BOOM!
A sudden violent tremor threw Sakazuki off balance just as he was preparing to lead his men out of the temporary base.
Several Marines stumbled and fell to the ground, aggravating their wounds and crying out in pain.
Though seriously injured himself, Sakazuki remained steady. Without a word, he strode out through the main gates and looked up.
A streak of crimson light cut across the sky like a falling meteor.
The sight reminded him of his own elemental form — glowing, burning red.
But when the light halted atop a tall building directly opposite the base, Sakazuki saw clearly who it was.
Zephyr.
His entire body was covered in fresh wounds, and a wild, unrestrained grin stretched across his face. In his hand he held a longsword solidified from coagulated blood.
Most terrifying of all was his right arm: stained deep red, bulging with veins, radiating a ferocity that made one's skin crawl just looking at it.
If not for the distinctive purple hair still standing stiffly upright, Sakazuki might not have recognized him at all.
"What… what has happened?"
Sakazuki's brow furrowed deeply. The sight of his former teacher in such a state left him momentarily unsure how to react.
He was about to call out when Zephyr leaped from the rooftop and dove straight toward the entrance of the base.
His posture… was clearly hostile.
Sensing the overwhelming killing intent radiating from Zephyr, Sakazuki's expression remained cold. Before his mind could even process the situation, his body reacted instinctively.
He swung a massive fist, now transformed into magma, straight at his former teacher. Zephyr didn't hesitate either; he blocked the blow with his sword of blood.
They collided with earth‑shaking force.
But Sakazuki had forgotten the severe injury to his shoulder. And in his Berserk State, Zephyr's strength was amplified beyond measure.
No matter how tough or relentless Sakazuki was, clashing head‑on with a power‑boosted Zephyr while his shoulder blades were still fractured was agony beyond belief.
His face twisted in pain. After barely two seconds of stalemate, he was blasted backward, crashing straight through the walls of the temporary headquarters.
"Vice Admiral Sakazuki!"
"That… that must be Mr. Zephyr, right?!"
"What… what is going on? I‑I don't understand… what is happening?!"
"Instructor Zephyr looks… wrong. He just knocked Vice Admiral Sakazuki flying! How is this possible?!"
Buried under rubble and debris, Sakazuki struggled to push himself up, his face contorted again by the searing pain shooting through his shoulder.
"That killing intent… it is absolutely real…" Sakazuki muttered as if he hadn't heard them. Then he roared: "ALL UNITS, PREPARE FOR BATTLE! ENTER COMBAT STATIONS!"
Even after his order, many of the Marines present — Zephyr's own students — remained frozen in shock, staring at their teacher's terrifying new appearance in disbelief.
Suddenly, Zephyr turned into a red blur and flashed through the ranks. In an instant, he sent dozens of men flying.
Yet he stopped short of killing them completely — a faint shred of reason must still have lingered within him.
"YOU FOOLS! ARM YOURSELVES AND FIGHT!"
Sakazuki bellowed at the top of his lungs, finally snapping the stunned Marines back to reality.
They quickly grabbed their weapons and stood ready, though their faces showed far more grief and confusion than hostility.
COUGH!
Sakazuki spat out another mouthful of blood, his mind racing. The power behind that strike… it was comparable to Vice Admiral Garp himself!
SWISH!
Zephyr vanished again. Sakazuki activated his Observation Haki instantly and shouted: "3 O'CLOCK! THE TOWER! FIRE NOW!"
The riflemen aimed immediately toward a lighthouse roughly fifty meters high in the direction indicated. If their target had been a pirate, they would have fired without hesitation.
But seeing that it was Zephyr, their fingers froze on the triggers — they simply could not pull them.
The result? Another entire platoon was battered aside.
"You idiots! He won't go down easily! If you don't act now, we will all die here…"
Sakazuki roared in frustration. But he spoke the truth. He was beginning to fear he might die here — not at the hands of Grimm, but by his own teacher's hand.
"What happened to Instructor Zephyr?!" a Marine Captain cried, biting his lip until it bled.
"Report! It was that bastard Grimm!"
A group of soldiers who had escaped from the palace grounds rushed over and quickly recounted everything they had witnessed there.
"Grimm did this… I knew it," Sakazuki muttered. He wasn't surprised; only someone like Grimm was capable of such madness. But to think he could corrupt even a former Admiral…
"Vice Admiral Sakazuki… surely we can capture Instructor Zephyr alive?!" the Captain asked, seeking guidance.
"Hmph! Right now, you should be praying that we don't all get slaughtered here!" Sakazuki scoffed. Even lifting his arm to speak was agony now.
Half a kilometer away, Grimm sat casually atop a tiled roof, watching the chaos at the Marine base. He shrugged.
"I wonder… how long until Zephyr regains his sanity? Or will he just get beaten to death first?"
To be honest, Grimm didn't want Zephyr to die. With some persuasion and manipulation later, he might prove to be a valuable ally.
Though… if he did die, his corpse would certainly be useful. After all, his servant Kel'Thuzad hadn't yet perfected a proper Death Knight.
And a Death Knight wielding the Demon Hand? Just thinking about it made Grimm smile — it would be absolutely monstrous.
Below, Zephyr's crimson right arm suddenly swelled and expanded again, transforming into a limb seemingly composed entirely of living blood, merging seamlessly with the blood‑sword in his grip.
"Lost all rational thought… abandoned all his refined combat techniques… and turned into a pure Berserker, huh?"
Grimm wasn't surprised by this outcome. What did surprise him was the nature of this Blood Power — it was actually capable of harming Logia‑type elemental bodies.
Just earlier, Zephyr had struck Sakazuki — fully transformed into magma — and physically knocked him flying.
Seeing Zephyr in this state, Sakazuki felt immense pressure. He was never one to insist on fighting fair one‑on‑one duels. The danger was all too clear.
The thought of ordering a retreat had already crossed his mind, but the Berserker Zephyr clearly had no intention of letting them leave.
"FIRE! Do you understand now that this monster won't fall easily?!" Sakazuki yelled.
Finally, the Marines recovered their fighting spirit, raised their rifles, and took aim.
But Zephyr was gone again.
His speed was such that only Sakazuki and Grimm could actually track his movements.
"Just sitting here watching isn't very productive," Grimm murmured. "I've cleared out most of the ghouls… but there are still enough left to be useful."
He issued a silent command.
Instantly, ghouls lurking in corners and ruins all over the city began hunting for any remaining survivors — anyone who had shown themselves to be "traitors."
Grimm hated traitors above all else. He had no intention of sparing anyone who refused to become his follower.
He wanted the whole world to remember exactly what happens to those who betray him.
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