After saying that, Xia Chen just looked at him indifferently.
He recognized Zephyr the moment he saw him, after all, the mechanical arm on his right hand was quite conspicuous.
Xia Chen asked this question because he wanted to see what identity Zephyr was currently presenting himself as.
In the original work, Zephyr developed strong doubts and distrust towards the Navy after learning that Edward Weevil had joined the Shichibukai when he was 73 years old. He resolutely left the Navy and founded the " NEO Marines " with the goal of annihilating pirates all over the world.
Then, at the age of 74, he met Luffy, two years after the Paramount War.
Therefore, if we follow the normal timeline, Zephyr should still be in the Navy at this point.
But Xia Chen still asked the question because Edward Weevil had been invited by the Navy to join the Shichibukai in the past six months.
There was no other way; after all, Blackbeard had been killed by him, and Jinbe had been stripped of his title Shichibukai for various reasons. The Navy had to find someone to fill their vacancies.
However, unlike in the original work, Moria was not removed from the ranks of the Shichibukai of the Shichibukai and still holds that position.
The current Shichibukai are:
Jora Mihawk!
Bartholomew the Kuma!
Boa Hancock!
Buggy!
Edward Weevil!
Moonlight Moria!
Donquixote Doflamingo!
"..."
Zephyr paused for a moment, then looked at Xia Chen and asked, "Who are you? How do you know my identity?"
"Is it strange that they know your identity? Don't you know you're a celebrity? So... are you Z or Zephyr now?" Xia Chen asked again.
"..."
Zephyr remained silent for a moment, then slowly but firmly uttered a sentence.
"Z! I am Z now!"
"Is that so? I understand!" Xia Chen nodded, then looked at him and said:
"Since that's the case, now that you're awake, you can disembark from our ship!"
"Huh? Xia Chen, what are you doing? This old man is still seriously injured!"
Upon hearing Xia Chen's words, Chopper immediately jumped out and looked at Xia Chen, asking in confusion.
"Hey! Chopper! I think Xia Chen is right. This is a former Marine Admiral, and he and us pirates are sworn enemies. Let's send him away!" Usopp walked over and pulled Chopper aside, whispering to him.
Although his voice wasn't loud, Zephyr used to be Admiral, and even though his strength had declined, he still understood everything Usopp said clearly and heard every word.
In an instant, Zephyr's expression changed. He stood up abruptly.
The kindness in his eyes had completely vanished, replaced by a fierce rage. He looked at the crowd and said in a low voice:
"So that's how it is, you're pirates! In that case..."
Without saying a word, Zephyr raised his fist and attacked Xia Chen, who was closest to him.
Xia Chen couldn't help but sigh upon seeing this.
"Well, it turned out like this after all!"
Just as Zephyr's fist was about to hit Xia Chen, Xia Chen slowly uttered a single word.
"Certainly!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Zephyr froze, his fist stopping just ten centimeters from Xia Chen's face.
Upon seeing this, everyone's faces immediately showed dissatisfaction.
"Sir, what you're doing is a bit unreasonable. We saved you, and now you're repaying kindness with enmity?"
"Even if you're from the Navy and we're pirates, there's no reason for us to turn on each other so quickly, is there?"
Sanji looked at Zephyr and spoke rudely, but Zephyr didn't even glance at him, instead staring intently at Xia Chen.
"What... what kind of tricks are you using? Who are you?"
Although his strength has declined, the fact that his movements can be so easily restricted without any physical confrontation, coupled with the similar situations he has heard of before...
A name popped into Zephyr's mind, and he looked at Xia Chen, asking, "You are... Xia Chen the Sovereign?"
He felt the name Xia Chen sounded familiar when he heard it, but he had been focused on implementing his plan for a long time, so even though Xia Chen was very famous, he hadn't learned much about him. He hadn't even seen Xia Chen's bounty poster.
This is why he didn't recognize Xia Chen, but he had heard of Xia Chen's deeds. So when he found that the person in front of him was incredibly young and extremely powerful, he immediately made a guess.
"It's me!"
Xia Chen nodded. He only restricted Zephyr's movements; he didn't restrict his speech.
He had anticipated this situation long ago. Ever since Zephyr answered that he was Z, Xia Chen knew what kind of attitude Zephyr was now towards the world.
When Zephyr was still Admiral, he was known as the Admiral Who Doesn't Kill "! He never killed any pirate, no matter how sinful or wicked they were!
And because of his kindness, he paid an incredibly heavy price!
His entire family was killed by pirates who hated him. From then on, Zephyr began to hate pirates and offered to resign, but his superiors persuaded him to stay. Still having hope for the Navy, he stayed in the end and trained a large number of powerful Marines as the Navy's chief instructor.
However, misfortune did not intend to leave him there. At the age of 65, Zephyr's training ship was attacked by Edward Weevil. All of his beloved students, except for Ain and Binz, were killed, and his right arm was also severely injured.
Even so, Zephyr did not leave the Navy. It was only after he became completely disillusioned with the Navy that he decided to form his own Neo Marines, intending to save this utterly corrupt world in his own way!
To be fair, in Xia Chen's opinion, Zephyr was indeed a good navy officer and a good Admiral, but he was not a qualified Admiral!
Which naval commander hasn't had blood on his hands?
Mercy to the enemy is the greatest cruelty to oneself; Zephyr didn't even understand this principle!
Of course, this was only the Zephyr of the past! For him during the Z era, he had completely abandoned any mercy, and his actions were even extremely similar to Akainu's!
They'll stop at nothing to destroy the three endpoints of the New World! They don't even care about the lives of ordinary people.
Of course, Xia Chen had a relatively high overall opinion of Zephyr, who was someone he admired in his previous life.
That's why Xia Chen didn't retaliate immediately after Zephyr made a move against Xia Chen. Otherwise, if it were someone he was indifferent to or even disliked, he would have already invited them downstairs for tea!
After thinking for a moment, Xia Chen looked at him and said, " Zephyr! Oh, no, Z!"
"I don't want to kill you, so go back to where you came from!"
"But... don't think I'm very patient. If you still intend to attack us, then I'll have no choice but to kill you!"
Xia Chen's Zephyr was calm, but it sent a chill down Zephyr's spine. After a moment's thought, he said, "I understand! If I'm not mistaken, my subordinates have already located me using my Vivre Card!"
"I'll go back once they arrive! In the meantime, please allow me to stay on this ship for a while; I won't harm you!"
Zephyr reluctantly agreed.
There was no other way! It wasn't that he wanted to compromise, but reality forced him to!
Before he left the Navy, Garp told him about his battle with Xia Chen, which can be summarized as being completely crushed!
If even Garp, who's stronger than him, is like this, then there's no need to mention him!
If he had no other concerns now, he might still fight Xia Chen to the death!
But he still has unfinished business! He absolutely cannot die until he finishes that business!