Chapter 72: The Admiral of the Past and a Spin of Fate
"Master, that guy from earlier was really strong."
As they walked away from the confrontation, Erica spoke calmly beside Mio, though the glint of battle fervor in her eyes betrayed her excitement. Lilith, walking just behind them, wore a similar gleam in her eyes.
Stronger than herself.
But that didn't mean she would lose.
"Of course he was strong," Mio chuckled. "That guy's a Navy Admiral, after all."
...
At that moment...
Gritting her teeth, Vice Admiral Gion—better known by some as the Navy's "Pink Crane"—slowly got to her feet, her body still aching from the earlier clash. Her sharp eyes locked onto the towering figure in front of her.
"Teacher Zephyr..."
The man standing before her was tall and broad-shouldered, with short purple hair and a commanding aura. He was none other than Admiral Zephyr—the man once praised as "Zephyr the Non-Killer." Known for his powerful Armament Haki and strict sense of justice, Zephyr had long upheld the ideal of subduing pirates without taking lives. Yet in the face of an increasingly savage world, especially as a Navy officer, that ideal seemed more like a romantic dream.
Still, Zephyr stood strong. Currently in his prime, he had taken a step back from frontline duty to serve as an instructor, shaping the future of the Navy. His students—Akainu and Kizaru—were already Vice Admirals, and Aokiji had recently begun training under him.