Perfect timing.
From what Gini said, Zephyr's ad shoot should be about done; it's just missing you.
Ian raised his eyelids, but without saying anything, he, Ain, and Binz followed Garp towards the Punk Hazard docks.
But for some reason, Vegapunk had also followed them.
Could he not have given up yet?
But no matter what, Ian didn't want to give his blood to Vegapunk. Who knows what he might do with it?
But by the time Ian and his companions boarded the warship, Vegapunk hadn't left.
Even after the ship had left the dock, Vegapunk was still there.
Could this guy simply be seeing them off?
Just as Ian was puzzled, Vegapunk's cheerful face suddenly shifted to a complex and sentimental expression. "The power of the sun... Could it be you?"
Then the complex and sentimental expression in his face vanished, and his cheerful face returned.
"I hope you'll be surprised by my gift!"
...
"Gift? What gift?"
Ian, resting in his cabin, looked in surprise at Ain, who stood at the doorway, holding a wooden box.
"Didn't I refuse? Why would he give me a gift?"
"I don't know, but Mr. Vegapunk told me to give this to you."
Ain hesitated while holding the small box. "He also told me not to be seen by the other marines."
Ian: "...?"
What was that old man planning to do?
Don't let the other Marines see it?
Does that mean Ain doesn't count as a marine either?
Ian's face froze for a moment, but he still took the small box from Ain. His eyelids fluttered, a suspicion forming within him.
Could this be...?
After a pause, he opened the box and, as expected, saw the familiar artificial devil fruit inside.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Isn't this that artificial Devil Fruit?"
Ain stared at the box in amazement. "I heard about it during treatment, but wasn't it said to be a failure? Why would Vegapunk give it to you?"
"Who would know?"
Ian closed the box, paused for a moment, then smiled and shook his head. "That weird old man!"
"I don't know what's going on, but don't worry, I won't tell anyone else about this."
Ain withdrew her gaze and looked back at Ian.
A hint of hesitation crossed her face, but after a moment, she said solemnly: "And thank you."
"Didn't you thank me already?"
"That... It's different."
Ain glanced at Ian again, then paused for a moment before saying: "I won't disturb you anymore!"
With that, without waiting for Ian, who looked puzzled, to say anything, she turned and left, closing the door behind her.
However, she didn't leave immediately. Instead, she stood quietly at the doorway, her eyes full of complex emotions.
A moment later, she furrowed her delicate brows and muttered to herself: "A weapon...?"
As the warship neared the Red Line, it split into two teams.
One team, consisting of Ain, Binz, and some of the Marines aboard, boarded the warship's escort vessel and headed for Marine Headquarters in Marineford to report the details of the G-5 incident and receive their rewards.
The other team, led by Garp and the remaining Marines, headed directly for the West Blue.
Of course, Ian was also on board.
Garp was worried that his vacation would be over once he returned to Marine Headquarters.
Therefore, just before sighting the Red Line, he split the teams into two.
He didn't even approach the Red Line, turning around and sailing through the Calm Belt into the West Blue.
Ian didn't say anything about this; he simply wanted to get home as soon as possible.
But Garp was incredibly annoying. He kept nagging him the entire way, trying to convince him to join his team.
It was so aggravating!
If the journey wasn't so long, Ian would have wanted to just run home.
Finally, when he saw the Sibia River Archipelago, Ian breathed a sigh of relief.
"Ah, are we there yet?"
Garp also noticed the islands ahead. Then, while picking his nose, he said cheerfully: "It looks pretty nice! No wonder Zephyr chose to recuperate here! Boy, what special food does Sibia Village have? Donuts or something? You'll have to treat me well!"
"There's not much special food here, but we do have wine."
Ian said with a faint smile as they approached.
"The villagers make their own green grape wine."
"Green grape wine? The same one that bastard Zephyr said he would send me but never did?"
Garp's grin widened. "Wine works too! Let me see what's so great about the stuff Zephyr keeps bragging about!"
He then looked at Ian and said cheerfully: "Don't worry. Even if you don't join my team, I will train you according to Zephyr's standards. You dare to say that the justice system at the Marine Headquarters is shit? Then let me see what your justice is!"
As soon as these words fell, Ian, who had been in a good mood, froze in his place and turned to look at Garp in confusion.
Ian: "..."
Wait.
Who said the justice system at the Marine Headquarters is shit?
...
"Achoo!"
Having finally finished filming, Zephyr was enjoying the late autumn sun at the Sibia River Archipelago.
He lay lazily on a lounge chair, basking in the sunlight.
After an involuntary sneeze, he rubbed his nose and murmured: "Is autumn about to end?"
"Counting the time, you have been here for almost a year."
Village Chief Martin, who was lying beside Zephyr, smiled brightly, probably because the wine sales had been good recently. "How's your recovery going? Is your hand feeling better?"
"It's much better!"
Hearing Village Chief Martin's words, Zephyr still didn't get up. He raised his right hand, which was still bandaged but could now move slightly, and said with emotion: "Almost a year already? Time really went by quickly!"
Before he knew it, he could already move his hand slightly. However, the handling of this incident by Marine Headquarters... It was truly disappointing!
They had been deeply infiltrated by a spy, and in the end, because the other party was one of the Warlords, they had no choice but to compromise, and for fear of embarrassment, they even covered up the incident.
With a sigh, Zephyr shifted topics and turned to Martin with a grin. "How are the green grape wines selling lately?"
"Of course they're selling well! Our reputation has spread, and now bars and merchant ships from the surrounding area are buying from us."