The dignified Headquarters Vice Admiral Gilmie had been thoroughly stunned by Zephyr's words.
Only after a long while did he finally recover from the shock.
His voice trembled as he asked,
"Admiral Zephyr… are you certain?"
"Whitebeard's 'son' truly wasn't captured by you personally?"
Even as he asked, his stunned gaze kept drifting back toward the five-year-old Kai standing at Zephyr's side.
The younger Kai looked—
the more violently Gilmie's heart shook.
"You can ask Whitebeard's 'son' himself."
"Ask him who defeated and captured him."
Zephyr replied with a smile.
By now, Whitebeard's "son" had already regained consciousness.
But even after several days of rest, the injuries Kai had inflicted were still far from healed.
The main reason was simple—
he had not been allowed any real food or nutrition.
No matter how strong Weevil's physique was, his severe injuries could not heal quickly without the nourishment his body needed.
And without proper food, his strength remained frighteningly low.
His face was pale, and his giant body looked especially miserable and weak.
On top of that, thick specially forged chains still wrapped around him, completely sealing away any chance of escape.
Hearing Zephyr's suggestion, Gilmie turned and looked directly at Weevil.
At that moment, Weevil's face was tight with fear, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Kai with obvious dread and hatred.
He did not dare speak rashly.
He was so weak now that even opening his mouth felt difficult.
But the emotion in his eyes was enough.
"Don't tell me…"
"The one who really captured Whitebeard's 'son' was that five-year-old kid?"
"Monkey D. Kai?!"
Gilmie's mind shook violently.
This truth completely overturned everything he knew.
If he hadn't seen the fear and deep wariness in Weevil's eyes when he looked at Kai, Gilmie never would have believed such a thing.
"A five-year-old child…"
"captured a great pirate whose strength rivals pirates worth hundreds of millions?"
"Is this real? Has the world gone mad?"
"Unbelievable!"
The shock inside Gilmie would not settle.
What kind of monster was this child?
Five years old, yet already possessing strength this terrifying?
If he were given a few more years, wouldn't he end up sweeping across the sea?
Hiss—
Gilmie sucked in a cold breath again.
The more he thought about it, the harder it became for him to keep composure.
At last, after forcefully suppressing his emotions, Gilmie looked at Kai deeply.
His eyes were full of sincere respect.
Even as a Headquarters Vice Admiral, he could not help but show respect to a man who possessed power on the level of a Vice Admiral—
even if that man happened to be only five years old.
At the end of the day, the sea respected strength.
"Worthy of being Vice Admiral Garp's grandson…"
"Mr. Kai truly is a once-in-a-century monster."
Gilmie praised him without reservation.
Soon afterward, under Gilmie's orders, a group of Marine elites stepped forward and moved Weevil into a specially made iron cage.
Only once he was locked inside would the escort truly be safe.
It was simply an added precaution.
Weevil was already badly injured and near collapse, and his limbs were already bound by those special chains.
Now, with a giant cage enclosing him as well, the odds of him escaping were effectively zero.
"Admiral Zephyr, I'll take my leave."
Gilmie bowed respectfully.
"The transfer to Impel Down is too important."
"Make sure nothing goes wrong on the way."
"And don't give Whitebeard's 'son' any real opportunity to recover his stamina or injuries."
"Don't feed him too much—just enough to keep him alive."
"If you let him absorb enough nourishment, his body may start recovering quickly."
"And if that happens, you'll have a real problem on your hands."
Zephyr's tone was grave.
"Understood."
Gilmie nodded.
As a Headquarters Vice Admiral, he was not about to make such a foolish mistake.
Very soon, Weevil's cage was transferred to the other warship, along with the forty-three surviving pirates Zephyr's group had captured.
They too were handed over to Gilmie for escort to Impel Down.
Once everything was done, Gilmie returned to his own warship and ordered:
"Set sail. Destination: Impel Down!"
"Yes, Vice Admiral!"
His subordinates immediately began preparing the ship to depart.
Before leaving, Gilmie cast one last look toward Kai, who stood beside Zephyr.
His eyes remained full of astonishment and admiration.
Even now, he still found it impossible to fully accept.
A five-year-old had single-handedly defeated and captured a pirate of Weevil's level.
After all—
Edward Weevil was the kind of monster that even Gilmie, a Headquarters Vice Admiral, had no confidence in defeating.
And yet Kai had done it.
Just thinking of that was enough to leave Gilmie deeply shaken.
At the same time, as the Marines under his command moved to escort Weevil, they whispered among themselves in awe.
"As expected of Admiral Zephyr. Even Whitebeard's 'son' was captured by him with ease."
"I looked closely just now. Admiral Zephyr doesn't even seem injured at all."
"That's what you'd expect from a Marine Admiral!"
"He's terrifyingly strong."
"That kind of man is really reassuring."
Gilmie, who now knew the truth, had no choice but to correct them.
"You're all wrong."
"Whitebeard's 'son' was not captured by Admiral Zephyr."
"It was…"
"The five-year-old boy standing beside him."
"He was the key figure who brought down Whitebeard's 'son.'"
The entire ship fell silent.
Every Marine on board froze in place, dumbstruck.
Some of them even stopped moving altogether while escorting Weevil toward the cage.
Their shocked eyes all turned toward Gilmie.
"You didn't hear me wrong."
"That five-year-old child has strength no weaker than mine."
"And even among all the Vice Admirals at Headquarters, he would rank among the strongest."
"Even I would not dare compare myself to him."
"Otherwise, Whitebeard's 'son' would never have ended up beaten half to death."
Gilmie's praise came straight from the heart.
That was the truth.
Even he had no confidence he could capture Weevil.
Yet Kai had done exactly that.
And that made Gilmie realize—
even if he himself fought at full power, he might not be that five-year-old monster's match.
As hard as that was to accept—
it was still the truth.
"W-what the hell?!"
"My god!"
"Did Vice Admiral Gilmie just say…"
"that the five-year-old kid beside Admiral Zephyr was the one who captured Whitebeard's 'son'?"
"And that even Vice Admiral Gilmie admits he's inferior to him?"
"This is insane!"
"A five-year-old with Vice Admiral-level combat power?"
"Good grief…"
"This can't be real, can it?"
The entire crew began questioning reality.
Every Marine elite on board was dumbfounded.
A being whom even Vice Admiral Gilmie admitted was above him—
was only five years old.
How could anyone process that?
…
Watching Gilmie's warship sail farther and farther away until it finally vanished from sight, Zephyr slowly withdrew his gaze.
Now that Weevil had been handed over to Gilmie, he could finally relax.
A Headquarters Vice Admiral like Gilmie was not going to make some foolish blunder and let Weevil escape.
The odds of that were extremely low.
"All right."
"Pass my orders."
"Set full course for Angel Island."
"This graduation trial…"
"is finally about to begin properly."
"We lost a lot of time capturing Whitebeard's 'son.' I just hope that pirate group is still lingering near Angel Island."
At Zephyr's command, the warship raised sail and resumed its journey.
Splash… splash…
The massive ship cut through the sea, sending ripples and waves rolling outward as it headed deeper into the Grand Line.
The wind blew steadily.
The Marine flag snapped proudly in the air.
Kai stood by the railing, quietly looking out over the endless sea.
"Kai, it's time for more treatment."
Tina walked over and reminded him.
"I know."
Kai waved helplessly.
Most of his injuries had already healed.
But under Tina's repeated insistence, he had no choice but to go for another round of treatment.
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