There was a reason why Zephyr and Gion were feeling so sentimental.
Lately, the pirates of the New World had been keeping a remarkably low profile. Take the Whitebeard Pirates, for example; they had practically stopped making waves. Even after the massive incident involving the death of one of his "sons," Edward Newgate hadn't gone on a rampage.
As for Charlotte Linlin, Totto Land hadn't even sent out anyone to collect "protection money" this year. Word was that Big Mom had stayed on Whole Cake Island to start therapy for her eating disorders.
Kaido wasn't much different. He had initially come out to cause trouble alongside Big Mom, but after taking a hit to his morale, he retreated back to Wano Country to play dead. However, rumors suggested that their Pirate Alliance remained intact, at least on paper, they maintained a united front.
Then there was Smoker, the newly risen heavyweight. Naturally, he wasn't looking to cause trouble either, as he was pouring all his energy into the preparations for the Gold City.
With the top dogs of the New World behaving so well, the rest of the pirate world had been influenced by the trend. It wasn't exactly that they had stopped being evil, but they were certainly more restrained, especially when facing the Marines.
So, when a pirate ship began charging aggressively toward Zephyr and Gion's position, it felt highly abnormal.
But on second thought, it likely had to do with the look of Zephyr's fleet. It was a single, very ordinary standard-issue battleship. Its firepower and configuration were completely average, with nothing special to note. In reality, it was just a random ship Zephyr had grabbed from Marineford to use for the cadets' field training. It wasn't flying any prestigious flags, so it looked like an easy target.
The pirates currently rushing them, however, had quite the reputation.
The captain was rumored to be the biological son of Whitebeard, though Newgate himself had never acknowledged it.
Edward Weevil, the self-proclaimed "Whitebeard Jr."
Was he strong? Quite. Borsalino later evaluated him as possessing the same raw power as "Whitebeard in his youth." Of course, that kind of comment was likely just a casual observation; the reality was harder to pin down.
He was definitely strong, but saying Weevil had the world-conquering power of a young Newgate was a bit of a stretch.
Take Diarmuid, for instance. When he first clashed with the real Whitebeard on St. Poplar over a decade ago, he felt exactly how terrifying Newgate truly was. Could Edward Weevil reach that level? Diarmuid wouldn't believe it if his life depended on it.
If one were to take Borsalino's "youthful power" comment literally, Diarmuid was more inclined to believe Weevil had the strength of Whitebeard at age twenty, while he was still in a growth phase. That seemed plausible.
After all, Weevil was a fool, but his nominal mother was no idiot. Miss Buckin was a sharp woman. If her son actually possessed the power of the man who was once the strongest in the world, why would she bother chasing an inheritance? With that kind of muscle, she could have easily built an organization rivaling the Whitebeard Pirates.
The ship charging Zephyr's group belonged to Buckin and Weevil.
It was a stroke of luck, or perhaps fate. Buckin was incredibly greedy, and Weevil had only recently made his debut. Buckin wanted to make a name for her son to rake in more money. Currently, the Marines in the New World were exceptionally dominant, causing pirates to shrink back. Buckin didn't have a great grasp of the big picture, but she believed that the first step to making a name for yourself as a pirate was to pick a fight with the Navy.
She happened to run into this lone Marine battleship. It looked isolated and ordinary, suggesting no major risk. Buckin also wanted to seize a better ship for themselves. With her cautious nature, if the battleship had shown any sign of being special, she probably wouldn't have poked her head out.
But this ship was just too plain. So, Buckin decided to egg her son on to go and "do a job" on them!
Meanwhile, on Zephyr's battleship, the crew noticed the pirate ship closing in with hostile intent. Zephyr was surprised, but he didn't take it too seriously.
Don't be ridiculous, he was Zephyr, the former Admiral and current... Chief Instructor of the Navy. In recent years, the Marines had been developing smoothly, and there were no major incidents requiring his intervention. He had been peacefully researching and training the new generation. He ate well, drank well, and his asthma was almost at the point of being cured.
In short, while Zephyr's strength had clearly declined due to age and his semi-retired status, he was still firmly within the ranks of top-tier powerhouses. In the New World, there weren't many people who could actually trouble him.
Secondly, Zephyr wasn't alone this time. Beside him stood Gion, an Admiral Candidate. People might not know, but Zephyr knew exactly how strong Gion was. He had been the referee when Gion sparred with Kuzan. Gion was a powerhouse capable of defeating Kuzan; in every sense, she possessed both the qualifications and the strength to hold the title of Admiral, the Navy's Greatest Military Power.
In other words, if Diarmuid, Sakazuki, or Borsalino were to suddenly meet an unfortunate end or quit the Navy, the "Three Admirals" lineup could be filled instantly.
From this perspective, Zephyr reasonably believed that even if the Whitebeard Pirates themselves showed up, he and Gion could hold their own. This random pirate ship was nothing.
