Before the man appeared, his voice arrived first.
It thundered like a bolt from the heavens, crashing down from the clouds.
Hanevza looked up.
High above, a small black dot streaked across the sky at terrifying speed.
Its target was obvious.
Him.
And that voice—
It made his entire body tremble.
To put it less elegantly—
His spine tightened, and raw instinctive fear surged through him.
He could never forget that voice.
In countless nightmares, it had been the herald of his defeat.
In those dreams, he was torn apart like scrap cloth.
Or smashed into bloody mist with a single punch.
"ROLDI!!!!"
At last, Hanevza could no longer suppress the swelling terror in his chest.
The towering, ferocious pirate captain screamed—
In a pitch far sharper than anyone would expect.
His pupils shrank violently.
His body trembled uncontrollably.
His surviving crew fared no better.
The strongest among them merely shook in place, devoid of fighting spirit.
The gap between them—
Was simply too vast.
The surviving Marines looked skyward.
Under Zephyr's guidance, they addressed him as "Teacher."
But no one else had ever been acknowledged by Zephyr as a true disciple.
That subject was taboo within Marine Headquarters.
To the stubborn old veteran—
He had only ever had one disciple.
"That's the legendary monster…"
A streak of light tore across the sky.
Roldy descended like a meteor.
The sheer speed ignited faint sparks across his body from friction with the air.
His fist fell—
Explosive power condensed within it.
Hanevza did not dare receive it head-on.
Under overwhelming fear, anger and unwillingness ignited.
He was furious at himself for trembling.
He had grown stronger!
He was no longer that fleeing nobody from years ago!
"Roldy! Who the hell do you think I am?! Do you still think I'm that weakling from before? You'll pay for your arrogance!"
He believed he knew Roldy's weakness—
Observation Haki.
Hanevza's Tyrannosaurus power surged.
He dodged sharply to the side.
His right claw coated in Armament Haki.
He imagined Roldy missing—
Imagined counterattacking—
Imagined drawing blood.
But—
Zephyr, watching while gasping for breath, allowed the faintest smile to touch his lips.
Too naive.
Roldy's talent was the greatest Zephyr had ever seen—
Equal to, perhaps even surpassing, Charlotte Linlin.
To judge him by the standards of years past—
Was stupidity itself.
Sure enough—
The instant Hanevza shifted—
Roldy's trajectory changed midair.
In less than a second—
Fantasy shattered.
A crushing force descended from above.
Hanevza's twin horns shattered instantly.
His elongated face twisted grotesquely.
His massive body compressed downward.
Eyes rolled white.
Blood streamed from his seven orifices.
His entire form flattened—
Like dough under a press.
"W-What?!!!"
Gasps erupted from both sides.
This was their first time witnessing Roldy's power firsthand.
The fearsome pirate captain.
The Marine's formidable enemy.
Defeated—
In a single strike?
The deck ruptured.
Hanevza embedded deep within it.
He did not die.
Ancient Zoan vitality, combined with the abnormal resilience of this world's humans, preserved his life.
But consciousness was gone.
Roldy stood on the deck.
His lantern-like eyes scanned the battlefield—
Then stopped on Zephyr.
The man who had once seemed like an unscalable mountain in his youth—
Now stood weathered.
Weakened.
For a brief moment—
Roldy's nose stung.
So it had come to this.
That proud man—
Reduced by illness.
Without hesitation, Roldy pulled medicine from his coat.
He had prepared it in advance.
For this exact possibility.
He poured it into Zephyr's mouth.
After swallowing, Zephyr's complexion improved.
He exhaled deeply.
Then looked up with a stiff smile.
"You brat… you've grown taller again…"
Indeed he had.
Now standing just over seven meters tall—
Not especially exaggerated in this world.
After all, for a man of his fame—
Being under two meters would have been far more embarrassing.
Zephyr did not ask.
Roldy did not explain.
Perhaps this was a man's unspoken understanding.
Between life and death—
No explanation was necessary.
"Captain… the captain lost…"
"A monster! He's a monster!!"
The pirates collapsed into despair.
And Roldy had not forgotten them.
Being stared at by a creature hundreds of times stronger—
Perhaps that was a twisted form of honor.
The cleanup required no elaborate description.
Even those with bounties in the tens of millions—
Were no different in his eyes.
When it was over—
Roldy bound the unconscious Hanevza.
At Zephyr's request.
There was undisguised hatred in Zephyr's gaze.
The Tyrannosaurus Fruit held value.
And death—
Was too merciful.
Looking at Hanevza, lying there like a dead dog—
Zephyr felt an unfamiliar weight in his chest.
The man who had nearly slaughtered them all—
Had been defeated instantly by his own student.
Perhaps—
He truly was old.
Perhaps—
He no longer belonged on the front lines.
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