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“… ”
Along the coastline of Marineford, there was complete silence.
Nearly everyone stared in disbelief at the massive mushroom cloud rising from the distant sea and the towering waves it had stirred up. Their eyes were wide, and their jaws were practically hanging open.
“No… I… That was…”
The commentator couldn’t form a coherent sentence. He lost his breath for a moment and nearly fainted.
A nearby staff member hurried forward.
“Mr. Bonez seems to be unwell. Let’s take a commercial break.”
“Commercial my ass!” The next second, the commentator jolted upright as if resurrected from his sickbed.
He shoved the staff member aside; his face was flushed red. As an elite employee of the World Economy Newspaper, he naturally understood the magnitude of what had just occurred.
Because if he hadn’t seen it wrong, no, he couldn’t have seen it wrong.
The person who just made that move was…
“The former Marine Admiral! A legend of the previous era… ‘Black Arm’ Zephyr!”
His drawn-out voice carried unprecedented shock.
“This Admiral, retired for many years, has chosen to act at this very moment. Without a doubt, this is the true content of the final exam!”
“The contestants must face him!”
As he roared these words, it felt as though the sea itself had been ignited.
“Eh?!?” ×N
Cries of disbelief echoed from all over the world.
Meanwhile…
“I remember the original plan wasn’t like this.” At the highest point of the podium, Vice Admiral Tsuru had moved to stand beside Sengoku and was speaking softly.
“Mm.” Sengoku nodded. “The original plan was for me to act as the final examiner. But this was Zephyr’s own request.”
Tsuru was silent for a moment. “So he’s finally made up his mind?”
As Zephyr’s longtime comrades, they both knew the thought that had lingered in his heart for years, ever since that incident.
“Mm.” Sengoku nodded again.
Tsuru frowned slightly and sighed.
“Haha, haha, haha!” Garp’s hearty laughter came from behind them before he spoke. “So that old bastard Zephyr finally figured it out, huh? I told him a long time ago to just go for it. Always hesitating, that guy… kā chā.”
The Hero of the Marines strolled over while crunching on senbei.
“… Garp. This is being broadcast live.” Sengoku reminded him, looking at the crumbs covering Garp’s face.
Garp blinked. “Huh? So what?”
“… Never mind.”
Seeing the question marks practically floating over Garp’s head, Sengoku gave up trying to preserve the Marines’ dignity. There was no point.
Instead, he corrected Garp’s earlier words.
“He wasn’t hesitating. Zephyr just wanted to be certain of his choice.”
The three of them fell silent.
After a moment, Tsuru spoke again. “But no matter what, isn’t this a bit over the top?”
“… ”
Sengoku was silent for a while, then reluctantly nodded.
According to the plan, Zephyr was supposed to enter the forest about half an hour before the countdown ended and begin testing the contestants’ combat ability, evasion, defense, and concealment skills by hunting them.
However, Zephyr clearly hadn’t followed that plan.
Sengoku rubbed his forehead.
“One after another… and now even Zephyr. None of them listen to commands.”
Garp burst out laughing again.
“Haha! Isn’t this great? It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Zephyr throw such a serious punch!”
As he said this, all three of them kept their eyes on the distant island. The enormous cloud of smoke, nearly shaped like a mushroom cloud, had begun to disperse, revealing the state of the island below.
That was the source of their concern.
At that moment… the island, which had once been covered in a vast forest, no longer had a forest.
The Martial Exercise Island was funded by the “King of Loan Sharks,” constructed with the world’s finest island foundation materials transported by the “Deep Sea Current,” and built by craftsmen hired by the “King of Warehouse…”
…was now almost completely ruined.
Where the forest once stood, a massive crater now sat, sunken inward from the very center. The enormous depression spread outward in all directions, obliterating nearly every tree.
Huge chunks of stone and shattered timber were scattered everywhere, especially at the center of the crater, where the force of the impact had been concentrated.
It looked as though a meteorite had smashed straight into it.
At that moment, the “meteor” itself stood at the center of the crater.
“Haha, not bad at all!” Swinging the enormous mechanical arm with ease, Zephyr laughed boldly.
Behind his sunglasses, his gaze shifted toward something not far away.
“Still, you two did pretty well.”
He was clearly referring to the two figures standing before him.
“Hā… hā…”
Wrapped in flame-like clouds and holding her famed blade, the half-human, half-rabbit figure was… Momousagi Gion.
“Huff… huff…”
Clad in a bloodstained white suit, with his ceremonial hat knocked away, that was…. CP0’s Guernica.
Through the live Den Den Mushi broadcast, everyone could see, all the other contestants, whether hiding or in the midst of battle, were already down.
Yes.
There was no “careful hunting, defeating them one by one,” as Sengoku had originally planned.
Zephyr’s single punch instantly pushed the competition straight to the finals.
“Big Brother Zephyr… It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you like this.” Momousagi Gion spoke softly.
Her graceful figure rose and fell violently as she gasped for breath. Yet, even as she breathed, her body gradually straightened. The wounds on her body began to visibly heal.
The terrifying vitality of a Zoan Devil Fruit user after awakening was on full display at that moment. She hadn’t fully recovered, but she had at least regained the ability to fight.
“You’ve grown stronger, too, Gion.” Zephyr looked at her as if she were a younger sister, but his response was…
“Clang!”
…the crisp ringing of a blade and Gion lowering her stance like a hunting leopard.
“No, I’m still not strong enough.” She spoke calmly. There was no softness on her pretty face, only the sharpness unique to a swordsman.
She knew she wasn’t strong enough. At least, not in front of this man, because she had seen him in his prime.
But that was perfect.
