Chapter 126 On the Path of Akainu

Luke's question instantly stirred up memories in Zephyr, causing his face to darken.

This memory was something he would never be able to forget in his lifetime—a pain that lingered.

The members of the Pirate Guerrilla Squad and the people from the Marineford felt a pang of pain in their hearts as they saw Zephyr's expression. Seeing the former Admiral, known for not killing, in his current state was something none of them wanted to witness. If given a choice, they would prefer Zephyr to remain as the Admiral who didn't kill, rather than seeing him in his current condition.

However, life is unpredictable, and sometimes it takes unexpected turns.

Many people around the world were unaware of this past. But upon hearing Luke's question and seeing Zephyr's expression, as well as the reactions of the other Marines, they could clearly sense a deep sadness concealed within.

What exactly happened that made them display such sorrowful expressions?

Everyone waited in silence for Zephyr's answer.

Benz and Ain couldn't bear to let their teacher answer on this question while he was in such distress, reopening wounds that had never truly healed.

They exchanged glances and made the decision to speak up on behalf of their teacher.

However, before they could say anything, Zephyr took the initiative to speak.

With his emotions now under control, Zephyr appeared composed, his face calm, and his tone steady. It was as if he was describing something unrelated to himself:

"Answer: Thirty-four years ago, I became an Admiral in the Marine, got married, and the following year, had a son. My family was happy, and my career was going smoothly. However, three years later, my family was killed by pirates. It left me devastated and wanting to resign.

But I was persuaded to stay and instead transferred from the position of Admiral to become an instructor, focusing on training the next generation of Marines. Among my first students were Akainu and Kizaru, as you mentioned earlier.

And so, the next twenty-three years went by. During these years, I nurtured many outstanding Marines who became my pride. It was through this Luke that I found meaning in my life once again."

As Zephyr spoke about them being his pride, the members of the Pirate Guerrilla Squad and many high-ranking officers from the Marineford couldn't help but feel their eyes welling up with tears.

" However, seven years ago, fate played another trick on me. I encountered a pirate who attacked the my student's ship that I was leading, slaughtering all the recruits who were still just student. In the end, I only managed to save Ain and Benz. This arm," Zephyr raised his right arm, fitted with a mechanical limb, revealing it to everyone present, "was severed during that incident."

He continued, "Afterward, I entrusted the scientists from the Science Division to modify my right arm into a mechanical arm with Sea Prism Stone. During these five years, I've done a lot of thinking and reflection on my past actions. In the end, I came to a conclusion: kindness to pirates is cruelty to the innocent.

Only when pirates are completely eradicated from this world can true peace be achieved. So, I set foot on the sea again, forming the Pirate Guerrilla Squad. I have two objectives in my final years of life: to eliminate as many pirates as possible from this world and to avenge my students by killing Edward Weevil. That's my answer. Are you satisfied?" Zephyr looked at Luke and spoke.

People from around the world listened to Zephyr's story and finally realized the kind of man this Marine before them was.

He was the Admiral known for not killing, never having taken the life of a single pirate. Yet, such a compassionate and righteous person had his family slaughtered by pirates.

Even in the face of such tragedy, he didn't succumb to darkness and go on a mad revenge spree against pirates. Instead, he chose to retire and stay out of maritime affairs. He didn't want to give up or abandon his past beliefs, and he couldn't let go of his anger towards pirates. Ultimately, he decided to leave the Marines. From this, it was evident that he was a man of unwavering convictions.

However, fate was undeniably cruel to such a man. The destruction of his family didn't break him, but the second tragedy did.

Seeing his students killed and his own arm severed finally led this man onto the path he had vehemently rejected.

This evoked a sense of melancholy in the onlookers, who couldn't help but feel moved. It turned out that there were still exceptional Marines within the ranks of the Marine. Zephyr was the most outstanding Marine they had ever encountered, surpassing the Three Admirals of the present era in both strength and morality.

His ideals of justice, kindness, and righteousness were exactly what they hoped to see in the Marines.

However, such a Marine had to endure such hardships. It made them frustrated with fate—why did it have to subject good people to such setbacks? Did good people have to suffer to such an extent?

Thinking about this, they couldn't help but admire Zephyr as a true Marine. Despite enduring two major tragedies in his life, he still held onto his ideals of justice, never straying from the right path.

Looking at Zephyr's lost right hand, many couldn't help but curse Edward Weevil for his despicable actions.

However, at this moment, many people suddenly recalled something—the front-page headline of today's newspaper was about Edward Weevil being summoned by the World Government and becoming one of Shichibukai.

Realizing this, many people's expressions changed drastically. They looked at Zephyr with a mixture of anger and sadness, exclaiming, "No way!"

Knowing what Edward Weevil had done to Zephyr, they couldn't believe that he would be recruited as one of Shichibukai.

