Rumble—! Over the dark sky, dark clouds rolled, emitting bursts of muffled thunder.
Under the pouring rain, giant tornadoes connecting the sky and sea continuously ravaged the sea surface, guiding the fierce winds to howl non-stop, and white angry waves constantly slapped against the sides of the First Class's Marine ship.
"Zephyr, you're really old! To actually be forced into this situation by a few small fries..."
Or is it that you are still adhering to your principle of not killing? To the extent that you've put yourself in such a passive situation..."
A slightly melancholic and mocking voice suddenly entered Zephyr's ears.
However... Zephyr, however, was not angry but happy, and looked towards his side.
On the Marine ship deck, a spatial folding door quietly opened, and Sephiroth, holding a butcher knife, wearing a black suit, and draped in a cloak of justice, walked out with an indifferent expression.
Those Military School Students who had originally looked ashen, also rekindled new hope in their hearts, while the Pirates began to consider retreating in their minds.
"You are... Sephiroth!?"
After clearly seeing the face of the suddenly appearing silver-haired young man, Beck's pupils suddenly shrank, and his heart was greatly shaken.
He never expected that just as he was about to get his revenge, an Admiral-level combatant would enter the scene again!
Beck was very clear that the reason the three of them were able to surround and attack Zephyr and cut off one of his arms was because he had targeted the weakness and caught the opponent off guard.
But... as for Sephiroth, he basically only knew that the other party possessed Marine Admiral-level combat power and could fight the Four Emperors Kaido to a draw, knowing nothing else. If they continued to fight, they would be in extremely high danger of defeat!
After quickly weighing the situation in his heart, Beck immediately shouted, "The situation has changed, let's retreat first!"
Immediately, he took the lead, leaped up, and was the first to jump back onto the Pirate ship.
However... Beck only saw a flash of red light before his eyes, his vision flipped, and he also saw a familiar yet strange headless body.
So I'm already dead?... This thought flashed through Beck's mind one last time before he completely lost consciousness.
Seeing this scene, the Pirates immediately revealed expressions of horror.
They clearly saw that Sephiroth had merely swung his sword casually in the air, and Beck's neck was instantly severed.
This person is terrifying!
"Weevil, the situation isn't looking good, let's retreat quickly!"
On the pirate ship next to the Marine ship, Miss Bakkin had somehow already put on a lifebuoy. As she spoke, she leaped directly into the surging sea, splashing up large amounts of water.
"Mama!"
Seeing this, Weevil immediately followed suit, rushing towards the side of the Marine ship, using his legs for force, about to jump toward the sea.
Swish!
The butcher knife, entwined with dark red lightning, sliced through the void, directly cutting toward Weevil's obese body, at a position that was unclear whether it was his neck or chest.
Compared to Death Poison Doctor Beck's complete lack of awareness, Weevil keenly sensed Sephiroth's intention to attack him by swinging his butcher knife and tearing space. Thus, he immediately held the long-handled greatsword, entwined with Armament Haki, in front of him.
Clang!
At the instant the blades intersected, Weevil used the force to send his massive body directly crashing into the sea.
"He's got something!" Sephiroth looked at Weevil, who had jumped into the sea, and unconsciously murmured the words.
Having suddenly lost two important combatants, the pirates, whose morale was already shaken, could no longer care about fighting. They all jumped into the surging sea one after another, quickly fleeing from the Marine ship.
"Aren't you escaping?" Sephiroth looked at the strongman Banks in front of him with a smiling expression.
"Hmph! I'm not a good-for-nothing like them!" Banks let out a cold snort, stomped hard on the deck with his feet, creating cracks. His entire body shot out like a cannonball, swinging his right fist and shooting toward Sephiroth.
Boom!
The bulkhead of the Marine ship was instantly smashed, creating a large hole over three meters in diameter the moment it was hit by Banks. However... As for Banks's attack target, Sephiroth, he continuously moved his feet, disappeared from his original spot, and reappeared not far away, perfectly dodging this attack.
"Damn it!" Banks cursed under his breath and charged toward Sephiroth again, continuously swinging his fists and launching a fierce assault.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Due to the incredibly powerful fist pressure, bursts of explosive sounds were generated in the air, like startling thunder. But... What made Banks utterly despair was that his attacks hadn't hit the opponent even once from beginning to end! After Sephiroth pulled back a distance again, he couldn't help but say in a slightly disappointed and helpless tone:
"Is that all?" As soon as these words came out, Banks's face couldn't help but turn green and then pale with anger, completely losing his previous arrogant demeanor.
