"Hm?!"
Staring at Red, who hadn't moved a single thread, Zephyr's face instantly filled with uncontrollable shock.
But in the very next second, a bone-chilling cold suddenly flooded into his body.
"Icy Wind," Red murmured softly.
Before Zephyr could react at all, a layer of frost had already spread along his crushing arm, surging straight toward his body.
Whooo—!
The howling cold wind swept over him, and under the additional effect of Icy Wind, Zephyr's body immediately stiffened.
"This is… Kuzan's power?!"
Seeing a scene that gave him an overwhelming sense of déjà vu, Zephyr's heart jolted. He stomped hard against the ground and leapt backward, forcibly pulling distance between himself and Red.
Szz—!
Under the freezing power of ice, the crusher that had been radiating scorching heat also fell silent.
Tap!
After steadying himself, Zephyr lifted his head at once, his eyes filled with uncertainty as he stared at Red across from him.
Red, however, did not choose to press the attack.
From that terrifying strike earlier, it was clear that although Zephyr no longer possessed Admiral-level strength, he was still above the Seven Warlords of the Sea and just below the top-tier Yonko commanders.
With eight Gym Badges under his belt, Red's current base strength had reached the threshold of a newly entered Warlord.
And with the Legendary Bird template loaded—able to freely use Articuno's and Zapdos's various moves—he at least possessed the qualifications to fight Zephyr head-on.
Fortunately, Red's goal had never been to defeat Zephyr from the beginning.
All he wanted was to buy time for his companions—to prevent Zephyr, this high-end combatant, from interfering with their battles.
At any time, real battles against powerful opponents were the fastest way for the Straw Hat Pirates to evolve!
With that thought, Red's gaze subconsciously shifted toward Chopper in the distance.
Even with Nami guarding him closely, Chopper—being besieged by a group of Marine officers—was inevitably taking some hits.
After all, his sheer size made him nothing short of a perfect live target.
Yet under the stimulation of pain, the madness in his eyes was gradually fading.
In its place, a glimmer of lively clarity flickered deep within his pupils.
"Hang in there, little Chopper!"
Seeing this, Red silently cheered him on in his heart.
At present, aside from Franky—who had only joined a few days ago—almost every member of the Straw Hat Pirates had already found their own path.
Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji—the three main combat forces—needed no elaboration.
Usopp, relying on his Devil Fruit ability, had successfully embarked on a strange road never before seen and likely never to be repeated.
Nami had devoted herself wholeheartedly to studying the fusion and application of weather science and Pokémon moves.
Robin, aided by the effects of Calm Mind, had developed her psychic power to a terrifying degree.
With her sharp intellect, she had long since devised a complete method of combining psychic power with the Flower-Flower Fruit.
Only little Chopper—
Although he had the Rumble Ball to help him unlock multiple stages of his Devil Fruit, and possessed the bizarrely powerful ability Pixilate that made his moves even more unpredictable…
Compared to his former self, this strength was certainly impressive.
But placed within the Straw Hat Pirates—a crew where everyone was a monster—it made Chopper seem exceptionally ordinary.
And so, in order to ensure that little Chopper wouldn't end up as the crew's mascot and emergency food supply, Red had deliberately been searching for ways to drastically boost his strength.
Monster enhancement under the Rumble Ball was clearly a promising direction!
Given Red's current capabilities, there was absolutely no need to worry about Chopper suffering any aftereffects from over-developing his Devil Fruit.
Even hidden injuries that the Pokémon Center couldn't cure would be nothing more than minor issues under the effects of Sacred Fire.
Red had already tested it himself…
While the Sacred Fire he wielded couldn't perform miracles like Ho-Oh's—reviving the dead—
If it was merely a matter of "restoring flesh and regrowing bone," then for him it was simply a question of energy consumption and time!
True, all-out battles against the Marines not only allowed Chopper to gain far more experience, but also effectively accelerated his control over the Monster form.
Was there anything in the world more cost-effective than that?!
…
…
"Hey! Brat! Where the hell are you looking?!"