“I joined this Three-Forces Military Exercise to make my sword sharper! Big Brother Zephyr, Gion seeks your guidance!”
As she spoke, Busoshoku Haki covered her entire body.
Momousagi vanished from where she stood.
Her speed triggered a terrifying sonic boom in the air.
“Boom!”
It far surpassed the normal limits of Soru by an unknown amount.
But that was only the beginning.
Because what followed…
“Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!”
…were the sounds of countless sonic explosions.
Wherever Gion passed, her overwhelming speed sliced the already shattered ground smooth once more, sending smoke and dust into the air.
But the dust had no time to rise before it was torn apart.
It was shattered by the countless figures appearing in the air… and the snowflakes drifting around them.
No…
There were no figures.
Those were afterimages.
There were no snowflakes, either.
Those were blade lights!
The intertwining streaks of pink and snow-white afterimages and blade lights became like the comet’s tail, tracing the path of the swordsman named Momousagi.
Everything in his path was cut apart!
“Snow Country Flash · Jade Rabbit Hunt!”
Along the coastline, the audience nearly forgot how to breathe.
“Can you all see it? That is the true power of Admiral Candidate Momousagi Gion!”
The commentator’s voice thundered. Even those unfamiliar with combat could see how terrifying this strike was.
Haki: Swordsmanship. Strength. And the extreme speed granted by the Snow Rabbit Devil Fruit Awakening.
Despite having already suffered Zephyr’s previous blow and sustaining severe injuries, the power of this attack was still shocking.
Many of the Marine Vice Admirals present knew… that even a stray sliver of that blade would be enough to wound them severely.
But…
Facing Gion’s offensive, which seemed capable of grinding everything into powder, Zephyr’s wild smile did not fade in the slightest.
In fact, it widened.
“Not bad.”
As he spoke, Gion’s slash arrived.
A streak of blade light shot down from an extremely tricky angle.
Speed. Power. Timing. Angle.
Momousagi was certain that every aspect of this strike was perfect.
However…
“Gion, today there is something I absolutely must do.”
Zephyr didn’t even turn his head. In the next instant, his left fist swung out. Wrapped in Haki, the punch was not fast but precise to the extreme.
“Clang!”
For a split second, it felt as though time itself had frozen.
The blade light halted.
Gion’s figure solidified clearly at Zephyr’s side. The battle intent and focus on her face instantly turned to unconcealed shock.
Her Konpira… that indestructible Supreme Grade blade and one of the 21 Ō Wazamono… was now being held by Zephyr’s bare hand.
The muscles in his palm were taut, and Haki flowed across them so densely that his hand no longer seemed human.
“Black Body Style… pushed to this extent…”
Gion’s pupils contracted sharply. Instinctively, she tried to retreat.
But clearly… it was already too late. The next instant, the massive mechanical arm smashed into her waist.
The overwhelming force exploded outward. The webbing between her thumbs and index fingers split open as she gripped her sword.
It felt as though a battleship had rammed into her. She only had time to let out a muffled groan before the impact violently blasted her body away!
“Boom…”
She crashed heavily into the ground.
Struggling, she tried to force herself back up.
But…
“Thud.”
Her vision went black.
In the end, she couldn’t get up again. Her rabbit ears drooped weakly, and the flame-like clouds surrounding her dissipated.
And so…
“It’s over!” The commentator’s voice cracked, making the audience feel as though their hearts were on a roller coaster.
“Vice Admiral Gion, even with an attack of that level, was taken down in a single strike by Admiral Zephyr! No, don’t remind me. I know she was already injured, but even so, this is still… Is this the legend of the previous generation of Marines? Is this what a true former Admiral looks like?!”
As his hoarse shout echoed through the room, the expressions of the three admirals in attendance changed.
“Zephyr-sensei…” Aokiji frowned deeply.
“Oh my, he’s really serious, huh? In this state, Zephyr-sensei is terrifying.” Even Kizaru’s usually casual tone carried a hint of astonishment.
“At his age and given the SSG’s reported physical condition, sustaining combat at this intensity isn’t normal.” Akainu’s expression was equally grave as he spoke.
Yes.
As Zephyr’s former students and current Marine Admirals, they could all see it clearly:
Zephyr’s condition was abnormal.
This aging Admiral, who had suffered too many injuries and long since fallen from his peak, was displaying power far beyond his usual state.
It might not be his absolute prime, but it was dangerously close.
He was serious. He was serious to the point of exceeding his body’s limits.
Meanwhile, on the battlefield…
“…”
Guernica stood with his arms folded, but cold sweat slid down his face.
This old man is too strong.
He is completely outmatched.
He made the judgment internally. He hadn’t escaped the earlier shockwave unscathed himself. Unlike Gion, he wasn’t a Devil Fruit user and didn’t possess that terrifying regenerative vitality.
In fact, his condition was worse than Gion’s.
“If we fight, I’ll be taken down in one blow.”
That was his conclusion.
And yet… Guernica didn’t care.
Gion was already down. Although the final exam hadn’t ended, he was effectively in first place. The mission assigned to him by the World Government could be considered accomplished.
So, even if he were to be defeated now… it wouldn’t matter.
“Hey!”
At that moment, Guernica heard Zephyr’s voice.
“You brat! How long are you going to stay over there?” Zephyr shouted.
But Guernica was certain… that it wasn’t directed at him.
Zephyr’s gaze was fixed elsewhere, at the very center of the crater. The place where countless shattered trees and massive rocks were piled high.
Guernica: “… ”
And then…
“Old man, you really went all out, huh?”
From within the heap of rocks and splintered wood… a voice answered back.
(End Of This Chapter)
You can read ahead up to 15 chapters on my Patreon: https://www.p*treon.com/darkshadow6395