Chapter 149: Teasing Zephyr.

Marineford – Marine Headquarters Hospital

Zephyr lay on a soft hospital bed, his face flushed and his forehead wrapped in several layers of thick white bandages.

Standing beside him was Chiga, looking visibly embarrassed. Kalifa and Ain stood on either side of him, while Sengoku and the others stood opposite. Even Akainu, Aokiji, and Kizaru were present.

Ordinarily, Kizaru wouldn't have bothered visiting someone in the hospital, but this time was different—the patient was his most, most, most respected teacher, Zephyr.

How could he miss the chance to show up?

Since Zephyr didn't seem to be in any real danger, Kizaru decided to "comfort" him in his own unique way.

He patted the quilt covering Zephyr and spoke with an exaggerated tone that he probably thought expressed sorrow.

"Oh dear, Zephyr-sensei, are you alright? Really, at your age, you're still picking fights with little brother Chiga? That's way too dangerous. You're a national treasure of the Marines!"

Everyone present twitched at Kizaru's dramatics. It was so obviously fake that it bordered on parody.

Those familiar with the relationship between Kizaru and Zephyr knew the truth—Kizaru wasn't there to show concern. He was there to mess with him.

Sure enough, Zephyr's face darkened immediately. He squinted at Kizaru and said coldly,

"Borsalino, do you think I can't tell when you're being sarcastic? You're probably hoping I'll just lie here quietly and retire, aren't you?"

"Zephyr-sensei, that hurts me deeply. Who doesn't know I respect you the most?"

"Heh, if you truly respected me, you'd shut your mouth and get lost."

"Alrighty then!"

Hearing his teacher's warm "affection," Kizaru casually pulled a nail clipper from his pocket, found a corner, and started trimming his nails.

Zephyr rolled his eyes. There was just no winning with this guy.

In truth, their relationship wasn't as bad as it looked. There was some strange love-hate bond between them.

At the end of the movie, when Kizaru fired off Yasakani no Magatama, the glint in his glasses wasn't just light—it could've been tears.

Maybe even someone like Kizaru, who acted indifferent to everything, had trouble saying goodbye to Zephyr-sensei.

---

After Kizaru settled down, Zephyr turned his gaze to Chiga. Although his injuries were the result of their battle, there was no anger in his eyes—only admiration.

Seeing Ain pouting and pinching Chiga's waist, Zephyr immediately spoke up.

"Ain, stop that. I was the one who asked Chiga to fight me. None of this is his fault."

What Zephyr didn't realize was that Ain wasn't actually pinching him hard—she was just putting on a show, afraid Zephyr might blame Chiga. With the way she felt about him, she could never truly hurt him.

Sure enough, after Zephyr's words, Ain stopped and subtly rubbed Chiga's waist in apology.

But how could her small actions escape Zephyr's sharp eyes?

He smiled helplessly. He understood her feelings, but decided not to comment further.

Chiga, on the other hand, was a bit flustered. After using Haki to defeat Zephyr, he had wanted to help him recover using Iwanagahime.

But Zephyr refused outright with an oddly enthusiastic reason.

He said he hadn't had such a fulfilling battle in a long time, and a few injuries were nothing. In fact, he wanted a scar—something he could proudly point to and say:

"This was left by my favorite student, Uchiha Chiga!"

To be honest, Chiga genuinely suspected Zephyr had suffered some head trauma.

After all, Zephyr had always been stubborn, and ever since eating the Ox-King Fruit, he had become downright unyielding. He flatly refused Chiga's healing offer.

He paid for it soon after. When Sengoku saw his condition, he immediately summoned medics with stretchers.

In the end, Zephyr was hauled off, grumbling the whole way, only to end up in the hospital, being "publicly executed" by everyone's teasing.

And that scar he wanted so badly? It probably wouldn't even survive the treatment—if anything, the skin might end up smoother than before.

Truly, karma comes quickly.

---

Though Zephyr claimed it didn't matter, Chiga still offered his apologies.

After all, he respected his teacher deeply.

Standing beside the bed, Chiga said sincerely,

"Zephyr-sensei, regardless of anything, this was my fault. Please rest well for a few days."

"Heh, I'm proud of your strength, but I don't like what you just said. I lost fair and square. Even without those strange powers, your Haki alone is second to none in the world!"

As soon as Zephyr finished, Kizaru—still trimming his nails—suddenly sneezed. He rubbed his nose and muttered,

"Oh, absolutely, absolutely."

Akainu and Aokiji exchanged glances, clearly irritated by Kizaru, but chose not to say anything.

Then, with a shared look, they silently nodded to each other. The tension between them seemed to ease.

Sengoku, seeing the peaceful mood in the room, smiled and said,

"Alright, enough. It was all just a misunderstanding. Why don't we have dinner together tonight? Let's celebrate Chiga's promotion to Admiral while we're at it."

Just as Sengoku spoke, Zephyr locked eyes with him.

"Hm? What is it, Zephyr?" Sengoku asked, stroking his beard. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Zephyr sneered. He didn't hold a grudge against Chiga, but he had plenty of thoughts about Sengoku.

In his mind, if Sengoku hadn't meddled, he wouldn't be stuck in a hospital bed, teased by Borsalino.

Now this old man wanted to act like the good guy?

Dream on.

Zephyr grinned and said,

"Sengoku, when I'm out of this hospital… how about we have a sparring match? I'd really like to learn from you how to develop my Devil Fruit abilities. What do you say?"

"Cough, cough! I… I just remembered I have some unfinished paperwork. You all go ahead and eat without me!"

---

Send stones.