Zephyr also knew that talking about life with these guys was useless; they only had their comrades and each other in their hearts.
He decided to let go of the pressure from the Marine, clear his mind, cast aside distractions, and just fight to his heart's content.
"How nice!" Zephyr roared. "You don't have to worry about anything, nor do you have to bear anything!"
Over the years, only Marine officers like Zephyr knew how heavy the internal affairs of the Marine were.
As one climbs higher, the burden on the shoulders becomes heavier, and the darkness uncovered becomes more extensive.
"You're wrong, Zephyr. We just had our food plundered, and now we're worried about what to do for our next meal!"
Zephyr laughed heartily in anger and stopped talking to Rune. He simply swung his Haki-infused fists, smashing them into him again and again, fighting him to forget all the trivialities of internal affairs.
Zephyr thought that perhaps at this moment he was truly alive, but those who carry justice forward are not allowed to live like this.
Fighting with hesitation, Rune noticed it, and Zephyr's move was quickly broken.
Rune grabbed the back of Zephyr's neck on the warship and then slammed a knee into Zephyr's jaw.
"Ugh..." Zephyr's brain suffered a heavy blow. He let out a howl, and blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
After the knee strike, Rune slammed another punch into his abdomen.
The impact of the instant explosion concentrated on one point and spread across his abdomen.
Another mouthful of hot blood gushed from his throat.
"It seems life has been heavy for you lately, Zephyr. Have a good sleep!"
With a left hook to Zephyr's right abdomen, Rune quickly swung his right fist, mercilessly hitting his right ribs.
Hearing Rune's words, Zephyr forced his will and threw a punch at his stomach. The incredibly powerful Armament Haki actually shook Rune's physical defense, pain spreading through Rune's body and hitting his internal organs.
Both were knocked back several meters, but Zephyr took much more damage than Rune.
Rune launched a series of continuous close-quarters strikes on Zephyr, beating him until blood flowed from his mouth.
"Try it if you can! Rune!!"
Zephyr vanished from the spot, leaving behind a shockwave, and instantly appeared in front of Rune.
"Hahaha! That's the you I know, Zephyr!"
Rune swung his fists, no longer dodging any moves, as their fists exploded against each other's bodies.
Every punch carried an immense impact; shockwaves could even be seen rippling across their bodies.
"Cough, cough..." Sakazuki, who had just been knocked out by Rune's punch, fell from the gunwale onto the deck, bloodstains on the corner of his mouth, coughing violently.
"What's going on? He clearly didn't use Haki just now, so why could he hit me?"
At this time, Sakazuki was only 15 years old, one of the key students trained by the Marine Academy.
Borsalino was 18 years old, also a student of the Marine Academy.
They hadn't officially joined the military ranks yet but were already participating in actual combat as key training targets.
He was almost killed by Rune's punch and simply didn't want to believe it was reality.
The rumored Burning Fist Lu En—did he have such terrifying attack power even before his fists burst into flames?
Then, how strong would he be when his fists started to burn, his whole body erupted with scorching high temperatures, and he was shrouded in Haki?
"Sakazuki, are you okay?" Borsalino was on the side, aiming his finger at Rune for a long time but not daring to fire a laser.
Because he was afraid of hitting Zephyr, and he also understood why Zephyr had strictly scolded him earlier.
"How could I be okay..." Sakazuki replied to Borsalino, blood still dripping from his mouth onto the deck.
"Too strong... the enemy Teacher Zephyr brought us to see... is simply too powerful!"
"Of course, he's the first mate of the Roger Pirates. You were too reckless to charge in like that!"
Borsalino carried Sakazuki away from the deck where Zephyr and Rune were fighting fiercely, settled him down, and then returned to his position.
So many Rear Admirals, Instructors, and students from their same year were taken down with one punch; how could they possibly win?
The lesson learned was huge, and the price was equally expensive.
Some might even end up permanently disabled.
But he hadn't gone in yet, and his heart couldn't help but be excited to face such a powerful enemy.
"Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi!" Borsalino used the power of the Glint-Glint Fruit to condense a laser sword and charged at Rune with both hands.
Holding the sword, he used Observation Haki, trying to find an opening in the battle between the two and then attack Rune.
However, within seconds of starting his Observation Haki prediction, Borsalino was shocked to find that his Observation Haki had failed.
The fist-to-fist brawl between Rune and Zephyr turned into a one-sided crush in that instant!
Bang! The explosive intent of the punch cut through the air!
He saw with his own eyes Zephyr being sent flying by Rune's punch, his body crashing into the thick mast of the warship.
Zephyr slid down from the mast. When he tried to get up again, his breathing suddenly became extremely difficult, and he clutched his chest in extreme distress.
Zephyr's asthma had flared up, and he was reaching for his asthma medicine.
Rune, noticing this situation, did not move in to take advantage of it. Instead, he snapped his eyes toward Borsalino.
"What? Want to cut me?" Rune said to Borsalino with a provocative tone, then struck a pose.
"Come, I'll give you a free move. I haven't tasted the heat of a laser yet; maybe you can let me experience it for the first time!"
His posture was one of opening his chest wide, pointing to it as if telling Borsalino to strike.
"Genkotsu Meteor!"
"Arimitama!"
