An unnamed, desolate island not far from Ambri Island. The landscape was filled with jagged rocks and ancient, towering trees, giving it a primitive and wild feel.
"Whoosh—!"
Two figures, one red and one black, descended from the sky like comets, landing almost at the same time in the center of the island. Takero touched down lightly on a huge rock, which instantly cracked under his feet. He scanned the area, a perfect arena, with a very satisfied smile.
Zephyr landed heavily on the open ground across from him. He took off his Marine uniform jacket, the symbol of justice, revealing terrifying, explosive muscles underneath that looked like they were cast from steel.
"Kid, I have to admit, I've never seen courage like yours in my entire life," Zephyr's voice was deep like a bell, carrying the solemn weight of a veteran. "But this is where it ends. Today, I'm going to put you down myself."
"Enough with the speeches, old man!" Takero grinned, his black eyes burning with fighting spirit. "Are you done with your last words? If you are... let's get started!"
Before the words even left his mouth, his figure vanished.
BOOM—!!!
The moment he pushed off, the giant rock beneath his feet was completely pulverized by the violent force. He transformed into a blurry, crimson lightning bolt, tearing through the air with a piercing shriek. In an instant, he crossed a hundred meters, a straight punch condensing all his strength aimed fiercely at Zephyr's face.
"Good!"
Zephyr didn't dodge. He let out an equally earth-shattering roar. His jet-black arm, wrapped in Armament Haki so dense it was almost solid, met Takero's fist head-on like a black meteor.
The monster of the new era and the hero of the old. At that moment, their most primal power collided.
RUMBLE—!!!!!!
An indescribable, terrifying roar exploded in the center of the island, as if space itself was being warped. A visible, circular shockwave of black and red energy swept out from where their fists met, like the wrath of a god. In an instant, the earth shook violently. The ground beneath their feet collapsed and cracked like the surface of a lake after a boulder is thrown in. Tons of rock and soil were thrown into the air, only to be torn into dust by the violent air currents. The ancient trees surrounding them, which were so thick it would take several people to wrap their arms around them, were uprooted like fragile matchsticks and instantly shredded.
The aftershock from a single punch had completely leveled the center of the island, turning it into a chaotic wasteland. Amidst the swirling dust, a figure was sent flying backward by the immense force.
It was Zephyr.
Takero only slid back a few steps, his face filled with an unprecedented excitement. "Hahahaha! Now that's what I'm talking about! This is amazing!" He shook his slightly numb fist, savoring the feeling of a real fight. "Old man! You're way stronger than that flashy guy!"
On the other side, Zephyr's indestructible Black Arm was trembling slightly. His face was a mask of pure shock. 'How is this possible?!' This time, he had been completely serious, and he was still pushed back.
"Warm-up's over, old man!" Takero's wild laughter rang out again. "Now, I'm going to get serious! This won't stop until one of us is down, hahahaha!!"
BOOM!
A dark red aura, like an erupting volcano, surged from his body again. It wrapped around him completely, making him look like a burning war god straight out of hell.
"Armament: Berserk Arm Impact!!" Zephyr roared, pushing his Armament Haki to its absolute limit. All of his power was condensed to a single point, compressed and fused to unleash a super-powered blow that could pierce through anything. An incredibly dense shockwave, like a roaring dragon, tore through the sky.
"Kamehameha—Wave!!!"
Takero was not about to be outdone. A dazzling blue-white ball of energy, containing terrifying destructive power, rapidly gathered and compressed in his palms.
BOOM—!!!!
The torrent of blue-white energy and the invisible shockwave collided violently in mid-air. There was no sound. For a moment, the entire world seemed to go silent. An extremely blinding light swallowed everything. Then, an enormous black and red sphere of energy formed at the point of collision, and then... it violently exploded.
A chaotic storm of energy swept across the entire island once again. The earth groaned and the sky trembled. The climax of the battle had begun.
Zephyr used his decades of combat experience and martial arts skill to their fullest. Soru, Moonwalk, Shigan, Rankyaku... the essence of the Marine Six Powers became a deadly art of killing in his hands. Takero, relying on his Saiyan battle instincts and his monstrously powerful body, met him blow for blow.
Boom! Bang! Clang—!
Their figures became two streaks of light that were impossible to follow with the naked eye, wildly crashing into each other on the ruined island, separating, and then colliding again. Every exchange of blows was followed by the sound of the earth cracking and rocks being pulverized. The entire island was constantly being leveled and shrunk by the world-destroying aftershocks of their battle, looking as if it could sink into the sea at any moment.
"Hahahaha! This is it! This is what I call a fight!" Takero roared with laughter in the middle of the clash, his fists creating countless afterimages. "This is the best fight I've had since coming to this world!"
But on the other side, Zephyr's heart grew heavier with every passing second. This young man was an absolute monster, even more terrifying than Whitebeard and the other Emperors. His stamina seemed endless. His body was as hard as alloy. And most terrifying of all, Zephyr could clearly feel that as the battle raged on, his opponent's strength was actually increasing. What kind of monster was this?
'I can't let this drag on!' A sense of crisis he had never felt before rose in Zephyr's heart.
He suddenly retreated, putting some distance between them. He looked at the young man who, despite having taken some damage, was only showing more and more fighting spirit. Zephyr's eyes held both admiration and regret.
"Kid!" he said, his voice hoarse from heavy breathing. "Why would someone like you choose to make an enemy of the World Government?! If you were willing to join the Marines, with your potential, in ten years—no, in five years!—you could become the strongest Admiral in Marine history! You could be a hero, a guardian of world peace!"
These were the words of a man who genuinely appreciated talent. But Takero only answered with a disdainful sneer.
"Marines? Heroes?" Takero looked at him as if he were a fool. "Don't make me laugh, old man. I have no interest in being a dog for a bunch of lunatics." He paused, his tone becoming even more arrogant. "If I'm going to do something, I'm going to be the one at the very top—the one who makes the rules!"
"And..." He thought of Robin and the "Void Century," and his disdain grew stronger. "Your precious World Government hunts down anyone who dares to study history. They even destroyed an entire island to do it. A government that's so afraid of the past... you call that 'justice'? Don't make me laugh!"
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