Zephyr Personally Teaches the Six Powers

Zephyr turned, his enormous mechanical arm tracing a cold arc beneath the corridor lights.

Lorne followed at an unhurried pace with his hands in his pockets, his unusual beast ears twitching slightly as they picked up every subtle change in the former Marine Admiral's breathing.

They walked one behind the other through the long corridor, eventually arriving at an enormous indoor training ground beneath the fortress.

There was no fancy equipment here, only four walls built from Seastone and an open space in the center large enough for giant elephants to run around in.

Bang!

The heavy steel doors slowly closed behind them, shutting out every sound from outside.

Zephyr stopped and turned, his weathered eyes locking onto Lorne with a hawk's sharpness.

"Before we draw up a new plan, I need to know something." Zephyr's voice was deep and powerful, echoing through the enclosed space. "Just what exactly did that Garp teach you?"

Lorne shrugged and answered without hesitation, "Fist Bone and Iron Body."

"Fist Bone... Iron Body..." Zephyr mulled over the two terms and nodded, understanding in his eyes.

"An offensive technique that concentrates strength into a single point, and a defensive technique that passively reinforces the muscles."

Zephyr walked to the center of the training ground and looked at Lorne, his tone growing stern.

"Garp's approach is a philosophy of pure strength. Savage, crude, effective. But with only those two things, you're just a tougher, stronger target!"

"On the Grand Line, there are countless ways to keep you from putting that brute strength to use. Can your speed keep up with Kizaru's light? Can your defenses withstand Akainu's magma? Can your strength land a hit on Aokiji's ice?"

For the first time, the barrage of questions made Lorne drop his nonchalant attitude, his gaze turning serious.

"Your talent is the most outrageous I've ever seen. It even surpasses those brats back then." There was a trace of excitement in Zephyr's voice that even he failed to notice.

"But jade needs carving before it becomes anything worthwhile! Garp only knows how to hammer you like a lump of iron, but I'm going to turn you into a blade that can cut through anything!"

Zephyr's gaze suddenly blazed. "Lorne! The Marines have a long-established martial art called Rokushiki that draws out the human body's potential to its utmost limit. These extraordinary techniques surpass human limits, and they're called the Six Powers!"

"The Six Powers?" Lorne raised an eyebrow.

"That's right!" Zephyr held out his intact left hand, raising his fingers one by one.

"Want to move so fast the naked eye can't follow you, vanishing like a phantom before your enemies? That's Soru!"

"Want to escape the earth's restraints and run freely through the sky, turning even the heavens into your battlefield? That's Geppo!"

"Want your legs to possess destructive power equal to a top swordsman's, every kick unleashing a cutting wave that tears through the air? That's Rankyaku!"

"Want your fingers to have the penetrating power of bullets, easily piercing steel? That's Finger Pistol!"

"Want your body to become as light as paper, slipping unharmed through the storm of an enemy's furious attacks? That's Kami-e!"

With each technique Zephyr named, his presence grew more imposing, as though those extraordinary skills were being brought to life through him.

Without realizing it, Lorne began breathing a little faster. His beast ears stood upright in excitement, and a flame called desire burned in his eyes.

Every one of these techniques struck straight at his fighting instincts!

"The Iron Body you've mastered is only one of the Six Powers, and the most basic one at that." Zephyr's words were like a bucket of cold water, yet they only made the fire in Lorne's heart burn hotter.

"Then... what's the sixth?" Lorne couldn't help asking.

A meaningful expression appeared on Zephyr's face. He looked at Lorne and said, enunciating every word, "A fighter who fully integrates all six of these martial techniques that surpass human limits and trains them to their utmost can unleash... an ultimate shock wave that ignores all physical defenses and strikes the enemy's internal organs directly!"

"Its name is-"

"Rokuogan!"

Rokuogan!

It ignored all physical defenses?

Wasn't that similar to his Haymaker, which could deal True Damage?

"Your punches have a strange property that lets them bypass defenses. Garp already told me about that over the Den Den Mushi." Zephyr seemed to have seen through Lorne's thoughts.

"I don't understand how that power works yet. But if you can master the Six Powers and incorporate the essence of Rokushiki into your fighting instincts, your destructive power will reach an entirely new dimension!"

