Black Arm Zephyr's Devil Fruit Flaw

Bang!

"Straw Hat Luffy,"

In the blink of Electric Light eye, Luffy, who had just 'upgraded' to a bounty of 600 million, was knocked to the ground with a single punch.

Why did you become a pirate?

Faced with the man who suddenly appeared and knocked him down with a punch, Luffy stood up, wiped his mouth, and answered seriously:

"To become the King of the Pirates!"

King of the Pirates... and that Straw Hat... right? Roger...

"Crush the tornado!"

There was no point in saying more than necessary. The giant mechanical arm Luffy down, and just as Luffy defiantly swung his fist to meet the attack, a figure rushed over, his longsword covered in Armament Haki suddenly blocking Luffy's Luffy as he was knocked back by the opponent's punch.

"Watch out! This is former Marine Admiral 'Black Arm' Zephyr!"

Roman loudly introduced it to the others, "His weapon in his right hand is the Sea Tower—"

"Kid, you talk too much!"

Zephyr's right hand, holding a Seastone weapon, was blocked by Roman, but his other hand quickly extended out, using the weapon as cover. His five fingers, covered in Armament Haki, instantly gripped the longsword, and then he turned the weapon in his right hand to aim at Roman.

"Crush-"

Holy crap!! Instructor Zephyr, you—

"Blaster!"

Boom!!

An explosion rang out! A huge hole was blasted through the deck of the Sunny Merry. Roman, who had been thrown back, quickly spread his hands out, allowing the dense papers to spread outwards from his body, covering and protecting the Sunny Merry.

Although the Straw Hat crew's ship was made from the 'Treasure Tree' Adam, it was still no match for the fighting power of Admiral! — Even though Zephyr was old and sick, and his strength was at the bottom among the Admiral.

"Luffy! Roman!"

As Sanji's flying kick landed, Zoro drew his twin swords and immediately countered. Law, standing nearby, also began to deploy his battle domain.

"ROOM——"

Bang!

Puff,

Ah~~~

Before Luo could even begin his surgery, a bullet struck his shoulder, causing him to collapse to his knees as if all his strength had been drained away.

"You Devil Fruit users rely too much on your Devil Fruit abilities. A tiny Seastone Bullets can unexpectedly put you at a complete disadvantage!"

With a solemn voice from Zephyr, he swung his massive mechanical arm, sweeping Luffy away once again as he charged forward! At the same time, his fists and feet were covered in Armament Haki. Every punch and kick was honed to perfection. He didn't rely on brute force, but used only the most basic fist and foot techniques to fight Sanji and Zoro to a standstill.

"This... this... is he really Marine Admiral?"

Usopp was completely stunned! Although his physique had improved dramatically through two years of training, he would undoubtedly be knocked down in a second in a high-octane hand-to-hand combat with Zoro and Sanji. Yet, this burly old man in front of him was holding his own against three opponents!

Although Luffy was countered by the opponent's weapon.

"Wow~~ this uncle is too~~~"

Luffy, his tongue lolling out, wore a sullen expression. His opponent's massive, pillar-like weapon was made entirely of Seastone, whose hardness was said to rival that of diamonds. Just look at Luffy's powerful punch instantly went limp, and you could tell.

Although Luffy didn't completely collapse under the strain of Roman's Seastone bracers, he could only unleash about three-tenths of his full power, leaving Zoro and Sanji the main attackers while Luffy could only roam and provide support. As for Roman—

Zephyr, really! Be careful with our ship!

The Straw Hat crew would naturally be mindful of the 'Sunny Merry' during their fight, but Zephyr was different. With a casual punch or kick, terrifying Sonic Boom reverberated across the deck. The sturdy Adam Tree- made surface of the ship immediately cracked with Inazuma- like forks! This forced Roman to focus most of his energy on protecting the vessel.

If this were an ordinary pirate ship, it would have been destroyed more than ten times over by the aftershocks of the battle!

"With this much strength, you can't become the King of the Pirates!"

If we're talking about destructive power, 'Black Arm' Zephyr might be the weakest of the Admiral, but when it comes to hand-to-hand combat skills and the foundation of Haki, he's absolutely top-tier. If it weren't for his asthma, he wouldn't have been able to be ambushed by Whitebeard Jr.., that monster who only had strength.

"Haki is the foundation of everything!"

Although it was a simple straight punch, it suddenly possessed an absolute power that reached a terrifying level exceeding four times the speed of sound! After Zephyr punched Sanji away, he flashed to Luffy's side, his massive Seastone arm outstretched:

"Smash the short-sleeved shirt!"

Fearless protection and indomitable fighting merge into one, sublimating into a unique and powerful emotion and belief! This is the unique Armament Haki of the 'non-killing' Admiral Zephyr. Although his belief has wavered and is not as strong as before due to his enemy joining the 'Shichibukai', it is still enough to deal with Luffy who is suppressed by Seastone.

