Among all the people Griffin had personally encountered, none had ever given him such an immediate impression of...
'Hardness! Visibly formidable strength!'
...
Zephyr, now in his early sixties, had not yet entered the physical decline of his body. Every inch of his muscle lines was tight and smooth.
His rock-solid back showcased the physical conditioning forged through long-term high-intensity training and combat.
The beauty perceived through the Sharingan's perspective differed from what ordinary people understood as beauty.
Appearance accounted for only a tiny part; what truly mattered was conviction and willpower.
Without a doubt, in Griffin's eyes, Zephyr was beautiful.
...
When it came to willpower, probably no one in the Marines could surpass this man in purity.
Anyone who understood him would know.
Upholding the justice of non-lethality, even after experiencing a series of devastating blows—his family killed by pirates, his students slaughtered by pirates, and his own arm severed—
This Marine never abandoned his commitment to justice.
He understood better than anyone that the Marines should be an organization fighting to protect the weak. Having nurtured countless Marine officers, he was hailed as the backbone of the Marines.
...
Such a man of pure justice...
When the government higher-ups incorporated the pirate who murdered his student into the Seven Warlords of the Sea, the justice in Zephyr's heart completely collapsed.
To eradicate all pirates, he didn't hesitate to harm the innocent, swinging from one extreme to another.
Pure people have no middle ground.
...
...
"Kid, are you sizing me up?"
Zephyr's voice was deep and powerful.
His sharp, sword-like gaze fixed directly on Griffin, carrying the pressure tempered through countless life-and-death battles.
Quelling the restlessness in his cells, Griffin smiled and said, "Is this a show of authority? Chief Instructor Zephyr."
...
Zephyr didn't possess Conqueror's Haki, but the imposing aura honed through years of combat was something ordinary people couldn't withstand.
It was precisely to resist this pressure that Griffin instinctively activated his Sharingan.
While it seemed like Griffin was assessing Zephyr...
In reality, it was Zephyr who was assessing him.
...
Zephyr turned and walked over slowly. Tenma immediately bowed in greeting, "Long time no see, Teacher Zephyr!"
Griffin, standing just under two meters tall, appeared quite diminutive before the two men who were over three meters tall, barely even catching any light.
Looking at their sunglasses-clad faces, a strange thought suddenly crossed Griffin's mind.
It seemed most graduates of the Officer Training Camp had a habit of wearing sunglasses.
Kizaru, Kuzan, Smoker, even female Marines like Hina...
Was the origin here?
Did they think it looked cool?
...
Zephyr ignored Tenma, stopping about four or five meters away—any closer and Griffin would have to look up to meet his gaze.
"Let's skip the self-introductions. The hero of the Marines' next generation... Kid, do you think you're worthy of bearing that title?"
Corresponding to the pirate king's title, the meaning of 'hero' held different significance for the Marines.
In the world's understanding, the Marine Hero stood above the Pirate King, after all, it was Hero Garp who personally sent the Pirate King to the execution platform.
Zephyr tilted his head slightly and grinned. "Our era had too many monsters - Roger, Whitebeard, Shiki..."
"Even against opponents like that, Garp possessed the power to suppress them all. Can you comprehend the weight behind that title?"
...
"I actually had prepared some humble words to say..."
"But out of respect for you, I'll speak the truth instead."
A slow smile spread across Griffin's lips - not a gentle one, but sharp with a hint of madness.
His Sharingan blazed like kindled flames, gleaming with paranoid light.
"These people you mentioned are merely ordinary men unfortunate enough not to be born in my era."
"Do you think I care about inheriting someone else's title?"
"Just who do you think I am!"
——
CRACK——
WHOOSH——!!
The next moment, an invisible force erupted from Griffin's body, sweeping through the entire training ground like a storm.
The ground shook, dust flew everywhere, and the surrounding Marine flags snapped violently in the wind.
The trainees here were all officers from various regions, not mere foot soldiers, yet many still couldn't withstand this impact, with some even collapsing to their knees.
Conqueror's Haki!!
...
