Rebecca carried Ain towards her room, while Wendy went to Konan; they were sleeping in the same bed tonight.
Barnett and Frodeku also left, leaving only Vic examining the Lunar Eclipse. As a blacksmith, crafting a scabbard was a piece of cake for Vic. The Lunar Eclipse's blade was silvery-white, without a single other color. Vic planned to pair it with a pure black scabbard, which would be more in line with the name Lunar Eclipse.
The material for making scabbards is wood, any kind of wood will do, but if you want better quality, you should of course use better wood. Some scabbards can even withstand the slashes of Great Grade Sword, but those are scabbards made of specially treated wood. Generally, swordsmen rarely use scabbards in combat; that's something amateurs do.
Vic plans to use black ironwood to make the Lunar Eclipse sheath. Black ironwood is neither good nor bad; it's a medium-grade wood for making sword sheaths.
While shopping on Hot Spring Island, Vic noticed a shop with a flagpole made of black ironwood. He bought it for a little extra money, and now this pure black wood is the perfect match for making the Lunar Eclipse Sword Sheath.
He also bought the lacquer and other supplies needed to make the scabbard. These things were essential for someone who had a side business as a swordsmith, and he would collect them whenever he came across them.
The night was peaceful on the warship, with only the sound of Vic polishing wood on the deck. The island was also quiet, making it impossible to imagine that this island had previously teetered on the brink of destruction.
Time passed, Vic repeatedly applied paint to the finished scabbard in the moonlight until the sun rose from the distant sea. Only then did Vic finish the last coat of paint. Once it dried, it would be done. Vic stretched out his arms, facing the rising sun, as if to embrace it.
"No rest all night? Just for this?" Zephyr's voice rang out beside Vic. Zephyr was old and slept little, and was the first to arrive on the deck.
"Yes, teacher. That person modified the original scabbard into a concealed weapon. We don't need such a scabbard. We can win just as well in a fair fight."
Vic pressed the gem on the scabbard, and a sharp blade sprang out from the end of the scabbard, still bearing traces of Wendy's dried, dark red blood.
"Yes! Victory achieved through trickery will only lead us astray, Admiral elude us."
Looking at the world's strongest individuals, none of them resort to trickery. Once they do, it becomes a dependency, and their power ends there.
His own heart wouldn't allow him to become stronger any further; if he didn't make a decisive change, he could see the end of his life ahead of him!
Zephyr glanced at the severed blade, as if he were seeing a figure with extraordinary talent who had severed his own path to becoming a powerful being.
"Teacher, thank you again for everything you've done for this island, and thank you for your tolerance of our misbehavior, which kept our hearts on the right track and prevented us from going astray and losing our direction. We are lucky to have a teacher like you, and my Elite Camp was definitely worthwhile!"
Vic bowed to Zephyr, Zephyr had not yet completely lost faith in the Navy and continued to dedicate himself to training personnel for it.
"You overestimate me. I was just doing what a marine should do. Besides, I feel like we were both set up along the way. We weren't originally going this route, but a phone call pulled us onto it."
"Afterwards, I called headquarters to report the outcome, but they didn't know it was us who handled this matter. They gave the order but didn't know who to give it to. Isn't that strange?" Zephyr said with a serious expression.
"Did they find out who orchestrated this after that?" Vic was also somewhat surprised. It turned out that they had been set up all along, and there was a hidden hand behind the scenes.
"After checking the personnel on duty that day, it was confirmed that there was indeed a distress call sent to the communications headquarters, but the specific assignment of the mission was arranged by a colonel in the communications headquarters based on the specific circumstances."
The messenger who called us said the colonel personally contacted him and ordered him to give us the mission, but the colonel said he hadn't given that order and had somehow collapsed in his office. So who exactly wanted us on this route? We investigated but found nothing, and in the end, the matter was dropped.
Zephyr hadn't paid much attention to this before, assuming it was just someone's memory lapse, nothing serious.
"Could it be that he wants us to solve this country's crisis? But how does he know we'll definitely intervene? Does his Observation Haki allow him to foresee the distant future?"
Vic was completely baffled. The Navy was an organization under the World Government, and the Navy and CP were practically family. How could he possibly foresee a scenario where Vic and his allies were fighting each other?
"I've never seen that level of Future Sight. I've never seen anything like Frodeku's before. It's more likely to be Devil Fruit ability."
Perhaps he simply understands us all very well. He knows I changed course so I wouldn't waste time going back; he knows Rebecca can't stand by and watch civilians be exploited; he knows you, Vic, won't stand idly by and watch Rebecca fight alone; he knows your squad's unity means you'll fight together. This is the power to see into people's hearts—it's terrifying!
Zephyr has his own opinion, but there are too few clues right now, and it might just be a coincidence.
"It doesn't matter. If he's really strong, he can handle this himself without us having to intervene. This just means that person isn't powerful and can only solve these things with their brains. They pose no threat to us."
Vic wasn't scared at all. There was a Admiral- level combatant and a super-emperor-level vice-commander here. It would be difficult for ordinary people to shake them.
"What you see is only the surface. If he were to hand over the truth of this incident to the government, wouldn't we become an obstacle for the World Government to cover up its own ugliness?"
Even if the World Government prioritizes military strength and doesn't punish us, judging from our performance yesterday, their attitude towards our navy will change, and they will become wary of us.
If this continues, it could push the Navy to the opposite side of the World Government. If that's his goal, then that's the most terrifying thing!
Zephyr expressed his deeper concerns: the World Government had destroyed Ohara in an attempt to cover up the Void Century.
However, those who carried out the orders simply followed orders, except for Aokiji, who secretly released Robin, a young child.
However, Vic knew that the World Government was behind the trouble, yet he not only refused to help cover it up but also went so far as to kill people. This meant he was going against the World Government, which changed the nature of the situation.