However, at that time, he had transferred from the position of Navy admiral to become a Navy instructor. The current Navy's three admirals, Akainu, Kizaru, and Aokiji, were all his students. Even many of the vice admirals in the Navy today were his students, so his position in the Navy was very high.
A war like this didn't actually need Zephyr. Sengoku hadn't considered him either. After all, Zephyr had retired to the second line. Apart from teaching Navy rookies, he no longer inquired about the Navy's various affairs.
Although Sengoku hadn't arranged for Zephyr to participate in the war, how could Zephyr, who hated pirates so much, really not care about this war that was so important to the Navy? He had been staying in Marineford, watching the situation. It wasn't until just now, when he saw that the Navy was about to be unable to resist, that he finally couldn't help but lead the 'Pirate Guerrilla Squad' that he had formed into the battlefield.
Zephyr's appearance not only surprised the Navy, but even the pirates were very shocked, because the troops that Zephyr led were really powerful. When they rushed towards Luffy, it was difficult for the pirates to carry out effective resistance, so he quickly faced Luffy and the group of pirates who were protecting Luffy.
Because Zephyr had retired to the second line for decades, even though he had formed his own troops, most of the time he was active in the first half of the Grand Line, and rarely went to the New World, so not many of the pirates on the Whitebeard Pirates' side recognized him.
However, not many people recognizing him didn't mean that no one recognized him. Soon, an old-generation pirate from the New World exclaimed, "Former Navy Admiral, Zephyr!"
Although many people didn't know who Zephyr was, hearing that he was a former Navy admiral, they were all greatly surprised. What did Navy admiral mean? It was believed that this war had already made everyone see it. Not to mention anything else, their strength was definitely very amazing.
Whitebeard was also very surprised after seeing Zephyr, "It's actually Zephyr. I heard that this guy stopped caring about the Navy's major affairs a long time ago. I didn't expect that he would appear in this war. It's really surprising. Another old face!"
Zephyr and Whitebeard were considered to be from the same era. Although the number of times the two had dealt with each other wasn't large, one was a former high-ranking official in the Navy, and the other was a great pirate who had roamed the New World for decades. As important opponents, they were relatively familiar with each other.
"It's actually him. I didn't expect that he would actually appear as well."
Seeing Zephyr, Akira's expression also changed. Zephyr's appearance was completely beyond his expectations. He hadn't fought Zephyr before, but he didn't need to think about it to know that Zephyr's strength was very strong. Even if he wasn't as good as the current Navy admirals, he was definitely much stronger than the ordinary Navy vice admirals. Among the Whitebeard Pirates, only the top few division commanders could be his opponents, but now the few division commanders had all been contained, and there was no way to go to support.
Thinking of this, Akira also became anxious. Seeing that the excellent situation was about to be destroyed by a Zephyr who had suddenly appeared, he instantly increased his speed to the limit, quickly heading towards the direction where Zephyr was.
"Swish!"
When Akira took action, the golden light quickly caught up with him, and kicked towards him with one foot, "Death God, where are you trying to go? Don't want me anymore?"
Kizaru's tone was already very wretched, and saying such words at this time, Akira roared.
"Get lost!"
"Armament!"
Akira went all out, Busoshoku Haki covering Tensa Zangetsu, dyeing the entire sword pitch black, and slashed over fiercely.
"Clang!"
The blade and the golden foot touched together, actually emitting an ear-piercing collision sound.
Kizaru's expression changed. He was constantly being forced back. Although he had blocked Akira's attack, he was forced back by Akira's power. He was completely at a disadvantage in this move.
"This guy, what strong power!"
Kizaru was extremely shocked in his heart. The more he fought Akira, the more shocked he became. Akira's strength completely exceeded his imagination. Under a full attack, even he had difficulty coping. How terrifying was this?
You had to know that Akira had been locked up by them for ten years. A person who had been locked up for ten years could burst out with such terrifying power as soon as he came out. If he hadn't been locked up for ten years, how terrifying would he be?
