With that, the Seven Warlords of the Sea were finally complete, just as originally planned:
"Hawk‑Eye" Dracule Mihawk — one of the World's Strongest Swordsmen.
"Heavenly Yaksha" Donquixote Doflamingo.
"Tyrant" Bartholomew Kuma.
"Desert King" Sir Crocodile.
"Knight of the Sea" Jinbe.
Gecko Moria — who had lost to Kaido yet earned the respect of many.
Mad Torrega — who had suffered a similar defeat at the hands of Grimm, yet was also viewed as having lost with honor.
All seven positions were filled by the beginning of the year 1512 of the Sea Circle Calendar, making headlines across the entire world.
The fourth major event was known only to the highest ranks of the Marines: Zephyr had been suspended from duty.
Just as Grimm had predicted, the three surviving CP‑0 agents had wasted no time filing a formal complaint against Zephyr the moment they returned.
The World Government was also in need of a scapegoat, and his actions — abandoning the mission to protect his students — were undeniable facts.
Kong, Sengoku, and the others had gone to great lengths to save his career, managing to reduce the punishment from full dismissal to a temporary suspension.
To their surprise, Zephyr accepted it without complaint.
Four major events in quick succession kept Fleet Admiral Kong completely swamped.
Before he could even catch his breath, a fifth decision was handed down: approval for mass production of the Pacifista units.
Kong, Sengoku, and everyone else who knew the truth behind the project opposed it fiercely — but the Government's reply was firm and unyielding: "The order stands — carry it out."
To train a single elite Vice Admiral took at least fifteen to twenty years; accounting for selection, training, and casualties, it took even longer.
By contrast, Dr. Vegapunk could produce dozens of these artificial soldiers in less than two weeks — provided he had enough funding and the required biological material.
Once again, Kong and Sengoku felt powerless to stop it.
They could only stand by and watch as the Government and Vegapunk moved forward with their plans.
Two months later, Kong finally found a moment to visit Zephyr during his suspension.
When he arrived at the residence, he found it completely empty.
"Where has Zephyr gone?" he asked the guard posted at the door.
The soldier saluted. "Sir — Instructor Zephyr… Mr. Zephyr has left to travel."
"Travel?" Kong stared, confused. "Travel where?"
"Didn't you know, sir? He departed two months ago."
Kong stood frozen for a long moment, then hurried back to headquarters.
He ran into Vice Admiral Tsuru and asked immediately: "Tsuru — did you know Zephyr has gone traveling?"
"Of course," she replied as if it were obvious.
"Then why wasn't I told?"
"I submitted a report the very day after he left," Tsuru said calmly.
Kong looked as though he had seen a ghost. "But… but I never received it!"
At that moment, one of the female officers behind Tsuru spoke up: "Sir, Vice Admiral Tsuru did brief you at the time. You were busy reviewing documents and kept nodding along — perhaps you didn't hear what she said?"
Kong rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. "Did he say where he was going?"
"Who knows?" Tsuru shrugged. "I only found out the day after he left. Garp was the first to notice. You could ask him — or try the Government, since their spies keep track of everyone."
"Forget it," Kong sighed. "Garp will just pretend to know nothing even if he does. I'll let it be."
He returned to his office, where piles of work still awaited him. All he could do was hope Zephyr did nothing reckless.
Unfortunately, it seemed the more you hoped for something not to happen, the more likely it was to come true.
During those two months of suspension and effective exile, Zephyr had set aside his Marine uniform.
Dressed only in a simple black tank top, black trousers, and boots, he drifted through the first half of the Grand Line aboard a small boat.
Without the imposing aura of a former Admiral, he looked like nothing more than a sturdy, ordinary man — that is, if you ignored the blood‑red arm fused to his right side.
Along the way, he occasionally hunted down pirates he encountered, and visited Marine outposts across the sea, wanting to see how the students he had trained were carrying out their duties.
He never announced himself or revealed his identity, simply watching from the crowd. For the most part, he was satisfied with what he saw.
One day, while checking his map, he muttered to himself: "The nearest outpost is Marine Base G‑2… isn't that the headquarters Borsalino is assigned to now?"
Borsalino — now one of the three candidates for Admiral — had always held views that clashed sharply with Zephyr's own.
After only a moment's hesitation, Zephyr decided to go anyway. He wanted to see for himself what kind of base his former pupil was running.
After several days of sailing, he arrived at the island where G‑2 stood — and just in time to see Borsalino leading his men into battle against a band of pirates.
Zephyr stopped his boat and did not even step onto the shore.
Before his eyes stood a figure that looked exactly like him — unleashing overwhelming power and cutting down the pirates with ease, displaying strength equal to that of a seasoned Vice Admiral.
Is that… me, wearing a Marine coat? Compared to his own present state, the figure standing beside Borsalino looked far more like the legendary "Black Arm" Zephyr.
Zephyr stood watching from a distance, stunned, before turning his boat and rowing back out to sea.
Back on the island, two figures that looked identical to Zephyr walked up to Borsalino.
"Good work, ZP‑1 and ZP‑3," Borsalino said with a smile.
"Your combat skills are improving rapidly. Before long, you may even master the Six Powers."
Suddenly he glanced toward the horizon, where the sea seemed to ripple strangely — but there was no ship in sight.
"Must be my imagination," he muttered, shaking his head.
Away from the base, without his uniform or his rank, Zephyr looked even more weary than when he first set out.
Slumped over the wooden bench of his small boat, head hanging low, he seemed drained of all life.
As the sun finally dipped below the horizon, he spoke at last, his voice barely more than a whisper:
"So… this is what you've all been hiding from me."
WHOOSH!
A deep, powerful sound cut through the air — the roar of a massive vessel cutting through the waves.
Zephyr looked up to see a warship approaching, easily as large as the biggest Marine battleships.
Emblazoned across its sails was the unmistakable mark of Grimm's Holy Light Pirates.
Zephyr raised his hands, ready to fight — but Jaina, standing at the bow, spotted him immediately and raised one hand high.
"Lower the gangplank!" she called back to the crew.
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