William barely had time to be surprised by the term "Marine Admiral" before asking curiously, "Why did he resign?"
Gin curled his lips into a faint sneer. "He had a pirate enemy who killed his wife and child for revenge. An Admiral who couldn't even protect his own family—perhaps he was disheartened."
William remained silent. After a moment, Gin continued, "After Zephyr resigned, the higher-ups persuaded him to stay on as an instructor for the Marines. He trained many famous Marines. While Roy wasn't particularly outstanding under his tutelage and didn't study for long, it's possible he knows some classmates who now hold key positions."
Hearing this, William frowned, lost in thought.
After resting in Maple Village, William led his pirates on a few more "business ventures," raiding several ships based on intelligence provided by Sherlock to test the crew's coordination.
Only after these exercises did they set sail for Kalmar City to meet with Arcadio and Roy.
At the Ministry of Finance, the setting remained the same, but the people had changed. Arcadio's reception room was still as it had always been, but this time, Barbarossa had returned to the room—not in person, but as a severed head inside a wooden box brought by William.
Arcadio opened the lid slightly, took a quick glance inside, and immediately closed it with a look of disgust, pushing the box away. He then pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his hands repeatedly, as if fearing contamination.
Sitting beside him, Colonel Roy was far less squeamish. He pulled the box closer, opened it, and directly took Barbarossa's head out of the box.
After days of travel, even with some preservation measures, the head still reeked of decay. Its features were distorted, barely recognizable.
Roy seemed unfazed by the stench, examining Barbarossa's face with interest, as if trying to decipher his expression at the moment of death.
"So, you're the one who killed Barbarossa?" Roy asked casually, his eyes fixed on the severed head, not even glancing at William.
"No," William shook his head, causing Arcadio to frown. But William's next words smoothed his expression. "It was the soldiers of the Marines' 16th Division who killed him."
Roy chuckled lowly, finally shifting his gaze to William. "You're a clever man, not like the fools I usually deal with."
He tossed Barbarossa's head back into the box without a care for the mess on his hands, then lit a cigar and looked at William through the rising smoke. "Judging by the current situation, the Red-Beard Pirates are now under your control?"
"Of course," William replied with a faint smile.
Hearing this, Arcadio glanced at Kuro, who was sitting beside William. Kuro gave a subtle nod of confirmation.
"So, have you come here to maintain the alliance we had with Barbarossa?" Arcadio asked, only speaking after receiving confirmation that William indeed controlled the entire crew.
William deliberately lowered his head and let out a bitter laugh. "When I took down Barbarossa, I used some tricks. Now that Barbarossa, Reis, and Hayreddin are all dead, the pirate crew's strength has greatly diminished. It's hard to maintain our former status and influence with the current crew. However, while we're weaker than before, we do have one advantage now: I, as the new captain, understand the bigger picture. Barbarossa often acted on his own whims, trampling over alliances and causing trouble for his allies. I won't do that."
William lifted his head again, meeting the gazes of the two men studying him. "You both know my crew well. And unlike Barbarossa, I'm not reckless. With me as your ally, you can rest assured."
Arcadio and Colonel Roy exchanged a glance. After a moment, Arcadio stirred his coffee and asked slowly, "What goods did you bring ashore this time?"
"Wine. A large amount of wine. I know you've been in need of it," William replied with a smile.
Arcadio had nearly monopolized the underground smuggling market for alcohol in the Navia Kingdom and was in desperate need of various alcoholic beverages to meet market demand. Meanwhile, William had eliminated competitors for the Maple Village distillery, seizing a significant amount of wine, which he now presented as an offering.
Arcadio nodded in satisfaction. "I'll have the guild retrieve the goods. If your ship needs any supplies, you can let them know as well."
Roy, who had been silent, finally spoke after Arcadio implicitly agreed to maintain the alliance. He asked William, seemingly casually, "I heard you ventured near the Calm Belt?"
When the Tequila Wolf incident occurred, Roy had investigated the Red-Beard Pirates and knew their movements.
William, who had been holding a cup of coffee, froze for a moment before quickly recovering. He took a sip of coffee, using the action to gather his thoughts, and then replied, "Barbarossa wanted to try his luck in the Calm Belt, hoping to find a Devil Fruit..."
"Did he find one?" Colonel Roy interrupted, focusing solely on this question.
"He did," William answered with a delighted expression, letting a hint of pride slip through. "But he didn't live to claim it!"
Arcadio scrutinized William and frowned. "You ate it, didn't you?"
Seeing William nod openly, Arcadio expressed his dissatisfaction. "If you had handed it over to my auction house, I could have driven its price up to 400 million Beli, or even higher."
"I couldn't trust my crew. The return journey would've taken too long, and it was too risky," William said with a grin.
Arcadio said no more, while Roy leaned forward, his interest piqued. "You're quite lucky. I'm curious—what's your ability?"
"Paramecia," William said with a hint of showmanship, raising his coffee cup and gesturing toward the two men. They watched as the coffee in the cup quickly began to boil. "My body can generate heat."
Roy, who had been watching William's expression closely, finally shifted his gaze to the boiling coffee after hearing the word "Paramecia." Feigning indifference, he said, "Not bad. It has potential."
After spending a while longer in the reception room, William eventually got up to leave. Kuro, however, stayed behind at Arcadio's request.
Once William had left, Arcadio asked Kuro, "Does this kid really control the entire pirate crew?"
"Barbarossa, and the vice-captains he promoted afterward, were all killed by him. Right now, he's unquestionably in charge on the ship," Kuro replied.
Roy, who had been staring at the still-steaming coffee, finally spoke without looking up. "Are you sure the fruit he ate is really a Paramecia-type?"
Kuro hesitated. "I'm not entirely sure. He hasn't demonstrated his ability in front of the crew yet. Today was the first time I heard him mention it."
Roy didn't care that Kuro was technically Arcadio's man. Using a commanding tone, he said, "Keep a close eye on him aboard the ship. Check if his power is truly Paramecia and if its only ability is 'heat generation.' If you find out he's a Logia-type user, you must report to me immediately!"
(Note: Regarding Zephyr's backstory, there's a databook called Volume 1000, which seems to have been distributed as a physical book alongside the movie. Scanned versions are available online, and I'll share the images on my WeChat public account later.)
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