Late at night.
At Marineford, in the office of the Fleet Admiral of the Marine Headquarters building.
Kong, a tall man with snow - white hair, explosive muscles, and wearing a white Justice cape, stood by the window with his arms crossed. He stared out at the sea, as if he was deep in thought.
Knock, knock, knock!
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in!"
As his voice faded, Zephyr pushed the door open and walked in.
"What's going on so late at night, Zephyr?"
Kong didn't turn around. He still stared out of the window, with his back to Zephyr. But just by sensing the qi, he could tell who it was.
"I saw your office light was still on, so I came to submit the evaluation of this year's cadets from the naval academy."
"Oh! Are there any promising young guys worth training?"
"Based on my analysis of the files and their recent performance, three of them have great potential. They've got what it takes to become Admirals."
"Really? Which three? Show me their files."
Kong raised his eyebrows, then turned to look at Zephyr. The latter was well - prepared. He took a few quick steps, came to the window, and handed over the top three files in his hand.
"Jiaji, Gion, Karl D. Sephiroth..."
Each file was only three pages long, filled with some data, past experiences, and personal background information.
Sephiroth's file clearly recorded his past.
Sephiroth was born in Water 7. His father was a procurement manager and shareholder of a shipyard.
A little over a month ago, they were attacked by the Beasts pirates on the sea. His father died to save him. Sephiroth himself encountered a shipwreck and accidentally obtained the Zoan-type Bat Devil Fruit.
The exact type and form of this fruit were unknown, but he could transform his whole body into a bat or take on a human - beast form. It was initially judged to be a Mythical Zoan.
After extensive investigations, it was inferred that he was once captured by a slaver gang, and after killing them, he fled back to Water 7 with three members of the Kuja pirates.
After he signed up for the Marines, Water 7 was attacked by the Watson pirates. He single - handedly killed three cadres of this pirate group...
"This young guy named Sephiroth...
I really had high hopes for this kid at first. But after sending people to dig into his background, I'm starting to have my doubts...
I suspect he might be a spy sent by some pirate groups into the Marines..." Zephyr said, choosing his words carefully.
"So, that's why you're not sleeping and came to discuss how to deal with him... right?"
Hearing this, Kong gave a light chuckle, put down the file in his hand, and looked at his subordinate.
"Yes."
Zephyr nodded bluntly. His job was to train talents for the Marines. If he accidentally trained a spy, no one knew how much damage that could cause to the Marines.
"Zephyr, I understand your concerns, but... you have to understand that we can't stop doing something just because there's a risk."
I'm sure you've noticed, right?
Apart from the first few batches of students you trained, the quality of the cadets from later batches has been getting worse with each generation...
Since that guy Roger died, more and more young people who aren't content with an ordinary life have set sail under the pirate flag towards the Grand Line. As a result, our Navy Headquarters is facing a manpower shortage, and the number of talented recruits we can find is decreasing.
You can't just get rid of a promising recruit based on unsubstantiated suspicions. That wouldn't look good!"
Zephyr, one of the Admirals, hesitated and said:
"But what if..."
Seeing this, Kong Gangu, the Fleet Admiral, could only heave a sigh and raised his hand to stop Zephyr from speaking:
"Alright! Alright! ... How about this!
I'll take charge of investigating and keeping an eye on this kid. If he shows any signs of being up to no good, I'll take care of him."
"Fine then!"
Since Kong Gangu, the Fleet Admiral, had said so much, Zephyr, who was just an Admiral, had no reason to insist further.
After Zephyr closed the office door and walked away, Kong Gangu picked up the silver - haired boy's file and murmured to himself:
"Karl D. Sephiroth... D... Is it destiny? Or..."
...
At Marineford Military Academy, on the playground.
Zephyr walked around the playground with his hands behind his back, wondering how he should deal with Sephiroth, this uncertain factor.
As for physical training, at his age, it had lost its meaning. His muscles and qi had stopped growing and were gradually declining, getting worse with each passing year.
He reckoned that in another ten or twenty years, his strength might decline to the point where he might not even be able to beat his student, Kizaru, that guy who relied too much on his Devil Fruit ability.
Suddenly!
In his perception of Observation Haki, a dark shadow plummeted straight down from the sky. As he foresaw the future, that shadow would land in the academy's dormitory.
Shave!
In an instant, Zephyr's body broke through the sound barrier. Through multiple short - distance high - speed movements, he reached the door of the academy dormitory.
He looked up and stared at the figure wrapped in black mist, plummeting down. A layer of pitch - black Armament Haki quickly covered his right wrist.
Soon, the figure landed, and the black mist dispersed, revealing the silver - haired boy's figure.
"Hehe! Good evening, Teacher Zephyr!"
Sephiroth forced a smile and ended his vampire transformation, but in his heart, he was cursing.
Hey, old man! Why are you hanging around the dorm door at this late hour?
Do you think you're Uncle Zephyr the doorman?
And what was that Armament Haki for just now?
If I hadn't landed, you were gonna take a swing at me, right? You bet I'm not gonna let that happen!
...
Zephyr sized up the silver - haired boy from head to toe and asked suspiciously:
"Why aren't you asleep at this late hour?"
"Uh! I went out for a stroll and bought a book and two boxes of cigarettes."
Sephiroth picked up the two paper bags in his hand and waved them in front of the purple-haired old man.
As if thinking of something, he smiled and quickly took out an unopened, exquisitely packaged box of cigars from the bag and handed it over.
"Teacher Zefa, you've worked hard. This is a small token of appreciation from your student. Please accept it."
"Cut the crap. Even if you give me something, I won't promise you anything..."
"No! No! How dare your student make any requests? It's just to show my respect for you..."
After some pushing and shoving, Zefa reluctantly accepted the cigars and said, "No more of this in the future."
After exchanging a few words, Sephiroth took his leave and quickly walked back to his dormitory. Secretly, he was heartbroken.
Those were cigars worth a hundred thousand berries!
Just like that, they're all gone. He originally planned to give them to Smoker.
Now... Sorry! Smoker, your cigars are gone. If you want some, go find that old geezer Zefa!
As soon as Sephiroth returned to his dormitory, he took out his suitcase from under the bed.
After taking out all the clothes inside, he closed the suitcase, picked up his entire fortune of over seventy million berries, and sneaked out of the dormitory.
After transforming into his vampire form, he wrapped his body in a layer of black fog to increase his stealth and prevent being discovered by the patrolling naval soldiers.
Immediately afterwards, he flapped his wings again, took to the air, and disappeared into the night.
The black fog is a fruit ability he recently developed. Its range can be adjusted. The larger the range, the more physical strength it consumes. Currently, he can release a black fog domain with a maximum radius of thirty meters.
However, apart from blocking the enemy's line of sight, the black fog can't shield the perception of Observation Haki.
Therefore, it's an ability that can quickly take out ordinary soldiers, but when faced with experts in Observation Haki, it's better than nothing but still of limited use.