The pillar of lightning struck, its brilliant light illuminating the outer sea of the Rulusia Kingdom entirely.
The next moment.
Under the horrified gazes of countless people.
The warship, which had served as the main battlefield and was already battered beyond recognition by the clash between Carlo and Zephyr, completely shattered, disintegrated, and finally turned into nothingness under the bombardment of that heaven-piercing pillar of lightning!
It wasn't just the warship.
The sea below was also blasted, creating an abyssal hole hundreds of meters in diameter by the gigantic, towering pillar of thunder.
In an instant, millions of tons of seawater were evaporated.
The terrifying force surged in all directions, kicking up colossal waves hundreds of meters high on the surface, pushing outwards and indiscriminately shoving away every vessel in the surrounding sea!
Amidst the raging, towering waves.
In the deep sea pierced by the pillar of lightning, the battle was still ongoing!
Zephyr, his entire skin scorched black by the lightning pillar, was like a crazed beast, completely ignoring the endless seawater pouring in around him, his eyes bloodshot as he relentlessly bombarded Carlo with continuous punches.
Meanwhile, Carlo, a Devil Fruit user, seemed utterly unaffected by the surrounding seawater, laughing maniacally as he struck back.
From his towering physique, Armament Haki, thick and imposing like mountains and seas, continuously surged out, compressing on his body to form a set of pitch-black armor that completely enveloped him!
At this moment, completely covered by the pitch-black armor, he looked as if he had been physically enlarged by a significant margin.
The Armament Haki on his body had almost solidified into a tangible form, clashing with Zephyr's fists and feet and producing the clang of steel!
This was the Martial Armor, achievable only when Armament Haki was cultivated to the extreme, enough to wrap mountains and cover seas!
At this moment, Carlo was practically activating Susanoo.
As a Devil Fruit user, he was fighting Zephyr, a non-user proficient in martial arts and Haki, in the deep sea thousands of meters down, causing the earth to crack and the sky to fall.
On the surface of the sea.
The pirates and Marines, tossed by the massive waves, sent to the crests of hundred-meter-high surges, looked down at the chaotic, churning water below, watching the constantly swelling sea surface and listening to the muffled roars echoing from the deep, all felt profound terror in their hearts.
What terrifying power was this!
Everyone was stunned into silence by the power of the two combatants.
"This is the power of Vice Admiral Zephyr! It's too strong! He will surely win!"
"Even the Heavenly King Sorus Karlo will be arrested by Vice Admiral Zephyr!"
"Fire the cannons! Keep firing at the pirates! Eliminate them!"
On the remaining three warships, the Marines were filled with confidence in Zephyr, firmly believing that he would lead them to victory.
Just as countless times before!
Meanwhile, aboard the pirate ships.
Aside from Ivankov and the others, who were worried.
John, who had returned to the ship, and the rest of the Sky Pirates showed no sign of worrying about Carlo at all.
John was even drinking again.
Ivankov couldn't stand it anymore. "Uncle John! Aren't you worried about Captain Carlo? That's Black Arm Zephyr! If he gets defeated and arrested by Black Arm Zephyr, won't we be finished?"
"Defeated? You're overthinking it, kid." John laughed, giving Ivankov a sharp rap on the head.
He tilted his head back and took several gulps of alcohol.
"There might be people on this sea who can defeat that kid alone, but it definitely won't be Zephyr."
"Why? Isn't Black Arm Zephyr also a very powerful Marine soldier?" Ivankov asked, puzzled.
In his impression.
Although Black Arm Zephyr's name wasn't particularly famous before.
In recent years, however, he has consistently appeared alongside pillars of the Marine like Iron Fist Garp and Buddha Sengoku.
It is said that he has already been nominated for Admiral.
"Because his fist is too weak."
John took another drink.
His gaze was profound as he looked out at the surging sea.
To be fair.
He actually greatly admired Zephyr as a Marine.
The justice Zephyr upheld was one of non-lethality.
He insisted on using the law to judge criminals, believing that force was merely a means, not an end.
