me the simulated bounty amounts the Marines set internally for them." Zephyr grabbed paper and pen, spread them out, and quickly wrote down the names of the three gang leaders.
"Yes. Talma Pippin, a Zoan-type Ox-Ox Fruit, Bison Model user, 40 million Berries; Shahm, a Zoan-type Snake-Snake Fruit, Needletail Viper Model user, 42 million Berries; Capone Bege, er... oh, thank you, that's a big help! Just received the intel, he's a Paramecia-type Castle-Castle Fruit user, the branch just tentatively set his simulated bounty at 70 million Berries!"
Zephyr quickly added a few notes next to the three names and stared at them for a while, then took off his glasses and rubbed his temples: "How old is that person? Identity?"
"Victor, 17 years old, from Corie Village in the West Blue. His parents were ordinary fishermen; his mother died in childbirth, and his father died in a shipwreck 10 years ago. He joined Talma Pippin's subordinates two years ago and became one of the cadres. A month ago, due to his feat of single-handedly defeating six cadres of the 'Suleiman Family,' Branch 91 set his simulated bounty at 10 million Berries."
"10 million? Heh... Should I say all of Branch 91 are blind, or should I say this kid, at just 17, knows how to hide his true strength?"
Zephyr stroked his chin: "How is his development of the Zip-Zip Fruit?"
"...Very terrifying. He's like a fish in water after eating the Zip-Zip Fruit. His combat awareness is excellent, and he's developed the Zip-Zip Fruit to have very terrifying destructive power. And I suspect... I suspect he's touched the threshold of Observation Haki." Two drops of cold sweat ran down the Dan-Dan-Mushi's face.
"Are you serious? West Blue? 17 years old? Observation Haki?" If it was true, then there was a big problem. While it was rare for people in the Four Blues to learn Haki, it wasn't unheard of. But adding '17 years old' made him an extreme rarity.
"Oh, by the way, Victor also has a sister named Perona. She's also an ability user and quite a threat, suspected to be a Paramecia-type Hollow-Hollow Fruit user."
Krone remembered the seemingly obedient yet volatile girl and quickly reported to Zephyr.
"You West Blue really produces talented people... Alright, once I'm done with this year's trainee officer exams, I'll take a trip to the West Blue. If we can bring such a promising talent into the Marines, he will surely make a huge contribution to peace."
Zephyr had no intention of destroying Victor. Besides his nickname 'Black Arm,' he was also known as 'Admiral Zephyr the Unkilling.' He wouldn't kill even pirates, let alone a 17-year-old child. If properly guided and with his worldview corrected, the Marines might gain a candidate for Admiral!
"So... do we still need to set simulated bounties for Victor and his sister Perona internally within the Marines?" Captain Krone immediately felt relieved when he heard Zephyr was coming to the West Blue. No matter how powerful Victor was, he was just a punch away for Teacher Zephyr.
"Set them, why not? Victor's simulated bounty is set at 100 million Berries. If this kid really goes and becomes a pirate, then just set his bounty at that amount. As for the little girl, forget it, the Hollow-Hollow Fruit has a fatal weakness, it's not a big threat. Alright, if there's nothing else, hang up."
"Understood!"
After hanging up the Dan-Dan-Mushi, Zephyr leaned back in his chair, contemplating for a while, then sat up straight and took out a fresh piece of paper, carefully writing down a line of text: West Blue, Victor, Zip-Zip Fruit. He then heavily underlined Victor's name twice.
Just then, there was a knock on the office door. After receiving permission, a Marine soldier pushed the door open, saluted, and said: "Admiral Zephyr, Fleet Admiral Sengoku has called for you to his office."
"Okay, did the Fleet Admiral say what it's about?" Zephyr stood up and straightened his clothes.
"He said he hopes you can personally supervise the trainee ship this year."
"Oh... Alright, I'll go see Fleet Admiral Sengoku now, thank you for your trouble."
Zephyr nodded.
The Marine soldier saluted again and exited the room.
It seemed his trip to the West Blue would be delayed for a while. He hoped Krone could hold on.
Zephyr paused at his desk before leaving, gently caressing a photo frame on the table. In the frame, a beautiful short-haired woman held a purple-haired boy of about 2 or 3 years old, standing in a sea of flowers, smiling happily at Zephyr outside the frame.
"A-chan... Nick... Pirates won't always run rampant. The world will eventually get better, don't worry."
He grabbed his white cloak from the coat rack, put it on, and pushed the door open. On the back of the cloak were the two characters: 'Justice'.
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