In the distance, above the Oro Jackson and Garp's warship, a powerful clash of Conqueror's Haki between Roger and Garp erupted.
Rune regarded the 18-year-old Borsalino as an ant. He didn't even bother to defend and turned his head to look over there.
Things on his side were almost settled.
Zephyr's old ailment had flared up; there was no one on this ship who could match him.
Including the young Sakazuki and Borsalino, they now stood before Rune like ants, even though they already possessed Devil Fruit abilities.
The sea surged, and under the influence of Haki, massive waves rose layer upon layer.
Borsalino, who was already dazed, looked at Rune, his hands unable to strike for a long time.
After a period of mental struggle, he plucked up his courage and swung his sword at Rune, roaring:
"Even you can't completely block the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi!"
The hot-blooded shout of youth made Rune turn his head to look at him, his face filled with arrogance and disdain.
The Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi struck Rune's chest. A scorching sensation was transmitted to Rune's nerves, but it only lasted for a few seconds before the pain was completely adapted to, and the skin on his chest naturally developed resistance to the laser element, evolving a terrifying outer skin hardness.
"Without Haki, you can't hurt me, kid."
Rune reached out his left hand to grab the blade of the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi and lifted Borsalino with his right hand, which was wrapped in Armament Haki.
The moment his elementalized body was caught by Armament Haki, Borsalino's body became completely unable to move, leaving him at Rune's mercy.
Rune held him up to his face, his sharp gaze staring intently into his eyes, then smiled at him.
He slammed him violently into the deck below. The force was so great that Borsalino's eyes rolled back on the spot, blood spat from his mouth, and he fainted.
The future strongest Marine Fleet Admiral Akainu and the future Marine Admiral Kizaru were insta-killed like ants.
"You're sick, Zephyr. Is it congenital asthma? Or have you smelled too much corruption, leading to asthma?" Rune looked at Zephyr, his words laced with sarcasm.
It was precisely such words that made Zephyr feel it was unbelievable, as if Rune's nonchalant appearance suggested he knew exactly how dark this world was.
"Fire!"
The ordinary soldiers on the warship prepared to fire. Seeing this, Rune's gaze instantly became fierce, and the aura around him surged.
Time on the deck suddenly froze as the Haoshoku within Rune erupted like a tidal wave.
The deck cracked, the mast was damaged, and those Marines didn't even have time to scream before they fell in heaps like wheat being harvested.
On Zephyr's warship, only Sakazuki and Zephyr remained conscious.
Sweat poured down Sakazuki's face like a waterfall, yet there wasn't a hint of trembling—only anger and hatred for pirates.
"Haoshoku?"
After Zephyr used his asthma medicine, his condition recovered. He scanned his surroundings again; the Marines who had surrounded Rune on the warship had all collapsed.
Even the most outstanding genius, Borsalino, had not escaped the fate.
"So strong... why is he so strong...!" Sakazuki shouted from the side, with no intention of backing away.
The lack of Conqueror's Haki had become Zephyr's current shortcoming, creating a huge gap between him and people like Garp and Sengoku.
Of the four who were together back then, even Tsuru had eaten a terrifying Devil Fruit.
"You've become weak, Zephyr." Rune met Zephyr's gaze, pointed at him, and smiled. "While you're still conscious, hand over the food on the ship."
Zephyr punched the deck below him, once again wrapping himself in Haki, as steam rose from his skin.
Using his heart as a pump to accelerate the blood flow throughout his body, he aimed to enhance his strength and speed.
Combined with his current strength, Haki, and Rokushiki, he would briefly become powerful enough to make anyone feel pressure until he was exhausted.
Rune watched quietly until Zephyr finished his move, his skin turning bright red, a highly excited smile spreading across his face.
"Don't be ridiculous, Rune. I am a Marineford Vice Admiral!"
Before his voice faded, Zephyr burst forward from the spot.
"Didn't you used to call yourself Z!" Seeing this, Rune had just taken a step back when Zephyr's "Black Arm" punch struck his abdomen.
The impact that pierced through his body spread inside him.
"Blegh!" A mouthful of hot blood erupted from Rune's mouth.
"What a pity." Zephyr looked at Rune, who was hunched over from the injury, and lowered his eyes slightly. "I can't be my true self for the time being!"
Rune endured the heavy blow and leaned close to Zephyr's ear. "Forget about justice, Zephyr. There is no such thing as justice in this world; your justice will eventually consume you."
Facing Rune's invitation, Zephyr just gritted his teeth and smiled slightly without responding.
Immediately after, he exerted force again, knocking Rune back with a punch.
"What nonsense!" Zephyr's muscles bulged, and his fists clenched tightly.
In front of the heavily injured Sakazuki, he stood like an erupting volcano, towering before his eyes, great and powerful.
After years of clashing, Garp and Zephyr had long since developed a friendship with Rune and the others.
Zephyr, who had a wife, simply couldn't abandon his family or the justice in his heart.
"With the speed of Rokushiki and this move's speed multiplied by two, launching an attack on you with my strength—even you will find it hard to handle, Rune!" Zephyr stopped thinking about those things and focused on the battle before him.
He charged from the spot, even the air producing explosive ripples, as he rushed at Rune again.
"Perhaps." Rune wiped the corner of his mouth, his pupils constricting. "Neural Release!"