Lightning Armor

At the center of the training ground.

Boom!!!

Rock seized the initiative, leaning forward as he sharply drew back his right arm.

"Lightning Spear!"

"Bzzzt—!!!"

Lightning instantly condensed into a spear in his hand, which he hurled with a piercing shriek through the air!

The spear tore through the air like a meteor forged from thunder, stabbing straight toward Zephyr's chest!

Zephyr's gaze sharpened, his muscles instantly tensing.

—Armament Haki: Hardening!

"Ha!!!"

His iron fist surged forward to meet the Lightning Spear!

Boom—!!!

Zephyr smashed the lightning spear apart with one punch, scattering countless arcs of electricity through the air.

Without the slightest pause, Zephyr dug his toes into the ground.

"Soru!"

His body became a black blur as he closed in on Rock with astonishing explosive force!

A judgment flashed through Zephyr's mind: A Logia's weakness is the moment they are forced into close-quarters combat!

Just as he entered within ten meters—

"Thunderclap: Wild Dance—!!!"

Rock spread his five fingers, firing more than a dozen beams of lightning!

The electric light danced like frenzied thunder snakes, instantly weaving into a dense net of lightning and flame!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang—!!!

Zephyr crossed his arms, choosing to take the bombardment head-on with nothing but the sheer toughness of his Armament Haki! With every lightning beam that struck, flames and electric arcs burst outward!!!

The Marines around the training ground raised their hands to shield themselves. "Hiss, that power...!"

Smoke and dust billowed up, and just as everyone thought Zephyr had been forced back—

Bang!!!

The smoke was torn apart from within!!

Zephyr burst out like an erupting volcano, his iron fist wrapped in blazing Armament Haki as it shot straight for Rock's face!

"Logias will elementalize in an instant—"

"So..."

His five fingers abruptly shifted, turning his fist into a claw!

"Horizontal grab!!"

If Rock chose to elementalize, Zephyr would follow the flow of the lightning and lock onto it;

If Rock chose to fight head-on, Zephyr could directly crush his defenses!

This was Zephyr's long-earned experience against Logias!

—Perfect judgment! Perfect timing!

Yet just before the iron fist landed, Rock's lips slowly curled upward.

Into a wild, wicked arc utterly devoid of fear.

"You think I'm still—"

"An ordinary Logia?"

Boom—!!!

In an instant, lightning erupted from Rock's body like a tsunami!

Thunderbolts raced wildly along his skin, muscles, and bones, tightly coiling around him!

"Thunder Armor—!!!"

Zephyr's pupils contracted sharply as he clenched his fist again. "This... this is lightning coating his body?!"

The next moment, the two fists slammed brutally together—

One was an iron fist covered in Armament Haki.

The other was a Thunder Martial Fist wrapped in lightning!

Boom—!!!

The force of their punches exploded into a storm! Violent winds swept across the entire training ground, and the ground instantly cracked into countless fissures!

Countless soldiers staggered backward from the shockwave, arms raised before their faces!

"Vice Admiral Zephyr... was actually forced back half a step?!!"

"That brat's a Logia, right?! How can he trade punches with Zephyr head-on?!!"

But the most shocked person was Zephyr himself.

A rare look of astonishment crossed his face as he muttered an incredulous assessment, "Your physical strength... isn't inferior in the slightest?!"

Rock suddenly pressed forward, lightning swallowing half the sky.

Boom—!!! His right fist shot out like thunder piercing the sun!

"Keep going, Zephyr!!!"

His punch wind carried electric currents like the roar of a colossal beast, warping the air itself.

Zephyr let out a low roar as black Armament Haki erupted over both arms, like an iron mountain overturning. "Ha!!!"

Bang!!!

Their fists collided again, smashing a massive crater into the ground as shattered rocks were blasted in every direction by the shockwave!

Lightning coursed across Rock's body, his Thunder Armor clinging tightly to his muscles, every breath accompanied by faint electric explosions.

Muscles bulged across Zephyr's body, Armament Haki spreading from his arms to his shoulders and back like a hard battle suit forged of steel.

The sound of the wind was utterly swallowed by thunder and exploding fists, while their collisions rang out endlessly like war horns!

The momentum unleashed by their continuous clashes forced even the elite soldiers outside the field to retreat half a step!

Rock's lightning fist smashed fiercely into Zephyr's chest—

Bang!!!

A vast burst of lightning exploded, dazzling and blinding. Zephyr's chest muscles twitched for an instant, but his feet did not yield even half an inch.

Zephyr spun into a counterattack, his fist carrying a heavy torrent of air like an iron pillar crashing down upon Rock's shoulder.

Bang!!!

The blow shook Rock into a half-kneel, but in the next second, he rose with a roar, lightning igniting around his fist once more!

Boom—!!!

They threw punches at the same time. Fist met fist, detonating a massive ring-shaped shockwave that turned the surrounding air white!

Fist against fist! Foot against foot! Elbow against elbow! Knee against knee!

There was no flair to it.

No keeping their distance with abilities.

No "elemental escape" commonly used by Logias.

They were like two savage beasts on an ancient battlefield, using only the most primitive and violent methods to beat each other down!

Body versus body!

Thunder Armor versus black fists!

Strength versus strength!

Zephyr roared, "Brat!! Fighting like this is suicide!!!"

Rock's face was filled with excitement, madness blazing in his eyes. "Now this is what you call a fight!!! Hahahaha!!!"

His fists carried explosive flashes of electricity, each blow whipping up sparks.

Zephyr's iron fists met them head-on. Lightning and Armament Haki tore at one another across their knuckles, and bursting blue-white sparks lit up half the training ground in an instant!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang—!!!

Every strike boomed like heavy artillery, making the soldiers' hearts tremble!

Outside the field, the watching soldiers stared wide-eyed, as if they had witnessed a myth come back to life.

"A Logia... is actually not dodging Armament Haki punches?!"

"That's Vice Admiral Zephyr!! One of the Navy's greatest monsters in hand-to-hand combat!!!"

"Just how did that brat... train?!!"

Someone even grabbed a companion's shoulder and trembled. "I feel like... my worldview has shattered."

At that moment, veins throbbed at Sengoku's temples. "Why isn't he widening the distance? Why isn't he elementalizing? Is he insane?!"

"He's wasting the advantage of his Devil Fruit!!!"

Then he abruptly turned and grabbed Garp's shoulders, shaking him. "You knew all along?!"

Garp folded his arms and laughed proudly. "Of course I did—!!"

"This brat's a genius! He actually thought of using lightning to temper his body!"

"His physical strength—"

Garp gave a thumbs-up and flashed his signature grin. "It's not weaker than mine, the 'Iron Fist,' at all!!!"

Sengoku and Tsuru: "...???"

Using lightning to forge his body?!!

Physical strength on the level of Iron Fist Garp?!!

And he was a fucking Logia lightning user on top of that?!!

The moment Garp finished speaking, the uproar outside the field exploded again. "Th-this is simply a monster among monsters!!!"

Everyone instantly fell into a complete collapse of everything they thought they knew.

Meanwhile, at the center of the training ground, lightning and black fists continued to clash savagely!

Every blow seemed ready to smash open the ground, and every collision made the training ground quake.

Sparks scattered everywhere, lightning blazed brilliantly, and black Armament Haki churned like an iron tide.

The ground had long since split into web-like ravines.

And between the two powerhouses...

They still had not gotten serious!!!