"Compensation for mental distress? Cash?"
Zephyr let out a bitter laugh. The muscles on his lined face twitched slightly. He looked at the old woman in front of him, who had just eaten their food and was already turning on him. The anger of being used was almost impossible to hold back.
He had saved many people in his life and had seen many ungrateful people. But this was the first time he had ever seen a mother and son like this, who ate the last rations of the people who saved them and then tried to squeeze money and goods out of them.
"What? You don't want to give it?"
Miss Bakkin seemed completely unaware of the hostile looks from the Marines around her, or maybe she simply did not care. She crossed her dirty legs, which were still covered in mud and seawater. She even pulled out a nail file from somewhere and slowly filed her rough fingernails. "I think that watch on your hand looks pretty good. Give it to my son as a little gift, and I'll overlook your attitude just now."
"Also, this room is too small. I don't like it. Change us to a bigger one, preferably one with a soft bed."
"You—!!"
Next to him, Hina trembled with anger. Her long pink hair swayed as she suddenly stepped forward, activating her Bind-Bind Fruit ability as black iron bars formed in her hands. "How shameless! What kind of civilians are you?! Did you forget who just fed you all that meat soup?!"
A few hot-headed young recruits even pulled back their gun bolts with a click. They pointed the dark barrels directly at the old woman's face.
"Don't move! Who allowed you to point your guns at civilians?!"
Zephyr's sharp shout made everyone freeze.
"Teacher!" Hina looked back in disbelief. "This kind of scum—"
"Put your guns away."
Zephyr's voice was low and raspy, filled with deep exhaustion. But his tall body stood like a wall, blocking the path between the soldiers and the mother and son.
He took a deep breath, forced down the anger in his heart, turned around, and looked at Miss Bakkin.
There was no longer any pity in his eyes. "Listen, old woman."
Zephyr's tone was cold and hard. "This is a recruit training ship of Marine Headquarters. It is not a place for you to cause trouble, and it is definitely not a thieves' den where you can take whatever you want."
"I saved you because I am a Marine. It is my duty not to let any innocent life die before my eyes. But that does not mean I will tolerate this nonsense."
Zephyr pointed outside the window at the dark, wild sea. "The current weather does not allow me to throw you off the ship and leave you alone. In seas like these, kicking you off the ship is the same as murder."
"I won't do that, because that would make me no different from a murderer."
As he said this, disgust showed in Zephyr's eyes, as if he were looking at dirt stuck to the bottom of his shoes. "But my patience with you has its limits."
"From now on, you stay in this room. You are not allowed to go anywhere. Stay here quietly."
"Tomorrow at dawn, when the storm stops, I will immediately send someone to take you to the nearest island and hand you over to."
"When that time comes, whether you want to extort people or file a complaint, it will have nothing to do with us."
After saying that, Zephyr stopped looking at her face. He turned around and gave an order to his adjutant, Baker, behind him. "Find them a chamber pot, then secure the windows and lock the door."
"Baker, find two men to guard the door. Remember, without my permission, no one is allowed to open the door for them, and no one is allowed to give them anything! Not even a single drop of water!"
"Yes, sir!"
Baker replied loudly. Although he felt frustrated, he carried out the order without hesitation. A few strong Marines immediately stepped forward and roughly forced Miss Bakkin back into the corner.
"Oh, so this is how the Marines treat their guests? You're locking us up?"
Right before the cabin door closed, Miss Bakkin's sarcastic voice came through the crack again, filled with mockery. "How hypocritical. You talk about justice and mercy, but in the end, aren't you still locking us up like criminals?"
"You purple-haired old man, why act so noble? You clearly want to throw us overboard, but you still feed us because of your ridiculous pride? You are really making yourself suffer! Gahahaha!"
Slam!
The heavy cabin door slammed shut. As the thick bolt fell into place, her awful laughter was finally cut off behind the door.
The hallway fell into a heavy silence.
Only the sound of the thunderstorm outside and the waves crashing against the ship echoed through the hallway.
Zephyr stood outside the cabin door and did not move for a long time.
His back still looked firm, but only Hina, who was closest to him, could see that her teacher's clenched fists had gone white from how hard he was clenching them.
"Teacher—"
Ain followed behind Zephyr with her head down, her voice shaking as she held back her anger.
"Why? They are clearly the ones making trouble for no reason. They are clearly the ones being ungrateful—"
"Why do we still keep that kind of scum on the ship? Feeding our rations to people like that."
