"The Admiral who refused to kill... He died over a decade ago!"
With that thought, Zephyr's killing intent surged even higher.
His powerful right leg snapped upward, releasing a slicing wave of purple energy.
As a Navy instructor, Zephyr's mastery of the Rokushiki was on a whole different level.
His Rankyaku, imbued with Armament Haki, tore through the ground like paper— far deadlier than the sword strikes of an ordinary swordsman.
Doflamingo's brow twitched. The wings at his back snapped forward, shielding him.
Boom!
The Haki-coated wings met the oncoming slash—and shattered.
Feathers scattered in every direction, glittering under the rising sun like a burst of color.
But Doflamingo himself stood unharmed.
Threads shot from his body, burrowing into the ground, steadying his form.
The awakened power of his String-String Fruit surged through the earth, and his smirk deepened.
"Attacking the Navy? Aren't they just the lapdogs of the Celestial Dragons? Aren't they supposed to take a beating and smile through it? Besides, I'm just here to pay my respects to Navy Hero Garp. He did save a lot of my people back in the day, after all."
His respect for Garp was genuine.
After all, the man had raised a rebellious son, two defiant grandsons, and still hadn't dropped dead from anger—that took a big heart.
If it had been him? Zoffy would've been six feet under by now.
"You deceitful villain! Twisting words to justify evil!"
Zephyr charged, muscles bulging with an overwhelming, wordless force.
The Celestial Dragons—
They were a wound the Navy could never speak of.
The Navy stood for justice.
But their rulers, the Celestial Dragons, embodied corruption.
And even if that was true...
It wasn't Doflamingo's place to say it!
"Fufufufufu... no need to get so worked up!"
Doflamingo chuckled, clenching his fists. Watching these righteous Navy types squirm? Always amusing.
"Lies don't hurt people. The truth—that's the real knife. Face it. Accept reality!"
The earth, fused with his awakened powers, trembled beneath them.
Two massive fists burst from the ground, aiming to crush Zephyr mid-flight.
But Zephyr was no ordinary Admiral.
Even in the future, gasping from asthma and missing an arm, he could still go toe-to-toe with his former student, Admiral Kizaru.
And right now, in his prime?
This was the man whose punches once left even young Hawk-Eye and Red-Haired Shanks scrambling.
Zephyr spun midair, landing squarely atop one of the fists.
The sheer force from his legs blew it apart.
His mastery over Seimei Kikan—the art of total bodily control—kept him untouched.
And he used the momentum to accelerate, closing the distance even faster.
"Surrender, Doflamingo! Or retreat from this battlefield!!!"
Crack!
The ground split apart.
What answered Zephyr's roar was a massive leg, lashing out.
"So fast!"
Zephyr's pupils shrank. With his Observation Haki, he could clearly trace the kick's path. But the speed—blinding as lightning—and the sheer unpredictability of the strike left no room to dodge.
All he could do was cross his arms and coat his body entirely in Haki.
Boom!
The impact hit like a cannon.
Zephyr broke the sound barrier, rocketing skyward like a missile.
Up in the air, he stomped down with Geppo, killing his momentum.
From his vantage point, he eyed Doflamingo, whose every step made the ground writhe like a living thing.
A grim light flashed in Zephyr's eyes.
This...
This was the sign of an awakened Devil Fruit!
"Fufufufufu... that won't do, old man. I'm a premium business partner—I have to look out for my clients!"
His thunderous voice rolled across the battlefield, pulling every eye toward him.
Doflamingo's slender form was gone.
In his place stood a war god, towering and vast, rooted deep into the ground.
A colossus that blotted out the sky.
Far away, the Charlottes' faces lit up with joy.
They'd seen this form back on Whole Cake Island.
The same form that had wrestled with Kaido—and won.
With a fresh shockwave, he forced Whitebeard to retreat yet again.
From the rear, Sengoku turned and caught sight of Doflamingo's monstrous form, his pupils contracting in shock.
The things born from awakened Devil Fruits...
Just in size alone, they dwarfed even the giant race many times over.
Could Zephyr, gasping for air, really stop that?
Mihawk, still locked in fierce combat with Tsuru, looked grimmer by the second.
Back then, this man had defeated him—
And he hadn't even used this monstrous form.
Just how far behind these titans was he, really?
"Then this is where your life ends, Doflamingo!"
Zephyr, plummeting from the sky, bellowed.
His fists, clenched tight, gleamed with an intense Armament Haki so dense it warped the very air.
His descent was so fast his skin flushed red from the heat of friction.
A man this dangerous— could not be allowed to walk free!!!
"Fufufufufu... ends here? No. I— I am the tidal wave that leads to the future!!!"
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Fanfic is finished 527 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg