Zephyr looked up and bared his white teeth at the off-balance Luffy. Taking advantage of the moment, his left hand suddenly erupted with terrifying power, swinging Luffy's entire body like a windmill and slamming him heavily down onto the already dilapidated deck below.
"No matter how brilliant your combat instincts are, you still need to keep your feet on the ground!"
CRASH—KABOOM!!
"I'll give that right back to you!"
In the midst of this surge, Luffy's body suddenly twisted using his rubber properties. He put force into his waist and abdomen, and his other leg whipped out like a whip, kicking Zephyr hard in the chest with a cracking sound!
"You really are not to be underestimated, brat!"
Zephyr's chest shuddered from the Haki impact. He let out a grunt, but did not let go. Instead, he put in more force and slammed Luffy to the deck even more swiftly!
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Their exchanges were lightning-fast parrying and countering, extremely dangerous.
The battle experience of a veteran powerhouse was indeed terrifyingly rich. Luffy felt as if he could see the shadow of his grandfather Garp in Zephyr—steady as a mountain yet sharp as the wind.
But the difference was that after several high-intensity bursts, Zephyr's breathing had already become heavy and coarse, and one could even faintly hear a slight wheeze. This proved that in terms of stamina and energy, time had indeed left its mark on this former Admiral.
BOOM!
Luffy's back collided violently with the deck. The enormous impact made the already battered ship groan under the strain. The deck surface caved in, forming a large crater, sending wood splinters flying everywhere.
However, Zephyr had slammed Luffy down twice, and Luffy had naturally gritted his teeth and kicked Zephyr twice. The last kick to Zephyr's chest had also taken its toll on him. He stumbled backward and finally crashed with a thud into the already crumbling cabin wall behind him, getting buried inside.
"Luffy!"
On the Thousand Sunny, far from the battlefield, Nami, who had been nervously watching, couldn't help but cry out, her hands tightly covering her mouth.
The sounds of the battle over there were too loud. Every impact felt like a hammer striking their hearts.
In the billowing smoke, Zephyr was the first to squeeze his body out of the wooden wreckage. He rubbed his chest, his face somewhat pale, and his breathing became more rapid.
Almost simultaneously, Luffy also leaped out of the dent he had created. Though slightly disheveled, with some bruises on his rubber body, his eyes remained bright and his fighting spirit high.
"Still nothing?!"
Seeing Luffy alive and kicking, a flicker of emotion—and deeper gravity—crossed Zephyr's eyes.
This brat's durability and recovery were simply inhuman!
Who trained him?
Aside from Kaido, that special Mythical Zoan user, only Big Mom, with her naturally gifted physique, gave him this feeling.
But Luffy didn't give him any chance to catch his breath. As soon as he landed, he launched another attack.
His arm stretched backward, his fist clenched. An invisible wave condensed in the air.
"Gomu Gomu no: Haō Ken!"
CRACK!
Zephyr's eyes condensed. He felt the compressed Haki and impact in front of that fist and instinctively crossed his left fist in front of his body to block.
A's powerful burst of force actually shook his arm outward.
Taking this opportunity, Luffy quickly rolled close to him. Another hook punch covered in Haki, like a viper striking, aimed for Zephyr's chin!
THUD! THUD!
Two dull impacts sounded almost simultaneously.
Luffy's hook punch was blocked by Zephyr's hastily raised right prosthetic arm, while Luffy's other punch, which followed closely, was barely parried by his just-pushed-aside left hand.
Both attacks landed solidly, producing dull thuds.
"Your fighting has good structure. Your attacks are continuous. Garp taught you well."
Zephyr frowned, but still couldn't help but praise him in a low voice.
Luffy's attacks were not random punches. They had a clear rhythm and purpose, as if they had been refined.
And yet, when they had asked Garp to be an instructor at the training camp, that guy had made every excuse, picking his nose and putting it off with a perfunctory look, saying he didn't know how to teach.
You call this not knowing how to teach?
Zephyr really wanted to slap that bastard Garp in the face.
"Thanks for the compliment!"
As Luffy's voice fell, he had already charged in front of Zephyr. He suddenly grinned. The two of them were now almost face to face.
Luffy's hands suddenly grabbed Zephyr's broad shoulders. Then he tilted his forehead back slightly, then slammed it forward like a battering ram!
A fierce headbutt, hardened with Haki, landed solidly on Zephyr's forehead.
THUD!
The enormous impact made Zephyr's head jerk back. His vision momentarily went black. His body could no longer maintain balance, stumbling backward.
But just at the moment he lost his balance, Luffy's ready right fist, like a cannonball, struck Zephyr's wide-open chest with precision!
CRACK!
Zephyr, like a kite with its string cut, flew backward again, crashing deeper int
o the cabin wreckage, kicking up the sky filled with smoke and dust.
"I'm really feeling it, old man."
Luffy shook his somewhat numb forehead and looked at his fist, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "That feeling of gathering strength, then letting it explode. I feel like I'm about to catch something!"
In the smoke, Zephyr slowly stood up, somewhat swaying. The Haki on his forehead and chest slowly faded, leaving obvious red marks.
He stared intently at the black-red Haoshoku Haki lightning that was flashing bursts on Luffy's body without pause—now even beginning to vaguely resonate with his attacks. Disbelief finally appeared in his eyes, along with a solemn look.
Had that brat really almost mastered Haoshoku Haki Infusion in the middle of battle?
And what shocked Zephyr even more was that Luffy had been maintaining high-intensity use of all three colors of Haki since the beginning of the fight, yet showed no signs of fatigue or exhaustion. Instead, he was fighting more fiercely, and his Haki usage was more skilled and condensed than before.
This kind of horrific stamina reserve and growth rate was simply unheard of.
Even in his prime, using Haki this wastefully would have been taxing.
"This kind of aptitude is too terrifying."
Zephyr clenched his fists until they cracked. A strong sense of crisis rose in his heart. "I absolutely cannot allow you to continue being active on this sea!"
Someone with Luffy's kind of aptitude—
Could definitely grow to that level.
Roger.
Kaido.
Rocks.
Whitebeard.
...
Those top-tier pirates.
"Heh heh. Is that a compliment?"
Luffy had no idea that Zephyr had already compared him to those legendary pirates. He grinned, showing a row of white teeth. "But I haven't even gone all out yet!"
With that, Luffy took a deep breath. His entire aura suddenly changed!
Steam-like white energy spurted from his body. His hair and eyebrows instantly turned snow white. White flame clouds swirled around him.
Gear Fifth: Nika Form—Activated!
The white flame clouds wrapped around his body drifted like living things, reflecting off the black-red Haoshoku lightning.
***
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