"We were just about to head back, and then another one pops up. Fine, it'll serve as a perfect live-combat drill for the students to wrap things up," Zephyr said with a chuckle.
In Diarmuid's memory of the "original" timeline, the incident between Weevil and Zephyr was shrouded in rumors. There was even some debate as to whether Weevil was truly the one who committed the atrocity, though he was the prime suspect. During that timeframe, only three people had joined the Seven Warlords of the Sea: Trafalgar Law, Edward Weevil, and the "Legend" Buggy.
Considering Trafalgar Law's personality, he might attack Zephyr, but the idea of him slaughtering a ship full of cadets was too bloody and out of character. It didn't align with his goals either. He had set out to sea to get revenge on Doflamingo, and his most respected mentor, Corazon, was a Marine. It was unlikely he would do such a thing.
As for Buggy... unless he was truly hiding his true strength and possessed power equal to Shanks as a pillar of the Roger Pirates, he couldn't have pulled it off. His track record proved he had never performed a "feat of strength" on that level. He relied entirely on his "Luck-Luck" Haki and his "intelligence-lowering aura" to keep the Impel Down prisoners in line.
Therefore, Weevil was the most likely culprit. In that timeline, he had murdered Zephyr's students and severed the teacher's arm. The details were debated, some said he was legitimately stronger than Zephyr. Others claimed Zephyr had actually won, but the "Black Arm" had softened when the coward knelt and begged for mercy. In that moment of hesitation, Weevil launched a sneak attack, took Zephyr's arm, and turned the ship into a bloodbath.
But there was no need to dwell on that now. Zephyr quickly issued his orders, and the battleship was soon battle-ready.
Ace, eager as always, took charge of a cannon and aimed it at the approaching pirate ship. Zephyr clearly had no intention of commanding this live drill himself. Ace stepped up to play the leader, aiming the cannon while shouting, "Everyone! Triple-salvo bombardment! Prepare to fire!"
Strangely enough, whether it was due to past events or something else, Ace seemed to have secured command authority. Upon his order, the ship prepared its volley. Then, Ace roared, "Fire!"
Led by him, the battleship's cannons erupted, raining shells down on the pirate ship.
Buckin, watching from her deck, was surprised that the Marines had opened fire without so much as a warning. She quickly shrieked, "Weevil! Weevil, quick! Block those shells and kill them!"
Then, a man with a bizarrely disproportionate, hulking physique stepped out of the cabin. He had long blonde hair and a crescent-moon mustache. If there was any resemblance to Whitebeard, it was just those two features... oh, and the giant naginata in his hand.
His body was covered in horrific scars, looking as if he had once been hacked into pieces. It was a miracle he was even alive after such injuries. His vacant, glazed-over eyes suggested he wasn't exactly the brightest bulb in the box, he looked plain stupid.
However, despite his lack of intellect, Buckin had trained him to be very obedient, —especially toward his "Mommy."
"Coming, Mommy!" Weevil shouted rowdily.
He swung his great blade. Facing the whistling cannonballs, he brought the blade down with a savage hack. A powerful shockwave erupted from the naginata, blowing the incoming shells away. The force of the strike kicked up a massive tidal wave that surged toward the Marine battleship.
Ace, having finished his volley, noticed the incoming wave. His eyes narrowed with gravity. "That's a tough one!?"
Before the shockwave could hit, Ace used Geppo to launch himself into the air, landing at the very front of the battleship. Facing the shockwave, he took a deep breath, and his body erupted in raging flames.
"Fire Fist!!!" Ace roared.
In the next second, a surge of immense energy exploded from his small frame. The searing heat seemed to twist the very air as it formed a giant fist of flame, no smaller than the pirate ship itself, and crashed into the shockwave.
BOOM!
The flames and the shockwave exploded simultaneously, turning the calm sea into a chaotic mess.
To be fair, while Weevil's strike was casual, Ace had countered with everything he had. The gap in their raw power was evident, but Ace's display was certainly impressive.
Even Buckin on the opposite side was startled!
"A Logia!?" Buckin exclaimed.
She thought for a moment. The Navy had many Logia users, but among the top-tier elites, none used fire. There was one who used magma, but this clearly wasn't him. She assumed it was a Marine rookie who hadn't made a name for himself yet.
"Kill him, Weevil!" Buckin ordered quickly.
"Okay, Mommy!" Weevil grunted.
His great blade began to glow with an invisible, vibrating energy, just like Edward Newgate's.
On the other side, Ace landed on the deck, his expression dead serious. "He seems really strong."
Meanwhile, Gion and Zephyr had already deduced the enemy's identity.
"Sensei, is that the guy who's been acting so arrogant lately... the self-proclaimed Whitebeard Jr.?" Gion asked softly.
"With that kind of shockwave power, it has to be him," Zephyr replied, stroking his chin with a nod.