Sitting beside Zephyr's hospital bed, Cudius held a cup of hot tea in his hands, his expression thoughtful.

  "Is Edward Weevil really e's son?" Cudius asked while taking a sip of tea.

  Sengoku shook his head and replied, "There are too many people on the sea g to be the children of famous pirates. Let me tell you, Yhness, there are even people g to be Roger's son."

  For a brief moment, a flicker of embarrassment fshed across Cudius's face. Meanwhile, Garp, chewing on a senbei, preteo know nothing.

  Sengoku, oblivious to the unspoken exge, tinued, "Marine doesn't have any crete information on Weevil's pareher."

  "You haven't iigated?" Cudius asked.

  "Nress," Sengoku admitted. "Unless ture him and duct a blood test with e, we 't say for sure."

  But Cudius khat approach ractically useless. Even if Weevil turned out to be Whitebeard's biological son, what difference would it make?

  "Regardless of his lihere's no doubt that he's extremely powerful," Sengoku said, his tone serious.

  Zephyr nodded in agreement. "That's true."

  "The reports I received say that he defeated you. Is that…?" Cudius trailed off, hesitating.

  He had almost blurted out 'How strong someone be if they mao defeat you?' but realized how tactless that would sound.

  Zephyr, however, didn't seem bothered. He waved a hand dismissively and said, "Looking back, maybe that art of his 'strategy.'"

  Cudius raised an eyebrow.

  Everyone on the sea khat Weevil was not a strategic thinker. A, he mao nd a decisive blow on Zephyr?

  "It was his… mother? Or whatever she is to him," Zephyr said with a hint of frustration. "That woman shouted for him to surrender, and Weevil actually stopped. When I let my guard down, she suddenly gave the order to attack again, and he followed without hesitation. I didn't even have time to react."

  It was uandable. Zephyr had never fought Weevil before and wasn't familiar with his erratic behavior. To be caught off guard like that was unfortu irely surprising.

  Hearing Zephyr's expnation, Cudius uood the situation. Weevil's immerength wasn't exaggerated, even if his intelligence was g. His raw power alone made him a dangerous foe.

  "That guy… He might actually have the same level of strength Whitebeard had in his youth," Zephyr said, almost as if he didn't want to believe it.

  Garp, mung on another senbei, casually added, "He's tough as hell too."

  "When he was carrying his mother areating, I least three full-power punches on him," Garp said. "A, he didn't seem too badly hurt. At least, not on the surface. His body is something else. He might be another monster."

  From a purely physical standpoint, Weevil was an anomaly. The injuries he had sustained, ohat should have been fatal, seemed to barely slow him down. His body bore stitched-up wounds that would have killed an ordinary maimes over.

  "There's a ce it's an ability," Zephyr specuted. "But we don't know what it is."

  "Unlimited strength, insane durability, and the ability to release shockwaves," Garp listed off. "No signs of transformation, no elemental traits. That rules out Zoan and Logia abilities… unless he's got a Mythical Zoan."

  Cudius wasn't particurly ied in breaking down Weevil's abilities. Instead, he said, "No matter how strong he is, that's not a reason to let him go unpunished."

  At those words, the room fell silent.

  Cudius sighed. "You're all worried about Whitebeard, aren't you?"

  Sengoku met Cudius's gaze, then nodded. "That's right."

  "Yhness, Marine has made great progress in the New World, but pared to the likes of Whitebeard, we still have a long way to go. If we take a against Weevil and Whitebeard intervenes, we could spark an all-out war. That's not in our best i."

  Cudius murmured, "A head-on battle with Whitebeard in the New World would indeed be risky… So, are you saying you want to back down?"

  "Absolutely not," Sengoku said firmly. "From the beginning, I said we o take a long-term approaot that we should abandoribution. If we don't take a, how would Mariain its credibility after what happeo Zephyr?"

  Garp grinned. "It's not about avoiding reve's about being smart about it. We 't let this slide, or Marine will lose face."

  Cudius had initially assumed that Marine wouldn't a Zephyr's behalf. After all, in the inal timelihey had let the matter drop, even going so far as to make Weevil a Warlord. That ina had driven Zephyr to gue and bee a radical threat to Mariself.

  But looking at Sengoku and Garp now, Cudius realized that Marine wouldn't stay idle after all. Perhaps in this version of events, things would py out differently.

  "You've got a pn, don't you?" Cudius asked.

  "This could be an opportunity," Sengoku said, his eyes gleaming with calcution.

  Zephyr remained silent, lost in thought.

  Cudius furrowed his brows. "An opportunity? You're thinking of making a move on Whitebeard?"

  "Why not?" Sengoku asked, raising an eyebrow.

  Cudius chuckled. "Oh, I'm not against it. Marine hunting pirates, that's pletely reasonable."

  After a pause, he tinued, "But weren't you just saying you wao avoid an all-out fight?"

  "That's for a disorderly battle," Sengoku expined. "But if we arrahings on our terms, that ges everything."

  Cudius nodded in uanding. "So what's the pn?"

  Sengoku chuckled. "It's only been a few days. There's no p, just an idea. Right now, we're just discussing iions, so there's o worry."

  Cudius froze for a moment. This again?

  The st time Sengoku said something was merely an "iion," it was the precursor to an eborate scheme that took down Big Mom. And now he ulling the same stunt?

  Sengoku seemed to sense Cudius's skepticism and coughed awkwardly. "I mean it this time, there really isn't a detailed p. Don't get the wrong idea."

  "…Fine, I'll believe you this time," Cudius muttered.

  Sengoku tinued, "The idea is to use Weevil as a focal point, to uncover his true retionship with e, or better yet, to stir up flict between Whitebeard's biological son and his 'adopted' sons."

  "If a fight breaks out among them, and a few get taken out in the process… well, let's see how e reacts."

  Sengoku's tone was casual, but his i was anything but.

  Cudius was momentarily stunned. Damn, that's cold.

  Assuming Weevil really is Whitebeard's biological son, you're pnning to have him kill off Whitebeard's adopted sons just to see how the old mas?

  That's ruthless… but holy, kind of genius.

  Of course, whether or not it would work was another matter. Pirates werely known for pying by logical rules.

  Zephyr finally spoke up, turning to Cudius. "Yhness, what do you think?"

  Cudius smirked and said, "Well, since you're on board with it, I have no objes."

  ***

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