25. Teacher Zephyr, You Are My Hero!

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In the mansion.

Squeak!

The door creaked open, and there was a slight movement.

"Master Fleet Admiral, welcome home."

"I'll prepare your bath water."

Rouge, who had been lost in thought, was startled awake. Seeing Akira walk in, she immediately stood up and bowed respectfully.

After speaking, she hurried towards the bathroom.

Akira didn't object. He sat down on the stone chair and began refining his money-making plan in his mind.

Soon, the hot water was ready.

After soaking for a while, Akira returned to his room.

Too lazy to turn on the light, he walked to the bed, lifted the quilt, and slipped under it.

"Huh?" As soon as Akira settled under the quilt, he noticed something unusual with Rouge beside him.

He sat up and turned on the light to take a look.

At this moment, Rouge's face was full of tears, her beautiful amber eyes filled with self-blame and apology.

"What's wrong?" Akira asked.

"No, nothing."

Rouge looked away, choking back tears and shaking her head.

Akira frowned.

It didn't seem like nothing happened.

If it was before, when Rouge said there was nothing wrong, he would have just gone to sleep without questioning further.

After all, pregnant women are emotionally sensitive and prone to mood swings, often crying or worrying for no apparent reason.

He didn't see any obligation to absorb Rouge's bad mood himself.

But this time was different.

Rouge had only been away for a month on his orders, and now she was crying like a rain-soaked child; both emotionally and rationally, he had to intervene.

"Have you been bullied? Or is it something else? Don't hide it from me, tell me!"

Akira's tone was firm.

Rouge trembled, realizing it was impossible to keep it hidden.

With a strong sob and a voice filled with apology, she said, "I... I just don't know what to do in the future."

"Roger... how could he do that?"

"The era he created only brings endless pain to the world."

"After the child is born, if he learns his father is Roger, how will he cope with that?"

"Woo woo woo..."

Akira fell silent.

But now he understood the reason.

The Great Era of Pirates may seem like just five simple words.

But those five words represent thousands of broken families, orphans, and corpses.

It's likely that during her month away on a mission, Rouge witnessed all of this and deeply felt the dangers of the great pirate era.

If she were an ordinary woman, cursing Roger and moving on might have sufficed.

But she was carrying Roger's son in her womb, and no amount of guilt-driven rescue efforts could save them all.

At every moment in the world, the orphans Roger created far outnumbered those she could ever hope to help.

The guilt in her heart was unimaginable.

Faced with this, Akira didn't know how to comfort her.

He could only reach out and pull her into his arms, sighing softly as he said, "If you feel guilty, then use the rest of your life to end this era of evil with justice."

"Let the child in the womb stand in the sun openly."

Rouge's tears flowed even more uncontrollably.

...

The night passed without another word.

When a new day dawned, Rouge woke up naturally.

She opened her eyes, staring blankly at the ceiling above her for a moment before blinking.

After releasing the negative emotions that had weighed on her heart last night, the knot that had trapped her for so long loosened, and she felt a bit lighter.

Just like Akira had said, crying endlessly wouldn't help; it was better to save her energy and strive to atone for her sins.

Rouge got out of bed carefully, went to the bathroom to brush her teeth, washed her face, and then brushed her teeth again until her breath was fresh.

"Huh?"

Turning around to the shower room, Rouge searched every corner but couldn't find the clothes Akira had changed out of last night.

She frowned but noticed the time and didn't dare to delay further. She decided to handle other tasks first and ask Akira about the clothes after he woke up.

A rich breakfast was set on the table, and Akira appeared right on time.

They ate in silence, finishing their meal quietly before heading out one after the other.

As they passed the door, Akira casually picked up a black bag.

Rouge glanced curiously and immediately saw the dusty justice cloak and black suit inside.

"Master Fleet Admiral, I'm sorry I couldn't find the clothes you changed out of this morning."

"Leave it to me. I'll wash it at noon and hang it up for you."

Rouge quickly stepped forward, reaching for the bag.

But Akira stopped her.

