"My, my, it's been a long time, Teacher Zephyr."
Seeing Zephyr appear, Allen couldn't help but grin. Spreading his arms, he teased,
"Look at you now. What's going on? After stepping back from the front lines for so many years, you're actually leading your subordinates into battle personally?"
"Ah, look at me, I almost forgot you already quit the Marines. My, I was surprised for quite a while when I heard that news."
"I heard it was because the pirate who slaughtered your students was recruited as a Warlord of the Sea? Oh, what heartbreaking news."
Allen placed a hand on his forehead, feigning a look of distress.
Faced with his provocation, Zephyr laughed instead of getting angry. With a grin, he said,
"Francis Allen, I've read your file. You were once one of the students I taught, though I don't have any impression of you."
"Well, after all, I take on so many students every year. Even though I pour my heart and soul into each one, it's truly hard to remember everyone."
"I certainly didn't expect that a rare one who actually made something of himself would run off to become a pirate. It seems you've adapted quite well to being a piece of trash."
Zephyr retorted sarcastically.
As his words fell, Allen and Zephyr stared at each other with mocking gazes.
The atmosphere instantly fell silent.
The smoke and dust cleared, revealing countless Marines in uniform outside the casino, all raising their guns and aiming at Allen and his crew inside.
The tension was at its peak the moment they met, causing the expressions of Nami and the others to turn grave.
Robin's gaze was heavy as she looked at the purple-haired man opposite them, her eyes thoughtful.
"That name... could it be the former Marine Admiral, 'Black Arm' Zephyr?"
"Marine Admiral?!"
Hearing the word 'Admiral', Nami's pupils dilated in shock, and Aokiji's figure instantly flashed in her mind.
Even Gin and the others beside her instantly wore grim expressions.
Their previous brief encounter with Aokiji had left an incredibly deep impression on them. The sense of absolute dominance brought by the title of Marine Admiral was something they still couldn't forget.
"Allen, do you know him..."
Nami asked in a low voice, staring at Zephyr with apprehension.
Allen glanced at her, then turned back to Zephyr. With a slight smirk, he said,
"That is my dear teacher. Every named figure in the Marines today was taught single-handedly by him, not even the Three Admirals are an exception."
To put it simply, aside from Sengoku, Garp, and Tsuru, who were Zephyr's comrades from the same era, almost every Marine whose name could be called out was his student. His prestige was unimaginable.
"You guys go first. Leave this place to me..."
Allen curled his lips into a fierce grin and clenched his fists. A layer of pitch-black Armament Haki covered his wrists as he took a step forward.
"Let me properly catch up with my 'mentor'."
"Heh, you arrogant brat. Do you think you're invincible just because you became an Ability User?"
Zephyr revealed an amused expression and walked forward to meet Allen.
Their footsteps continuously accelerated, the distance between them rapidly closing. In the blink of an eye, their legs moved so fast they left afterimages.
The next second.
"Shave!!"
Two shouts overlapped almost perfectly as the figures of Allen and Zephyr suddenly vanished from their spots!
With a flash, the two instantly appeared in the middle!
Bang!!
Two fists, one large and one small, both clad in pitch-black Armament Haki, violently collided! A fierce gale erupted, blasting outward with the two of them at the center!
The ground beneath their feet fractured, and the surrounding tables and chairs were instantly shattered and sent flying, sending wood splinters everywhere.
Allen's eyes darkened. Changing his fist into a palm, he reached out and grabbed Zephyr's wrist, pulling him forward with force while raising his right leg to deliver a knee strike straight to his chest!
"Iron Body!!"
Bang!!
Zephyr let out a low shout, bulging his muscles and combining them with localized Armament Haki to protect his abdomen, taking Allen's knee strike head-on!
At the same time, using this forward momentum, Zephyr's right mechanical arm swept out viciously!
Faced with this swift attack, Allen exerted force with his left foot, tapping the ground with his toes, and his entire body spun in mid-air using his waist as the axis.
The mechanical arm, gleaming with a cold metallic luster, swept past Allen's face by a hair's breadth, the howling wind blowing his black hair into a mess.
As his body completed a full rotation, Allen didn't let go of Zephyr's wrist. After his feet landed back on the ground, he forcefully twisted it!
"What!"
Zephyr's expression changed as he realized the scene before him had turned upside down. His body had actually been flipped 180 degrees into the air!
'What superb martial arts technique!'
This thought flashed through his mind instantly. Amidst his shock, Zephyr saw Allen pull his arm back to his waist, clench his fist, and throw a rapid punch!
At the very last moment before being hit, Zephyr hurriedly extended his mechanical arm toward Allen and abruptly fired a compressed shockwave cannon!!
"Smash Blaster!!"
Bang!! Boom!!