"With such huge waves just now, if you hadn't ignored the danger and jumped into the sea to swim over and save them yourself, Teacher, those two would have been dead long ago!"
Ain snapped her head up, feeling frustrated and wronged for her teacher. "You saved their lives! But what about them? Not only did they not say a single thank you, they turned around and tried to extort us!"
Not just Ain, but Binz, Hina, and the other Marines around them also stopped walking and looked at Zephyr.
Their eyes were full of confusion and frustration, and some even began to question this kind of justice.
They had joined the Marines for their ideals, and they wore this uniform to protect good people. But now, reality had hit them hard.
Zephyr stopped walking.
He turned around and looked at these young faces. He could see the fire in their eyes—their anger at what had happened and their confusion about justice.
"It's not worth it."
Zephyr took off his sunglasses, looked at Ain, and said calmly, "Feeding rations to people like that is indeed not worth it. If an ordinary person met bastards like them, they would have kicked them into the sea long ago."
"Then why—"
"Because we are Marines."
Zephyr interrupted Ain. His voice was not loud, but it was clear even through the wind and rain. "Ain, and all of you, remember this."
"Justice is not a game, and it is not a tool for us to vent our anger. It is a line we must hold, and it is the duty that comes with this uniform."
Zephyr pointed to the large word "Justice" on the back of their coats, his expression becoming extremely serious. "If we decide someone deserves to die just because their words are vile or because they are greedy and shameless, and then take their lives by our own judgment—"
"Then what is the difference between us and those lawless pirates?"
"Pirates kill out of greed and rage. But Marines cannot. The guns and swords in a Marine's hands can only point at criminals who break the law and hurt innocent people."
"That old woman and her son are shameless and greedy, but up until now, they have not committed any actual crimes. They are just... awful civilians who have not crossed the legal line yet."
Zephyr took a deep breath. His tone was helpless, but his belief did not waver. "What we must do is protect the rules that keep justice from becoming personal revenge."
"If even we cannot hold this line, then this world will fall into chaos."
Zephyr reached out his rough, calloused hand and gently patted Ain's shaking shoulder, his gaze softening slightly. "I know you feel wronged, and I am very angry too. But this is the weight we must bear when we carry the word 'Justice'."
"Endure it for a bit. Tomorrow at dawn, when we send them away, it will all be over."
"Alright, dismiss. Take turns guarding tonight and watch out for the storm. Don't let people like this ruin your mood."
Hearing their teacher's earnest advice, the recruits still felt disgusted, but Zephyr's firm words forced down the anger that had almost burst out.
"Yes, Teacher!"
Ain sniffled and saluted.
Although she still could not fully understand her teacher's strict sense of justice, she believed in him. If her teacher said it was right, then she would believe it was right.
"Alright, everyone go rest. We have to meet up with G-17 branch tomorrow. Don't show up with dark circles under your eyes and let that kid Aiden laugh at you."
Zephyr waved his hand. He watched his students gradually scatter, then walked toward the bridge alone.
The hallway lights stretched his shadow across the floor.
He needed some time alone to clear his mind.
For some reason, the old woman's final twisted, greedy look gave him an uneasy feeling.
It looked exactly like the look the pirate who destroyed his family had right before attacking.
"I hope... I'm just overthinking it."
Zephyr rubbed his temples, forced himself to put his unease aside, and hurried toward the control room.
The night went on.
The storm showed no sign of stopping. Instead, it became even fiercer. Strong winds and waves slammed into the hull again and again, making the metal groan.
This terrible weather drowned out all smaller sounds.
Inside the lower-deck cabin.
Although the door was locked tight, the violent tossing of the ship could still be felt.
Spit!
Miss Bakkin spat onto the ground. The pitiful look she had been faking completely disappeared, replaced by pure malice and a calculating stare.
She pulled a piece of dried meat she had hidden earlier out of her shirt, stuffed it into her mouth, and chewed hard. Her tiny eyes gleamed in the dim light.
"That old bastard—"
Miss Bakkin cursed, "Acting like such a good person. He gives us a little food and we have to listen to him lecture us. Does he really think I'm a beggar?"
She turned her head to look at her foolish son, who was dozing off in the corner. She reached out with her bony hand and slapped his huge thigh hard.
"Son, stop sleeping! Get up!"
"Mmm... Mommy... I'm sleepy..."
Weevil rubbed his eyes and muttered half-asleep, a snot bubble growing and shrinking as he breathed.