"I don't need to wash this set today. It's fine as it is."

"Oh, okay."

Hearing this, Rouge obediently stepped back.

...

In the Fleet Admiral's office.

Akira had barely settled into his chair when he heard movement in the corridor.

In walked Zephyr, with dark circles under his eyes and a stern expression, dragging Borsalino along by his collar, who looked utterly defeated.

Following closely was the tall and charismatic Gion.

The current three strongest figures in Marineford had arrived uninvited.

"Oh, hey, brother Akira."

Under Akira's puzzled gaze, Borsalino forced a smile and greeted him.

But as soon as he finished speaking, Zephyr smacked him on the head with a heavy fist.

Boom.

"What are you saying? You need to correct your attitude. He is now the acting Fleet Admiral of Marine Headquarters and the boss of us all."

Zephyr looked unusually serious.

After speaking, he set an example by straightening his body and saluting seriously.

"Acting Fleet Admiral Akira, headquarters Admiral and head of the academy Instructor Zephyr, reporting for duty."

"Please assign our tasks!"

Gion also saluted and greeted, "Vice Admiral Gion, ready at any time."

"Teacher Zephyr, you just said this isn't a school, so at least give the Admiral candidate some dignity."

Borsalino, rubbing his head, slowly stood up and quietly said, "I'm not the weak student I used to be."

A powerful aura began to emanate from him.

He wanted to prove himself, but when he saw Zephyr's arm, almost as thick as a tree, slowly being covered in Armament Haki, the aura that had just risen vanished without a trace, as if the reverse button had been pressed.

"So what?"

Zephyr's tone was flat, but it was clear he wouldn't hesitate to put his disobedient student in his place.

"Want to defeat me? Although it's still ten thousand years too early, the old man allows you to try."

"Ah, ah, just kidding, Teacher Zephyr, don't be impulsive."

In the spirit of self-preservation, Borsalino quickly raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.

At this stage, Zephyr was still in his prime, with both hands intact.

Even though Borsalino believed he had grown quite strong, he wasn't confident enough to think he could defeat Zephyr. And even if he could, would he really want to?

After all, this was his teacher.

Despite their clashes during his time at the academy, the bond of mentor and student still remained strong.

Although Borsalino was a bit lazy and prone to slacking off, he still held the respect he should have for Zephyr.

"Fleet Admiral Akira, please feel free to assign tasks if you have any. Preferably ones that keep me far from Teacher Zephyr."

Borsalino gave a casual salute, blinking as he spoke.

A smile tugged at the corner of Akira's mouth.

With Sakazuki already on board, another of the three Marine monsters had officially acknowledged his command.

Whether Borsalino was sincere or not didn't matter; since he'd said it, it meant that if Akira truly gave an order, Borsalino wouldn't refuse.

Just as Akira was about to respond, the phone on his desk rang urgently.

Pere~Pere~Pere~Pere~

"This is the Fleet Admiral's office. Akira speaking. What can I do for you?"

"Brother Akira, it's Kuzan. Well... I'm calling mainly to let you know that if there's a task you need me for, don't hesitate to ask."

Akira couldn't help but glance at Zephyr.

Zephyr gave him a pleased smile.

"Thank you, Vice Admiral Kuzan, for your cooperation." Akira replied.

"You're welcome. I won't keep you. I'm sure there's someone else eager to contact you."

Sure enough, as soon as the call ended, another one came in, just as impatiently.

"Hello, Acting Fleet Admiral, I'm Rear Admiral Onigumo..."

"Hello, Acting Fleet Admiral, I'm Doberman..."

"I'm Vice Admiral Yamakaji..."

"Rear Admiral Jonathan..."

"Vice Admiral Momonga..."

"Hello, Fleet Admiral, I'm the commanding officer of East Blue Marine 153rd branch..."

"Fleet Admiral Akira, I'm the commanding officer of North Blue Marine 76th branch..."

"Hello, Acting Fleet Admiral, I'm Vice Admiral Strawberry..."

"..."

