The heavenly dragon halberd, weighing over sixty tons, carried a violent power that could sever anything as it crashed down, as if it intended to cut through Zephyr and the warship beneath him in a single blow.
"Heavenly Dragon! Star-Burst Slash!!"
"Is this your choice?"
"Have you completely abandoned the justice you once believed in?!"
"Carlo!!" Facing the aggressive Carlo, Zephyr's right arm suddenly shook.
A dark, ink-like Armament Haki surged from his body like a tide, wrapping around his entire right arm as he threw a punch toward the incoming blade of the heavenly dragon halberd.
"Black Arm! Smasher Impact!!"
The pitch-black fist and the pitch-black halberd blade collided violently in mid-air.
Clang!!!
A thunderous explosion rang out.
Beneath Zephyr, the large warship that had been charging forward like a giant beast with its siren blaring was forced to a halt by the collision between the two.
The massive bow of the warship, just like the pirate ship Carlo had stepped into the sea earlier, suddenly sank more than ten meters!
The gunwale Zephyr was standing on exploded with a boom.
The tough wood blocks wrapped in thick iron plating shattered into a mass of cotton-like wood fibers.
Carlo, who was in mid-air, was sent flying upward more than ten meters by Zephyr's strike.
He stepped on the air, causing it to explode like a bomb, creating a white shockwave that propelled him back down to strike at Zephyr with his halberd once more!
This time...
Upon that pitch-black strike, an ink-dark Armament Haki emerged, washing out like a waterfall and compressing frantically on the broad halberd blade. In an instant, it gathered into a broad, pure black slash dozens of meters long that shot out from the blade like a black crescent moon rising to the sky!
"Black Moon Heaven Piercer!!"
Standing at the bow of the warship, Zephyr leaped high as the ship bounced back upward. He swung his right arm in a wide arc, whipping it out like a black lash that instantly exploded the air, punching out a mass of highly compressed Armament Haki.
"Black Arm Blaster!!"
Two masses of extremely condensed Armament Haki collided in the air before them, exploding into a violent current of air.
"Justice? My dear teacher Zephyr! You don't still naively believe in the Marine's justice, do you?"
"Perhaps the justice you personally uphold is still the same as before, but the current Marine..."
"Has long since rotted to the core!!"
Amidst the howling wind, Carlo's tall figure descended from the sky, the heavenly dragon halberd piercing straight for Zephyr's face.
Zephyr swung his arm, slamming his elbow into the side of the heavenly dragon halberd to knock the heavy weapon off course.
At the same time, he threw a left hook, smashing it toward Carlo's chest with extreme speed.
He stared fixedly at Carlo.
"Carlo! What do you mean by that?!"
"Did something happen at God Valley in the West Blue? Answer me!"
Facing Zephyr's incoming pitch-black left fist, Carlo also clenched his fist and punched out with explosive force.
Dense Armament Haki compressed into a ball within his grasp. As he punched, a pitch-black shockwave like a falling meteor shattered the atmosphere!
"Fist Bone! Meteor!"
"Black Arm! Impact!"
Boom!!
Amidst the sound of the shockwaves radiating in all directions, Zephyr let out a muffled groan. His outgoing left fist was actually suppressed by Carlo's own left fist and forced back by sheer strength.
Simultaneously, Carlo's right leg kicked out horizontally like a world-splitting guillotine, as if to cleave the world apart, striking Zephyr's left waist and abdomen.
Bang!!
A loud explosion occurred.
Zephyr, covered in Haki like a black King Kong, was kicked flying by Carlo, shooting out horizontally and twisting the steel gun turret behind him upon impact.
With the sound of rivets snapping, the dozens-of-tons turret installed on the bow was shattered and sent flying, trailing behind Zephyr as he flew backward.
Under the horrified gazes of the Marines on the ship, the towering mainmast was instantly shattered and snapped by the impact!
Zephyr slammed horizontally into the iron-clad cabin, leaving a human-shaped dent in the thick metal plating.
"Vice Admiral Zephyr!!"
