Above G-3 Base, the clouds were torn apart by violent air currents.
Sunlight pierced through like blades, illuminating the devastated battlefield below.
Gern knelt on one knee, Eight Desolations plunged deep into the ground, barely holding his collapsing body upright.
Sakazuki was half-transformed into magma, but the Armament Haki on his right arm had already dissipated.
High in the air, Golden Lion Shiki hovered calmly.
His golden hair whipped wildly as the twin swords Oto and Kogarashi crossed before his chest, Haki flowing along their blades like liquid steel.
"To be honest," Shiki said lazily,
"if you two were given enough time… you might grow into something truly terrifying."
Did Shiki intend to praise them?
Of course not.
"So—" his expression twisted as he descended slowly, eyes full of ridicule,
"you should've knelt down and begged from the very start!"
"Maybe then," he laughed harshly,
"I'd have allowed you the time to grow.
KSHHAHAHA!"
"Bastard…"
Gern clenched his teeth. The vibration particles around his left arm flickered weakly, like a candle in the wind.
Beside him, Sakazuki panted heavily, magma dripping from his fingers and scorching the ground black.
Aside from the single injury Shiki suffered earlier—
when Gern exploited his carelessness with God-Nail—
the Golden Lion had taken no real damage.
Gern and Sakazuki exchanged a glance.
Both understood—
This was a battle they could not win.
"If I kill you two…" Shiki mused aloud,
"the Navy's bounty on me might surpass Roger's, don't you think?"
Then, casually—
"Die."
A massive sword slash cleaved through the sky, roaring toward them.
Death descended.
Their bodies had already reached their limits.
Everyone knew—this strike would erase them.
BOOM!!
A purple figure crashed down from the heavens like a meteor.
A pitch-black fist, wrapped in crackling Black Lightning, smashed into the golden slash—
Shattering it.
The explosion sent debris flying for hundreds of meters.
As the dust cleared—
Zephyr stood before them.
Both arms were coated in obsidian-black Armament Haki, his Justice coat snapping violently in the wind.
"…Z–Zephyr… sensei?!"
Zephyr did not turn around.
His gaze locked onto Shiki, voice cold as iron.
"What do you think you're doing to my students, Shiki?"
Shiki narrowed his eyes, cigar smoke curling at his lips.
"…Zephyr."
"Been a while since we last fought," Zephyr said calmly, raising his right arm.
Haki surged like a tide, muscles swelling with contained power.
Then he barked without looking back:
"Fall back.
This is my fight."
"Sensei—!"
Gern gripped his blade, knuckles whitening.
This was Golden Lion Shiki at his peak.
And Zephyr—past his own prime as an Admiral—could not defeat him head-on.
"This is an order!" Zephyr snapped, voice razor-sharp.
"You've already done enough.
This enemy is not one you can face yet."
He flung his coat back.
"Relics of the old era—
belong to the old era!"
"You really think you can still fight me, Zephyr?" Shiki scoffed.
"Then try me!" Zephyr roared.
The ground collapsed as he launched forward like a cannonball.
"Black Arm · Falling Star!"
Fist and blade collided—
The sky erupted with a visible shockwave.
Zephyr's punch didn't budge.
Shiki's sword recoiled.
"What?!" Shiki's pupils shrank.
Zephyr's fists came like a storm, each blow carrying the force to pulverize mountains.
Shiki was driven back, blades spinning defensively, hands numbing under the impact.
Below, Gern stared in disbelief.
He had never seen Zephyr fight like this.
"Still as monstrous as ever!" Shiki laughed wildly.
Then—
Black-red lightning erupted from his blades.
Conqueror's Haki flooded the sky.
"Lion's Thousand Cuts!"
A rain of slashes descended.
Zephyr crossed his arms, Armament pushed to its limit—
Still, he was driven back, uniform shredded, blood spraying across his body.
Shiki watched, eyes dark.
"Not at your peak…
but 'Black Arm' Zephyr is still no easy prey."
His gaze flicked sideways.
Gern was standing again.
Vibration capable of shaking space gathered in one hand.
Eight Desolations clenched in the other.
Sakazuki stood beside him, magma roaring.
"…A quake-user who suppresses his own fruit, a magma brute with monstrous output, and Black Arm Zephyr…"
Shiki calculated quickly.
He had come alone.
His fleet was still far away.
And—
Garp would surely be on the way.
Then—
"SHIKI!!!"
Zephyr's roar shattered the moment.
"You let your guard down!"
Too late.
Zephyr was already in front of him.
A spiraling mass of Armament distorted the air.
"What—?!"
Shiki raised his blade—
But Zephyr's fist landed first.
BOOM!!
Shiki was blasted through multiple ruined buildings and smashed into a distant cliff.
Blood spilled from his lips.
"…Tch."
Zephyr lowered his fist, breathing heavier—but eyes sharp.
"Looks like you haven't grown much stronger than before."
Shiki wiped the blood away and grinned.
"…Interesting."
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