What is the World Government doing?

What is going on in their heads?

Many people found it hard to believe what they were seeing in the live broadcast. The World Government was treating a Marine hero like this?

In the live broadcast, Luke nodded after hearing Zephyr's answer.

"Correct answer. Indeed, this kind of question posed no difficulty for the person involved. However, I'm satisfied with your answer." You are indeed an exceptional Marine. After going through all of that, it's no wonder you ended up on the path of Akainu. Now, let's move on to the next question. 2nd Question: What did Zephyr do after Edward Weevil became one of Shichibukai? Time limit: One minute. Start the timer."

Luke's question didn't give people much time to ponder, but it instantly shocked many.

Zephyr took the path of Akainu?!

What does that mean?

People from around the world looked at Luke in astonishment.

The path of Akainu was now known by almost everyone.

He possessed an absolute sense of justice, willing to do anything to eliminate evil, even if it meant sacrificing a thousand innocent lives to achieve it. It was a kind of justice that sent chills down people's spines.

This was the kind of path they didn't want to see.

Luke said that Zephyr took the path of Akainu. Did that mean Zephyr had also become someone who would do anything to eliminate evil?

At this moment, they recalled Luke's 2nd question: After Edward Weevil became one of Shichibukai, what did Zephyr do?

Weevil was the killer of Zephyr's students, the pirate Zephyr swore to kill.

However, such a pirate was recruited as one of Shichibukai by the World Government, an undeniable betrayal of Zephyr.

This event would undoubtedly have a tremendous impact on Zephyr!

What would Zephyr do?!

People from around the world suddenly had a bad feeling. The path of Akainu was not something they wanted to see!

At the Marineford, Sengoku and the other Marines had their faces drastically change. They already understood the implication of this question.

In other words, Zephyr couldn't accept Weevil becoming a Marine. What did he do?

Moreover, the previous setbacks didn't push Zephyr onto an extreme path. Up until now, Zephyr had remained very rational. He only hunted pirates and hadn't taken the path of Akainu.

However, after Weevil became one of Shichibukai, Zephyr seemed to have taken the path of Akainu.

Whatever he did, it certainly wouldn't be something they hoped to see.

The Marines at the headquarters remembered today's news report. Weevil had indeed become one of Shichibukai.

They looked at the image of Zephyr, their eyes filled with sorrow and hope, desperately hoping that it wouldn't become a reality.

Akainu and Kizaru's expressions also turned grave. Their greatest fear had come true. If Zephyr had truly done something irrational, they were destined to become his enemies.

Although Akainu didn't think it was a bad thing for Zephyr to follow his path, why did Luke make it sound like Zephyr had gone astray, just like him? Nevertheless, it seemed that things were heading in a direction they didn't want to see.

... ...

Meanwhile, in another location of Mariejois, the Seat of Power, the Five Elders watched the scene with a relaxed expression, as if everything was going according to plan.

What they wanted most was to see Zephyr lose control after hearing this news. If he lost control, then the Marines and the Government would have a reason to eliminate this dangerous element.

They were now waiting for Zephyr to follow their plan and descend into extremism, just as they envisioned for the future.

However, they also looked at Luke with some worry, hoping that this time he wouldn't interfere and ruin their plans.

...

At this moment, Zephyr's face suddenly turned dark and red, and anyone could see that his anger was on the verge of erupting.

In fact, since the moment Zephyr saw Weevil become one of Shichibukai, he had been suppressing his anger. It was just temporarily interrupted by Luke's live broadcast of the QnA.

But now, when Luke brought up this matter, his anger finally became uncontrollable.

Who could accept such a thing?

He had dedicated decades of his life to the Marines, only to be treated like this in the end. He could bear it for himself, but where were the fallen young recruits?

If those deceased souls, who had been killed by the person responsible, heard that not only had the culprit not been punished, but also received a legitimate license as a recognized pirate, erasing their past crimes and allowing them to continue looting and killing legally, how heart broken would they be?!

Perhaps in the eyes of the World Government, the world was divided into affiliated and non-affiliated countries, and the people were divided into citizens of affiliated and non-affiliated countries.

But in Zephyr's eyes, the world was just the world, and the people were just people. Weevil, holding a legitimate license, could now legally plunder and kill the people of non-affiliated countries.

This was a blatant desecration of justice.

Zephyr was already finding it difficult to tolerate the Shichibukai system.

And now Weevil had become one of Shichibukai. How could he accept that?

He could endure the previous members of Shichibukai, but he couldn't endure Weevil becoming one of them.

What would he do after Edward Weevil became a Shichibukai?!

It was simple.

Zephyr looked at Luke with a solemn voice and said, "Answer: I will leave this corrupted Marine under the control of the World Government and establish a true Marine to eliminate all pirates."