...
The weapon shattered, smoke and dust gradually dispersed.
Zephyr lowered his head to look at the broken joint on his right shoulder—no longer bearing the heavy, cold Seastone giant arm.
This time, the dead, icy coldness from before was gone from his eyes, as was the violent rage. Instead, there was a strange calm, like the brief tranquility at the eye of a storm.
"It seems… the era of relying on external tools has come to an end."
Zephyr murmured to himself, his voice not loud, yet clearly reaching Luffy's ears.
He slowly raised his head, his gaze refocusing on the boy across from him—covered in wounds yet with eyes still blazing.
"Straw Hat brat… let me send you off on your final journey with these black arms."
As the words fell, Zephyr's remaining left hand—calloused and scarred—was simultaneously coated in the densest Armament Haki imaginable: pitch-black as ink, gleaming with a metallic, cold hardness!
Though aged and frail, the moment he truly resolved to fight with the purest physical technique and Haki, the terrifying aura that once belonged to "Black Arm" Zephyr—the one that had made countless pirates tremble in fear—rose again from his hunched frame!
He used no more tricks or external aids, simply stepping forward with heavy yet resolute strides toward Luffy!
His speed wasn't fast, yet it carried an unstoppable, mountain-crushing weight!
Luffy's eyes erupted with fierce battle intent, meeting him without the slightest fear!
He knew—this was the opponent's true stance!
Their figures collided once more!
No flashy named techniques, no dazzling Devil Fruit special effects—only the most primal, brutal, and soul-shaking hand-to-hand combat!
Fists meeting flesh, blood flying everywhere!
Every clash produced dull, thunderous booms; every exchange whipped up sharp gusts of wind!
Luffy's rubber body deformed violently under the Haki clashes; Zephyr's aged frame endured impacts far beyond its limits.
Yet both gritted their teeth, refusing to yield even half a step!
This was no longer just a contest of strength—it was a direct collision of wills and beliefs!
"My dream… is to become the Pirate King!!!"
Luffy roared hoarsely after being knocked back once more by a punch clash, blood spilling from his mouth, yet his eyes burned with unyielding flame.
"And I… am 'Z'!!"
Zephyr roared back in response, his fists carrying a lifetime of resentment and resolve as they smashed toward Luffy.
But in the instant of his strike, images long buried in dust uncontrollably flashed through his mind…
The pure, blazing eyes of his childhood self when he first vowed to become a "hero" who protected the weak…
His early days in the Marines, fighting side by side with Garp, Sengoku, and Tsuru, shouting justice slogans with boiling blood…
His promotion to Admiral, known as "Black Arm," proudly upholding his no-kill philosophy across the seas…
The numbing agony when news of his wife and child's brutal deaths arrived—heart torn apart, yet unable to shed tears…
The solace and sense of responsibility in the training camp, watching the vibrant faces of young recruits and entrusting hope to the next generation…
The despair and fury when the practice ship was attacked, students falling one by one in pools of blood, his own arm severed…
The moment his beliefs collapsed completely upon learning that pirate had become a Warlord—the world turning to gray darkness and madness…
And… the callous obsession when he devised his plan to drag the entire New World down with him, indifferent to everything—including the lives of countless innocent civilians…
"What… exactly have I been doing?"
A faint yet piercing question echoed deep in his soul.
He who once bore the name of justice, who prided himself on "no killing," was now about to drag countless civilians—who coexisted with the New World and might not even know what pirates were—into an abyss of destruction…
The World Government and Marines may have wronged him, betrayed the justice he believed in, but those civilians… what wrong had they done?
These thoughts fell like ice water on the heart scorched by flames of revenge, bringing a sting and daze.
His punching momentum faltered with a subtle, almost imperceptible hesitation—even he himself did not notice.
But Luffy—this boy born for dreams—possessed an extreme sensitivity to battle rhythm and an opponent's aura!
Right now!!
In that fleeting moment of Zephyr's subtle hesitation, Luffy's eyes flashed with brilliant light!
Enduring the excruciating pain as if his bones were about to shatter, he squeezed out the last drop of strength in his body, channeling all his Haki, will, and heart to protect his crew and promise into his right fist!
No named technique—just the simplest, most direct straight punch, yet lightning-fast and heavy as a thousand weights, smashing squarely into the center of Zephyr's chest!
"Pfft—!"
Zephyr's body shook violently; a mouthful of blood sprayed out as he staggered backward.
The madness and turbidity in his eyes seemed partially shattered by the punch, revealing deeper… clarity and shock.
He did not fall immediately but looked at Luffy, who—exhausted—had dropped to one knee and could barely stand.
The boy was drenched in blood, gasping heavily, yet his eyes remained bright, stubbornly trying to rise again.
In a daze, Zephyr seemed to see, in Luffy, the pure, stubborn, all-out-fighting younger self of long ago… chasing dreams in the same way, willing to protect, fight for, and reclaim what he deemed important in his own manner.