Boom!!!

As Zephyr struck Luffy with his punch, the continuous impact shook the deck. Amidst the heart-wrenching, muffled thud, ripples containing immense, violent power spread and propagated through the air, instantly creating a chaotic state where even sound could not travel. To the others, only a strange, echoing sound could be heard!

Ah~~~

A figure was sent flying backward! Although Franky grabbed him, the immense force still propelled both of them backward! While everyone else's attention was focused on this suddenly appearing 'Admiral' and Luffy who had been blasted away:

Swish, swish!

Two figures, appearing on the deck at breakneck speed, launched their attacks simultaneously.

"Luxurious - unbridled growth!"

In an instant, even though Roman had covered the Sunny Merry with a layer of 'paper deck', countless vines sprouted out of thin air, binding most of the Straw Hat crew tightly. Then:

"Fall back!"

A figure flashed by, Chopper and Brook were instantly hit! Nami instinctively dodged with a 'Shave', but as the opposing female officer also used 'Shave' to catch up and slash, Nami was still grazed on the arm, and then:

Brush,

The person suddenly 'disappeared'!

"Nami!"

Robin instinctively grew arms on the other woman, preparing to use joint locks to take her down, but a crisp sound came from where Nami had 'disappeared'!

"Sister Robin, be careful of their abilities—"

Just as Robin's arm was choking him, the other party reacted quickly and touched the 'arm' that Robin had created from the Flower-Flower Fruit.

"Fall back!"

?!

In an instant, Robin's entire figure began to shrink! Although the degree of change was not significant, it was obvious that she had slid from a 'mature woman' to a 'young girl'.

"This is·····?!"

"Pat,"

A straw Straw Hat slowly fell from the sky and was 'caught' in the palm of a giant mechanical arm.

"One Piece? Everything in this world?"

As Luffy was blasted away, the others were either restrained or shrunk. The Straw Hat crew suddenly faced a huge crisis!

"What a boring dream!"

As the victor of the surprise attack, the purple-haired, sunglasses-wearing, mechanical-armed old man looked at the Straw Hat crew, who were on high alert.

"How much sacrifice, how much sorrow and hatred did that thing cause?"

"If 'freedom' is the trend of this era, then I will stop it!"

Even if it means being shattered to pieces, I'm willing to do it!

After speaking, the old man turned around and, with his two subordinates, used both 'Shave' and 'Geppo' to return to the warship next to him.

"Sink this pirate ship!"

"Hello!"

Luffy off Franky's arms without even wiping the blood off his face, and pounced on the ship's side.

"Wait, give me back my hat!!"

"We haven't decided a winner yet—"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

However, Luffy was met with a barrage of cannon fire. Even the Sunny Merry, protected by Roman's paper, couldn't withstand such heavy artillery bombardment. Therefore:

"Luffy, let's leave first!"

"But my Straw Hat— "

"The Sunny Merry won't hold out!"

!

"Let's go,"

Luffy, gritting his teeth Luffy turned around.

"Uncle!! I left my hat with you—"

Amidst the thunderous roar of cannons, Luffy's resolute voice pierced the battlefield and landed clearly on the enemy's warship.

"I will definitely come back to get it! I definitely will!!"

·······

"What a fine little guy,"

If that incident hadn't happened... my grandson would be this age by now, wouldn't he?

Garp, your grandson is now sailing the high seas, attracting so many outstanding young people to follow him. It brings back so many memories, like the days when we fought side-by-side...

"Teacher?"

The girl's voice beside him brought Zephyr back to his senses, and the tall, muscular man shook his head.

"As people get older, they also become melancholic and sentimental."

"The teacher isn't old at all!"

A beautiful woman next to her, with long, flowing, wavy, sea-blue hair, an X-shaped scar on her right leg, black pointed high heels, and a blue cloak, immediately retorted.

"Our teacher is the commander-in-chief of the 'NEO Marines,' feared by countless pirates, today and tomorrow!"

Hateful!

Though she said that, the girl named Ain secretly clenched her fists. If... if she were just a little stronger, and could use her abilities on her teacher, then everything could...

"Ain,"

Zephyr glanced at his student; he knew perfectly well what the young woman was thinking. However:

"People are born, grow old, get sick, and die; the moon waxes and wanes. I don't care about my own health, it's just that—"

He struggled his whole life, yet he still couldn't see the dawn of Four Seas peaceful world where ordinary people could live and work in peace and contentment. He was unwilling to accept this!

Straw Hat Luffy...

As the Navy's former "chief instructor," Zephyr vaguely knew that many people had high hopes for this young man, and even Roman "White Dove," Candidate Admiral was skilled in maneuvering within the Navy, highly praised, and rapidly rising in rank, did not hesitate to board the other's ship!

So:

The first "test" was just average.

The second 'test' is ready.

Let me see what makes you so special!