Chapter 95: He Who Rises After a Thousand Knockdowns Is a 'Hero'!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Over the sea, deafening explosions burst like thunder in broad daylight.
Duel Island, already heavily damaged, shook violently.
It sounded like an army was relentlessly shelling the island.
But everyone knew the truth.
The other participants had been evacuated by medical ships. Only two people remained on the island.
Or rather... two monsters!
RUMBLE!
Massive dust clouds and explosions followed the two figures, whose speed was nearly invisible.
Sky, earth, shattered rocks, and artificially carved cliffs—their figures appeared everywhere in the broadcast, only to vanish instantly.
Every appearance, every collision, contained power capable of crushing most of the so-called 'powerhouses' on the sea.
For example, now...
"Black Body Style: Spinal Process!"
After colliding in the air, Zephyr's mechanical arm spun like a drill. The massive arm moved with a speed that defied its size.
Ryou shot from his fist. The wind from the punch blew the dust into a massive funnel.
But as the strike, capable of leveling a mountain, flew toward Roy...
VMMM!
Roy's golden fluctuations and flowing Haki neutralized most of the force.
The residual power only caused a shallow wound on Roy's body.
"Fruit Combo: Defense Enhancement."
After defending against the strike, Roy didn't give the old man a moment's rest.
[Dice-Dice Fruit LV4 -> Quetzalcoatlus Fruit LV4]
Harnessing the wind created by Zephyr's attack, Roy's speed spiked to the extreme. He appeared above Zephyr in a flash.
Before Zephyr could react...
"Fruit Combo: Muscle Enhancement."
Roy clenched his fist and smashed down! "Spear of Elbaf: Nation Splitter!"
Zephyr raised his mechanical arm again, but his body was inevitably driven into the ground like a meteor.
A giant crater and dust cloud erupted. Roy's attack didn't stop.
[Float-Float Fruit · Mass Increase]
His body instantly became another meteor, plummeting downward!
"Wave Fist: Permafrost!"
"Wave Fist: Boiling Sea!"
Flames and ice condensed on his fists as he fell.
Below, Zephyr, slammed into the ground, flipped instantly, dodging Roy's combined strike. But the extreme heat and cold warped the surrounding terrain.
Zephyr didn't pause either, immediately raising his Crusher arm. "Black Body Style Secret Technique: Mountain Crusher!"
Taking advantage of Roy's momentary lag from the dive, he blasted Ryou toward Roy.
Roy remained calm.
[Zoan · Snow Hare Fruit LV4]
[Ryu Ryu no Mi, Model: Tyrannosaurus LV3]
[Strong-Strong Fruit LV4]
This was...
"Leg Enhancement—Geppo: Flash!"
The extreme leg strength drove his Soru speed to the limit. He dodged Zephyr's punch and then kicked out! "Rankyaku: Mountain Carver!"
The giant slash cleaved the ground, creating another fissure. Roy seemed to fall into the new trench.
But the next moment...
VMMM!
His body moved as if it melted into the earth, leaving only a hole.
"Hm!?"
Before Zephyr could react, he heard movement beneath his feet.
If one could see through the ground...
Roy was moving at extreme speed underground.
[Rat-Rat Fruit, Model: Mole LV3]
[Dice-Dice Fruit LV4]
This was...
"Digging Enhancement—Wave Fist!"
Powerful shockwaves and Roy's figure burst from the ground beneath Zephyr.
Knowing he couldn't dodge, Zephyr braced himself and kicked out! "Black Body Style: Sever!"
Roy's fist and Zephyr's leg collided.
Both were sent flying backward. The colossal shockwave exploded again, adding immense difficulty to the future repair crew.
The intensity of the fight left the external audience breathless.
The commentator, who always insisted on his duty, had finally given up.
He just stared open-mouthed at the incredible battle.
"This... this is..."
He was speechless.
He was a core staff member of the WEP and had seen strong people and big news.
But this level of fighting... was the first time for him.
"What... what incredible power! Look at that island, viewers! Those two... are literally moving natural disasters!"
Looking at Duel Island—massive, reinforced, custom-built by the World Government—now nearing complete disintegration.
His trembling voice echoed the sentiment of the entire world.
For ordinary people, the battle was incomprehensible. The power displayed defied all logic.
But what was even more baffling was...
The two figures, who slowly stood up after their clash... were laughing.
Genuine, heartfelt laughter.
"Hah... hah... You brat, you're not bad."
Zephyr's teeth clacked. His left arm was covered in bulging veins.
This wasn't anger. It was exhilaration.
Zephyr knew Roy was strong. He had sparred with him many times and expected him to surprise him.
But he never expected this much of a surprise.
Since the attack four years ago, he hadn't pushed this hard—yet Roy was matching him blow for blow.
And on the other side...
"Old man, you've still got it!"
Roy grinned.
His fists were clenched, feeling the impact.
He realized he could finally understand those battle maniacs.
The long-forgotten pain and exhaustion didn't panic him; they excited him like a wild beast smelling blood.
His power was rejoicing.
Come on, powerhouse—come... fight!
For Roy, this was the first time. He faced an opponent he could fight all-out against.
He felt the pure, unadulterated joy of the fight!
"Come!" (x2)
The two roared.
Then, they charged at each other again!
"Super Wave Fist..."
"Black Body Style Secret..."
Just as they were about to clash, gathering Haki...
"Hm!?"
Zephyr's expression suddenly changed.
The Haki around him visibly faded.
His body buckled, pain surging through him.
"Is this the limit?"
A flash of the past crossed Zephyr's vision.