"Heh… hehehe…"
Zephyr suddenly let out a low laugh—complex emotions filling the sound: self-mockery, bitterness, and… an indescribable sense of release.
He no longer forced himself to hold on; his massive body slowly fell backward, crashing heavily onto the rock and kicking up dust.
He breathed violently, chest heaving, every breath carrying blood foam and unbearable pain.
Old age—the law no one could escape—finally displayed its cruelest power here, dragging his body completely to its limit.
Yet strangely, he felt little unwillingness at defeat.
Instead… an odd lightness.
"So… I wasn't actually fighting you, this pirate brat, to the death…"
Zephyr gazed at the gray sky, murmuring: "I was… settling things with… that younger self of mine…"
In the end, the aged, exhausted, half-consumed-by-darkness "Z" still lost to the boy before him who charged forward without hesitation.
"Teacher!!"
"Teacher Zephyr!!"
Terrified shouts from Ain and Binz came from afar.
The rest of the Straw Hat crew finally broke through the obstacles and reached the rock platform's vicinity.
Farther away, in the shadow of the mountain rocks, Kuzan stood silently, having witnessed everything.
When he saw Zephyr discard the mechanical arm and engage Luffy in pure "Black Arm" hand-to-hand combat for the final clash…
A complex light flashed in Kuzan's eyes as he murmured to himself: "Black Arm Zephyr… he's back, huh…"
A faint, almost imperceptible smile even curved at the corner of his mouth.
He hadn't misjudged the man after all.
Only someone as utterly pure and stubbornly persistent as Luffy could possibly drag Teacher back—even for just a moment—from that dead-end path.
Luffy used the last of his strength to shakily stand again.
He walked to Zephyr's side—no finishing blow, no mockery—simply bent down, gently retrieved the straw hat, carefully brushed off the dust, and solemnly placed it back on his head.
"I told you… I came to take back my hat." Luffy's voice was weak yet exceptionally clear.
Zephyr looked at him without speaking.
At that moment, piercing alarm sirens and the roar of warship engines came from the sea!
Borsalino's massive Marine fleet had finally arrived, completing a total encirclement of the area!
Cannon fire thundered; countless Marine soldiers landed, weapons drawn, sealing off the rock platform and surrounding waters impenetrably!
From the looks of it, they intended to wipe out the Straw Hat crew, Kuzan, and even Zephyr along with his remnants in one fell swoop!
"Teacher! We…" Ain and Binz anxiously tried to rush over.
"Whether dreams come first or people do… mediocre people lose themselves in the pursuit…"
Zephyr struggled to sit up, his gaze sweeping over the approaching Marines, his anxious disciples, the exhausted yet vigilant Straw Hat crew…
Finally, he slowly pulled out his signature sunglasses from his chest and put them on, then casually plucked a blade of grass from nearby and placed it in his mouth.
His eyes regained firmness and calm—even carrying a trace of open-mindedness.
"But I… am Black Arm Zephyr."
"Since this is already a certain-death situation… then let me end it all here."
Cover the Straw Hat crew's escape, cover his students' withdrawal—see it through from beginning to end, fully committing to the path he had chosen.
This was the final lesson he could give his disciples as a teacher.
At that moment, Kuzan understood instantly. His eyes narrowed; with a lift of his hand, a thick, solid giant ice wall suddenly rose!
It stood directly between Zephyr and his disciples.
"Damn you, Kuzan… is this the grave you've picked for me?!"
Zephyr laughed and cursed, yet his voice carried gratitude. He knew Kuzan understood his intent and didn't want Ain and Binz to make pointless sacrifices.
The final battle was not as earth-shattering as imagined.
Among the advancing Vice Admirals, many had once been Zephyr's students. Seeing their teacher—alone against an army on the other side of the ice wall, yet standing tall with straight back—they all wore expressions of grief, eyes brimming with hot tears.
Even the iron-blooded Vice Admiral Doberman clenched his fists tightly, tears silently falling.
They did not advance, nor could they.
Akainu gave the order (to annihilate "Z" and his accomplices).
Borsalino carried it out (executing the extermination).
Aokiji built the grave (sealing it with an ice wall to preserve his final dignity)…
Fate's arrangement was sometimes cruel to the point of irony.
Borsalino's figure turned into golden light, appearing high above the ice wall.
He looked down at the teacher who had once taught him physical techniques, warned him not to rely too heavily on his fruit, now reaching the end of his life. For once, the usually flippant expression on his face held no trace of levity.
He slowly raised his finger; the tip gathered a point of dazzling brilliance.
"Farewell… Teacher Zephyr!"
In a soft murmur, that point of golden light transformed into a sacred beam piercing heaven and earth.
It plummeted toward the isolated Zephyr within the ice wall below!
Destructive light swallowed everything.
In the final instant before the light struck, from within the ice wall came Zephyr's last, exhausted yet clear and calm shout.
Not his codename—but the real name of the disciple he had once carefully taught: "Borsalino!!!"
The light exploded outward; the ice wall shattered.
...