BOOM!
A sudden tremor sent Sakazuki stumbling at the Marine base, where he was preparing to sortie. Several people caught off guard fell to the ground, yelping in pain as their injuries from the previous battle were jarred.
While Sakazuki was also severely injured, he wasn't as clumsy. As soon as the tremor hit, he strode out the front gate of the base without a word. He looked outside and saw a flash of crimson light streaking across the sky like a meteor.
The sight immediately made him think of that bastard, Alucard, who was all clad in red.
But when the crimson light came to a halt on top of a building across from him, and Sakazuki got a clear look at the figure, he realized he was wrong. It wasn't Alucard.
It was... Zephyr!
After being infected by the Blacklight Virus, Zephyr's changes weren't as exaggerated as the other infected. His muscles simply swelled and became much larger, his body looked congested with blood, and his hair stood on end.
What was even more striking was his Marine uniform, which was so distinctive that Sakazuki and the others instantly recognized him.
"Wh-what's going on?"
Sakazuki's brow furrowed. Zephyr's appearance left him unsure of how to react. After a moment's thought, just as Sakazuki was about to shout a command, Zephyr suddenly leaped off the rooftop, charging toward the entrance of the Marine base.
His posture... wasn't friendly in the slightest.
Sensing the pure killing intent from Zephyr, Sakazuki's expression remained unchanged. Before his mind could even process the situation, his body moved on its own. He met Zephyr's charge with a powerful punch, but he had clearly forgotten that both of his shoulders had been severely wounded just hours ago by Alucard and Zephyr himself.
His strength was already inferior to Zephyr's to begin with. Now, facing a Zephyr who had been enhanced by the Blacklight Virus, the outcome was inevitable.
Even with Sakazuki's hardened resolve, using his shattered shoulder to block Zephyr's enhanced punch sent a wave of agonizing pain that contorted his face. After a two-second stalemate, he was sent flying back into the temporary Marine base.
"Vice Admiral Sakazuki!" "Is that... Instructor Zephyr?"
"Wh-what's happening? I... I don't understand, what's wrong with him?"
"A bizarre Zephyr-sensei just sent Vice Admiral Sakazuki flying... what in the world is going on?"
Struggling to get back on his feet amidst the rubble, Sakazuki grimaced as a fresh wave of pain shot through his shoulder.
"That killing intent is genuine..." he muttered to himself as if he hadn't heard the others, before roaring, "All hands, stand by! Get into battle stations!"
Hearing Sakazuki's command, many of Zephyr's former students present still didn't react, their mouths agape as they stared blankly at the "bizarre" looking Zephyr.
Suddenly, Zephyr became a crimson blur, weaving through the Marine ranks. In the blink of an eye, he had already knocked out countless men.
"You fools! Get ready to fight!"
Sakazuki raised his voice several octaves, finally jolting the stunned Marines back to reality. They scrambled to grab their weapons and warily eyed Zephyr, but the sorrow on their faces far outweighed any hostility.
"Gah!"
Sakazuki couldn't help but cough up a mouthful of blood. He thought to himself, 'That punch... it was just like Vice Admiral Garp's... No, maybe even stronger. And his speed as well...'
Whoosh!
Zephyr vanished from his spot again. Sakazuki unleashed his Observation Haki and bellowed, "Four o'clock, fire at the tower!"
The armed Marines, following Sakazuki's orders, quickly aimed their guns at a lighthouse about fifty meters away in the four o'clock direction. If it had been a pirate, they would have opened fire the moment Zephyr appeared. But when they saw Zephyr, the fingers on their triggers just couldn't pull.
The result of their hesitation was another group of Marines getting instantly wiped out by Zephyr.
"You useless bunch! He's not easy to kill! If you don't move quickly, we're all going to die!" Sakazuki roared in anger. What he said was the truth. He felt like he might die right here, not at the hands of Alucard, but at the hands of his own teacher.
"What's wrong with Zephyr-sensei?" another Captain bit down on his lower lip until it bled.
"Report! It's all that Alucard's doing!" A Marine soldier who had fled from the direction of the royal palace suddenly returned, quickly giving a rough summary of what they'd seen to Sakazuki and the others.
"So Alucard was behind it? I figured as much."
Sakazuki wasn't surprised by the cause of all this. After thinking it through, only Alucard could pull off something like this; it perfectly matched his bizarre abilities. However, to think he could even do this to a former Admiral...
"Vice Admiral Sakazuki, should we capture Instructor Zephyr alive?" the Captain pleaded.
"Hmph. You should be praying we don't die here," Sakazuki scoffed. He felt a searing pain just trying to lift his arm.
Meanwhile, a half-mile away, Alucard sat on a tiled rooftop, watching the battle at the Marine base from a distance. With an expectant look on his face, he muttered, "So, what's it going to be? The Admiral who never kills, committing a massacre and slaughtering his own students and a future Admiral? Or is the future Admiral going to valiantly kill his own teacher? This is a rare spectacle. I'll just watch from here."
"Isn't this so much more interesting than fighting him myself? "
"Of course, if either of them is really about to die, I'll take their final hit or their corpse. After all, both Zephyr and Sakazuki are top-tier combat assets."
"Even if I don't care about such things, would you really leave money lying on the ground?"
Zephyr's two arms suddenly turned a glowing, pure black, making Alucard's eyes narrow. Even without his sanity and his mind, he could still use Haki? When they were fighting just a moment ago, he didn't even use his Armament Haki.
"Is that combat instinct etched into his very soul? He's a magnificent guy," Alucard praised, while hypocritically offering a prayer for Sakazuki's well-being. What are his chances of winning? One in a hundred?
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