The air seemed to solidify, yet Zephyr stood firm and unshaken amidst the surging waves.
Zephyr narrowed his eyes slightly, his hands trembling with a subtle rhythm - not from fear, but from interest and recognition of this power.
"The same power as Garp and Sengoku... it's been a long time since I've seen this..."
He slowly raised his arms, Armament Haki as black as ink extending from his wrists to his fingertips, covering his skin like thick steel.
The heart-palpitating pressure was even more overwhelming than the Conqueror's Haki!
...
"Recruit!"
"A true strong fighter must not only know how to attack, but also understand how to endure!"
"Stand firm!"
RIP——!!
Before his words faded, Zephyr's right fist shot out, punching through the air with a dull thud that tore through the Conqueror's Haki!
Real men speak with their fists!!
Griffin immediately withdrew his Conqueror's Haki, instinctively raising his arms to block.
BAM!!!
Upon impact, Griffin felt as if a high-speed train had slammed directly into his chest!
Without any resistance, Griffin was sent flying by the heavy punch, crashing hard against the iron stake at the edge of the training ground.
CLANG——
Even the tempered iron stake was dented clearly from the impact.
——
"Blocking doesn't mean taking the hit head-on."
Zephyr approached step by step, his blackened wrists gleaming like metal in the sunlight.
"You need to use the flow of power to dissipate the impact, looking for opportunities to counterattack using the opponent's momentum."
He raised his fist, this punch seeming slow at first but suddenly accelerating as it approached.
The tomoe in Griffin's eyes spun wildly as pure white fur covered his hands.
As the fist closed in, he shifted his body slightly, using his shoulders and hands to deflect part of the impact and channel the force into the ground.
But Zephyr's fist didn't completely miss, the glancing blow making his chest ache with a dull pain.
Such a heavy fist!
How could a fist be this heavy!
...
"Don't let your mind wander."
Zephyr flipped his wrist, his five fingers hooking like claws as his pure black hand grabbed Griffin's shoulder.
With just a light squeeze, Griffin's shoulder blade emitted an ear-piercing cracking sound.
Griffin gritted his teeth without crying out in pain, spotting Zephyr's exposed chest, he joined his five fingers into a blade and stabbed fiercely toward Zephyr's chest!
Without holding back in the slightest, Griffin even used the Uchiha Style Swordsmanship's ultimate killing technique in this hand blade strike.
CRACK————
The hand chop collided with a pitch-black chest.
Griffin's fingers dislocated and fractured, sending stabbing pains straight to his heart.
Compared to this, Lucci's Iron Body was like the difference between newspaper and diamond!
The pain didn't make him retreat. Instead, a glint of madness flashed in his eyes as he clenched his fist and pressed on!
Thud!!
Before his fist could land, Zephyr's massive fist had already struck his abdomen.
Griffin felt as if all his internal organs had been jolted out of place, his body uncontrollably freezing in place.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, yet Griffin grinned wildly.
"That's more like it!!"
Instead of falling, Griffin took half a step forward against Zephyr's onslaught.
...
This guy...
Even the most stubborn ones before would have stopped at this point.
...
Zephyr raised an eyebrow slightly, his wrist twisting as his fist transformed into a palm, then into fingers.
Fingertips coated in Armament Haki struck various points on Griffin's body like sharp swords, inflicting intense pain without causing severe injury.
"Armament Haki isn't armor—it's a weapon, an extension of your will."
"You must make it part of your body, not just a shell you wear outside!"
...
Griffin's breathing grew increasingly ragged, his body gradually finding its rhythm amidst the pain, tracing the flow of power within.
Through the Sharingan's vision, he could see the Armament Haki Zephyr had injected into his body.
This was internal destruction using Armament Haki...
And at the same time, it was letting him experience this power firsthand.
—
Whoosh—
As Zephyr's fist descended once more, Griffin expelled Zephyr's Haki from within his body, deflecting the punch while his left hand seized Zephyr's wrist—
His right hand, bleeding profusely with shattered bones and flying fragments, seemed to show faint traces of black.