Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Rain poured relentlessly, shrouding the entire world. Thunder rolled across the pitch-black sky, lightning flashing like cracks in the darkness.
But in this moment, the world's most fortified military stronghold had fallen into an eerie silence, as if someone had pressed the mute button. There were no signs of troop deployment. Patrol ships still followed their predetermined routes, as if the fierce clash that had just erupted outside the high-ranking officers' quarters had never occurred.
Outside the traditional Japanese-style mansion, the surrounding buildings had completely collapsed, turning half the district into a field of rubble.
For reasons unknown, all civilians had already been evacuated.
Everything around was empty and silent—like a graveyard.
Boom!!
Two pitch-black fists collided midair, black lightning crackling through the downpour, sending shockwaves bursting outward. Both figures staggered back, sliding across the rain-soaked ground for over ten meters before coming to a stop.
"Tsk, tsk... You really are the youngest Admiral in Marine history. That close-quarters combat skill, that Haki strength... You're practically a monster."
CP0 agent Ghostweed glanced down at his twisted right wrist, showing no hint of pain as he let out a sinister laugh.
"Never thought even my Armament Haki could be suppressed."
He raised his left hand, grabbed the right wrist, and twisted hard.
Crack!
The fractured joint instantly reset, and fleshy buds began sprouting and swelling from it, like mushrooms multiplying—dense and nauseating.
Once the wrist was fully restored, CP0 slowly lifted his gaze, sneering at the former Admiral standing in the rain, gasping for breath.
"I'm just curious, Zephyr-san... how much longer can your body hold up like this?"
He raised both hands, and strange, spore-like flesh continued to grow from his fingertips, pulsing with life and sending chills down the spine.
CP0's eyes narrowed as he stared at Zephyr's left hand, now coated in those same fleshy spores. A ghostly laugh echoed from beneath his mask.
"I ate the Noko Noko no Mi, a Paramecia-type. That arm of yours... I'd say it's just about numb by now, isn't it?"
Zephyr panted heavily, his hot breath turning into clouds of white mist in the cold rain.
He glanced down at his left arm—dark, purplish-black spores had spread from the wrist to the forearm, creeping steadily upward.
What was even more terrifying was that with every inch they advanced, he was losing control. His arm was becoming sluggish—unresponsive.
"So what?"
He suddenly grinned, twisted and mocking.
"That creepy regeneration of yours—it's just another Devil Fruit trick, isn't it?"
"I thought you were immortal or something."
"But with that reckless use of your Devil Fruit... how long do you think your stamina's going to last?"
CP0, codename Ghostweed, froze for a second before letting out a cold laugh.
"'Immortality'... that's something only the Five Elders get. I'm not worthy of that privilege."
"As for how long I can keep going..."
His figure suddenly vanished like a pale phantom.
The torrential rain whipped into chaos.
In the blink of an eye, CP0 had crossed dozens of meters and reappeared at Zephyr's side, his long leg slicing downward like a steel whip!
Rankyaku: Surprise Assault!
"More than enough to take down a wheezing old man like you!"
Zephyr, who had already activated his Observation Haki, lashed out with a kick—landing before the other even struck!
With a thunderous bang, the rain split apart.
Another Rankyaku clash!
CP0's right leg twisted grotesquely on impact—but he didn't seem to care.
"Zephyr-san, do you know something?"
"My ability fuses with the flesh and blood of my targets, allowing me to keep growing. Which means—even your powerful Haki can't purge it."
"It's thanks to this strange yet potent ability that I was personally promoted by Warcury-sama to the strongest rank in CP0!"
"—'A force comparable to a Marine Admiral'... the strongest shield of the Celestial Dragons!"
"I don't even need to kill you directly. I just have to wait until the spores overtake your arm, then your whole body. Soon, you'll become a beautiful fungus."
His tone turned fanatical, like a zealot of some twisted cult.
"A fungal colony born from the flesh of an Admiral-level warrior... That would be the most beautiful organism in the world!"
"...You're insane."
Zephyr's voice was cold, his face unmoved.
Seeing Zephyr's unshaken expression, CP0 seemed irritated. His smile twisted into a sneer.
"You think you can really protect that woman?"
"You can't stop me. And your batch of greenhorn students? They've got no chance against my subordinates!"
"Everything that happens today... will be just like back then."
"Except this time, you'll be lucky enough to witness Daren's wife and child die right before your eyes!"
Zephyr's pupils instantly shrank into needle points.
Time seemed to freeze.
The roar of the rain filled the silence.
Watching the Marine Admiral's face go pale, Ghostweed burst into crazed laughter.
For CP0, cultivated from birth by the organization, their ultimate goal was to become a top-tier fighting force—"not inferior to a Marine Admiral"!
That ambition was etched into their very bones, like part of their DNA.
And now, to be able to personally slay a Marine Admiral—
It would be the crowning achievement of a lifetime!
Seeing Zephyr's shaken state, he trembled uncontrollably with excitement.
This is it… I was born to defeat you, Zephyr-san!
"No. You're wrong about two things."
In the cold rain, the former Admiral—his purple hair soaked and tangled—spoke in a hoarse voice.
"Unlike you killing machines, I believe in my students more than anyone."
"They have enormous potential."
CP0 snorted with scorn.
"And the other thing?"
"The other thing is..."
Zephyr suddenly looked up.
His bloodshot eyes blazed crimson, seething with rage and killing intent so intense that CP0 instinctively stepped back.
"You people… have no idea what a real Admiral is!"
"An arm? Just an arm..."
Under CP0's stunned gaze, Zephyr suddenly grinned—a wild, defiant grin.
"...I can give you that!"
Without hesitation, he raised his right hand, clamped it over his left shoulder, and twisted fiercely!
Rip!
His entire left arm was torn clean off, hitting the ground with a wet slap.
Blood gushed forth, and Zephyr staggered from the pain.
His face grew paler, grimmer—but his eyes gleamed brighter than ever.
He burst into laughter.
His aura surged, towering like a mountain erupting from the earth!
It was as if the legendary "Black Arm" who once ruled the seas had returned, hoisting the pure-white seagull banner high once more!
"But your life—must be taken by me!"
"Not just for Toki, but for..."
Zephyr's eyes flew open, and his Haki erupted, surging into a dense web of black lightning.
Killing intent exploded!
"—my wife and child!!"
...
(100 Chapters Ahead)
[email protected]/PinkSnake