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Zephyr ignored Hancock and turned his gaze on Ikki.
"Ikki, let's make a deal."
"A deal?"
"That's right. I give you a famed sword, and you train someone for me."
As he spoke, Zephyr glanced toward Ain, who stood at a distance.
He knew Ikki's tastes well enough. The man had a remarkable method for bringing out strength in others, but he would far sooner take on a beautiful woman as a student than bother with a man. That much was obvious. So Ain it had to be.
Ikki followed Zephyr's gaze and recognized her immediately. "That girl. She must be your disciple." He stroked his chin. "And you'd be willing to send her here to train under me?"
"Gion and the others think very highly of you," Zephyr said. "That's enough for me to trust you with her."
He was unbothered by any notion that Ikki might be stealing his disciple. Even if Ikki had a hand in shaping her, Ain would still be his. That was simply how he saw it.
"If you want me to train her, then you should already know how I operate," Ikki said, crossing his arms. "I don't hand out guidance as a courtesy. If the sword you bring me isn't worth my time, I won't accept the terms."
Training Ain was not beyond consideration. The right compensation made it reasonable enough. Beyond that, Ikki had a fairly clear read on the future: Ain would likely follow Zephyr when he eventually broke from the Marines. Which meant that even if Ikki and the Marines ended up on opposing sides someday, Ain might not be among his enemies. There was even a chance their paths would align. Helping her grow stronger was not a bad investment.
"Understood." Zephyr turned and beckoned to Ain. She crossed to them promptly, a short sword held in both hands.
Ikki looked it over. "A fine edge, quick in the hand. It's not bad." He shook his head. "But Zephyr, you'd better find me a proper named sword. I can't accept these terms on the strength of this alone."
A sword of this quality could be traded into the system for two draws, nothing more. There was no guarantee either draw would yield anything worth the trouble. Training Ain had its value, certainly, but it was not the kind of value that could be bought with a short sword.
"One sword isn't enough for you?" Zephyr frowned.
"If you genuinely can't source a better sword," Ikki said, "then bring me a Devil Fruit instead. A named sword plus any Devil Fruit, and I'll train Ain properly. You have my word."
Zephyr held his gaze a moment. Then a glint crossed his eyes. "A Devil Fruit. I'll find one." He turned and walked away with Ain beside him.
Devil Fruits were rare, but for a man of Zephyr's standing, sourcing one was far easier than tracking down a truly famed sword. If he didn't have one on hand, Sengoku would. After everything he had witnessed of Ikki's strength, Zephyr had already made up his mind: Ain was going to train under him, one way or another.
In a world this dangerous, greater power was the only real answer. He refused to let her go through what they had already suffered again. This opportunity was worth taking.
After Zephyr departed, the Marine personnel on site gradually dispersed. Ikki made use of the free time to wander Marine Headquarters at his leisure, keeping to the areas he was permitted to enter and leaving the restricted ones alone. He was fine with that. What struck him more was the speed at which Zephyr moved.
It wasn't long before the man returned.
"A Zoan-type Devil Fruit?" Ikki said, examining it inside the lounge the Marines had arranged for him. He accepted it from Zephyr with a relaxed smile. "That works. Throw in the named sword from earlier and consider Ain under my care."
Zephyr studied him. "I don't understand why someone like you would need a Devil Fruit. You shouldn't have any use for one yourself. Is it for one of your crew?"
He was someone who had spent decades accumulating merit within the Marines. Getting a Devil Fruit out of Sengoku was nothing for him. And Sengoku, for his part, was hardly going to object. The Fleet Admiral had seen what Ikki's training produced.
Sadi-chan had held the line alone against escaped prisoners from Level Six of Impel Down. Every bit of that strength traced back to Ikki: his mentorship, his guidance, the specialized weapon he had provided her.
Without him, she could not have stopped even one of those pirates, let alone all of them. Any one of those convicts could have ended her life.
And then there was Gion, who had received Ikki's help in a different way entirely and had reached a level that could only be described as admiral-class. If Sengoku could secure combat power at that scale with nothing more than a famed sword and a Devil Fruit, he would probably sleep soundly for a month.
"You don't need to know why I want the Devil Fruit," Ikki said, setting it down on the table. He looked up at Zephyr. "What about Ain? Does she need to start training now?"
"No need," Zephyr said. "Right now your focus should be on the war with the Whitebeard Pirates. We can talk about Ain's training once it's over." He paused. "You won't die in this war, will you?"
"The Whitebeard Pirates aren't going to kill me," Ikki said. "Even if someone dies, it won't be me."
"Good." Zephyr gave a single nod. "Get some rest, then. I have things to handle." He turned to leave, Ain falling into step behind him.
Ikki watched them go. 'Decisive. No wasted words, no second-guessing.' He was starting to understand how the man had risen to become the head instructor of the Marines. He fed the named sword Zephyr had brought into the system and collected his two draws in exchange, then reached out and closed his hand around the Devil Fruit.
"Captain Ikki." Vivi stepped forward, curiosity plain on her face. "Are you really going to take Ain on for training? Are you going to give her a Zanpakuto too?"
"Absolutely not." Ikki shook his head without hesitation. "Training her is one thing. A Zanpakuto is out of the question. Those weapons belong to the crew of this ship, no one else. We still have crew members who don't have one yet. I'm not giving a Zanpakuto to an outsider."
Nami tilted her head. "What about a Noble Phantasm? Would you give her something like that?"