"Well, kid?" Zephyr looked at Lorne, his gaze full of enticement. "Want to learn?"

"No kidding!" Lorne grinned. "Let's start now!"

"Hahahaha! Excellent!"

Zephyr burst into laughter, utterly pleased by Lorne's eagerness.

"Since you've already mastered Iron Body, we'll start with the move that best highlights both your strengths and weaknesses!"

Before he had finished speaking, Zephyr suddenly vanished before Lorne's eyes!

He hadn't moved fast enough to leave an afterimage. He had vanished into thin air without warning!

"!!!"

Lorne's pupils abruptly contracted, and his beast ears swiveled frantically as he tried to locate him.

"Behind you, kid."

The cold voice sounded right against the back of his neck.

A chill shot from his tailbone straight to the crown of his head!

Without thinking, Lorne swung an elbow backward, terrifying strength erupting from his body as he tried to turn around.

But his elbow struck empty air.

Zephyr's voice came from his left this time.

"Too slow."

Then from his right.

"Your reactions are too slow, too."

Zephyr's phantom-like figure kept appearing and disappearing across the training ground. Each time he appeared, he was in a blind spot in Lorne's attacks, and every word sounded like merciless mockery.

The speed and reflexes Lorne took such pride in had become a joke at that moment!

"Bastard!"

Lorne roared and stopped his useless attacks. He closed his eyes, focusing all his attention on his beast ears.

He would use his hearing to pinpoint the old man's location!

"Oh? Given up on using your eyes? Good judgment."

Zephyr's voice rang out again. This time, he didn't move.

Lorne snapped his eyes open to find Zephyr standing ten meters away.

"That move just now was Soru," Zephyr explained. "The principle is simple. Kick off the ground more than ten times in 0.36 seconds, using the reaction force generated by powerful leg muscles to move at explosive speed."

"So that's how it works." Understanding dawned on Lorne.

He looked down at his legs, a confident smile appearing on his face.

When it came to leg strength, he had absolute confidence!

"Watch this!"

Lorne gave a low shout, his leg muscles instantly bulging. Following the principle Zephyr had described, he exerted force!

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

A series of incredibly heavy stomps rang out!

The ground beneath Lorne's feet cracked at a visible pace, sending rubble flying and filling the air with dust!

He felt his legs brimming with explosive strength, as though a light push could send him a hundred meters into the air!

However...

The dust settled.

Lorne was still standing in the same spot. There was now a half-meter-deep pit beneath his feet, but his body hadn't moved an inch.

"Pfft..."

At the sight, Zephyr couldn't hold back a laugh.

"Hahahahaha!"

His laughter grew louder and louder, making the entire training ground reverberate.

"Idiot! I said 'kick off the ground,' not 'dig a pit'!" Zephyr was laughing so hard he nearly cried. "Your leg strength is enough. Terrifying, even! But you have no idea how to control or use that strength!"

"The key to Soru isn't how much strength you have. It's frequency! It's about precisely converting the force of every step into forward thrust, rather than dumping it all underground like you!"

Being mocked like this by an old man instantly darkened Lorne's face.

"Again!"

He refused to believe he couldn't do it!

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

For a while after that, only two sounds remained in the enormous indoor training ground.

The sound of Lorne digging pits, and Zephyr's gleeful laughter at his expense.

"No, no! Are you planning to tear down Marine Headquarters?"

"Hey, hey, wrong direction! Are you trying to launch yourself into the sky?"

"Oh dear, too much force. Nearly twisted your ankle there, didn't you?"

After more than a hundred attempts that dug over a dozen large pits in the hard ground, Lorne finally stopped.

Panting heavily and drenched in sweat, he looked at those legs of his, which were good only at destruction, and doubted himself for the first time.

"What? Giving up already?" Zephyr stopped laughing, walked up to Lorne, and looked down at him.

"Your recovery is strong, but the stamina you're burning is real. Keep blindly forcing it like this, and you won't even grasp the basics of Soru before nightfall."

Lorne said nothing, only staring hard at the tips of his shoes, his eyes full of unwillingness to accept it.

"Strength, speed, frequency, angle... all of these are crucial." Zephyr spoke again, his voice turning serious. "You'll never learn just by listening to me explain. True martial arts are honed between life and death!"