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The freezing wind swept shards of ice into the air, tugging at the robes of the three men standing on the battlefield.
For a long moment, no one moved.
The atmosphere was eerily calm. None of them made the first move, as if each was waiting for the slightest crack in the others' defenses.
The three facing off on the ice could all be called monsters of the highest order.
Kyle—final disciple of the Navy Hero, Monkey D. Garp—had risen at astonishing speed. His record was dazzling, his combat experience terrifyingly rich, and his physique nothing short of inhuman.
Sengoku, known as the "Buddha," a master strategist and wielder of the Mythical Zoan Human-Human Fruit, Model: Buddha. His strength was as deep as the sea.
Zephyr, the former Chief Instructor of Marine Headquarters. The number of elite Marines who had come out from under his training was beyond counting.
Far away, aboard a warship, Marines hurriedly set up a visual Den Den Mushi, aiming the lens at the frozen battlefield.
No sound carried across the ice. The three men merely stood there.
And yet every Marine watching felt their heart hammering in their chest.
"Are the two Admirals really going to fight Vice Admiral Kyle?"
"It's going to be unimaginable…"
Someone muttered, throat bobbing nervously.
Then—
A suffocating gale roared across the battlefield. For a split second, it felt as if the air itself had been ripped away.
All eyes snapped upward.
Two overwhelming, tyrannical auras slammed into each other. The ice beneath their feet shattered with sharp cracks, fractures racing across its surface.
"Conqueror's Haki… they're clashing!"
The Marines stared in shock.
Barely a breath later—
"Admiral Sengoku moved!"
"It's started!!"
A Marine officer shouted, sweat already dripping down his temple.
Golden light exploded in front of Kyle.
In the next instant, a colossal figure appeared—a towering golden Buddha, radiant and majestic, as if forged from molten sunlight itself. His eyes gleamed with divine brilliance, and faint chanting seemed to echo through the air.
"Zephyr!"
"I'm going in!"
Sengoku roared.
His golden legs bent, crushing the ice beneath him, and he launched skyward. One massive palm pressed downward toward the lightning-wreathed figure ahead.
"Shockwave!"
Blinding light flared. The surrounding air seemed to vanish.
It felt as if a thousand mountains were crashing down on Kyle's head. His body bent involuntarily under the pressure before a devastating blast of compressed air slammed into him.
The speed. The weight.
Both were overwhelming.
"—!"
Blood surged up his throat. He barely held it back, eyes sharpening instantly.
His right fist clenched. The black Seastone glove creaked, sparks of lightning snapping across its surface.
Then he threw a punch straight into the massive shockwave.
Boom!
The air froze for a heartbeat. The glowing shockwave flattened under his strike, warped, then burst outward into a vicious ring of cutting force.
But that wasn't the end.
A blur.
Zephyr had already moved, appearing behind him.
"Surrender, Kyle!"
His voice was low and firm as his fist came crashing down.
Kyle spun, crossing his arms in defense.
Bang!
The force sent him skidding dozens of meters across the ice.
Before he could steady himself, Zephyr was already charging again. Kyle's right hand crackled violently as he thrust a finger forward.
"Two hundred million volts—Discharge!"
A dense barrage of lightning bolts shot toward Zephyr.
Kyle's pupils shrank.
The towering man weaved through the storm of lightning with astonishing speed. In just a breath or two, Zephyr was already in front of him.
Another punch came crashing down.
Kyle's eyes sharpened—and then he grinned.
"That's my teacher for you!"
He threw his own fist forward.
Bang!
A ripple of force spread outward as their fists collided, electricity snapping wildly between them.
A second later, an enormous shadow descended from above.
"Admiral Sengoku!"
Lightning flashed across Kyle's body as he dodged.
Boom!
Within a thousand meters, the ice shattered completely. Seawater surged upward, swallowing broken floes.
Kyle reappeared at a distance, his expression grave.
He had to admit it.
The pressure of two Admirals attacking together far exceeded what he had faced from the younger trio before.
This was different.
Completely different.
He raised his right hand, fingers splayed toward Sengoku.
"Eight hundred million volts—Heaven's Judgment!"
A pillar of blue lightning erupted forward, reaching the golden Buddha in an instant.
But Sengoku merely swung his massive arm.
Golden light flared.
With a single punch, he knocked the lightning aside. The beam veered upward and vanished into the sky.
"So this is Admiral-level power…"
Kyle murmured.
He stepped forward and vanished, reappearing before Zephyr.
