A Man Like a Natural Disaster

Meanwhile, at the center of the training ground, the dust had yet to settle when a purple figure shot into the sky!

Zephyr stepped through the air with Geppo, his right fist charged to its limit. Dark red light rippled across his pitch-black Haki. "Haki isn't about weathering attacks. It's about conquest!"

I can't let him get close. Gern's pupils contracted, and he hurriedly activated Quake Flash, trying to turn elemental and evade.

But Zephyr's Observation Haki tracked him in real time, predicting his movements. His punch abruptly changed direction.

Boom!!! The punch shattered the sound barrier and struck Gern square in the chest, sending a ring of air exploding across the sky!

Gern spat blood and plummeted toward the ground like a meteor!

"Is it over?!" someone cried.

But as Gern hit the ground, he suddenly slapped one hand against it. "Quake Wave: Impact!"

The recoil launched him back up. At the same time, pale vibration particles gathered at his fingertips. "Quake Resonance: Piercing Shot!"

Whoosh! A spiraling beam shot straight at Zephyr's throat!

Zephyr tilted his head aside. The beam grazed his ear and bored an unfathomably deep hole through the rock wall behind him. A muffled explosion followed from within, and the entire wall shattered!

"That was close..." Zephyr landed, finally showing a hint of a smile. "Now that's more like it."

"Instructor Zephyr." Gern straightened up, panting, and flashed a grin. "You should be done warming up by now, right?"

As he spoke, Gern slammed his fists together, sending ripples of vibration spreading outward in waves.

"Heavenquake: Star Ring!" A ring-shaped quake wave swept across the entire field.

"Hahaha!" Zephyr laughed as he was forced back, then stepped forward into a charge. Black lightning began flashing around his Haki-coated right fist as it tore through the quake wave.

"One last strike!!"

"Gladly!" Gern roared and charged to meet him, drawing his fist to his waist to gather power. Vibration particles converged furiously over his knuckles, and space began to fracture and collapse.

"Heavenquake: Star Piercer!!" Their fists collided with a thunderous crash.

Boom!! A blinding burst of fractured white light swallowed everything!

For a moment, the Marines watching from the sidelines were utterly dumbstruck. Even Kuzan had straightened up without realizing it, his eyes fixed intently on the battle.

When the light faded, Zephyr stood proudly in a crater a hundred meters across, while Gern knelt on one knee, his right arm trembling.

"Heavenquake: Airburst!" Gritting his teeth, Gern pressed his palms together and unleashed a shock wave at point-blank range.

Zephyr neither dodged nor retreated. He crossed his arms and took the attack head-on. The ground beneath his feet instantly collapsed, but he did not budge.

"Good power, but your precision is a little lacking," Zephyr assessed. "Still, with such intense use of your Devil Fruit ability,

you don't have the stamina to sustain it right now, so that's only natural."

As he spoke, Zephyr suddenly switched attacks, driving another uppercut straight at Gern's chin.

Gern barely managed to turn his head aside, only to feel another heavy blow slam into his abdomen-Zephyr's left fist had already been waiting there.

"Urgh!" Gern spat up bile and went flying once more.

"Next, Observation Haki." Zephyr lowered his fist and stood still. "Predicting your movements is easier than predicting the weather."

"I didn't know... you could predict the weather, too." Gern lay on the ground, gasping for breath.

He had thought he could at least exchange a few blows with Zephyr. He had never expected his Logia ability to be virtually useless against someone whose strength lay entirely in Haki and martial arts.

"Get up," Zephyr's voice rang out.

Gern pushed himself up, then suddenly smiled. "Instructor Zephyr, do you know something?"

"Hmm?"

"My greatest strength..." Gern abruptly raised his head, a sly gleam flashing in his eyes. "Is that I can really take a beating!"

Before he had finished speaking, Gern slapped both hands against the ground, and the entire training field began shaking violently.

Cries erupted from the sidelines, and quite a few spectators lost their footing and fell.

"An earthquake?!"

"No, it's his ability!"

The ground beneath Zephyr's feet suddenly split open, but he merely hopped lightly into the air and adjusted his stance.

