In the deep sea, Zephyr's face twisted with silent fury. His eyes were filled with raw anger and resentment.
Naturally, all of that hatred was directed at Elior.
He was dying, yet even now he believed that Elior would never spare his disciple, Ain.
For Zephyr—who treasured his students more than anything—this was unacceptable. But tragically, he never even had the chance to make his final stand. He was slain by Elior before he could shine one last time.
The ice spear had pierced directly through Zephyr's heart, splitting his body clean through. Scarlet blood drifted out into the deep ocean, quickly dissolving into the water and fading into nothingness.
Then Elior grabbed Zephyr's limp body and shot upward, blasting through more than a hundred meters of ice.
There had originally been an opening created earlier, but Elior chose to break straight through the frozen ceiling instead.
On the surface, Ain—who had been staring anxiously at the spot where Elior previously emerged—felt her heart tighten. To her, Zephyr was not only a teacher but a father figure. He had colored her life more than anyone.
She worried for him exactly the way a daughter would worry for her father.
Boom!
The distant ice erupted. Elior burst out, soaring into the sky.
Shards of ice exploded everywhere, and countless Marines turned toward the spectacle—toward the battlefield dominated by Elior.
In his hand, Elior clutched a man by the collar. That man hung limply, like a broken puppet.
It was Zephyr.
Lightning crackled around Elior's body, intense enough to evaporate every drop of seawater clinging to his skin. Another instant passed, and he looked renewed—hair and clothing fluttering slightly in the rising heat.
"Zephyr!"
"What happened to Zephyr?!"
"Teacher Zephyr!"
Countless Marines froze. His mechanical arm was gone, and his body dangled powerlessly. A chilling sense of dread spread instantly through the Marine ranks.
Ain was stunned. Her heartbeat pounded faster and faster, fear swallowing her whole.
On the ice, Garp's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared up at the sky.
Elior noticed him.
A faint smile curled on Elior's lips. Without hesitation, he released Zephyr's body—and kicked him downward like a launched weapon.
Garp caught Zephyr's falling corpse at the last moment.
His body was heavy.
Soaked in seawater.
Ice-cold.
Eyes open. No breath.
And his heart—
His heart was gone.
"Zephyr!!"
"Ahhh!!"
Garp threw his head back and roared into the sky.
Holding Zephyr's body close, he trembled with grief. His old friend—gone right before his eyes.
The Marines understood instantly. The moment they saw Zephyr motionless in Garp's arms, despair washed over them. Some even burst into tears.
Zephyr had trained generations of Marines. Even those who failed to become elites under him never forgot his teachings.
And now, he was dead.
Ain broke down crying, unable to accept it.
Yamato only held her tighter. Once the subordinates brought the Seastone shackles, restraining her would be effortless. As a Devil Fruit user, Ain stood no chance once touched by Seastone.
"Hmph."
Elior snorted from above. Zephyr was dead; nothing about it bothered him. If he had wished, he could've left Zephyr's body in pieces — just like he intended to do with Shanks and Beckman, taking their heads.
But he hadn't done that to Zephyr.
It was a pity Zephyr had to be his enemy.
He was, undeniably, a man worthy of respect.
Boom!
The ice exploded again as Garp pushed off the ground, launching himself into the sky.
His face was completely darkened with rage, his fists drawn back with every ounce of strength he possessed.
He attacked Elior mid-air.
Elior casually raised his hand. A massive sphere of ice materialized above him, and as his fingers touched it, the entire surface became coated in Advanced Armament Haki turning the sphere into an impregnable weapon.
The enormous ice sphere dropped toward Garp.
Garp's fist slammed upward into the bottom of the ice sphere. Black and red lightning erupted—the force of his Conqueror's Haki bursting outward like dozens of thunderclaps tearing through space.
The sphere trembled violently.
Even covered in high-grade Armament Haki, cracks began to split across its lower half under the ceaseless onslaught of Garp's blows.
More cracks appeared—spreading rapidly.
Elior felt it.
Garp's power was rising.
He had witnessed his friend's death with his own eyes. Rage consumed him, pushing his combat strength far beyond its limits.
Even advanced Armament Haki was not indestructible. Enough force could break anything.
Right now, Garp possessed that force.
Elior stood atop the vibrating ice sphere, observing calmly.
He wasn't afraid.
He pressed his foot against the unstable ice. The black and red lightning rising from Garp's strikes filled most of the sphere.
And the sphere itself was nearly seventy meters wide—an enormous mass.
Yet even something so massive, even reinforced with Ryuo, couldn't withstand Garp's fury.
An enraged Garp was unstoppable.
Marines and pirates watching from below were stunned beyond words.
High above, Elior raised his right hand.
Dark clouds churned instantly, thunder clashing within the roiling sky.
As he moved his hand, the storm clouds twisted into a vast vortex, packed with lightning—blinding and powerful.
"Garp, watch out!"
"Look to the sky!"
Sengoku shouted, recognizing Elior's technique instantly. The vortex was monstrous.
But from Garp's angle, he didn't notice.
And truthfully, Garp no longer cared.
Boom!
Elior swung his arm downward. A deluge of lightning poured from the vortex like a storm of spears, tearing toward the shattered ice sphere.
Elior vanished from sight.
At that same moment, Garp finally destroyed the ice sphere completely—
Only to be met, not by Elior,
but by the blinding, crashing storm of lightning descending on him.