The highland battlefield, choked with soot and metallic grit, seemed to flash-freeze.
Zephyr's hulking, iron-tower frame stood immovable, his empty right sleeve snapping like a whip in the wind. The old veteran stared at Ace, his gaze heavy with an iron-blooded killing intent that rolled across the plateau like a tidal wave.
"I have seen a thousand rookies like you," Zephyr rumbled, his voice low and dangerous. "Children who treat plunder and slaughter as a game."
Zephyr's remaining left hand slowly clenched, his knuckles popping with the sound of small-caliber gunfire. "But in my presence, your 'pirate games' end in a shallow grave."
Ace leaped from the shattered ramparts, his boots hitting the rocky earth with a dull, heavy thud. He stood tall, his dark red trench coat billowing behind him. He looked at the legend who had lost an arm but none of his spirit, and Ace's black eyes ignited with a scorching fighting spirit. There was no mockery. No hesitation. Only the hunger of a predator meeting his match.
"Whether I stop here or climb over you... let's let our fists settle the debt."
The moment the last syllable left his lips, both figures vanished.
BOOM!
The ground where they had stood cratered outward. In mid-air, Zephyr's left arm was instantly coated in a layer of Busoshoku Haki so deep it shimmered like polished obsidian. This was the legendary "Black Arm" that had crushed the dreams of countless pirates. Even with one limb, the density of his Haki was enough to shatter mountains.
Ace met him head-on. His muscles surged as he channeled high-level Ryuo (Emission) to the surface of his knuckles, entwining the Haki with the crimson-gold heat of his Vermilion Divine Fire.
"Divine Fire: CRUSHING FIST!"
THOOM!!!
Obsidian met crimson in the center of the plateau.
A deafening sonic boom tore through the sky. A visible ring of white shockwaves, laced with tongues of golden flame, expanded violently. Wrecked chariots and boulders within a hundred meters were tossed aside like autumn leaves by the sheer atmospheric pressure of the collision.
What a heavy hand... Ace thought, feeling a numbing vibration travel up his humerus.
This was the Haki of the Old Era—a tempered, bone-deep hardness that pressed through his own Haki and the buffer of his flames. It was the most physical pressure he had ever felt.
Opposite him, Zephyr's eyes widened with a flash of genuine shock.
The brat wasn't just using flames; a layer of flowing Haki was striking past the point of contact, trying to vibrate into Zephyr's internal organs. Coupled with the bizarre, soul-searing heat of the Divine Fire that even his Black Arm couldn't fully dissipate, the rookie had actually matched his crushing blow.
"No wonder you dared to touch the Heavenly Gold," Zephyr snorted, his arm muscles bulging as he pressed forward. "You actually have the teeth to bite!"
The two dove into a frantic, high-speed exchange of close-quarters combat, their movements a blur of black and gold.
The Edge of the Fire-Wall.
"Teacher Zephyr!"
Vice Admiral Momonga saw the stalemate and drew his famed katana, his body blurring into a Soru dash to support his mentor.
"Your dance is with me, Mr. Vice Admiral."
A blue shadow intercepted him like a ghost. Sabo adjusted his top hat, tapping his alloy staff against the scorched earth. A torrent of orange-red flames erupted beneath his feet, forming a localized wall of fire that cut Momonga off from the main duel.
"Logia-type... the Mera Mera no Mi," Momonga noted, his eyes narrowing as he spun his blade into a ready stance. "Do not think a Logia makes you invincible, pirate. This sea is full of those who thought the same and died."
"I don't think I'm invincible," Sabo said calmly, his fingers curling into a black-clad Dragon's Claw. "I just think I'm better than you."
Sabo lunged, his staff clashing with Momonga's steel in a shower of sparks. At seventeen, Sabo wasn't yet the world-class powerhouse who could one-shot a Vice Admiral, but with his Haki-infused claws and flames, he was a nightmare for any Marine officer.
The Melee.
Seeing the Vice Admiral stalled, the two Marine Commodores who had arrived with the vanguard turned their sights on Jeno and Leona.
"Take the subordinates down first!" they roared, using Soru to close the gap.
"Good! My hammer was starting to feel light!" Jeno laughed, his exoskeleton venting a massive cloud of steam. He charged the first Commodore, swinging his hydraulic power hammer in a wide, bone-shattering arc.
On the other side, Leona stood amidst a pile of fallen soldiers, her twin bone-cleavers dripping crimson. The frantic battle had awakened the "Apex Predator" instinct she had cultivated in the wild. Her slit pupils glowed with a feral, golden light as she watched the Commodore approach.
"The Captain said you were a 'stepping stone' to my Haki," she whispered, licking a drop of blood from her lip. "I think I'll use your skin to sharpen my blades."
She met the Marine in a lethal dance, her silver and black blades whirring with such speed they created a vacuum of whistling air.
"Hey, hey! This is a bit much, even for me!" Buggy shrieked.
He was currently a collection of flying parts, his legs staying behind a rock while his torso and arms wove through a hail of Marine bullets.
"Stop whining, Steward! If you don't want to rot in Impel Down, start swinging!" Carina called out from the high ground. She was nimbly reloading her flintlock, providing surgical fire support.
BANG! BANG!
Two precise shots clipped the ankles of Marines trying to flank Leona. With Carina's cover, Buggy's ego surged. He dove into the Marine rank-and-file, his Sea Stone knuckles cracking skulls from blind spots.
"Chop-Chop: SPINNING FLYING FIST!"
The Center of the Storm.
The battle between Ace and Zephyr had reached a white-hot fever pitch.
BOOM!
Ace took a direct "Black Arm" punch to his ribs. He felt the air leave his lungs and his blood surge, but the pain only fed the fire. Using the momentum of the blow, he spun his body, his right leg—wreathed in Divine Fire like a burning guillotine—sweeping toward Zephyr's neck.
Against this legend, any restraint was a death warrant. Ace pushed his Haki to the absolute limit. He wasn't just fighting an Admiral; he was using "Black Arm" Zephyr as the ultimate whetstone to force his Haki to evolve from a surface coating into a weapon of internal destruction.
"Old man!" Ace roared, his fist glowing with the intensity of a dying sun as it hurtled toward Zephyr. "Your punches are getting soft!"
He swung again, Ryuo and Divine Fire roaring in unison, challenging the Old Era with the unbridled heat of the New.
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