Step!
Luffy dropped straight down from above, landing precisely between Zoro and Sanji. Standing amid the shattered remains of the Bridge of Hesitation, he peered down toward the sea below.
"Can't see him anymore~"
He raised a hand to shade his eyes, his brows knitting slightly.
Even though Kizaru had fallen into the ocean, the lesson learned from Blackbeard long ago was already deeply ingrained in their minds—
Devil Fruit user falling into the sea ≠ death.
Zoro, looking as though he had already seen through the situation, spoke calmly from experience.
"That guy's the Navy's highest combat power. Someone even stronger than Blackbeard. There's no way he'd be taken out that easily."
"You two wait here. I'll go check the sea."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zoro swiftly sheathed his swords and prepared to jump.
After all, both Luffy and Sanji were Devil Fruit users now. This kind of job could only fall to him.
But just then—
"Wait!"
Luffy suddenly reached out and stopped Zoro. He stared at him for a long moment, then scratched his head awkwardly.
"Uh… maybe let's forget it."
"We already beat him, didn't we?"
"Why bother with all that troublesome stuff?"
For a moment, it was as if Luffy had completely forgotten Red's repeated warnings. He actually intended to let Kizaru go after he fell into the sea.
"But…" A trace of confusion flashed in Zoro's eyes.
Strictly speaking, aside from being enemies, there was no personal grudge between them and Kizaru that required a fight to the death.
However, after Blackbeard—and under Red's constant influence—they had already realized something:
If you defeat an enemy but don't finish them off, you're only creating more trouble for yourself in the future.
Sanji, however, blunt as ever, snorted.
"Idiot! You want to get lost in the deep sea and have us go looking for you again?!"
He hit the nail right on the head, exposing exactly why none of them trusted Zoro with this task.
Then his tone softened slightly as he continued,
"And don't forget—beyond the Gate of Justice is Marineford. Who knows when the Navy will send even stronger reinforcements?"
"Let's not waste any more time."
Before the furious Zoro could fire back, Sanji pulled three Super Potions from his pocket, handed one each to Luffy and Zoro, chugged one himself, and immediately flew off toward the Tower of Justice.
"Damn curly-brow!" Zoro cursed under his breath, but still drank the Super Potion alongside Luffy, restoring their stamina.
…
…
"So it seems… this battle is your failure, Admiral Zephyr."
BOOM!!!
A freezing gale instantly formed a perfect wall of ice, once again blocking Zephyr's explosive strike for Red.
And when Red sensed that Luffy and the others had already dealt with Kizaru, a brilliant smile spread across his face.
Although they had relied on numbers this time…
A win was still a win.
This victory alone was enough to prove the strength of their pirate crew.
In less than a year since setting sail, they had truly become a top-tier power in the world!!!
"All that effort wasn't wasted after all."
Red couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.
But in Zephyr's eyes, that smile instantly turned into an incomprehensible mockery.
"I've told that Kizaru brat so many times—not to rely too much on his Devil Fruit powers."
"Now look at him… completely done for."
Through Observation Haki, Zephyr also sensed Luffy and the others rushing over, and his heart sank.
He had seen it all—the devastating combined attack of the three, and Kizaru falling into the sea.
At this point, no matter how great his abilities were, the outcome was already sealed.
Zephyr lifted his head, focusing once more on Red.
Ice. Flames. Poison. Falling rocks. Teleportation. Telekinesis…
In less than an hour, he had witnessed nearly ten different abilities on Red alone.
Such terrifying powers were something he had never heard of before.
If this had been twenty years ago, for the future of the Navy and the peace of the world, he would never have allowed such a dangerous figure to exist.
"This child is too dangerous—he must not be allowed to live."
But now…
Zephyr could only let out a dry laugh.
"Don't think you've really won!"
"The World Government and the Navy will never let you go!"
His final stubborn defiance rang out as the Battle Smasher on his arm roared violently, glowing with the scorching brilliance of molten metal.
The old warrior gathered every last ounce of strength he had, pouring the Navy's honor and his own pride into the frenziedly spinning weapon.
"Brat! Take this attack!!!"
Zephyr leapt into the air, roaring as the Battle Smasher carved a straight, golden arc through the sky, slamming directly toward Red.
Seeing that the veteran had already accepted defeat and was ready to exit the stage, Red did not use Teleport or Hyperspace Hole as he had before.
"Since you're inviting me so sincerely…"
"Then let me see just where my limits truly are!!!"
Enies Lobby destroyed. Spandam captured. Admiral Kizaru defeated.
This war's outcome was already decided.
So for once, Red allowed himself to be reckless.
A sharp glint flashed through his mysterious eyes.
The next instant, to Zephyr's astonishment, Red dismissed the Articuno template and returned to his ordinary human form.
"Huh?!"
Zephyr froze, completely baffled.
But in his eyes, this only meant Red was preparing some new technique. His attack did not weaken in the slightest—instead, his momentum condensed even further, fully prepared.
Meanwhile, Red, having exited his semi-beast form, muttered silently in his heart:
As expected… a Trainer should stay back and command Pokémon, not fight personally.
During normal training, he hadn't noticed it.
But after such a high-level battle, Red could clearly feel it—
Once the Articuno template was loaded, both his physical agility and his combat thinking speed far surpassed his normal state.
Though the system's mysterious functions had granted him immense self-preservation ability from the moment he transmigrated, it had also stripped him of true combat talent.
Perhaps that very talent was what allowed Luffy, Zoro, and the others to become exceptional warriors.
Unfortunately, Red did not possess it.
So… taking this opportunity, he wanted to test just how much punishment his body could endure after obtaining all eight Gym Badges.