One after another, calls of surrender poured in, as if they'd all coordinated. As soon as one call ended, another began.

Since the technology in the world of One Piece hadn't advanced to the point of multi-way long-distance communication, it seemed likely that the officers had been calling repeatedly, trying to get through as soon as the line was free.

In any case!

Akira didn't get to do much else that morning, spending most of his time answering the phone and having brief, formal chats with the generals on the other end.

Zephyr and Borsalino sat quietly on the sofa, patiently waiting for this mass surrender to conclude.

Gion, meanwhile, had gone to Rouge's side, whispering with her about more personal matters.

After spending an entire month together on the warship, facing harsh conditions in various devastated towns and islands, the two women had become quite close, their relationship somewhere "above friendship but not quite sisterly."

Although Zephyr tried his best to maintain a neutral expression, each time a new general called, a look of pride crept onto his face.

These were all his good students.

He hadn't wasted his years at the academy after all.

Pride mingled with a hint of sadness.

It was only now, perhaps, that he fully realized he had students all over the world.

Many of them, after graduating, had become prominent figures within the Marines, holding important positions and leading troops in the fight for justice.

'Teacher Zephyr seems to be helping Junior Akira secure his position...'

Borsalino crossed his legs and watched the scene unfold, his chin resting in his hand. His eyes flashed with understanding, and his attitude unconsciously became more respectful.

Time passed minute by minute, second by second.

Finally, at noon, the den den mushi, exhausted and even emitting smoke, seized the rare moment of peace to close its eyes for a brief rest, quickly chewing on high-grade leaves to recover its strength.

Akira also let out a long breath, picking up the water he had prepared and sipping it lightly to moisten his dry lips and throat.

"As expected of Teacher Zephyr, this network is truly astonishing."

Akira looked at Zephyr with amazement in his eyes.

He was genuinely shocked at this moment.

As an Admiral with a low profile, Zephyr usually kept to himself, but Akira hadn't realized just how extensive Zephyr's influence was—greater even than Fleet Admiral Sengoku's.

Though he had been somewhat prepared, the reality of it only hit him just now.

Akira glanced at the notes in front of him. Calls had come in from people across the Four Seas, the Grand Line, and even the New World.

It was overwhelming.

No wonder the Five Elders...

Ahem, better not dwell on that.

After all, he was also a student of Zephyr, and all these people were his seniors and peers. They were all in this together.

"If you're satisfied, then it was worth it. I spent a long time talking with each student through the night."

"They really are good students of this old man."

Zephyr waved his hands as if to downplay it, but the smile on his face was unshakeable.

He continued:

"Actually, Akira, the most important factor is you. You did a great job."

"You addressed the issues of troop shortages and boosted the soldiers' morale, so it didn't take much convincing for me to get them to fully cooperate with you."

"Alright, those are minor details. We don't have much time. Now, tell me about your plan to make a trillion berries in half a month."

The Fleet Admiral's office fell silent.

Everyone turned their attention to Akira, waiting for him to speak.

"Well, no need to rush. Even emperors need well-fed soldiers. Let's have lunch first."

Akira waved his hand, adding, "There are still some details I need to explain in person."

"I don't even have the appetite to eat right now. Just tell us over the den den mushi."

Zephyr's anxious expression resurfaced as he prepared to urge Akira further...

Pere~Pere~Pere~

Another call came in.

The den den mushi opened its bloodshot eyes, full of helplessness and reluctance.

At this moment, it wished it could go on strike, regretting ever agreeing to work these hours.

But Akira, ignoring the den den mushi's obvious complaints, picked up the receiver without hesitation.

"Akira, it's Tokikake. I arrived at Sabaody Archipelago overnight from the G-3 base. The warship's in good condition, and I'm about to secure the best one for you..."

Click.

Before Tokikake could finish, Akira hung up directly.

Under the surprised gazes of Zephyr, Borsalino, and the facepalming Rouge and Gion,

Akira cleared his throat, then calmly announced:

"Alright, let's get down to how we're going to make a trillion berries."