"Severe asthma—a side effect of overtraining the Black Body Style in your youth. Triggered by your wife's death... I'm sorry, but I think you should retire from the front lines."
"This asthma is incurable. It will worsen with age. You must limit your use of power."
"Especially after 70, you may need an inhaler constantly, and you won't be able to use the Black Body Style anymore."
The first scene—the diagnosis after he collapsed from grief and asthma following his family's murder.
Then the second scene.
The training ship, four years ago.
The ugly pirate he was suppressing took advantage of his asthma attack to sever his arm and kill almost everyone on board.
His students.
He was just as powerless, falling, allowing the tragedy to happen.
And this time...
"Again?"
Zephyr's body slumped. "I'm the teacher... I'm... so frustrated."
Regret, pain, frustration, sorrow—the constant companions of his life after 40.
But...
"..."
In the next moment, Zephyr felt no pain.
A hand caught him.
He didn't fall.
"Teacher?"
He heard the voice.
Zephyr's vision slowly cleared.
He saw Roy Amos.
He saw the concern in Roy's eyes, and the slight deformation in Roy's arm from forcefully retracting his punch.
"...Sorry, you brat."
Zephyr said softly.
Roy grinned. "What are you saying, Teacher—can you stand up?"
"Your fight isn't over yet!"
Zephyr felt something warm melt in his heart.
"You brat, who do you think I am... of course I can stand!"
Zephyr took a deep breath.
The next moment...
He stood firm.
A hero is usually someone who never loses.
But one who rises after a thousand knockdowns and endless pain... perhaps he, too, can be called a 'hero'?
They are not without pain.
But pain can no longer defeat them.
"Come, Roy!"
Zephyr laughed.
"Prove it to me, my disciple!"
The words fell.
His Crusher arm surged with unprecedented Haki.
The intensity was so great that the metal of his prosthetic arm visibly cracked.
Focusing every ounce of power, the technique pushed his body to its limit.
It was...
"Black Body Style Grand Secret: Black Acala!"
And facing him...
Roy gripped his fist.
His massive healing ability had restored his arm, but that wasn't enough.
"Munch-Munch Fruit: Enma Iron Ryou Release Limit... Release!"
"Daibutsu Fruit: Wave Release Power... Maximum!"
And finally...
His muscles, Haki, and fluctuations converged, matching Zephyr.
His stamina was rapidly consumed, but Roy didn't care.
RUMBLE!
An unprecedented, colossal golden shockwave and Ryou surged from his fist, matching Zephyr's Haki.
"Black Body Style: Super Wave Fist: Spear of Elbaf!"
The two fists flew simultaneously.
Golden shockwave and black torrent—like two comets—collided at the heart of Duel Island!
But this time, the thunderous roar was swallowed by the sheer force.
The world seemed to fall silent for a moment.
Then...
BOOM!
A visible, condensed, toroidal shockwave blasted out from Duel Island in all directions!
The clouds instantly shattered. The sea, centered on the island, was violently pressed down by an invisible giant hand.
A cataclysmic scene followed—a series of concentric tsunamis, hundreds of meters high, erupted and rushed outward!
They surged toward all directions, including Marineford on the coast!
"It's... it's a tsunami!"
"Unbelievable—the battle between those two has unleashed a super-tsunami! Hide? Hide where? It's worth dying just to witness this clash of power!"
As the crowd descended into panic, the commentator remained dutiful.
Though his trembling voice suggested fear was present.
But just then...
"Wait... wait!"
The commentator suddenly spotted something—on the coast, three figures appeared via Soru.
"Those two... they really went overboard."
"Oh~ Can't be helped~ Teacher Zephyr's new disciple is a monster~ So scary~"
"Roy Amos. For his age, that is truly remarkable power."
The figures in blue, yellow, and red uniforms were none other than...
"The Three Admirals!?"
Before the commentator could finish, the three Admirals moved.
FWOOSH!
Scorching, dark red magma flowed.
HISS!
Blue frost surged.
VMMM!
Flashing light erupted.
The three Admirals extended their hands.
The colossal tsunami surging from the distant sea was instantly frozen, then blasted apart by light beams, and finally evaporated by magma.
The water vapor, smoke, and shockwaves vanished.
But the three Admirals ignored the screams of the crowd behind them.
They, Garp, Sengoku, and the Vice Admirals on the high platform.
Their eyes were fixed on Duel Island.
Or rather... the spot where Duel Island used to be.
The massive island, custom-built by the world's best shipwrights for the demonstration... was almost completely erased from the sea.
Its fragments scattered with the waves.
Only the final piece of the island's core remained.
And on that small fragment.
Zephyr and Roy remained in their punching stance.
But Zephyr's Crusher arm—the 'prototype'—was shattered.
Clang!
Clang!
Fragments of the Z-alloy fell, but Zephyr didn't notice.
He looked only at Roy.
With the clouds parted by their force, sunlight streamed down onto Roy.
His Marine coat fluttered, the word 'Justice' visible on his back.
Zephyr saw himself.
He saw the boy who made a vow beneath the Marineford Tower.
"I will walk my own path and carry the flag of Justice."
And now...
The flag had a new bearer.
Zephyr couldn't say where he would lead the Marines, or if his Justice was the Justice the World Government needed.
But he could be wholeheartedly relieved.
"I really did... take on an incredible disciple."
He had left a spark for the Marines.
He was no longer bound by responsibility.
Thud.
Then, he collapsed.
At that moment...
[0:00:00]
The shattered countdown clock, which had fallen into the sea, finally reached zero.
The Tri-Force Demonstration was officially over.
But everyone watching knew—
The shock and ripple effects of this battle across the sea were only just beginning.
☆☆☆
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