"Smoker! Hina-san! You two are here too!" Tashigi said, sounding surprised.
Smoker and Hina, who had previously had a look of grim determination, looked relieved when they saw Tashigi. They had been worried about her, but now that they knew she was safe, a weight had been lifted from their shoulders.
Smoker nodded. "Hina and I were both students of Mr. Zephyr, so of course we came to help!"
Tashigi finally understood. She knew Smoker and Hina were peers, but she never imagined they were both trained by the former Admiral Zephyr. It made sense; no wonder he was so powerful and his sense of justice was so strong. It was no surprise that any young Marine would want to train under Zephyr.
She was still reeling from hearing Zephyr's story. In her eyes, Zephyr was a beacon of true justice, shining brightly for all to see. It was just as Carl had said—he was the person to be admired the most in the entire Marine organization. A voice in her heart told her that she wanted to be just like him.
Hina lit a cigarette and glanced at Tashigi. "Hina will ignore your nonsense for now. When this is over, Hina will have a talk with you!"
"My nonsense? Oh! You mean you and Smoker are getting married, right?!"
"You're still talking! Hina is very angry!"
Hina almost bit through the cigarette butt as she glared at Tashigi. Then, she jumped off the warship and walked towards Ain. Smoker shook his head in exasperation, shot a final glare at Tashigi, and followed Hina. Watching them go, Tashigi couldn't help but mumble to herself, "They seem like a perfect match."
When Sanji saw Hina, his eyes instantly turned into hearts. Before he could say anything, however, Nami punched him hard. The perverted cook just didn't know when to quit, getting excited whenever he saw a beautiful woman, regardless of the situation.
Aokiji glanced at Robin and then turned his attention back to Carl. "I didn't realize you had such a high opinion of Teacher Zephyr."
"Of course I do!" Carl replied matter-of-factly. "And I'll say it right now: Zephyr is the only one in the Marines who truly embodies real justice. Not Sengoku, who is becoming a puppet of the World Government; not Garp, who doesn't care about anything; not the violent Akainu; not the indecisive Kizaru; and not even you, with your laziness. Only Zephyr is capable of that!"
"That's high praise. As a student of Mr. Zephyr, I have to say I'm a little proud."
"But nobody's inheriting Zephyr's justice! Not even his students are carrying on his will! The World Government and the Marines are abandoning Zephyr. They're all rotten!" Carl's voice was serious, almost stern. It was a hopeless situation to him that the World Government and the Marines could abandon a man like Zephyr.
Aokiji visibly trembled and stared at Carl for a long time before letting out a long sigh. How could he not understand what Carl was saying? But what could he do?
Tashigi stared at Carl in shock, speechless at his bold words. But then she saw that Admiral Aokiji didn't deny it. Her worldview began to shake. Was it true that the World Government and the Marines were abandoning Admiral Zephyr? How could they give up on someone who truly upheld justice and integrity, a person who had contributed so much to the organization, all without making a single mistake? Was it true that they were rotten, just as Carl had said?
Aokiji glanced at the shocked Tashigi. "Don't go corrupting the young ones!" he said to Carl.
"Tashigi's only a year younger than me. She's an adult who can think for herself. I couldn't corrupt her even if I tried," Carl replied.
Aokiji was silenced. He jumped ashore and walked towards Ain and Binz.
Tashigi was still in a daze, unable to escape her spiraling doubts. Fortunately, Kōshirō patted her on the head, which brought her back to reality.
"Mr. Kōshirō..."
"Don't worry about it too much, and don't listen to things at face value. You have plenty of time to read and think. You'll find your own answer eventually." Kōshirō's voice was gentle, soothing Tashigi's inner turmoil. Tashigi couldn't tell if it was her imagination, but she felt a strong sense of a father's love coming from him.
Over by the battle, Hina and Smoker approached the edge of the action.
"Teacher Zephyr, let Hina handle this!" Hina shouted.
Smoker didn't say a word, simply pulling out his Jūtte from his back, ready to attack Weibull at a moment's notice.
Zephyr was surprised, then shook his head. "Hina, Smoker, I have to do this myself! The souls of my students are waiting for me to make things right. How can I face them if I let someone else do my job? Besides, you two aren't strong enough. I won't lose another student!"
Zephyr's words made both Hina and Smoker clench their fists. The last sentence filled them with shame and frustration, but they knew he was right. Weibull was incredibly strong, and neither of them had even fully awakened their Haki. Going up against him would be suicide. But still, they didn't want to just stand by and watch their teacher fight alone.
Bang! There was another huge collision, sending Weibull flying backward. But Zephyr also rolled back several times, clutching his chest and spitting out a mouthful of blood. His expression became haggard.
"Teacher Zephyr!" Aokiji and the others cried out, preparing to rush to his side.
"Stay back! Nobody comes near me!" Zephyr roared, cutting them off. "Aokiji, Smoker, Hina, Ain, Binz, Shuzo, do you know how much those students trusted me? They believed I could protect them all, but I failed them. I failed their expectations, but I survived! How am I supposed to live with that? I have to kill Weibull today to make up for my regret!"
Aokiji and Smoker trembled and quickly held back Hina and the others.
Tears welled up in Hina's and Ain's eyes. "Teacher!"
"Idiots! Are you trying to stop a man from fulfilling his vow?!" Aokiji's voice was unusually stern.
Now, everyone was silent. They watched Zephyr and Weibull fight, blow after blow. Zephyr was clearly running out of breath, and his old, haggard appearance was a painful sight for everyone. Nami, Tashigi, Mari, and Robin all looked away, unable to bear the sight, though they still snuck glances from time to time.
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