In that instant, Gern had already rushed in front of him, his fist wrapped in vibration particles shaped into a dog's head as it hurtled straight toward Zephyr's face.

"Heavenquake: White Dog!"

Bang! Zephyr caught the punch with one hand, and the two hung locked together in midair.

"Interesting." Zephyr chuckled. "To tell the truth, I can see quite a few people's influences in your moves."

"Of course. And..." Gern grinned. "The best part is still coming!"

His fist suddenly began vibrating at high frequency. Zephyr's expression shifted slightly, and he quickly released his grip and pulled back.

But he was too late. The vibrations had already traveled into his arm through the point of contact.

With a sharp crack, a fracture appeared in Zephyr's sunglasses.

The spectators instantly erupted.

"He landed a hit on Instructor Zephyr!"

"He actually forced Black Arm back!"

After landing, Zephyr looked at his arm, then raised his gaze to Gern and suddenly burst out laughing. "Good! Very good!"

Gern landed back on the ground, already panting heavily.

That last strike had drained nearly all his stamina, but it had worked even better than he had expected.

"It seems I underestimated you." Zephyr removed his broken sunglasses, his gaze turning razor-sharp. "You'd better be ready to take this next move."

Gern instantly felt an unprecedented weight bearing down on him.

"Hmm?" Garp's expression tightened as he watched from the sidelines. "Zephyr's presence has completely changed."

Before he had finished speaking, Zephyr unleashed powerful Haki, cracking the ground all around him.

In an instant, he appeared in front of Gern, his pitch-black fist rapidly filling Gern's vision.

"Wait, Instructor Zephyr, I surren-"

"Black Arm: Impact!" Time seemed to stop at that moment.

Gern saw Zephyr's fist stop less than an inch from the tip of his nose. The wind from the punch already stung his cheeks.

"Surrender?" Zephyr raised an eyebrow.

"I lost," Gern admitted frankly, swallowing.

If that full-power punch from Zephyr had actually landed, he would have been bedridden for at least six months.

Looking at Gern, Zephyr withdrew his fist, patted his shoulder, and reached out to pull him up. His voice was unusually gentle.

"You did well. At your age, you're at least stronger than certain people." As he spoke, he cast a pointed glance in Kuzan's direction.

"Gern, you really are a man like a natural disaster!" Kuzan pretended not to notice Zephyr's glance and carried on speaking.

Then Zephyr turned toward the silent spectators and suddenly bellowed.

"Did all of you get a good look?! This is what battles in the New World are like!!"

The entire field fell silent for two seconds, then erupted into deafening cheers!

For a moment, the cheers made Gern's eardrums ache, and his vision suddenly darkened.

He staggered, trying to steady himself, only to find his legs as heavy as lead.

Zephyr's broad hand still rested on his shoulder, but now it was the only thing keeping him upright.

Sensing something wrong through his palm, Zephyr glanced over. "Gern, you all right, kid?"

"I'm... fine..." Gern had wanted to put on a brave front, but his voice came out faint and wandering, like a delirious murmur.

The glaring sunlight over the training field suddenly warped into patches of color, and the cheers sounded as though they were coming through a thick layer of seawater.

Then he saw Kuzan's blurred figure striding toward him. His lips seemed to be forming a shout, but the world was rapidly losing its color.

"Damn, do Zephyr's punches deal delayed damage...?" Gern's pupils suddenly dilated, and he pitched forward like a puppet with its strings cut.

Zephyr reacted instantly, catching his falling body as he shouted, "Medical team!!"

Kuzan had already flashed to his other side and laid a hand on Gern's sweat-soaked forehead. Cold air condensed into frost at the instant of contact.

"He's all right, Instructor Zephyr. He's just pushed his stamina far past its limits.

After all, he used his Devil Fruit ability that intensely, on top of taking those punches from you..."

With that, Kuzan pulled open Gern's already tattered training uniform, revealing a chest covered in web-like bruising. That was the price of taking Zephyr's heavy punches head-on.

Zephyr looked at the fist marks he had left on Gern's body, his thick brows knotting tightly.

"Damn brat. He was already at his limit, but he still insisted on getting one more hit in..."