Chapter 225: Defeated Again
Verdant vines pierced through the snow-covered frozen ground, carrying huge chunks of rock as they rose, blocking the one after another sharp wind blades.
When the giant rocks had been completely shattered, the transformed tree-man, Mabo, extended his body, directly blocking the path above the Marines' heads.
The Marines, who were shrouded in shadow, saw this, and their pupils trembled violently in shock. Many of the soldiers and officers, who didn't know what was happening, looked up at the tree-man above them and subconsciously said:
"That face... it's Major Sleimabo from the East Blue Loguetown branch, who was specially transferred to Headquarters because of his special talents and personal bravery!!"
"But how can he have Vice Admiral Ryokugyu's ability? Could it be that Vice Admiral Ryokugyu was killed in battle?!"
Further away, the flag officers who had been unable to extricate themselves from their fights saw this, let out a subconscious sigh of relief, and all showed looks of gratification.
"Well done, young Major!"
"Did you... luckily obtain his ability after Vice Admiral Ryokugyu was killed in battle? What a great help!" one of the Vice Admirals subconsciously glanced at the half of the warship Mabo had originally crashed into and said in a low voice. He had recognized that the ship's fruit and vegetable storage was in that location. Mabo must have happened to run into the reborn Devil Fruit when he had crashed into it.
On the other side of the battlefield, Yelena looked at Mabo, who was being cut by the wind blades in the distance. A hint of surprise flashed in the scarlet eyes under her gas mask.
"Is that Mabo? I see. So he's one of the few who joined the East Blue Loguetown branch back then."
Sleimabo was one of Yelena's kinsmen, who had been settled in New Canaan in the East Blue, also known as Katachan. A short while ago, Yelena had seen in the news that several of her people had chosen to join the Marines. Since then, she had been wondering who they were. And now, she had discovered the identity of one of them in an unexpected situation.
The eyes under Yelena's gas mask gave the distant tree-man a deep look, then shifted to the two who were in a standoff. And Fujitora and Katakuri, because of the sudden appearance of Yelena, silently raised their guard.
Then, under their gazes, Yelena lightly raised her World-Breaker war hammer, and flowing Armament Haki and curse power were wreathed around it without reservation. The next moment, under their watchful eyes, she shattered the ground in a radius of several hundred meters and, in a posture that was almost flying close to the ground, she dived toward them.
Before the heavily armored figure had even arrived, a sky-blotting blizzard had already washed over the two with a terrifying low temperature, covering Fujitora and Katakuri's bodies in white frost and snow. Almost in an instant, the two of them simultaneously burst forth with a powerful Haki, eliminating the frost that was gradually encroaching on their bodies.
"Mochi Thrust!"
The next moment, Katakuri foresaw the heavily armored figure's attack. He then transformed his large arm, which was gripping his trident, into a high-speed rotating mochi and, after wreathing the trident in Conqueror's Haki, thrust it straight out.
Nearby, Fujitora, after sensing the state of Garp and the others with his Observation Haki, frowned slightly. Then, he held his Supreme Grade sword, Gambler's Fury, wreathed in Armament Haki, in front of him to protect himself.
The next moment, the trident, wreathed in Conqueror's Haki, and the cold, heavy World-Breaker war hammer collided, creating a giant roar and ripple. A powerful shockwave spread out, shattering everything around them and sending it flying at a speed far exceeding sound.
Just then, something that neither of the two clashing parties had expected happened. Fujitora actually allowed himself to be sent flying by the huge impact from the collision. He quickly distanced himself from the two and headed in the direction of the true top-tier fighters.
"Fujitora!!" Katakuri's face changed.
And Yelena, on the other hand, merely gave a cool glance and then paid him no mind. She quickly put away her war hammer, turned, and once again swung it at Katakuri.
Seeing this, Katakuri had no choice but to frown and block the blow. As rock and soil shattered and ice and snow flew, Katakuri spoke in a deep voice, "At a time like this, shouldn't we be targeting the Marines first?"
To this, Yelena, in the midst of their clashing weapons, replied in a hoarse voice, "It doesn't matter. The captain didn't ask us to target any particular force. Fighting you is the same."
Katakuri heard this, and his already ashen face became even uglier. But things had already come to this. He could only focus on dealing with the one after another fierce attacks from the person before him.
Meanwhile, in the most terrifying center of the battle.
Zephyr raised his bandage-wrapped hand and, after wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, coolly looked at the golden figure hovering not far away. His gaze fell on the Seven Star Sword in Louis's hand, which was crackling with black and red arcs of electricity and covered in a pale golden light. "Just as Kuzan and the others said," he spoke in a deep voice, "what a strange ability..."
