"Watch out for the thunderclouds above!!!"
"Don't rush into the sea to rescue anyone! The water over there isn't safe!"
"Everyone, land immediately!!!"
"Hurry, hurry—over here! Over here!"
"..."
"..."
After Nami sank two Marine warships in quick succession, the entire Marine fleet instantly descended into chaos.
Even though Zephyr led several Vice Admirals into the sky using Moonwalk to pursue her…
Under the extreme agility of Nami's flying techniques, even a former Admiral like Zephyr was unable to do anything to her.
After all, his strength had already begun to decline with age, and the air was not a battlefield where he held absolute dominion.
In the end, he could only watch as Nami destroyed two Marine warships and disappeared into the distance.
Out of fewer than twenty Marine warships, casualties had already occurred before they even reached the shore.
With no other choice, Zephyr finally issued the order for all personnel to land as quickly as possible.
And then—
"Rumble Ball—Monster Point!!!"
"ROOOAR—!!!"
Accompanied by a thunderous shockwave that echoed through the heavens, a gigantic antlered monster suddenly appeared at the landing point of the Marine forces.
Before the Marines could even process what was happening, the enormous beast swung its hardened claws and slammed them down toward the soldiers on the ground.
Howling gales tore through the air.
With every swipe of its claws, dozens of Marines were sent flying.
It was yet another completely one-sided slaughter.
"Damn it! Is that monster also a member of the Straw Hat Pirates?!"
"How can they have so many Devil Fruit users?!"
Seeing this scene, Zephyr clenched his teeth in fury.
Although he had been forced into this mission at a time when Marine manpower was severely lacking,
at this stage of his life, Zephyr's loyalty to the Marines was still beyond question.
He leapt into the air, his fluttering purple hair whipping violently in the fierce wind like strands of seaweed.
Despite his aged body, his movements were still nimble as he bounded across the warships, quickly arriving at the landing zone.
Zephyr raised the Marine-issued Battle Smasher in his hands, aiming the massive cannon straight at Chopper in the distance.
"Die, pirate!!!"
Ever since his family had been murdered thirty years ago, Zephyr had long abandoned the title of "Non-Killer."
Without hesitation, he activated the Battle Smasher's maximum output.
However, just as the blazing muzzle was about to fire, a pitch-black spatial wormhole abruptly appeared in front of him.
In the next instant, Red's figure blinked into existence behind Zephyr. With a light chuckle, he said:
"Sorry about that, Marine sir."
"My partner is at a critical moment in mastering a new form. I can't let you interrupt him."
BOOM!!!
The moment Red finished speaking, the heavy cannon in Zephyr's hands fired at full power.
The terrifying destructive force and explosive shockwave were swallowed whole by the hyperspace rift.
And in the very next second—
BOOM!!!
Out at sea behind Zephyr, a Marine warship that had just approached the shore and hadn't even begun landing suddenly erupted in a violent explosion!
The entire ship was blasted clean through, leaving behind a massive hollowed-out cavity.
"Yare yare~"
"With that kind of power, even Monster Point Chopper wouldn't be able to take it head-on, right?"
"That was really close."
Red grinned.
Yet the relaxed ease on his face completely contradicted the danger implied by his words.
The sudden turn of events immediately snapped Zephyr back to attention.
He quickly regained his composure. Looking at the vanished impact before him and the pierced warship behind him, realization dawned on him at once.
The already deeply wrinkled old face of his instantly tightened, creasing like overlapping mountain ravines.
"Another Devil Fruit user?!"
Zephyr couldn't help but exclaim.
For pirates capable of reaching this stage, Devil Fruit users were hardly rare.
But tallying up the number of abilities the Straw Hat crew had displayed so far… it was impossible not to take them seriously.
Especially since not long ago, news had spread of the Dark-Dark Fruit, a power capable of stealing other Devil Fruit abilities.
And now, the Straw Hat crew's abilities were not only growing stronger, but increasingly bizarre as well.
It was impossible for Zephyr to ignore that.
Hiss—
Scalding steam suddenly vented from the Battle Smasher. Zephyr's eyes sharpened as he locked his gaze firmly onto Red.
"It seems that unless I deal with you first, I won't be able to attack freely at all!"
Having already grasped the nature of Red's ability, Zephyr raised the Battle Smasher—constructed from Seastone—and his aura surged upward in an instant.
There was no longer any room for hesitation.
His feet slammed into the ground, blasting out a massive crater as spiderweb-like cracks spread outward.
Zephyr's body shot forward, almost as if he were flying, charging straight toward Red.
"What an unpleasant old man."
Seeing this, a sharp glint flashed through Red's calculating eyes.
In the next moment, his body abruptly changed.
A wave of bone-chilling cold burst forth from Red, instantly dropping the surrounding temperature.
Then, from his back, a pair of crystalline ice wings unfurled like blooming blue roses.
In an instant, Red transformed into an avian humanoid form.
"A Zoan?! No—wait!!!"
Mid-flight, Zephyr's face filled with shock.
Recalling the strange spatial ability Red had just used, realization struck him like lightning.
"A Mythical Zoan user!!!"
With that thought, Zephyr unconsciously tightened his grip, swinging the Battle Smasher with even greater force.
Mythical Zoans not only granted their users the powerful physiques of Zoan types—
they also bestowed extraordinary, almost miraculous abilities.
They were an even rarer and more precious category than Logia-type fruits!
But there was one thing that remained absolute—
No matter how powerful the ability, Seastone would always suppress it!
And with the Battle Smasher in his hands, he was the natural nemesis of all Devil Fruit users!!!
BOOM!!!
Even though his strength had declined with age and injury, Zephyr still unleashed power far beyond that of ordinary Vice Admirals, accompanied by a piercing sonic boom as he smashed toward Red.
At the same time, a deep azure gleam flashed through Red's eyes.
Facing such a ferocious strike, he didn't use the more energy-intensive instant movement.
Instead, his legs planted firmly into the ground like iron pillars, his lips curling upward slightly.
"Protect!!!"
BOOM!!!
The ground trembled violently, as if struck by an earthquake.
A vast shockwave of compressed air surged outward in all directions like crashing tides.
The already-ruined Tower of Justice was instantly engulfed in a thick cloud of dust, completely swallowing the figures of Zephyr and Red.
The Marines who had just landed froze in shock, standing helplessly in place.
And at that moment, a young man's voice rang out from within the dust cloud:
"As expected of a former Marine Admiral!"
Whoosh—
A violent snow-laced gale swept through, scattering every last trace of dust into the air.
Red stood calmly in place, now fully overlaid with the Articuno template.
A faint smile rested on his face, while eyes inherited from Articuno radiated the oppressive presence of a Legendary Pokémon.
Like a superior gazing down from above, he spoke to Zephyr:
"You really can't be underestimated."
"If that blow were any stronger…"
"Even Zoro and Sanji wouldn't be able to take it head-on without injury, right?"
(End of Chapter)