Several ice crystal needles brushed past Zephyr and struck the ground, vanishing from sight. Only upon closer inspection could one realize they hadn't disappeared at all—they had pierced straight through the surface with terrifying penetrating force and were now buried two to three meters underground.
Zephyr directly coated his entire body in Armament Haki, allowing the rain of needles to strike him, producing a series of sharp clanging sounds.
The force is strong… and the cold is even more intense than before.
Although the attacks still failed to break through Zephyr's Armament Haki defense, he could clearly sense the difference in Vane's "Devil Fruit ability" before and after its release.
No longer confined to swordsmanship alone—he could unleash the ability independently, or fuse it seamlessly into his blade techniques.
His current strength already rivaled some of the three- to four-hundred-million-Belly pirates of the New World. He had basically mastered Armament Haki and Observation Haki, and even possessed innate Conqueror's Haki. The essential qualifications of a powerhouse were already fully in place.
If he were allowed to escape today, he would undoubtedly become another grave threat to the Marines in the future.
But even now, Zephyr wasn't entirely confident he could take him down—because the opponent had gained the ability to fly.
The mist coiled once more around the Cursed Sword in Vane's hand. Thumb-sized plum blossoms began to bloom along the blade. They were primarily blue-white in color, but at their cores glowed a vivid red.
These eerily beautiful blossoms covered the entire sword, making the blade look less cold and more strangely elegant.
"Secret Art—Snow-Withered Plum!"
Vane once again unleashed his trump card, only this time bolstered by Blood Demon Art.
A blood-colored plum blossom of sword energy burst forth again—only now the shape was far more vivid, and its power incomparable to the earlier version.
Zephyr's expression turned serious. This move… carried a real threat.
Armament Haki condensed around his fist as he launched a fully charged punch!
Boom!!!
A hollow ring of energy shockwave swept outward, flattening all buildings within a fifty-meter radius.
"As expected… still not enough. Admiral Zephyr, I'm not your opponent yet, so I won't keep you company any longer."
The Netherworld Mist churned once more, releasing another wave of ice crystal spikes to block Zephyr's advance. With a light beat of his crystalline wings, Vane shot toward the open sea.
Blood Demon Art had drastically increased his strength. It even granted him Netherworld Mist—an energy capable of controlling ice crystals—adding new methods to his arsenal.
Yet he was still no match for Zephyr.
Trying to soar to the heavens in a single leap these days was truly no easy feat.
Zephyr shattered the incoming ice needles with a punch. When he looked up again, Vane was already fading into the dark surface of the sea.
A trace of melancholy flashed across his face. His greatest shortcoming was the inability to pursue enemies across the ocean.
Thinking of the Admirals who would come later—Aokiji could walk on the sea, Kizaru could move freely through the sky, and even Akainu's Magma-Magma Fruit allowed short bursts of flight through eruption.
Fujitora's gravity powers allowed him to fly, and Green Bull's Fruit could do the same.
Those Admirals all had effective anti-air capabilities and at least some means of pursuit over the sea. Zephyr, however, was the type who had the will but not the means. Even if he could use Geppo, he couldn't possibly outpace someone with wings.
"A major trouble has slipped through my fingers."
Only after completely losing sight of Vane did Zephyr let out a breath, his mood turning slightly sour.
"Admiral Zephyr, I didn't expect it would be you who came."
Strawberry approached after the battle ended. Back during his days as a recruit, he had received Zephyr's guidance, and later was selected as one of the Marines with great potential, becoming Zephyr's direct student.
"You look quite miserable, Strawberry—being taken captive by pirates."
"I've brought shame to you, Admiral Zephyr."
Zephyr said, "Write up a full report of your experiences these past few days and submit it. Include your assessment of that pirate as well. If it involves offending the World Government, you may write that too."
"This… will the World Government…"
The World Government?
"That report won't appear on the World Government's desk. It's for internal Marine review only… Although it pains me and angers me to say this, I must inform you, Strawberry—your Marine career will never see another promotion."
"Whether you can even keep your current rank after returning is uncertain."
A Marine with a bright future had his advancement erased by the World Government simply because he had been "coerced" by pirates into attacking a slave-trading ship… The government truly was rotten.
"Don't be discouraged, Strawberry. Rank isn't everything for a Marine. That old bastard Garp is only a Vice Admiral, yet his reputation surpasses mine as an Admiral!"
Garp's public achievements included defeating the legendary Rocks Pirates, cornering the Pirate King multiple times before finally capturing him, and together with Sengoku imprisoning the once-renowned Golden Lion.
With such accomplishments, not even past Fleet Admirals could compare.
So whether Garp held the title of Admiral or not made no difference to his status as a Marine hero.
Zephyr wanted to use Garp's example to inspire Strawberry—rank was not the only path; as long as one held justice in their heart, one could still become a Marine hero… Though such words carried a faint trace of manipulation.
But the Marines did have people with that belief. Otherwise, groups like the later SWORD unit—essentially black-ops Marines—wouldn't have existed. He hoped Strawberry would be such a person as well.
"Admiral Zephyr, I understand… Even if I can't rise further, I can still better carry out the justice I believe in."
With the path of promotion cut off, Strawberry could only look for other silver linings… He had to find some upside, or he would sink into despair.
"Very good. Even if your rank cannot rise, other rewards will not be denied. For example, the bounty for the remaining members of the Cactus Gang will go to you."
Zephyr knew the captain had been taken down by Vane—but that didn't matter. In the end, the credit still belonged to the Marines. Just like with the Rocks Pirates—though Garp and Roger had defeated them together, the world only knew of Hero Garp, unaware that Roger had played a part. All of Roger's news was negative.
"There are still quite a few pirates on this island. Let's clean them up together."
For the pirates on Whisky Peak, they were both unlucky and fortunate.
Two large warships. One Admiral and one veteran Vice Admiral.
Even famed pirate crews wouldn't dare face such a lineup—yet they had stumbled into it.
The operation to capture pirates lasted the entire night. In the end, more than two thousand confirmed pirates were arrested. Another several thousand individuals could not have their identities verified.
Some claimed to be bounty hunters. Others said they were merely workers earning money here… Many of the excuses sounded ridiculous, yet there was no way to confirm their identities.
The veteran Vice Admiral, a hardliner, intended to arrest everyone—but Zephyr stopped him.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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