Several days later, at the military harbor of Marineford, Marine Headquarters.
Bright sunlight reflected off the azure sea as a warship slowly entered the harbor, its hull cutting through the calm water and sending ripples spreading outward.
Gern stood at the bow and spotted the towering figure on the pier from afar.
Zephyr stood with his arms folded. His sunglasses concealed his expression, but the slight upward curve of his lips carried a hint of danger.
"Tch..." Gern rubbed his temples and muttered, "Looks like the fallout from what I said last time was worse than I expected."
"Gern, is that Instructor Zephyr?" Lipo peeked out beside him, curiosity sparkling in her pink eyes.
"Yeah." Gern nodded, a helpless smile just beginning to tug at his lips.
Suddenly, he looked at Lipo, then at Zephyr, recalling his visit to Zephyr before his last mission.
His teacher had shown envy toward other people's daughters more than once. After all, a sweet little daughter had quite an effect...
"Lipo."
"What is it?" Lipo tilted her head and looked at Gern.
"Remember to be polite when we get down there. He's my teacher."
"Don't worry!" Lipo patted her chest and said with a grin,
"I'm Lipo, a hero of justice! Nobody knows manners better than me!"
As the warship slowly docked, the gangplank had barely been lowered...
"Gern!!" Zephyr's roar exploded across the pier, making the nearby soldiers shrink back.
Before Gern could answer, however, a white figure had already leaped off the ship with a whoosh and landed lightly in front of Zephyr.
"Are you Instructor Zephyr?" Since Zephyr was almost three meters tall, Lipo had to tip her head back. She smiled sweetly, her pink eyes curving into crescents.
Zephyr froze at her smile, all the anger he had been gathering