During the apprehension of criminals, no matter what crimes the offenders had committed, he insisted on not killing them, but defeating and arresting them, sending them to Enies Lobby for trial, and then locking them up in Impel Down.
This philosophy of capturing rather than killing, letting the law judge instead, was both unconventional and thought-provoking in this sea that revered violence above all else.
His unique ideology had garnered a large following within the Marine.
However.
Precisely because of this.
Many pirates and criminals facing his encirclement often weren't afraid of being killed; instead, they would violently resist during capture.
Because they knew Zephyr wouldn't kill them, only capture them.
Their actions became increasingly reckless.
John felt.
Zephyr's naive concept of justice might be better implemented in a relatively peaceful world.
But what kind of world is this sea, this world, now?
Chaos! Violence! Cruelty! Bloodshed!
In a world like this, you choose not to kill?
Then just wait to be chewed up and swallowed!
Not killing means holding back strength!
It means not giving your all in your punches!
It means weakness!
Fists like that are fine if used against weaker opponents.
But if you face an opponent equal to or even stronger than yourself.
Isn't that just asking for death?
In the deep sea, thousands of meters down!
Zephyr, just as John had predicted, had—lost!
As Carlo fully unleashed ten, or perhaps ninety percent, of his power.
Conquerors Haki Infusion, powerful enough to rival Garp and Roger, shattered all of Zephyr's Haki defenses and slammed into his abdomen.
Blood, along with stomach acid and bile, was forced out of Zephyr's mouth by that punch.
He was pressed down by Carlo's punch, cracking the seabed and slamming deep into the ocean floor.
Zephyr wanted to get up and fight again.
But the excessive depletion of his Haki and the injuries he sustained.
Coupled with the crushing water pressure of the deep sea thousands of meters down, he had lost the strength to continue fighting.
Yet, Carlo's body was still full of vitality and vigorous energy.
His Haki was so profound it seemed endless, impossible to exhaust.
He even used Armament Haki to sustain a sub-sea space tens of cubic meters in size around himself in the deep ocean!
Expelling all the seawater and silt.
Looking at Zephyr, who was lying deep within the shattered seabed, covered in blood, Carlo's eyes held a trace of pity and a hint of disappointment.
"Teacher Zephyr, you still can't bring yourself to kill. There is no intent to kill in your fists."
Zephyr did not reply.
He lay quietly, his gaze hollow.
"Do you know? Every time I see you like this, I'm reminded of my stubborn father."
Carlo let out a mocking chuckle.
"I know he wasn't truly loyal to the World Government; like you, he was upholding his own brand of justice. Perhaps the kings of those Affiliated Nationss aren't necessarily enlightened rulers, but for him, they were objects he had to protect—his responsibility as an Admiral."
Carlo raised his head, looking at the pitch-black deep sea above him.
"Once upon a time, I also thought about becoming like him, becoming like you, becoming a Marine with justice in his heart!"
"But now..."
Carlo shook his head, not finishing his sentence.
Zephyr's hollow eyes shifted slightly, looking towards him, and a rusty voice sounded in Carlo's ear.
"Carlo, tell me, what happened at God Valley?"
However, Carlo shook his head again.
"I told you, I won't tell you."
Zephyr slowly nodded.
Without saying anything, he slowly pulled his broken body out of the shattered seabed and swam towards the sea surface above.
He carelessly exposed his back to Carlo, making no defense whatsoever.
Watching Zephyr silently depart, Carlo's expression fluctuated, seemingly conveying a sense of disappointment and frustration.
"Mercy cannot save this world! Non-lethality cannot save it either! The justice you seek simply doesn't exist in this world!"
"If you want to be a hero, you must kill!"
"Kill every pirate, every criminal! The world you dream of can then be realized!"
"Killing to protect life, eliminating karma, not the person! You can't possibly not understand this principle!"
Zephyr acted as if he hadn't heard, plunging headlong into the black sea.
"You will die!! You will cause your own death!"
Carlo's roar reverberated up from the pitch-black deep sea.
"Not only will you die!"
"The people around you will die too! Your family, your friends, your students—they will all die because of your ideology!"
"Give up being a Marine!!"
"Teacher Zephyr!!!"