Chapter 55 : Aftermath
The day after the incident.
Marine headquarters.
Marineford.
"What did you say?!"
"The warship Zephyr took the freshmen to practice was attacked by Heavenly Yaksha Doflamingo?"
Sengoku was startled.
"Yes, Fleet admiral. We don't know the specifics yet, but Doflamingo killed more than 20 Marine freshmen and it's also reported that Admiral Zephyr was injured in the confrontation."
Sengoku's eyes shrank and his fists on the table slowly clenched.
'Isn't it enough to be Seven Warlords of the Sea... Doflamingo!'
He raised his eyes to look outside:
"Zephyr...... where are they now?"
"Still on the way back to Marineford, it is estimated that it will take around three days to return to Marineford."
"Okay, for now notify all the Admiral and Vice Admiral present in Marineford to report here."
Sengoku said solemnly.
"Yes! Fleet admiral"
......
This night.
Zephyr missing an arm found Blaze, who was swinging his sword on the deck.
Blaze stopped swinging his sword and turned to look at him.
"Admiral Zephyr, don't you need to rest and recuperate?"
"It's nothing more than a broken arm."
Zephyr replied, holding a bottle of wine in his left hand and invited Blaze.
"I heard Garp say you drink well, come and have a drink with me."
Under the night.
Two people, one big and one small, one old and one young, sat on the deck of the damaged warship.
"It was the me who asked Kizaru to go to Sengoku to offer you to come to my warship to participate in this internship."
Zephyr held the bottle and while talking, poured wine into the glass in front of Blaze.
"I intended to show you the evil side of the pirate so that you could make up your mind to join Marine, but I didn't expect to involve you in such a danger."
"Sorry for that."
Blaze didn't speak, just took the wine in front of him and drank it in one gulp.
Zephyr glanced at him, then picked up the wine and looked up and drank.
After drinking.
Blaze put down the empty wine glass and looked at Zephyr who was sitting across from him, "What are you going to do next?"
"I will never forgive Doflamingo for doing this kind of thing! When I return to Marineford this time, I will ask Sengoku to let me lead an army to arrest him!"
Zephyr's voice is low and full of anger.
Blaze shook his head when he heard the words.
"I don't think Marshal Sengoku will allow you to do that."
Zephyr frowned: "How is that possible? Although Sengoku is stubborn, he has never been soft in dealing with pirates. Doflamingo committed such a big crime, even if he is a Seven Warlords of the Sea..."
"Doflamingo is not only an ordinary pirate."
Blaze shook his head and interrupted Zephyr, looking directly at Zephyr.
"From what I heard in addition to Seven Warlords of the Sea, he has another identity. Because of this identity, I don't think Marine will do anything to him."
"Blaze boy."
Zephyr stared at Blaze with a solemn expression, "Well I will agree with you that Marine is a bit incompetent, but it's definitely upholding justice. I absolutely do not believe that the Marine will turn a blind eye to such serious crimes he had committed!"
"Then take it as a child's ruse and see."
Blaze didn't want to argue with Zephyr more on this issue because he can't say anything more than this without arousing suspicion and Zephyr will know after a period of time anyway.
For some time.
Both of them were silent while drinking.
At night, the wind on the sea gently blows, accompanied by the sound of the flowing sea, it's particularly quiet.
Zephyr broke the silence first.
"In Marineford headquarters, Vice Admiral Momonga's swordsmanship has reached the realm of steel cutting. I have already told him. For my sake, he will help you. You can go to him when you return to Marineford. You will get a good boost to your swordsmanship after training with him."
"Your shave, Moonwalk and Tempest Kick are already mastered to a good degree. I have nothing more to teach you. I can only tell you one thing. All these techniques are mainly based on one's body strength, so the most important for you now is to increase your awareness for its use in different situations and its combinations"
Zephyr drank and as if he was going to get drunk, he said everything he was holding in his heart in one breath.
"You didn't eat Devil Fruit. According to me it's a good decision for now. Too many devil fruit users on the sea only rely on their own fruit ability and ignore the foundation. No matter how strong such people are, they will inevitably have weaknesses. So if you have a good foundation then later on even if you eat a devil fruit it will be easier for you"
"Well also it seems that your Observation Haki has awakened. It's different from the practice of Armament Haki. If you want to strengthen Observation Haki, you have to push yourself to more life and death situations. Then the instinct of your body can be improved and Observation Haki can achieve a higher height."
...…
Zephyr used his half drunken state to express his thoughts about the strengthening of Haki and his other advice to Blaze.
It almost lasted around 2 hours.
During the period Blaze was just focused on listening while drinking, with a hint of thought flashing in his eyes from time to time.
After drinking.
Zephyr also finished what he wanted to say.
He staggered to his feet from the ground.
"Well it wouldn't be necessary for you to go to the Marine Academy in the future, it's just a waste of time for you now. If you want to become stronger, go and fight the strong and absorb their actual combat experience."
Zephyr turned around and advised Blaze.
After losing his right arm, the tall and burly figure looked a little lonely.
Before leaving, he said one last thing.
"As long as the belief in your heart does not change, no matter whether you join Marine or choose not to join, I will have no objection."