"Sleepy? You useless thing!"
Miss Bakkin scolded him in frustration, then lowered her voice, her tone turning cold. "That purple-haired old man is tough. He is very strong."
"But it doesn't matter. You are the strongest. You are a monster with the strength of that man in his youth! We didn't fight earlier because I didn't want to ruin our appetite. Now that we're full, it's time to work."
As an old veteran who had spent many years on the sea and had even followed the Rocks Pirates, Miss Bakkin was greedy, but she had sharp instincts.
She saw at a glance that Zephyr was not to be messed with, which was why she only tested him earlier and did not make her son attack right away.
"But—"
Miss Bakkin sneered, looking at the tightly closed iron door. Her eyes were full of mockery. "He is too stupid. Truly too stupid."
"Since he saw that something was wrong with us, he didn't kill us, and he didn't even tie us up. He just left us inside the belly of this ship."
"He might as well have handed us a knife."
She stood up, walked over to Weevil, stood on her toes, and leaned into his ear. Speaking in a coaxing voice, she said, "Son, did you hear that? Those Marines outside were just insulting you."
"Huh?"
Weevil, whose eyes had been dull, suddenly opened them wide.
In that instant, a wild, beast-like glint flashed through his eyes.
"Insult... insulting me?"
"Yes, they said you are an idiot, a pig who only knows how to eat free food. They also said you aren't Whitebeard's son at all, and that you're just an unwanted bastard."
Miss Bakkin kept stirring up his anger, her voice getting sharper and sharper as she dug into Weevil's simple mind. "They even said they are going to arrest Mommy tomorrow morning, lock me up in Impel Down, and kill you to feed the fish!"
"No... No!"
Weevil's breathing instantly became heavy. His massive body began to shake.
He tightly clenched his giant fists, his knuckles cracking loudly.
The muscles on his arms bulged, and his veins looked ready to burst.
"Can't take Mommy! No one can bully Mommy! I am Whitebeard's son! I am the strongest!"
"That's right, good boy. You are the strongest."
Miss Bakkin grinned.
She pointed to the heavy steel cabin door and gave the order. "Go, smash the door open."
"This big ship will be ours from now on. There are lots of treasures and lots of good food on board."
"Remember to save that old man's watch for Mommy."
"As for everyone else—"
Miss Bakkin made a throat-slitting gesture, no longer hiding that she wanted them dead. "Kill them all."
"I got it, Mommy."
Weevil slowly stood up.
At that moment, he was no longer that snot-nosed giant fool.
A brutal strength filled his bulky body. It was power made purely for destruction, the strength of a monster said to have inherited the blood of the strongest man on the sea.
Outside the door.
The two young Marines on guard were leaning against the wall, listening to the rain outside and chatting idly.
They were Zephyr's students. Although they were a bit confused by their teacher's decision, they still carried out their duty.
"Just our luck. We got stuck guarding these two ungrateful wretches."
The Marine on the left tightened his clothes and complained, "Tell me about it. That giant idiot ate all of our rations, and my stomach is growling right now. That old woman even acted disgusted. It really pisses me off."
"Forget it, just bear with it. Teacher is right, we are Marines. We shouldn't drop to their level—"
The Marine on the right yawned and was about to change his posture to stand guard.
Suddenly.
He felt the wall behind his back shake violently.
A cold fear ran through his body.
"What was that noise?"
He instinctively turned his head to look at the tightly closed cabin door.
Before he could even see anything clearly.
BOOM!
A deafening blast ripped through the hallway.
A brutal force burst straight out from inside the room!
The cabin door, which was ten centimeters thick, along with the entire doorframe, was blown outward like thin wood!
"Wh—"
The two Marines did not even have time to react or scream.
The huge door panel slammed them hard against the opposite wall as if they weighed nothing!
Splat!
Blood splattered everywhere, and the sound of shattering bones was drowned out by the roar.
Two mangled bodies slid down the wall, staining the cabin dark red.
Amid the rising dust and smoke.
A tall figure walked slowly out of the darkness.
He did not even look at the two mangled bodies beneath his feet. He simply reached down and picked up one of the dropped sabers from the pool of blood. The standard-issue saber, which was perfectly sized for an ordinary person, looked ridiculous in his giant hands, like a toy. But he did not hesitate at all. He casually swung it through the air twice, and the blade whistled sharply.
"Mommy said..."
There was no expression on Weevil's face, only an unsettling mix of innocence and cruelty. "To kill you... all of you."