Black Arm Zephyr

Linley quietly sized up the Marine general who had suddenly appeared before him.

Purple hair, a justice cape, and the rank of Admiral.

And that sturdy, robust physique.

All of these undoubtedly indicated the man's identity.

The former Marine Admiral, who had now retired to the sidelines as an instructor but still retained his Admiral rank – Black Arm Zephyr!

Linley had a deep impression of the man before him.

In his youth, Zephyr became a Marine at the same time as Sengoku, Garp, and Tsuru;

At thirty-four, he became a master of Armament Haki, earning the name Black Arm;

At thirty-eight, he became a Marine Admiral and got married the same year.

At forty-two, his family was murdered by pirates. From then on, this Marine Admiral, known as "the one who doesn't kill," began to hate pirates. To suppress the resentment in his heart, he voluntarily stepped down to the sidelines, becoming an instructor for new Marine recruits while retaining his Admiral rank.

Since then, countless outstanding Marines had emerged from his students.

The future three Admirals, Akainu, Aokiji, and Kizaru, were all his students.

Onigumo, Momonga, Doberman… those renowned Vice Admirals also had to call him "Teacher."

Time marches on.

At this moment, Zephyr's arms were intact, clearly indicating he had not yet experienced the tragedy that would occur soon.

At some point in the future, Zephyr's training ship would be attacked by a pirate, resulting in the near-total annihilation of the students on board, with only two survivors. Zephyr would also lose an arm forever.

A Marine scientist would install a Seastone mechanical arm specifically designed to counter Devil Fruit users for Zephyr. Afterward, Zephyr would form a special unit dedicated to dealing with Devil Fruit user pirates.

However, not long after, Zephyr would learn that the pirate who had killed his entire student crew had been recruited by the World Government and become one of the Shichibukai.

Utterly disillusioned with the Marines, Zephyr would leave the Navy, calling himself "Z," and establish the NEO Marines with the goal of annihilating all pirates worldwide. He would then steal Dyna Stone and plan to destroy three *END POINT*s, thereby triggering massive underwater volcanic eruptions to obliterate the New World and end the Great Pirate Era.

In the end, the Straw Hat Pirates would desperately thwart Zephyr's plan, and he himself would die in a fierce battle with the Marines while covering the Straw Hat Pirates' escape, eventually being buried by Aokiji.

But that was all a long time from now.

At this moment, it was about thirteen years before the Summit War.

Zephyr was currently around sixty years old. Although wrinkles had appeared on his face, there was no sign of feebleness. Both his arms were still intact, his body was not plagued by illness as it would be during his confrontations with Luffy and Kizaru, nor did he need to rely on medication to maintain his physical strength.

A very robust old man, laughing heartily – this was Linley's first impression of Zephyr.

Looking at the cracked ground beneath Zephyr's feet, Linley quickly formed a second impression of him –

He's probably quite the fighter.

On the other side, Fisher Tiger was unaware of Zephyr's identity, but the keen senses unique to Fish-Men were warning him.

The purple-haired man before him was powerful!

"Be careful, he's a Marine Admiral, Black Arm Zephyr," Linley warned.

Tiger's internal vigilance instantly shot to its peak.

He had heard countless tales of the might of Marine Admirals since his days as an explorer!

Zephyr heard Linley's words and appeared somewhat surprised.

"I've been retired to the sidelines for many years. Few pirates of the new era recognize me. I didn't expect to be identified by a mere child."

Given Zephyr's age, calling Linley a child was not unusual.

"Well then, let's continue our previous topic."

Zephyr's gaze fell upon Linley and Tiger.

"Are you the pirates who attacked the Celestial Dragons?"

Linley felt an unparalleled pressure from Zephyr's gaze. Although he had expected a Marine Admiral to appear after attacking the Celestial Dragons, Linley hadn't anticipated that it would be this rather legendary figure.

He could only take things one step at a time.

After a moment's thought, Linley suddenly shook his head, "That statement is only half correct."

Zephyr was even more surprised, grinning as he asked, "Where is it wrong?"

"We did attack the Celestial Dragons, but we are not pirates," Linley replied.

"Then who exactly are you people?" Zephyr inquired.

"He is Fisher Tiger, a Fish-Man explorer," Linley pointed to Tiger beside him, then pointed to himself, "And I am Linley Barek, a Hero who ate the Hero Fruit."

"A Hero?" Zephyr suddenly found the child before him exceptionally interesting and couldn't help but burst into laughter. "In that case, why not join the Marines!"

"Because of this."

Linley pulled up the sleeve of his right arm. On his shoulder was a crimson brand.

A circle and four triangles, resembling a dragon's claw mark.

It was the mark of a slave, the Hoof of the Celestial Dragon!

Zephyr gazed at the brand, his eyes suddenly freezing, and then he let out a soft sigh.

"I understand."

Just by looking at that brand, Zephyr had already guessed what had happened on Sabaody Archipelago.

Slaves, gladiators, Celestial Dragons, nobles...

The same old story that happens every moment in this world.

Linley looked at Zephyr and said calmly, "Please let us pass, Teacher Zephyr."

"You call me teacher?" Zephyr was taken aback.

"You are my teacher when it comes to becoming a hero," Linley said seriously.

As someone who had eaten the Hero Fruit, Linley genuinely respected the man before him.

Zephyr had a childhood dream of being a hero named "Z." This dream led him to name his codename "Z" after defecting from the Marines, and he held onto this dream until his death.

Such a man deserved to be called a "Hero," and he was worthy of Linley's sincere address of "teacher."

"Hmm..."

Zephyr fell into thought, but ultimately shook his head.

"I'm sorry, this is my duty as a Marine Admiral. I must apprehend you."

"Then we'll have to settle this with our fists."

Linley rubbed his neck, secretly calculating the Energy Value within him.

[Energy Value]: 400/1500.

He could still fight!

Linley angled his body, leaning slightly forward, his left hand forward and down, his right hand close to his ribs, fists clenched, legs relaxed and bouncing.

Zephyr looked at Linley's stance and grinned, "Boxing, huh? It's been a while since I've seen someone practice this kind of martial art."

"This is a practical combat technique."

A flash of dark gold light appeared in Linley's pupils. He stepped forward, throwing two jabs!

Bang, bang!

Zephyr raised his right arm to block the two punches, then counter-attacked with a backhand swing, but Linley jumped back to dodge.

"Your speed and technique are excellent!"

Zephyr's years as an instructor had given him the ability to read people, and he increasingly admired the young man before him.

It's just a shame...

Zephyr's gaze fell on the Hoof of the Celestial Dragon on Linley's arm, and he couldn't help but feel a pang of regret.

But before this regret could last half a second, Linley threw two more heavy punches, left and right, at him!

Hero Skill: Subdue with Might.

Bang, bang!

The punches landed on Zephyr's arm, but he only took half a step back.

Zephyr let out a soft breath, "It's a shame, but your strength isn't enough."

Fisher Tiger, standing nearby, widened his eyes. He had personally experienced the power of Linley's punches; even he couldn't withstand such heavy blows, which far surpassed normal human levels, without injury.

In fact, the bruises he sustained from fighting Linley in the Coliseum earlier were still faintly aching.

Yet, the man before him, the former Marine Admiral [Black Arm] Zephyr, could easily block Linley's heavy punches and even commented that his strength was insufficient!

The power of a former Marine Admiral was almost despair-inducing!