Back in Skypiea, even a Vice Admiral's attacks could no longer threaten him.
Now that he had grown even stronger—
Could an attack comparable to a top-tier Yonko commander actually affect him?
Countless thoughts flashed through Red's mind in an instant.
And when his focus returned—
Zephyr, having gone all in, was already right in front of him.
BOOM!!!
At that moment, Red seemed like a Navy or Cipher Pol agent using Tekkai, frozen in midair, defenseless.
The overwhelming impact pierced straight through his body, creating a skyward shockwave behind him that completely dispersed the dark clouds above.
It was as if the world had been muted.
The once-chaotic Enies Lobby fell deathly silent.
And with that—
The war came to a perfect end.
Brilliant sunlight poured down, illuminating Red's face.
Drip.
A single drop of bright red blood fell onto the still-steaming Battle Smasher—then instantly evaporated.
Zephyr's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Th-That's impossible!?"
Having pushed his body beyond its limits, Zephyr could no longer maintain Moonwalk and plummeted toward the ruins of the Tower of Justice below.
Even as he fell, his gaze remained locked onto Red, his eyes filled with confusion and disbelief.
Crash—!
Amid a cloud of dust, Zephyr was buried beneath the collapsed rubble.
Though he still had strength left to fight, at this moment, he would rather be swallowed by darkness.
Because the Red hovering in midair—
After taking a full-power blow nearly equal to Zephyr's prime—
Had suffered nothing more than a light injury.
His body hadn't even been knocked back.
What was worse…
When Red's blood touched the Battle Smasher, Zephyr clearly saw a crack appear at the reinforced joint—not even made of Seastone.
For a moment, Zephyr couldn't help doubting himself.
Had this man been toying with me from the very beginning… without ever using his full strength?
…
…
"Tch—!"
"As expected of a former Navy Admiral!"
As Zephyr disappeared beneath the dust, Red clutched his chest with one hand and wiped the blood from his lips with the other.
This was the first time since coming to the world of pirates that he had truly felt injured.
And also—
The first blood he had shed since setting sail with Luffy.
Even when Vice Admiral Momonga's slash had hit him before, it barely counted as breaking his defense.
Forced HP minus one, at most.
But just now, Red had clearly felt his internal organs struck hard by a massive hammer.
Though his powerful recovery would erase the damage in a few minutes…
It made him realize that even with all the system's enhancements, he still couldn't act recklessly in front of Yonko-level monsters.
"How should I put it…"
"It's like I'm strong—but not that strong."
Landing on the ground, Red immediately summoned Grassy Terrain to accelerate his recovery.
"Hey—Red!"
At that moment, seeing the battle end, the Straw Hat crew rushed over.
"Everyone…"
Red looked around. Though many of them were covered in dust and grime, their spirits were remarkably high.
While the Super Potions he had prepared in advance played a big role…
There was no denying it—
They felt no pressure at all, even after facing such overwhelming Navy forces.
"Red, that thing you just did…"
Still standing atop his Heracross, Usopp—who hadn't joined the fight later on—had seen the entire battle and asked curiously.
Red patted the spot on his chest where Zephyr had hit him and smiled.
"It's nothing."
"Luffy and the others were too embarrassed to hit me before, so I asked that Navy gentleman to help out."
"H-Help out?!"
Recalling that sky-piercing strike, Usopp's mouth twitched.
The pride he'd felt from helping repel an army of ten thousand vanished instantly at Red's casual words.
Yeah… I'm still way too weak, Usopp sighed inwardly, forcing a smile.
Luffy immediately asked,
"By the way, Red."
"Are things with Franky settled?"
"SUPER settled!" Franky answered first.
Judging by the grin on his face, he'd clearly had a great time during that half hour of separate fighting.
Luffy's face lit up with excitement.
"Then can we finally test Merry's new ability?!"
"You said it yourself—only here, in the waters around Enies Lobby, can we truly see it!"
"Easy, easy."
Red pushed Luffy's face away, then casually waved a hand, summoning two Hyperspace Holes.
With rubble spilling out, the unconscious Zephyr appeared before them.
From the other portal, seawater gushed forth—and Kizaru tumbled out with it.
Red wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.
From the very beginning, he had left a Psychic mark on Kizaru.
Even lost in the depths of the sea, Red could still retrieve him precisely.
Compared to the unconscious Zephyr, however, the Admiral suddenly snapped his eyes open upon emerging.
But before he could react—
A Seastone chain wrapped tightly around him.
"Sorry, Admiral Kizaru. Please take a short rest."
Red produced a syringe and stabbed it straight into Kizaru's neck.
It contained a tranquilizer developed by Chopper using plants cultivated by Usopp.
One dose was enough to instantly knock out even a Sea King.
Yet as expected of a Navy Admiral…
Several minutes later—
Red had injected eight syringes before Kizaru's tightly shut eyes finally relaxed and drooped.
Only then did Red turn to Usopp.
"Alright, try again."
"There's no way he's still conscious now!"
"Uh…"
Usopp nodded awkwardly, grabbed the chain, and activated his Storage-Storage Fruit.
The rule for storing living beings was simple—
Either they consented, or they were unconscious.
Kizaru, that sly old Navy fox, had faked unconsciousness perfectly.
Too bad the Straw Hats had Usopp—a living consciousness detector.
After Zephyr was successfully stored but Kizaru repeatedly failed to be, the truth was obvious.
Which was why—
The Admiral ended up taking a few extra shots.
"Alright, captives taken care of!"
There was probably no prison in the world better than Usopp's storage ability.
Once inside his body—
Escape was impossible.
Even for a Navy Admiral.
(End of Chapter)