Allen's punch slammed into Zephyr's abdomen, sending him flying. Simultaneously, he himself was hit point-blank by a powerful shockwave cannon.
The two of them flew backward rapidly, their bodies crashing through the walls and slamming heavily onto the street outside!
Boom!!
Rubble scattered, and dust billowed into the air.
Allen pushed off the ground with both hands and leaped up with a kip-up. His gaze pierced through the casino toward the opposite street, a mocking expression on his face.
"Pretty fast reflexes, considering your old age."
"Cough... If my reflexes were any faster, I would have twisted your head off just now, you damn brat... Cough, cough!"
On the opposite street, Zephyr waved his arm to disperse the smoke and walked out. He patted his abdomen to dust off his clothes, glaring over with a cold gaze.
Allen's lips curled up slightly, a glint flashing in his eyes.
"Stop bragging, you old geezer. If you can do it, then come and try."
"Shaori..."
Allen relaxed his muscles. His body swayed unsteadily, becoming as soft as if it had melted into liquid, before tensing up with explosive force!
"Shave!!"
Bang!!
Under the explosive power, the street ground shattered into a massive, spiderweb-like crater!
Allen's figure shot forward like a bolt of black lightning tearing through space, instantly arriving in front of Zephyr!
"Sonic Soul Blast!!"
A fist breaking the sound barrier thrust out viciously, accompanied by Allen's furious roar!
Zephyr, however, seemed to have seen through his movements long ago. He sank into a half-squat in advance, bulging his muscles to turn his body into a block of steel!
"Iron Body・Utsugi!!"
Thud!!
The fist struck Zephyr, erupting with a hollow, echoing boom. The force seemed to circulate within his body before rebounding, transmitting back up Allen's extended arm and nearly shattering his bones!
"Just you? You're still too green!"
Zephyr shouted loudly, raising his thick mechanical arm and smashing it down heavily!
Allen gritted his teeth and hurriedly raised his other arm over his head to block.
Bang!!
The terrifying force crashed down. Allen's entire body sank, his calves plunging halfway into the floor, while his arm desperately blocked the heavy Battle Smasher.
Zephyr took the opportunity to raise his leg, swiftly kicking Allen in the chest!
Bang!!
The heavy, powerful kick sent Allen flying backward, his feet plowing two trenches over a dozen meters long into the floor.
Before he could even steady himself, Zephyr raised the Battle Smasher again. The round wheel at the front spun, frantically unleashing a barrage of bullets like a Gatling gun!
"Die!!"
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
A massive number of tracer bullets trailing flames wove into a line of fire. The surrounding buildings and debris were continuously pulverized under this dense attack.
Allen crossed his arms in front of his face to block. Accelerating his blood flow and tensing his muscles, he used [Iron Body] to bathe in the hail of bullets.
"Smash Blaster!!"
Zephyr let out an explosive roar. The Battle Smasher finished charging, ceased firing bullets, and instead bloomed with golden light, blasting out a laser beam containing terrifyingly high temperatures!
Swoosh!!
Allen's pupils shrank in shock. The laser beam pierced through space, arriving right in front of him and instantly penetrating his shoulder, causing a violent explosion far behind him!
"Puh-wah—!!"
Allen felt a sweet taste in his throat and couldn't hold back a mouthful of blood, spitting it onto the ground. He looked up, glaring at Zephyr with a ruthless gaze.
It was actually a laser beam. He only remembered that the end of the mechanical arm was embedded with Seastone; he truly hadn't expected this kind of attack.
Zephyr's lips curled into a cold smirk. Dragging his massive mechanical arm, he seized the opportunity to charge forward, the mechanical claw made of Seastone at the end swiftly swiping toward Allen.
However.
Just as he was about to close in, Allen smiled triumphantly, a glint flashing in his eyes. With a wave of his hand, he flung out dozens of blood beads!
"Blood Explosion・Spear Wave・Swarm of Rain!!"
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
The blood beads transformed into finger-thin, sharp spears in mid-air and shot forward! Seeing this, Zephyr hurriedly pulled back his mechanical arm to block in front of him!
Clink! Clink! Clink!
The blood arrows struck the hard mechanical arm, producing a dense barrage of sounds. Although he managed to block all the blood arrows, there was not a hint of relaxation in Zephyr's eyes.
Clearly, his Observation Haki had already sensed that the attack wasn't over.
Sure enough, the blood stuck to the mechanical arm began to boil, expanding like bubbles before bursting, releasing a violent, explosive heat.
In other words, an explosion!
Boom!! Boom!! Boom!!
Accompanied by several loud bangs, flames mixed with gunpowder smoke instantly engulfed Zephyr's figure.