"However, even if you're strong, don't think that you can easily shake me off."
Kizaru shouted in a low voice, his expression becoming very serious. He knew that this time was very crucial for the Navy. He put away all his thoughts, and fully blocked Akira. As long as he could block Akira, he believed that Luffy's side would have difficulty passing through the guard of the suddenly appearing Zephyr, and wouldn't be able to reach the execution platform, let alone rescue Ace.
"Get out of the way!"
Akira was also going all out. At this point, he had to do his best. Otherwise, there was a high probability that too many changes would occur, and it would be even more difficult to rescue Ace. As for leaving, then don't even mention it.
"Not that easy!"
Kizaru followed closely behind Akira. He simply didn't want Akira to go help Luffy. Moreover, his speed was indeed very fast. Under full power, it was also difficult for Akira to shake him off.
"Stay behind!"
Just as Kizaru turned into golden light, preparing to continue intercept Akira, suddenly a loud shout rang out, and then a great naginata struck Kizaru, forcibly stopping Kizaru's pursuit, and Akira rushed out in an instant, shaking off Kizaru all at once.
The golden light that Kizaru had turned into quickly condensed. He looked at Akira, who had already gone far away, and turned his head with an ugly expression.
"Whitebeard!"
It turned out that the person who had interrupted Kizaru just now was Whitebeard. Before, when Whitebeard saw Zephyr appear, he knew that things were going to change, so when he saw Akira being blocked by Kizaru, he decisively endured the injuries, and quickly came to Kizaru's place. Because Kizaru was fully focused on blocking Akira, he didn't notice Whitebeard's approach, so he was struck by Whitebeard in one blow.
"You still shouldn't get in the way, Kizaru brat!" Whitebeard said with a laugh.
Whitebeard had blocked Kizaru. Akira naturally knew this, but this wasn't the time to think about these things. He quickly turned into a black shadow, and caught up with Straw Hat Luffy and his group at an extremely fast speed.
And at this time, Straw Hat Luffy and the Whitebeard Pirates' group were indeed encountering trouble. Under Zephyr's command, the Navy soldiers were firmly blocking Luffy and them. Especially the group of people under Zephyr's command, were even stronger in combat power, blocking the pirates of the Whitebeard Pirates, and not letting Straw Hat Luffy break through.
In the original anime's movie edition, Luffy had defeated Zephyr, but that was after all two years later, and the movie version and the regular version were different after all. Zephyr, as a former Navy admiral, was still very terrifying in strength. Especially since his right hand had also been turned into a seastone iron arm, so several of the Whitebeard Pirates' division commanders couldn't stop him. Luffy was also knocked away by him with a few moves, without any power to fight back.
Seeing Luffy being constantly forced back by Zephyr, Akira finally arrived, Tensa Zangetsu and Zephyr's iron arm colliding.
"Clang!"
A piercing sound rang out. Zephyr only felt his right arm shake violently, and a powerful force came, forcing him to retreat. Akira was also the same, retreating a few steps backwards.
"It's you!"
Zephyr recognized Akira at a glance. After all, he had been on the scene when Akira was imprisoned back then.
Akira looked at Zephyr coldly, and said in a deep voice, "Since you've already retired, then you should hide well. Why bother continuing to come out and provoke trouble."
Zephyr said coldly, "All pirates deserve to die. You're naturally no exception!"
Akira sneered and said, "A dignified former Navy admiral, having his arm cut off by a pirate, and not even being able to protect his students. If I were you, I would find a place where no one knew me and hide. Where would I have the face to come out."
As the saying goes, don't hit a person in the face. Akira's words could be said to be extremely heart-wrenching. Zephyr's change was after his arm had been cut off, and his students had been killed by pirates. This was one of the greatest sorrows in his heart. Now that Akira had brought it up in public, he only felt that his whole body was burning.
"Damn pirate, you're asking for death!"