Swish! Sephiroth's figure flashed, instantly appearing in front of Banks.
The butcher knife in his hand, like a gazelle's horn, drew a graceful arc. "Goodbye!"
A dark red shockwave, condensed from Conqueror's Haki, shot out from the pitch-black blade of the butcher knife. It slammed into Banks's body, slicing through him so hard that his eyes rolled back. He spat blood, flew backward, and smashed through the side of the Marine ship. Banks skipped across the sea surface more than a dozen times, traveling over a hundred meters before finally sinking into the sea.
As Sephiroth sheathed his sword, he muttered, "Hmm! I thought it could skip twenty times..."
Zephyr, clutching his severed arm, walked up to him and said softly, "Sephiroth, thank you! If you hadn't arrived in time, I'm afraid the consequences would have been unthinkable..."
Sephiroth glanced at Zephyr's severed right forearm and said irritably, "Don't talk about that first... Hurry up and pick up your severed hand! While it's still warm, I should be able to salvage it."
"Wait, you mean... you can reattach my severed hand?"
"Who do you think I am! In terms of surgical operations, I am of world-class standard!" Sephiroth said with a look of course.
Hearing this, Zephyr didn't hesitate. He quickly turned around, bent down, and picked up his severed arm that had fallen on the deck. He quickly followed Sephiroth toward the Marine ship's operating room.
In this assessment, the thirty Military School Students of First Class were attacked by an elite Pirate unit. Eleven were killed, six were disabled, and over half suffered casualties. Even the instructor Zephyr had his right arm severed...
Although after over two hours of surgery by Sephiroth, Zephyr's right hand was finally reattached. But...
Estimating with the most optimistic state, after complete recovery, the maximum force his right arm could exert would be less than fifty percent of its original capacity. Zephyr's fighting style was primarily based on his fists, and his title "Black Arm" came from this. After his severed arm was reattached, his overall combat power would decrease by at least twenty to thirty percent...
In addition, due to the large number of experts among the Pirate crews participating in the Death Sailing competition here, the other nine classes undergoing the assessment also suffered varying numbers of casualties, with a total of thirteen disabled and twenty-seven killed. In this midterm exam, a total of thirty-eight Military School Students were killed and nineteen were disabled, nearly one-fifth of the Military School Students were lost, breaking the highest record in history!
Zephyr also submitted an application to resign due to the incident, and he was willing to accept a military court-martial. When this news reached Marineford, the entire base was shaken! In past assessments, there were casualties among the Military School Students, and Marineford had long been prepared for that. But... the future star class, which symbolized the future of the Marines, had suffered over half casualties. The impact of this incident was truly severe! Many people seized on this, harboring various motives, and began to criticize Zephyr.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku, under pressure and to settle the matter, could only revoke Zephyr's Admiral rank, demote him to Vice Admiral, and remove him from the position of Marine Academy Head Instructor. However, Sengoku directly rejected Zephyr's resignation application, keeping him on the grounds that he would atone for his mistakes and continue to serve the Marines in the future... After Zephyr stepped down, Sengoku, as a compromise, replaced him with a Vice Admiral named Simon Amann, who came from a noble family, to serve as the Marine Academy Head Instructor.
After taking charge of the Marine Academy, Vice Admiral Simon Amann immediately began drastic reforms. He directly canceled the two practical combat assessments that every batch of Military School Students would undergo. He changed it to dispatching the Military School Students to various departments to serve as intern Commanders, and then assessing them based on each Military School Student's performance. This move wasn't good for Marines from commoner backgrounds, as they lost a path to rapid promotion in rank. But... for Marines from noble family backgrounds, the situation was the opposite.
Possessing various resources and connections, they could very easily and effortlessly claim all sorts of merits, allowing them to have a higher starting rank after graduating from the Marine Academy. At the same time, to fill the vacancy, Sengoku formally promoted Aokiji from Admiral candidate to Admiral. Thus, Akainu, Kizaru, and Aokiji became the Three Marine Admirals, symbols of the Marine's highest combat power.