Zephyr's adjutant, a Marine Captain of average build, cried out in alarm. He glared at Carlo with gritted teeth, stepped out violently to execute the Six Powers' Shave, and slashed his long sword at Carlo.
"Jesman! Don't go! You're no match for him! Fall back!"
Zephyr, sliding down from the cabin with a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth, shouted urgently.
At the same time, he stepped into a higher-speed, ultimate-level Shave, moving like a black phantom as he rushed toward Carlo.
However, it was too late!
Facing Captain Jesman's powerful high-speed slash, Carlo didn't even use the heavenly dragon halberd; he simply swung his palm.
Boom!
The air in front of Jesman exploded.
The long sword he had swung down with all his might shattered.
The massive palm crushed his Skillful Grade sword and, before he could react, slammed solidly into his chest.
Bang!!
The military uniform on Captain Jesman's back exploded into fragments.
A shocking palm print protruded from his back, accompanied by a large spray of blood mist that showered toward the charging Zephyr.
"No!! Jesman!"
Zephyr's eyes nearly split with rage. His pitch-black fist bypassed the blood-coughing, flying Jesman and smashed violently into Carlo's chest.
Carlo's chest, just like Jesman's, emitted a sky-shaking explosion upon impact.
His tall body was sent flying back dozens of meters by Zephyr's rage-filled punch.
Seeing that he was about to fly off the warship...
Carlo exerted force downward with both feet.
Crack.
The deck of the warship beneath him was crushed by his step.
Both feet sank deep into the deck, and as he slid back, he literally plowed two trenches through the wood with his feet, sending splinters flying.
Finally, his back hit the gunwale at the bow, barely halting his momentum.
Carlo wiped the corner of his mouth. Looking at the trace of blood on his finger, he pulled his lips into a wild smile and looked at Zephyr.
"Teacher Zephyr, your punches... their power has weakened. Is it because even you have begun to waver regarding the Marine's justice?"
"This is not the black arm I know!!"
"My justice! Has never wavered!!" Zephyr stepped forward, charging like an enraged lion. Both arms were wrapped in pitch-black Haki, and in an instant, he unleashed a sky full of fist shadows, attacking Carlo.
"Is that so? I don't believe it! Show me!" Carlo grinned. Gale winds wrapped around the heavenly dragon halberd in his hand. With a frantic shake of his wrist, he thrust out dozens, even hundreds of pitch-black halberd phantoms, piercing the air as they struck at the charging Zephyr.
"Black Arm — Smasher Barrage!"
"Heavenly Demon Hundred-Burst Strike!!"
Clang, clang, clang—!
A series of explosions that could split clouds and shatter stones erupted densely before the two of them.
High-speed compressed Haki turned into pitch-black lightning, sparking in all directions.
Carlo and Zephyr collided fiercely, unleashing a storm-like barrage of attacks at each other.
It had to be said.
Zephyr's combat techniques were extremely sophisticated.
His attainments in physical arts were even more refined than Garp's!
But at this moment, in this short few minutes of rapid exchange with Carlo, he had clearly fallen into a disadvantage. He was being suppressed and forced back, trampling the warship beneath him into a mess.
Even though he forced a close-quarters fight against the polearm-wielding Carlo...
Using melee combat to weaken the advantage of the halberd in Carlo's hands...
He was still being pushed back again and again by Carlo's strikes.
Among the reasons...
Besides Carlo's own overall strength having long since surpassed what it was in the past...
The more important reason was... "Teacher Zephyr! Your fists... are full of hesitation!!"
Carlo let out a roar, allowing Zephyr's fist to smash into his abdomen, sinking deep into the muscle.
He tossed aside the heavenly dragon halberd, drew his right arm back like a bow, clenched his fist, and punched toward Zephyr's chest like lightning.
"Let me show you what the true black arm is!!"
A pitch-black Haki as thick as the sea wrapped around his right fist.
As the punch was thrown, Zephyr seemed to see a grim fortress rising from the ground, standing tall on the sea level, suppressing the four seas.
"The black arm in my memory is a fist named Protection!"
"Black Arm! Smasher Impact!!"