His fists rained down in a brutal flurry. Zephyr laughed and blocked them head-on.
Dozens of blows later, Kyle twisted his waist and lifted his right leg high.
"Rankyaku!"
But Zephyr raised his own leg, stopping the strike mid-air.
"The Six Powers? I taught you those, Kyle!"
At the same time, Sengoku charged again.
The golden Buddha descended like a deity, his massive palm crashing downward.
Kyle tried to turn into lightning and slip away—
Too late.
The palm slammed into his back.
Blood sprayed from his mouth.
Zephyr saw the opening and instinctively stepped forward to end it.
Then he hesitated.
He was still his student.
In that split second of hesitation—
Kyle's right hand rose.
Blue arcs gathered, condensing into a ten-meter spear of lightning.
He gripped it tight. Conqueror's Haki and Armament Haki coiled around it.
Then he thrust upward.
A spray of blood.
The lightning spear pierced Sengoku's shoulder, forcing the massive figure back several steps.
Zephyr's expression changed. He appeared instantly before Kyle and drove a punch into his face.
Bang!
Kyle's body twisted through the air before crashing onto the ice.
"Are you alright, Sengoku?"
Zephyr asked gravely.
"I'm fine. Just a scratch."
Sengoku pulled the lightning spear from his shoulder and hurled it aside, enduring the pain.
"But Zephyr."
"Until we capture this brat, don't hold back again."
"Remember our mission."
Zephyr stiffened.
Then he nodded heavily.
In the distance, Kyle shook his head to clear the ringing in his ears. He rose slowly and wiped the blood from his cheek.
"As expected of two Admirals."
"I guess this is what the Golden Lion once experienced."
His gaze locked onto them.
Right now, both Admirals were at their absolute peak. Their bodies and strength were at their prime—nothing like the men they would become decades later.
One of them?
Maybe he could take one down.
But two…
"…That's going to take some work."
He raised his hand again.
Lightning burst from the sky, streaking forward.
The two Admirals moved simultaneously, sprinting across the ice, leaving afterimages as they dodged. Sengoku even charged straight through the lightning without hesitation.
In the blink of an eye, they were upon him.
"You're going too far!!" Zephyr roared.
His fists lashed out like a storm.
Kyle inhaled deeply. Black-red lightning wrapped around his fists as he countered.
Bang bang bang bang bang!
Explosions rippled through the air for miles. Shockwaves and arcs of light tore across the sky.
Sengoku struck as well, his punches releasing circular shockwaves with every blow.
One man against two Admirals.
And for a moment, Kyle held them back.
They flashed across the battlefield, leaving craters everywhere.
Then—
Sengoku's fist smashed into Kyle's head.
Blood poured down his face as his vision rang.
He grit his teeth and returned the favor, punching Sengoku across the cheek.
The Admiral staggered back, blood spraying from his nose.
The next instant, Zephyr's knee drove into Kyle's abdomen.
He vomited blood.
A heartbeat later, Kyle raised his hand.
"Ten billion volts—maximum output!"
A massive lightning beam erupted at point-blank range.
Zephyr's pupils contracted. He crossed his arms in defense.
His Haki held.
Even against the searing, destructive lightning, he blocked it head-on. He was pushed back over ten meters, skin reddened, arcs crawling across him as smoke rose from his body.
"The strongest offensive Devil Fruit… the Rumble-Rumble Fruit."
Zephyr's voice was low, his body trembling slightly.
Before he could recover—
"Don't forget why we're here!"
Sengoku roared.
He leapt high and unleashed another crushing shockwave.
Boom!
Kyle was struck directly. Even his elemental form seemed ineffective under that force. He coughed up blood again and again.
Zephyr moved instantly.
He grabbed Kyle's right arm.
In his other hand, Seastone shackles gleamed.
Click.
In a blink, the cuff snapped shut around Kyle's wrist.
"It's done!"
Sengoku's eyes lit up.
But before relief could settle—
A brilliant arc of blade-light flashed across his vision.
Kyle had drawn the long sword at his waist.
The blade traced a beautiful arc through the air.
Then—
In front of both Admirals' widening eyes—
He brought it down on his own cuffed wrist.
Slash.
Blood sprayed.
The Seastone shackle—and his severed right hand—fell onto the ice.
Clang.
The crisp metallic sound echoed.
Time seemed to freeze.
"This brat…?!"
"Has he lost his mind?"
Sengoku's gaze darkened as he stared at him.
"....."