"What? This is… Whitebeard's son?"
"Can you two old men improve your information processing skills a little!?" Michael's mouth twitched.
"I already said it — he's a clone of Whitebeard. Technically speaking, you can say he's his son!"
"Clone?" Garp rubbed his chin and looked at the still emotionally shattered Weevil. "No matter how you look at it, this cloning seems to have failed a little, right?"
"It definitely wasn't a simple clone using just Whitebeard's genes. Miss Buckin probably added her own genes into the mix… one strong, one weak, and after blending together, this is the result."
"Miss Buckin?"
"Buckingham Stussy."
"Oh, that woman who used to cling to Whitebeard's side on Rocks' ship!" The moment Garp heard the name, he recalled the woman who was always hanging on Whitebeard's shoulder back when the Rocks Pirates attacked.
"Exactly, that's her."
"And where is she now?" Garp looked at Michael with a strange expression. "It's been many years, but the bounties on the Rocks Pirates were never withdrawn."
"Dead." Michael shrugged. "Killed by this big idiot himself."
"Killed… his own mother?"
"Strictly speaking, he just killed one of his genetic donors. I'd never acknowledge Miss Buckin's behavior as anything worthy of the word 'mother.'"
Michael curled his lips, then added,
"And besides, Miss Buckin now isn't the bright-eyed, blonde beauty she used to be. She's basically a wrinkled little potato of an old woman… even if you caught her alive, she wouldn't match the wanted poster."
"I see… then forget it." Garp nodded, then suddenly realized something. "Wait a second… if I remember right, there was a woman in Vegapunk's MADS who looked a lot like Miss Buckin, wasn't there?"
"Oh, that was her clone — the first generation, and the most successful one. Far more impressive than the original." Michael glanced at Zephyr with a grin. "But now, she's a member of CP0."
"CP0? So is she working with Vegapunk, or…"
"What do you think?" Michael wore that infuriatingly smug smile.
Just one look at him was enough to make Garp's fists itch.
While Michael and Garp talked freely, Zephyr acted as if he hadn't heard a thing, turning away and continuing to watch his students.
"Zephyr-sensei, aren't you interested in what we're talking about?" Michael leaned in with a sly grin.
"Don't you want to know about the conflicts between Vegapunk, the World Government, and us Marines?"
"Have I ever been interested in that sort of thing? Michael, is this your first day knowing me?"
Zephyr sighed and looked at Michael.
"No matter how this world changes, all I need to know is that I'm a Marine."
"I didn't say anything. Sensei, why are you in such a hurry to make your position clear?"
Michael spread his hands and shrugged at Zephyr.
Zephyr gave Michael a long, deep look. Back when Michael had been his student, he'd seemed ordinary — always scoring in the middle during assessments.
But who could've imagined that this mediocrity was all just a disguise? Years later, he had become Chief Inspector of the Marines, with power that was incomparable to the past.
In Zephyr's eyes, his most outstanding students had always been Borsalino, Sakazuki, and Kuzan.
But now, Michael stood above the three of them.
At least in terms of accomplishments, there was little difference between a Chief Inspector and an Admiral…
And Michael was far younger than the three Admirals.
Besides…
If you counted everything Michael had done, not even the combined deeds of the three Admirals could compare to his.
"Michael…"
"Yes?"
"What is it that you truly want?" A rare trace of confusion appeared in Zephyr's eyes. "Do you seek to be the strongest? The one with the most power? Or both?"
"I will become the strongest and the most powerful. But that's not my goal — that's just the means to achieve my true goal."
Michael spoke without hesitation. When it came to Zephyr, he knew him far too well.
If anyone embodied compassion, then Zephyr was the most compassionate man in the Marines.
But too much compassion can be a weakness — which was why, after Weevil slaughtered the elite training camp, Zephyr's entire personality had shifted into extremes.
Michael never agreed with Zephyr's former 'no killing' principle, but he accepted it.
Because this world needs idealists like Zephyr to light the road ahead, even if only faintly.
And more importantly, a true powerhouse must have unwavering conviction.
If that conviction can be easily swayed, then he is no longer a true powerhouse.
When Zephyr abandoned his no-killing principle in the original timeline, the "Black Arm" in spirit had already vanished.
All that remained was a soul bent on vengeance against the entire world.
"I see… Then what is your goal? Can you tell me?"
"There's nothing I can't say."
Michael shook his head, stepped to Zephyr's side, and said softly,
"I want all the laborers of the world to rise up, no longer oppressed by the World Government, pirates, or even the Marines. I want to bring about an era of relative freedom and righteous order… where everyone can live in peace, without dying under the weight of the Heavenly Tribute or the threat of pirates."
After Michael finished speaking, not only Zephyr but even Garp — who had always been in on everything with him — stared at Michael in shock.
Silence hung in the air like the quiet night of Cambridge.
Finally, it was Zephyr's soft laugh that broke it.
"Michael… You really are my most outstanding student!" Zephyr's soft laugh turned into hearty laughter.
"Hahahahaha! Sakazuki and the others wouldn't even dare to imagine such a thing! Michael, you truly are the most audacious man in the world!"
"Is audacity such a bad thing?" Michael's lips curved up. "Living my own life safely or ensuring everyone lives safely — neither choice is wrong. If I were just an ordinary man, I'd choose the former without hesitation. I'm no saint…"
"But with the power I have now, I feel like choosing the latter will let me sleep better at night."
"You… really are exceptional." Zephyr smiled and nodded. "Let's go."
"You're… not going to say goodbye to them?"
"Why would I? It's not like I'm going off to die."
"I mean… they're going to be trained under Garp after this…"
"Tsk… then I'd better say goodbye to those poor little things."
---
read +200 chapters on Patreon tambeerg