Just as Red was anticipating Chopper's complete mastery of Monster enhancement, Zephyr's furious roar suddenly rang in his ears.
Red instinctively turned his head—only to see Zephyr, now freed from Icy Wind's status effect, glaring at him with unbridled rage.
"Ah, sorry, sorry~ I was just thinking about something," Red said lightly, raising a hand with a chuckle.
Seeing such an expression on the face of a former Marine Admiral well into his seventies, Red casually offered an apology.
Yet that utter disregard instantly caused the flames of fury in Zephyr's eyes to surge even higher!
Though he had retired behind the scenes for many years, he was still a former Marine Admiral—when had he ever been treated with such contempt by an enemy?!
In an instant!
Zephyr stopped pondering what kind of Devil Fruit ability Red possessed.
He raised the crusher in his hand once more, muscles tensing as his aura climbed relentlessly.
"Arrogant brat! Don't think that gaining a powerful Devil Fruit means you can do whatever you want!"
"There are still many existences in this world that you should fear!!!"
BOOM!!!
The moment his words fell, Zephyr launched himself forward again, shattering the ground beneath his feet as he shot toward Red like a cannonball.
"Crusher Tornado!!!"
Zephyr roared in fury.
As he closed in on Red, the crusher in his hand suddenly emitted the metallic clatter of internal mechanisms activating.
Carrying Zephyr's full power, the massive crusher smashed toward Red's face at terrifying speed.
The sheer force of it whipped the air into a spiraling vortex, as though this single blow would utterly annihilate Red.
And yet—
"That really is an imposing attack."
Facing the imminent danger, Red remained unmoved, standing calmly in place.
In the next instant, his figure flashed—and he appeared directly behind Zephyr.
With a disappointed look, Red clicked his tongue and said,
"It's just a shame… that thing outside your body is still far too clumsy for you."
"What?! Impossible?!"
Zephyr's expression froze as his Observation Haki precisely detected Red's position.
But driven by inertia, the crusher in his hand could no longer be stopped—it could only continue swinging forward with all the accumulated force.
Rumble—rumble—rumble—!
Like the wrathful thunder of a god, a deafening explosion erupted across the battlefield.
The shockwave unleashed from the crusher plowed a straight trench through the land beneath the Tower of Justice, extending all the way into the distant sea.
In an instant, the boiling seawater—finding an outlet—came surging back along the trench.
And Zephyr's body stiffened for a brief moment after the strike.
Simply put—
He entered a state of recovery lag!
Teleport!
Although this was an extremely energy-consuming application of psychic power, there was no denying it—
As long as the opponent lacked intelligence on it, this move always brought Red pleasant surprises!
Whoosh!
Red spread his wings wide and soared straight into the sky behind him.
His crystal-blue wings traced two beautiful arcs through the air.
After widening the distance between them, a deep blue glint flashed through Red's eyes, his tone turning serious.
"Come and feel this familiar power, Admiral Zephyr!"
"Ice Beam!!!"
Red instantly opened his sharp beak.
Brilliant, dazzling blue light burst forth within his mouth, resplendent and magnificent.
Among Articuno's moves, Ice Beam—second only to Blizzard in raw power—not only boasted exceptional charge speed.
In single-target combat, its effectiveness was even greater than Blizzard's wide-area devastation!
In the next second—
Swoosh!!!
The azure beam shot forth, slamming directly into Zephyr's back.
There was no imagined explosion, no earth-shaking roar.
When that strike—laden with immense ice-attribute energy—landed on Zephyr, crystalline frost flowers instantly bloomed across his back, spreading rapidly until they engulfed his entire body.
"Ad… Admiral Zephyr?!"
The surrounding Marines cried out in panic.
High in the sky, Red continued to beat his wings, his gaze fixed warily on Zephyr, who now seemed frozen in time.
He knew his own limits.
In terms of defense, after multiple enhancements, he might even be able to withstand an Admiral's attacks.
But when it came to offense—
His strongest strike at present was still only at the level of an ordinary Yonko commander.
(End of Chapter)