Zephyr felt a wave of immense satisfaction.
Back when the World Government first established the so-called "Seven Warlords of the Sea" system, he had been the first to jump out in protest. The duty of the Navy was to eradicate pirates and uphold Justice—why on earth should they associate with such wicked scum?!
He truly couldn't fathom what those five old geezers in the Gorosei were thinking!
"Hishishishishi! Mr. Zephyr, you're at such an advanced age; don't let your anger ruin your health. I only came here because I was invited by your Fleet Admiral Sengoku," Moria chuckled awkwardly, acting as if he hadn't seen the killing intent in Zephyr's eyes, and promptly sauntered away.
Compared to the flamboyance of Doflamingo and Moria, Crocodile and Jinbe—though also Warlords—acted with much more restraint.
After casting a deep, lingering look at Rowan, a composed Crocodile departed the plaza, his cigar glowing rhythmically with every breath. Jinbe, on the other hand, offered Rowan a respectful nod and a traditional martial arts salute before leaping directly into the sea to depart.
With that, all four Warlords had left the Marine Headquarters.
"Hmph, a bunch of dregs!"
Even though they were gone, Zephyr couldn't help but spit on the ground, his expression one of utter disgust, as if he had just looked at something filthy.
As the Warlords vanished from sight, another wave of cheers and applause erupted across the plaza. Seeing the Warlords lose face made the Marines feel incredibly vindicated. And all of it was because of that one old man!
Just who in the world is he?
Seeing the curiosity of the crowd, Zephyr's mouth curled into a grin. He suddenly stepped forward and shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Quiet down, everyone! Quiet down!"
Once the noise subsided, Zephyr introduced the man beside him with a face full of pride: "Let me introduce you all! This is a legendary figure in our naval history! The former Vice Admiral who was once known as the 'Marine Godfather,' Rowan! He is also my most respected and admired mentor!"
"The Marine Godfather, Rowan?!" "So he's Master Zephyr's teacher! No wonder!" "That was incredible! Doflamingo couldn't even fight back against that slap!" "In the future, I want to become an elite Marine just like Senior Rowan!" "Me too!"
Listening to the explosive discussions around him, Zephyr's pride only grew.
"That's enough, Zephyr-boy. If you're not embarrassed, I am. At your age, you still love showing off like this," Rowan scolded with a laugh.
Deep down, however, he was quite pleased. Zephyr's little show had instantly turned the vast majority of Marines in the plaza into devout fans. This caused the system notifications in Rowan's head to jump frantically.
By a quick estimate, that one slap had brought in a staggering 1,500 Belief Points! After having maxed out his Conqueror's Coating earlier, his total points surged back up to 7,000.
Rowan couldn't help but muse: Doflamingo really is a good guy. If I slap him a few more times, wouldn't my Belief Points skyrocket by the thousands in minutes?
"Achoo!" On the other side, having just left the harbor, Doflamingo suddenly sneezed. His already grim face darkened further.
"Doffy! Did you catch a cold? Quick, put on more clothes!" Trebol, a top officer of the Donquixote Family, rushed over with a cloak, looking panicked. It was unforgivable that his Young Master had suffered such a "humiliation" at the Marine Headquarters!
But Doflamingo swatted the cloak away, his eyes cold and murderous as he muttered: "Marine Godfather... Rowan..."
Back at the plaza, Zephyr grinned. "What 'showing off'? I'm just introducing my Master to my former students."
"You... honestly..." Rowan shook his head but didn't push the matter. If Zephyr enjoyed it, he'd let him be.
Rowan understood well why Zephyr had changed from the soft-hearted "Admiral who doesn't kill" to this man who loathed pirates with every fiber of his being. Besides Roger triggering the Great Pirate Era, it was the World Government's actions that hurt the most. Pirates with bounties in the hundreds of millions—criminals who terrorized the seas—instead of being arrested, were given special privileges and the title of "Warlord."
If not for the World Government, how would those thugs have the right to swagger through Marineford? As long as Zephyr was happy, it was fine.
"Master, what was Moria talking about earlier regarding Hawkeye Mihawk's challenge?" Tsuru walked up, unable to contain her curiosity any longer.
Both Moria and Doflamingo had called Rowan the "Number One Swordsman of the Navy." Their words made Tsuru realize this was no small matter.
Rowan explained, "Oh, it happened while I was with Smoker-boy. I ran into the Hawkeye kid. For some reason, he insisted on challenging me—even wanted to bet his title as the World's Greatest Swordsman. I didn't have time to play with the brat then, so I gave him a promise to let him challenge me in a month."
Rowan then looked puzzled. "But how did Doflamingo and Moria find out about that?"
"Master, Tsuru-chan, you haven't seen the news yet?" Zephyr looked bewildered as he pulled a newspaper from his coat and handed it over. "This was from a few days ago! I thought everyone knew!"
"News?!"
Rowan took the paper. When he saw the front-page headline, he nearly cursed out loud. Those damn paparazzi! Do they have nothing better to do than sensationalize every little thing?
Even the intellectual Tsuru couldn't help but look at the headline with indignation. Momousagi (Gion) crowded in to read it as well. After finishing, Tsuru still didn't understand why Mihawk would challenge her teacher.
Looking at Tsuru's confusion, Zephyr puffed out his chest and said mysteriously, "Tsuru-chan, there's a lot you don't know. Master's strength is far beyond anything you've imagined."
With a light cough, Zephyr began to recount the series of events that took place on Kust Island in the Grand Line. Gion and the young girl behind Tsuru immediately pricked up their ears, dying to know what had happened to make Zephyr act like this.
However, as they listened to Zephyr's story, their expressions froze in utter shock.