"Teacher Zephyr! Are you all right?"
Vice Admiral Haburo, commander of the G-9 branch, hurried forward to support Zephyr. He was one of Zephyr's students too. The moment he received Aokiji's orders, he had rushed back through the air using Geppo, frantic with worry.
A Seastone cuff was locked around one of Zephyr's wrists, but there was nothing else wrong with him. Haburo breathed a sigh of relief and quickly had him taken to the hospital to recuperate. The hospital stood beside the Ice Lake Loa had created. Its surface had completely thawed, but the water was still cold, making the area the best place on the island to recover.
"We've delivered him. You can tell Aokiji the deal is done now, can't you?"
Pudding's mirror image stood before a group of Marines. Naturally, she hadn't dared appear in person. Haburo gritted his teeth. "You bastards..."
He truly wanted to arrest the pirates who had kidnapped Zephyr. But even setting aside whether they had the strength to do it, the fact that Sengoku had authorized this exchange meant they couldn't act rashly.
Haburo picked up the Den Den Mushi that had remained connected and reported loudly, "Fleet Admiral Sengoku! We've rescued Teacher Zephyr! Awaiting orders!"
"Good. Fujitora and Ryokugyu are already on their way to G-9. Just take care of Zephyr."
The meaning was clear: don't get involved in anything else. Let those pirates go. Haburo had known that would be the answer, but he still sighed in disappointment. "Understood!"
Marine Headquarters, the Fleet Admiral's Office.
Even though they had known the exchange was settled, they couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief when they heard Zephyr had truly been rescued. Loa had made his warning clear, and none of them wanted to face the Ice Dragon's wrath.
Without waiting