"Damn it, those Marines nearly blew me out of the water!"
Miss Bakkin clutched her waist and shrieked in fury, pointing angrily toward the training ship.
"My precious son—make them pay for this! Mommy's almost been hurt!"
Weevil, slow to react as ever, nodded heavily.
"Don't worry, Mama," he said obediently.
"When we get a little closer, I'll kill them all. Then I'll eat all the food on their ship and avenge you!"
"Mmm, that's my good boy!" Miss Bakkin nodded in satisfaction.
"Quick, quick—go faster!"
"Okay, Mama!"
Weevil answered honestly, eyes fixed on the rapidly approaching training ship.
A trail of drool slid down from the corner of his mouth.
"They're getting close…"
Karl let out a soft sigh, then abruptly turned toward the trainees and shouted:
"Cease fire!"
The trainees operating the cannons froze in surprise, but they still followed the order, stopping their reloads and looking at Karl in confusion.
Karl nodded toward Zephyr.
Zephyr cleared his throat, then spoke with authority:
"Binz. Immediately take everyone except Karl and Ain, board the lifeboats, and move away from the training ship."
"What?!"
"No! Zephyr-sensei, we want to fight alongside you!"
"Yeah! He's just a pirate with a 320-million bounty! With you and Karl here, we're not afraid!"
"Nonsense!" Zephyr roared.
"This is an order! Are you trying to disobey military command?"
"There will be no discussion. Leave immediately—or I'll personally throw you into the sea!"
His tone left no room for argument.
The trainees hesitated, faces full of conflict.
Karl stepped forward and scolded them sharply.
"It's not that Zephyr-sensei doesn't want to fight alongside you—it's because Weevil is too strong."
"If he attacks any of you, Zephyr-sensei will be distracted. He could even be seriously injured."
"Is that what you want to see happen?"
Your intentions are good—but please, don't act on them.
Karl was certain of one thing:
In the original timeline, Zephyr likely fought with restraints precisely because he was protecting his students. When they started falling one by one, his emotions spiraled out of control—triggering his asthma and ultimately costing him an arm.
Only by ensuring the trainees' safety could Zephyr fight at full strength.
"…Karl's right," Binz said first, finally understanding.
"We shouldn't stay here and become a burden to Zephyr-sensei!"
One by one, the trainees boarded the lifeboats and retreated.
Soon, the massive training ship held only three people—
Karl. Ain. Zephyr.
"Ain," Karl said immediately,
"use your ability on Zephyr-sensei."
Ain nodded.
When Zephyr had ordered her to stay earlier, she'd already guessed what this meant.
"Karl," Zephyr said with a half-laugh,
"aren't you being a little too cautious? Is Weevil really that dangerous?"
Karl's expression was deadly serious.
"He's a monster known as Whitebeard the Second."
"…Whitebeard…" Zephyr fell silent for a moment, then slowly extended his arm.
"Come. Ain."
Ain took a deep breath.
A purple-red glow surfaced in her palm as it touched Zephyr's arm.
Rewind–Rewind Fruit. Ability activated.
The wrinkles on Zephyr's face slowly faded.
His aura surged violently.
Zephyr clenched his fists as his muscles swelled, overflowing with explosive power.
"So this is what being young feels like?" he laughed loudly.
"Hahaha! What a marvelous feeling!"
Ain's current limit was rewinding ten years.
Multiple touches could stack—
She reached out again.
But the instant the purple glow touched Zephyr, it vanished without effect.
Karl frowned. "What happened?"
"I don't know," Ain said, slightly breathless.
"It seems my ability only works on Zephyr-sensei once… maybe he's just too strong. This is probably the limit."
Karl stroked his chin.
Unexpected—but reasonable.
Ain doing this much was already incredible.
"You've done enough," Karl said gently.
"Leave now. Leave the rest to Zephyr-sensei and me."
Ain bit her lip.
"Karl… be careful. Don't push yourself."
Karl laughed lightly.
"Relax. I'm not an idiot. Go."
Ain turned and left—
And in the very next second, a towering figure descended from the sky.
A massive blade swung downward, slashing straight toward Zephyr.
"Good timing!"
With both Karl's Holy Light and Ain's rewind buff stacked on him, Zephyr was at his absolute peak.
He raised his arm—
And blocked the blade head-on.
"CLANG!!!"
His arm turned pitch-black with Armament Haki.
The blade failed to leave so much as a scratch.
The shockwave alone blasted Karl backward several meters.
"—Damn!" Karl groaned, clutching his chest.
It felt like he'd just been hit by a truck.
So this is what a clash between top-tier monsters looks like…
Yeah. I'm trash.
"Hahaha!" Zephyr laughed heartily.
"Not bad at all. Karl, take care of yourself—I won't have time to look after you!"
Grabbing Weevil's blade with one hand, Zephyr roared—
And with a display of raw power worthy of legends, slammed Weevil and his weapon straight into the deck.
BOOM!
Weevil scrambled back to his feet, roaring furiously.
"Grrr—damn old man! You hurt me! I'm going to kill you!"
"…That didn't even slow him down," Karl muttered.
"What a terrifying body."
This was a fight far beyond his level.
Zephyr-sensei, this one's yours.
Karl's gaze shifted instead toward the woman who called herself Whitebeard's "lover."
Miss Bakkin.
"Weevil!" she screamed.
"Cut them down!"
"Eat this!"
Zephyr's eyes hardened.
"Six Powers Secret Art—Black Arm!"
Using Soru, he vanished, dodging Weevil's blade.
His right arm rose high, terrifying energy condensing—
Then—
BOOM!
The punch landed squarely.
Weevil screamed as he was sent flying, rolling across the deck, smashing into the lookout tower before crashing down and leaving a human-shaped crater.
Five seconds later—
Weevil burst out, eyes bloodshot.
"You stinky old man! That hurt a LOT!"
Zephyr's brow furrowed.
Just like Whitebeard in his youth…
Overwhelming strength.
And a body absurdly tough.
What the hell was the Assessment Division thinking? Only three hundred million?
Without hesitation, Zephyr charged forward again.
The real battle—
had only just begun.
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