Allen puffed out his cheeks, patches of red scales appearing on his neck and extending up to his cheeks. Opening his mouth, he spat several magma balls containing intense heat right into the smoke!
Pop! Pop! Pop!
The magma balls shot into the smoke, producing cracking, explosive sounds. Zephyr's figure subsequently flew backward out of the smoke, his feet stumbling as he slid back several meters before barely steadying himself.
His clothes were burned with several large holes by the scorching magma, revealing the skin underneath clad in pitch-black Armament Haki.
Despite the protection of his Haki, his skin was still scorched, sizzling and emitting white smoke, making him look somewhat battered.
Zephyr gritted his teeth, enduring the intense pain, and glared coldly at Allen.
Seeing him in this state, the Marine soldiers watching from the perimeter all revealed expressions of disbelief.
"He can actually fight on par with Admiral Zephyr."
"No wonder the World Government issued a terrifying bounty of 2.1 billion Berries on him. This guy is so strong..."
"The opponent is a former Warlord of the Sea, after all, one of the Three Great Powers balancing the New World. He definitely won't be easy to deal with."
The soldiers discussed animatedly, each of them staring at Allen with apprehensive expressions.
In their minds, Zephyr's strength was unmatched and overwhelmingly powerful.
Whether during regular training or when leading them out to sea for practical pirate-hunting exercises, Zephyr always displayed superb martial arts and unparalleled Haki usage.
No matter what kind of enemy he faced, Zephyr always subdued his opponents effortlessly. Unknowingly, he had long since forged an invincible image in their hearts.
Even though this time they encountered the unprecedented great pirate, Demon Lion Allen, with a bounty as high as 2.1 billion Berries, they naturally assumed Zephyr would secure victory just as he always did.
After all, Zephyr was a former Admiral. Even though he had stepped back from the front lines for many years, he never stopped training, still maintaining his strength at an extremely high level.
However, looking at it now, reality seemed to differ quite a bit from their fantasies.
"Martial arts, Haki, and Devil Fruit abilities. You utilize every single one of them quite well. To be honest, you've made me see you in a new light."
Zephyr then curled his lips into a meaningful smile.
"From rebelling at the Marine base, to hijacking a warship and slaughtering branch soldiers, your actions in the East Blue can simply be called heinous."
"I originally thought you were no different from other fallen individuals, but now, I don't think so anymore."
"A true fallen person's will is constantly eroded, and their Haki continuously weakens. Clearly, having grown to this point, you are not among them..."
Zephyr paused, his face returning to a serious expression as he spoke to Allen in an earnest tone,
"I can't help but wonder, if you haven't fallen, what reason led you to step onto this path you're on now."
"What do you mean by fallen? Does indulging in food, drink, pleasure, greed, and lust count? I'm sorry, but that's exactly the kind of person I am."
Allen asked back with an amused expression, "Maybe you weren't wrong from the very beginning?"
"Heh, don't want to say? That doesn't matter. I won't let you off for any reason anyway, and..."
Zephyr smiled coldly. His wrists were once again clad in Armament Haki, an Armament Haki even darker and deeper than before!
"Your fists will tell me the answer for you!"
Zephyr's lips curled into a fierce grin as he stepped forward and lunged. The springs inside his mechanical arm compressed to accumulate power, then explosively released like a pile driver, combining with the strength of his arm to strike out!
"Smash Strike!!"
Faced with this incredibly powerful attack, Allen chose not to take it head-on. After all, the threat of the Seastone on the mechanical arm was fatal to him. Thus, he tapped the ground with his toes and swiftly leaped backward.
Boom!!!!!
The punch slammed violently into the ground, like a falling meteorite from outer space. The earth instantly collapsed into a massive crater!
A terrifying shockwave wreaked havoc outward, overturning countless walls and roofs, expanding the giant crater beneath Zephyr's feet to dozens, even hundreds of meters wide.
In an instant, rubble and wood splinters filled the sky, and half the street was instantly reduced to ruins under this single strike!
"What... what terrifying power..."
"This old guy is actually this strong...!"
Having just broken through the Marines' blockade, Nami, Gin, and the others looked back at the battle in the center. They swallowed hard, their eyes revealing deep disbelief.
In the sky, Allen drifted with the wind.
The fierce gale blew his black hair wildly. Feeling the powerful Haki erupting from that punch, Allen's face couldn't help but show a hint of solemnity.
Advanced application of Armament Haki. Even if his body was no longer at its peak, some things wouldn't decline with age.
That was technique and experience—Zephyr's Haki techniques, and the combat experience from a lifetime of military service.
To Allen, these were all 'great tonics' for him to further break through his bottlenecks.
"The good show has just begun. Please don't disappoint me, Teacher Zephyr."
Allen's lips curled up slightly, his eyes revealing a profound meaning.