His body had taken more than one blow from that sword. If he hadn't already received detailed intelligence beforehand, he would most likely have quickly fallen to this ability. Originally, he had been somewhat dissatisfied that Kuzan and Borsalino had been seriously injured by the same person. But when he truly faced Louis, he realized just how dangerous it was to face such a strange ability for the first time. If you didn't understand the situation, you would be seriously injured in a single exchange, and it would be very difficult to regain the advantage afterward.
To this, Louis said nothing more, but quickly vibrated his wings and charged toward Zephyr. As he moved at high speed, the ground seemed to be split in two, and a fierce wind kicked up a sky of dust.
Above Louis's head, the halo forged of flames spun rapidly. Searing flames ignited, spreading from his flawless white wings, turning into one after another of clawing, searing fire dragons that shot out. Along the way, they vaporized the ice and snow, shattered huge chunks of rock and melted them into crimson lava, and then attacked Zephyr from all sides.
To this, Zephyr suppressed the waves of pain coming from his battered body. He clenched his fists, wreathed them in Armament Haki, and swung them fiercely. With one after another of impassioned roars, one after another of the clawing fire dragons were shattered by the punch-gales that were wreathed in Haki lightning. On the pale earth, the punch-gales rippled, creating terrifying shockwaves in the atmosphere. The searing flames shattered, turning into a sky of golden falling leaves. The spreading high temperature directly vaporized the ice and snow on the ground. The earth, which was covered with the remains of sea creatures, was baked red, and was on the verge of turning into lava.
Zephyr just punched and shattered the attacking flames one after another, and met the high-speed attacking golden figure head-on.
BOOM!
The black fist and the blade collided. A giant roar as if mountains were collapsing suddenly erupted. The roar was accompanied by a terrifyingly strong shockwave and horrifying Conqueror's Haki lightning, which directly tore up the surface of the earth, sending the shattered debris flying into the air.
The surface of the earth shattered, and black and red lightning exploded across the sky.
In the center of the shattered battlefield, a figure covered in bandages with short purple hair was sent flying backward. He tore through the sound barrier and, after shattering dozens of hundred-meter-sized rocks and coral, scraped a long track in the ground before steadying himself, clutching his chest.
Louis extended his broad wings forward, and a fierce hurricane blew away the sky of smoke, dust, and ice, sweeping it to the horizon. Immediately after, he reached out and took back his spear, which had pierced out from the earth. After wreathing it in Conqueror's Haki, he threw it again.
"Drip—"
Zephyr's face twisted, and a stream of blood uncontrollably overflowed from his mouth, dripping onto the ground.
"Hah... huff..."
Zephyr quickly took out a special medicine from a pocket behind him and swallowed it, trying to calm his breathing.
Just as the pain in his body was easing, the spear, wreathed in Conqueror's Haki and attacking like a clawing flood dragon, had already arrived in an instant. After sensing it with his Observation Haki, Zephyr abruptly looked up and sidestepped, letting the spear graze past him.
Immediately after, he spun around, and his black fist, which was ravaged by Haki lightning, swung toward the golden figure that had already arrived with a sky full of firelight. However, before his iron fist could solidly smash into Louis's body, the blade, wreathed in Conqueror's Haki, had already, with a clear hum, been reflected in Zephyr's eyes.
Immediately after, Louis's detached voice also sounded.
"Divine Departure—"
The next moment, a black and red flash exploded, rising like a nuclear fireball and creating a terrifying ripple that once again covered the golden colors of the world. The Conqueror's Haki shockwave and black and red lightning pierced the sky, creating a terrifying wave on the sea several nautical miles away that spread out in all directions.
SPLAT.
Zephyr, who had taken the full brunt of Louis's Conqueror's Haki blow, couldn't control himself and violently spat out a mouthful of blood. Immediately after, an endless pain surged up, and he gradually lost control of every part of his body. But his tenacious will still allowed his legs to stand firmly on the ground, supporting him and preventing him from falling.
Not far away, some of the flag officers who were in a fierce battle saw this, and their faces changed drastically.
Gradually, his vision became blurry, and a warm light flashed in his eyes.
Louis turned, his face expressionless as he watched the gradually losing consciousness Zephyr. The Seven Star Sword, held tightly in his palm, was glowing with a strange light from being stained with the blood of the strong.
In the distance, Garp and the others, who were in another battle and had just seized a golden opportunity, sensed all this with their Observation Haki and became extremely anxious.
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