He pulled out a square piece of white paper from his pocket; it wasn't large, only about the width of a thumb.
This white paper was none other than the special Vivre Card unique to this world.
Vivre Card is made by mixing one's own nail clippings into the material, a type of card representing the owner's vitality. It is both fireproof and waterproof, possessing great durability.
Its most special feature is its ability to sense the physical condition of the Vivre Card's owner in real-time.
When the owner weakens, it will spontaneously shrink and burn, and when the owner recovers their health, it will return to its original size.
At this moment, the edges of this Vivre Card already showed slight signs of burning, and it was continuing to burn. Although the burning speed wasn't fast, it indicated that the owner's condition was not optimistic.
Kyle narrowed his eyes. Without another word, his form instantly transformed into purple lightning, shooting up into the sky and rushing at top speed in the direction the Vivre Card indicated.
"Zephyr, you old man…"
That's right, the owner of this Vivre Card was none other than Zephyr.
Considering Zephyr's strength declined every year, coupled with the incident he encountered in the original story, Kyle had asked Zephyr for a piece of his Vivre Card a long time ago.
His aim was precisely to prevent a situation like this.
High in the sky, a bolt of purple thunder came from afar, flashing across the horizon in an instant, then disappearing into the distance.
Its speed was immense!
Kyle was now using full power, rushing at maximum speed towards Zephyr's location.
"Zephyr, you old man, you've got to hold on a while longer!"
...
—
On the other side, beside a certain island in a certain sea area of the Grand Line.
A Marine training ship was docked at the shore.
On the ship, countless Marines stared intently at the island ahead.
On the island at that moment, two figures were constantly flashing and clashing.
Each collision erupted with powerful shockwaves, a continuous series of tremors echoing through the air.
One of the combatants was a sturdy, purple-haired old man in a Marine uniform; the other was a bloated man with long, flowing golden hair reaching his legs and a distinctive crescent-shaped white mustache.
They were Zephyr and Edward Weevil!! — the self-proclaimed son of the man known as the World's Strongest Man, Whitebeard, Edward Newgate.
At that moment, Edward Weevil was swinging his massive bisento wildly at Zephyr. With the加持 of Armament Haki and his own monstrous strength, each swing carried tremendous power.
Zephyr, meanwhile, had both fists coated in Armament Haki, continuously exchanging blows with Edward Weevil.
Boom—
After a massive impact, both were sent flying backwards, their feet plowing long trenches into the ground as they skidded to a halt.
Zephyr and Edward Weevil both looked up, their eyes locking onto each other.
'This fat kid's got some serious strength!'
'This old guy's pretty tough!'
The fight just now could be described as evenly matched, or perhaps Zephyr held a slight advantage, but it wasn't significant.
That fat kid's Armament and Observation Haki weren't as good as his, but his defense and strength were astonishing, especially his strength.
Combined with that mustache of his, it was as if Zephyr saw the shadow of a certain familiar man in him.
Relying solely on his advantage in strength, the opponent had practically fought him to a standstill.
Zephyr narrowed his eyes. He couldn't afford a prolonged battle with this guy.
He was acutely aware of his own weaknesses now, all the various problems stemming from his advanced age.
This included the recurrence of old injuries and a decline in stamina, among other things!
Given his current state, if the fight dragged on too long, he would likely be the one to lose in the end.
His stamina simply couldn't support a high-intensity battle for an extended period.
"Hahaha... Zephyr, how pathetic. Even you have your day!"
Just then, a hoarse old woman's voice rang out. Following the sound, they saw a short, elderly woman, her face covered in wrinkles, wearing thick red lipstick and sunglasses, clad in a leopard-print coat. The height of flashiness!
Zephyr stared at her for a long moment without speaking. Finally, he opened his mouth:
"Who are you?!"
???
Hearing this, boundless fury erupted in the old woman's eyes. She roared at Zephyr:
"I'm Stussy! Bakkin Gomu Stussy!! You don't recognize me?!"
"Bakkin Gomu Stussy??"
Zephyr was bewildered. His gaze swept over Stussy repeatedly. After another long pause, he spoke:
"Why don't you take out your old wanted poster and compare it to now? If anyone could tell you're the same person, I'd give up resisting right now!"
Stussy: ???
"Are you insulting me? Are you insulting me?!"
"I'm just stating the facts!"
Zephyr's face was expressionless.
"Zephyr, you're asking for death!!"
Stussy's gaze turned fierce.
"Your strength has declined so much, yet you still dare to be so arrogant here. Old scores and new grudges, we'll settle them all today!"
"Son, kill him for me!"
"Yes, Mama!"
Edward Weevil immediately responded. He bent his knees slightly, then suddenly launched himself, charging at Zephyr. His bisento, coated in Armament Haki, reached Zephyr and slashed down fiercely.
Clang!!
The sound of clashing metals rang out, and another powerful shockwave erupted.
Weevil's bisento slammed into Zephyr's crossed, Armament Haki-reinforced wrists, sending sparks flying.
Zephyr's body sank under the immense force, the power making his whole frame dip.
The ground beneath him instantly cracked,碎石 crumbling and flying everywhere.
"How dare you insult Mama! I'll kill you!!"
Weevil roared loudly, raising his bisento and slashing down again.
With each thunderous clash, Weevil's entire demeanor changed from before; he was completely berserk.
Blow after blow, his assault was like a raging storm, showing no signs of letting up.
Zephyr instantly felt the pressure increase several times over. For a moment, he was suppressed, forced onto the defensive.
"I'll kill you, I'll kill you!"
Weevil shouted with every swing, each strike using full power, attacking relentlessly without any thought for defense.
If he had been facing Zephyr in his prime, this kind of reckless fighting would have definitely gotten him thoroughly beaten.
He was full of openings!
But unfortunately, he was now facing an elderly Zephyr whose strength had severely declined. At this stage, Zephyr's power had完全 dropped below Admiral level, at most possessing the strength of an Admiral Candidate.
Moreover, his stamina certainly wasn't as good as a peak Admiral Candidate's.
Even though Zephyr could see that Weevil was full of openings, he lacked the capacity to exploit them, as merely defending against Weevil's attacks was already exhausting.
How infuriating! Even the village kids bully me for being old and weak!!
However, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. Despite Weevil's incredibly ferocious assault, Zephyr was merely at a disadvantage, showing no definite signs of defeat.
By playing steadily, if he could weather this burst of aggression from Weevil and wait until Weevil's stamina gave out, the situation would become much more favorable for Zephyr.
Recognizing this, Zephyr continued to fight defensively. All he needed to do now was block Weevil's attacks and drain his stamina.
Zephyr had figured this out, and Stussy on the sidelines could see it too. Her brow furrowed involuntarily.
No good!! They couldn't keep fighting like this; otherwise, they would be the ones caught in a passive position eventually!
She needed to think of a way to turn the tables!
Stussy's gaze swept across the surroundings. Suddenly, as if seeing something, light gleamed in her eyes.
Got it!!
...
***
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