When Zephyr showed up with his family in front of Sengoku and the others, their reaction was even more exaggerated than Kizaru's.
Garp's eyes went wide, and he hunched over as two strands of snot—one long, one short—dripped from his nostrils, making both Justice and Lisa burst into laughter.
Especially after learning that it was Kaito who had resurrected Zephyr's family, the room practically exploded.
Tsuru looked at Kaito in astonishment. But as the Grand Strategist, her thoughts went far deeper than the rest.
She clearly understood how terrifying this ability of Kaito's really was. At the same time, she knew it would attract the greed of the World Government.
She looked at Kaito and said,
"Kaito, only the people in this room know about this, right?"
Kaito nodded. He understood what Tsuru meant, but he wasn't afraid of the World Government.
With his current strength, aside from Imu, he was confident he could flatten all of Mary Geoise by himself.
And since he was considered a precious 'specimen' in Imu's eyes, Imu absolutely wouldn't let anyone interfere with him.
Still, Kaito appreciated Tsuru's concern and told her she didn't need to worry.
Seeing the confident expression on his face, Tsuru didn't press the issue. She knew just how powerful Kaito was. Among the current top-tier powerhouses on the sea, there really wasn't anyone who dared face Kaito one-on-one.
Just then, Justice came running up to Kaito, his little hands clenched in excitement. With an adorably innocent voice, he said to Kaito,
"Kaito-san, Daddy said you're an Admiral now! That's so awesome!"
Kaito and Tsuru, who had been serious just moments before, couldn't help but smile at the boy's sweet voice. Kaito crouched down, gently ruffled Justice' hair, and asked with a smile,
"What's your name?"
"My name's Justice!"
"So you think Admirals are awesome? What makes them so cool to you?"
"They're super strong! Just like Daddy!"
Hearing that, Kizaru off in the distance couldn't help but tug at his collar. For once, a hint of pride actually showed on his face.
No one knew why, but when people usually praised his strength, Kizaru didn't feel much of anything. Yet hearing it from Zephyr's son Justice—it was like his heart was filled with honey. Sweet!
He even started thinking of Justice as his own nephew. If Zephyr found out, he'd probably challenge him to a duel on the spot for messing up the generational order!
Kaito chuckled warmly at Justice' words. Then he looked into the boy's eyes and said seriously,
"An Admiral isn't just about strength. He also needs his own sense of justice. That's called conviction."
"Conviction?"
Justice was still too young to grasp the meaning of that word. He turned and looked at his father, Zephyr, for help.
But Zephyr didn't say anything. He wanted to hear how Kaito would explain it.
Unexpectedly, Kaito tossed the question right back at Zephyr. He said,
"You should ask your father. He's someone who's lived his entire life by his convictions. That's seriously admirable."
As soon as he heard that, Justice ran back to Zephyr and started pestering him to explain what conviction meant.
Zephyr gave Kaito a helpless look, then lifted Justice into his arms and began teaching him.
He might have looked a little exasperated, but everyone could tell—Zephyr was enjoying every second of it.
Sengoku and the others watched Zephyr gently teaching his son, and before they realized it, a few tears had welled up in the corners of their eyes.
They knew—this kind of scene was something Zephyr had long dreamed of in the past. But it had only ever been a dream.
Thanks to Kaito, that dream had become reality. They didn't say anything out loud, but deep down, they were full of gratitude toward him.
Sengoku and Garp, in particular, owed Kaito massive favors. You could even say they were his staunchest supporters in the Navy.
As for Tsuru, ever since the matter with Gion, she had grown even more fond of Kaito. She genuinely cared for him in every way.
So it wasn't surprising that some of the Elders couldn't stand the sight of Kaito no matter what.
After all, looking at the situation now, the entire old guard of Navy leadership was in Kaito's camp. If not for Imu keeping the Elders on a tight leash, they would've already taken action against him.
If things kept going this way, the Navy would end up as Kaito's personal armed force!
Lisa smiled gently as she watched Zephyr interact with his son. Then, she gracefully walked over to Kaito and bowed deeply in front of him.
The gesture startled Kaito, who immediately tried to help her up.
Although Lisa looked quite young now, she was still his teacher's wife—he didn't feel right accepting such a bow.
But Lisa insisted. She didn't care about things like seniority—she only knew that Kaito was the great benefactor who had saved their entire family!
Kaito could only sigh and wait for her to straighten up before saying,
"There's no need for this, Lisa-san."
She quickly waved her hands.
"Just call me Lisa.'"
At that moment, Zephyr walked over with Justice in his arms. He patted Kaito on the shoulder—no words needed between them.
Kaito didn't want to dwell on the sentimentality any longer. He preferred more normal interactions. He didn't like being treated like some great savior by everyone he met.
And honestly, he was itching to spar with Aokiji over their shared control of "ice" powers. The only problem was... it seemed Aokiji wasn't at Navy HQ right now?
Kaito turned to Sengoku and asked,
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, where's Admiral Aokiji? I need to speak with him."
"Kuzan? He went to Alabasta. We've received reports that Crocodile recently formed an organization and has been acting a bit suspicious. Kuzan volunteered to investigate."
Hearing that, Sengoku seemed puzzled too. Kuzan had always been the type to do the bare minimum. Why was he so proactive this time?
Sure, Crocodile was a Shichibukai, but that still didn't seem like enough to warrant sending an Admiral.
Kaito, however, immediately pieced it together. The organization Crocodile had formed was most likely Baroque Works—and that meant Robin had already joined as vice-president.
No wonder Aokiji had eagerly rushed off to Alabasta.
Last time at Navy HQ, Kaito had rattled Crocodile pretty badly. Just like Doflamingo, who was obsessed with becoming a Shichibukai, Crocodile was obsessed with obtaining intel on the Ancient Weapon "Pluton."
That's why his organization had been so active early on—it had caught the Navy's attention.
Unfortunately for him, the intel he was so desperate to get his hands on was worthless to Kaito. He already knew exactly what it was: that "Pluton" was buried in Wano Country.
Even though the intel held no value for him, Kaito still wanted to head to Alabasta. It was a good chance to check out that so-called "Devil Child" Robin—whom the World Government had so aggressively slandered.
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo