Kizaru turned to look at Kaito, hesitating as he asked,
"Kaito... was that your doing?"
Kaito nodded. Just as he was about to speak, a few familiar signals rippled through the Heavenly net—someone was heading this way.
It was Sengoku and the others. Zephyr's wailing earlier had been far too loud, loud enough that all his old friends assumed something terrible had happened.
But Kaito had no intention of letting anyone disturb Zephyr's reunion with his family.
He pulled Kizaru down with him, landing just outside the cemetery. Under Kizaru's puzzled gaze, he pressed his hand to the ground.
With a thunderous rumble, a towering wall of ice surged up from the earth, completely sealing off the cemetery.
That was when Sengoku, Garp, and Tsuru arrived.
Sengoku stared at the ice wall, stunned. He turned to Kaito with confusion.
Kaito explained calmly,
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Zephyr-sensei is still inside the cemetery. Let's give him some time."
"Did something happen to Zephyr? I thought I heard him crying just now?"
"You'll understand once he comes out."
Since Kaito said so, Sengoku gave up on the idea of going in to check on Zephyr.
In his mind, as long as Kaito was there, Zephyr wouldn't be in any danger.
But what puzzled Sengoku was how strange Kizaru's expression looked.
From Sengoku's perspective, Kizaru was staring at Kaito with a weird look, like Kaito had done something unspeakable to him.
Unable to hold back, Sengoku asked,
"Borsalino, why are you staring at Kaito like that?"
Startled, Kizaru quickly shifted his gaze away from Kaito's face and waved his hand awkwardly.
"N-Nothing! I didn't see anything! I don't know anything!"
"…"
Sengoku was speechless.
I didn't even ask you for an explanation. Why are you being all mysterious like Kaito now?
After speaking, Kizaru stared silently at his feet.
But his heart was far from calm. Because what he'd seen just now was… an actual ghost! A real, honest-to-goodness ghost!
Kizaru had only become Zephyr's student after Zephyr's family was killed. But he had seen their photos before.
So when he saw those very people—who were long dead—suddenly appear again, he simply couldn't believe his eyes. Even now, he was still in a daze.
As for why he had been staring at Kaito… well, he'd already guessed that this had to be one of that mysterious young man's tricks.
He thought he had developed some sort of immunity to Kaito's seemingly endless bag of impossible abilities. Even if Kaito killed all the Four Emperors in one go, he could probably take it in stride.
But this… this was just too much!
Zephyr's family had been dead for who knows how many years. Their corpses had already turned to skeletons. And yet Kaito had somehow brought them back—alive and breathing—into this world!
Isn't this what they call bringing back the dead, and reviving bones with flesh!?
Kizaru no longer thought of Kaito as a human being. Because only a god could do something like this.
...
Inside the cemetery—
Zephyr turned back and looked at the towering wall of ice, a faint smile curving his lips. He murmured to himself,
"Kaito… Sensei really doesn't know what to say. Having a student like you… is truly an honor."
The little boy in his arms was startled by the sudden appearance of the massive wall. He clutched at Zephyr's coat tightly and asked, a bit afraid,
"Papa, what is that?"
At the sound of his son's voice, Zephyr's face softened with a long-lost smile of a gentle father. He gently ruffled the boy's hair and said comfortingly,
"Justice, that wall was made by Papa's proudest student, Kaito. Don't be afraid."
Zephyr's son's name was Justice—meant to embody the very ideal Zephyr had devoted his life to. He had named the boy in hopes he would one day carry out true justice and become an excellent Marine.
"Kaito? Was he that guy from earlier? His eyes were so strange… I think I felt him calling to me from another world."
"Yes. The reason you and your mother could return to me… is all thanks to him. He's our family's benefactor. You must take him as your role model and become a Marine Admiral one day!"
Hearing that Kaito was already an Admiral, the woman in Zephyr's arms covered her mouth in shock.
She had short, light brown hair and gentle features—clearly the type of woman who embodied the virtues of a loving wife and mother.
Her name was Lisa, Zephyr's wife, now appearing to be in her forties or fifties.
Lisa couldn't help but ask,
"Dear, this Kaito young man… he's already a Marine Admiral? But he looks so young—still just a teenager, isn't he?"
When his wife mentioned Kaito, Zephyr's face lit up with pride. He turned again to look at the towering ice wall and said loudly,
"Kaito just turned eighteen this year. He's the youngest Marine Admiral in history—codename: Shikiryū!"
"Eighteen!?"
Lisa was at a loss for words.
Her husband Zephyr had become an Admiral at thirty-eight—an impressive feat by any standard. She had always thought of him as "young and capable."
But this Kaito kid… had become an Admiral at eighteen!? That was beyond belief!
She didn't question whether the title of Admiral still held weight—she simply found Kaito's monstrous talent unbelievable.
Justice's eyes sparkled with admiration upon learning that Kaito was already an Admiral. He shouted excitedly,
"Kaito is amazing!"
Hearing his son praise Kaito brought Zephyr even more joy than being praised himself. He couldn't help but laugh.
And when Zephyr laughed, the wrinkles on his face deepened—marks left by time and by all the pain he had endured over the years.
Lisa's eyes softened with sorrow when she saw those wrinkles.
She reached out, gently brushing his face, and said with a trembling voice,
"Dear… these years must've been so hard on you..."
She knew very well: compared to her and their son who had been sleeping peacefully in the world of the dead, Zephyr—left alone in the living world—must have endured endless pain and loneliness.
A pain more terrifying than death itself.
Justice looked up, dazedly staring at Zephyr's aged face and murmured,
"Papa…"
The call from his wife and child brought Zephyr's tears surging back. He wiped at his eyes forcefully, trying to keep a smile on his face as he said,
"That's all in the past now. Thanks to Kaito… you two are back by my side. Right now, I just feel… incredibly happy!"