Chapter 30: A Man Like a Natural Disaster
At the same time, in the center of the training ground, a purple figure shot up through the settling dust!
Zephyr, using Geppo (Moonwalk), drew back his right fist, building power to its absolute limit. His black Haki actually began to spark with a dark red light. "Haki isn't about blocking, it's about conquering!"
I can't let him get into position! Garon's pupils shrank. He desperately tried to use a Quake-Flash to elementalize and dodge. But Zephyr's Observation Haki had locked onto him, predicting his move. Zephyr's fist suddenly changed its trajectory.
BOOM!!!
The punch shattered the sound barrier and struck Garon square in the chest. A ring-shaped vapor cloud exploded in the sky!
Garon sprayed a mouthful of blood, smashing down toward the ground like a meteor.
"Is it over?!" someone in the crowd shouted.
However, as he hit the ground, Garon slammed one hand on the earth. "Shockwave: Impact!"
The recoil bounced him back up. At the same time, he focused pale, vibrating particles at his fingertips. "Tremor-Cry: Pierce-Shot!"
SHOOO! A spiraling beam of energy shot straight at Zephyr's throat.
Zephyr tilted his head. The beam grazed his ear, pierced the rock wall far behind him, and left a bottomless, smoking hole. A muffled explosion sounded from within, and the entire wall shattered.
"Close one..." Zephyr landed, finally revealing a hint of a smile. "Now this is more like it."
"Teacher Zephyr," Garon panted, getting to his feet and grinning. "Your warm-up should be over by now, right?"
As he spoke, Garon slammed his fists together. Vibrational ripples spread out in concentric circles, like waves.
"Sky-Tremor: Star Ring!" A circular shockwave swept across the entire field.
"Hahaha!" Zephyr let out a booming laugh and was forced back a step. He then stomped forward, his right fist, now crackling with black lightning from his Haki, cleaving through the shockwave. "This is the last blow!"
"I couldn't ask for more!" Garon roared, meeting him head-on. He pulled his fist back to his waist, coiling his power. The tip of his fist began to glow as particles condensed, and the space around it began to crackle and collapse. "Sky-Tremor: Star-Piercer!"
The two fists smashed into each other.
DOOONG!!!
A blinding, shattering, white light swallowed everything!
For a moment, the spectators were dumbfounded. Even Kuzan had, at some point, stood up straight, his eyes burning as he watched the battle.
When the light faded, Zephyr stood proudly in the center of a hundred-meter-wide crater. Garon was on one knee, his right arm trembling.
"Sky-Tremor: Air-Burst!" Gritting his teeth, Garon clapped his hands together, releasing a shockwave at point-blank range.
Zephyr didn't dodge. He crossed his arms and took the full force of the blast. The ground beneath his feet instantly caved in, but his body didn't move an inch.
"Good power. Lousy precision," Zephyr critiqued. "But, to use your fruit at such a high intensity... your stamina can't keep up. This is to be expected."
As he spoke, Zephyr suddenly switched his stance, and another uppercut shot straight for Garon's chin.
Garon barely managed to turn his head, only to feel a massive impact on his abdomen. Zephyr's left fist had, at some point, been waiting for him there.
"Oof!" Garon coughed up bile, his body once again sent flying.
"And secondly: Observation Haki," Zephyr said, lowering his fists. "Predicting your movements is easier than predicting the weather."
"Heh... Didn't know you could predict the weather," Garon panted, sprawled on the ground.
He had thought he could at least trade a few real blows with Zephyr. He never expected that, in front of a pure Haki and CQC specialist, his Logia ability would be rendered almost useless.
"Get up," Zephyr's voice commanded.
Garon pushed himself up, then suddenly smiled. "Teacher Zephyr, did you know?"
"Hm?"
"My greatest strength..." Garon snapped his head up, a cunning glint in his eyes. "...is that I can take a real beating!"
Before his words faded, Garon slammed both hands on the ground. The entire training field began to shake violently.
The crowd yelled in panic as many lost their footing and fell.
"An earthquake?!"
"No, it's his ability!"
The ground beneath Zephyr's feet split open, but he just leaped lightly into the air, adjusting his posture.
In that split second, Garon had already dashed in front of him, his fist, now shaped like a dog's head and wreathed in vibration particles, aimed straight at Zephyr's face.
"Sky-Tremor: White Dog!"
BANG! Zephyr caught the fist with one hand. The two were frozen in mid-air.
"A little interesting," Zephyr smirked. "To be honest, I see the shadows of a lot of different people in your moves."
"You have to," Garon grinned. "And... the really interesting part is still to come!"
His fist suddenly began to vibrate at a high frequency. Zephyr's expression changed, and he quickly released his grip and pulled back.
But it was too late. The vibration had already transferred from Garon's fist to his arm.
With a sharp crack, a fissure appeared on Zephyr's sunglasses.
The crowd went insane.
"He touched Teacher Zephyr!"
"He actually made 'Black Arm' retreat!"
Zephyr landed, looked at his arm, then looked back up at Garon. He suddenly burst out laughing. "Good! Very good!"
Garon landed back on the ground, now breathing heavily. That last attack had taken almost everything he had, but the result was better than he'd hoped.
"It seems I underestimated you." Zephyr took off his cracked sunglasses, his eyes becoming impossibly sharp. "You'd better take this next one seriously."
Garon instantly felt an unprecedented, suffocating pressure.
"Hm?" Garp, on the sidelines, also tensed. "Zephyr's aura... it's completely changed."
Zephyr released his Haki, the ground around him cracking from the pressure. In an instant, he was in front of Garon, his black fist rapidly filling Garon's vision.
"Wait, Teacher Zephyr, I surr—"
"Black Arm: Impact!"
Time seemed to freeze.
Garon saw Zephyr's fist stop less than an inch from his nose. The wind from the punch was already making his face sting.
"Surrender?" Zephyr raised an eyebrow.
"I... I lose," Garon swallowed, admitting it frankly.
If Zephyr had actually landed that punch with his full power, he'd be in bed for at least six months.
Looking at Garon, Zephyr retracted his fist. He clapped him on the shoulder, pulled him to his feet, and his voice was uncharacteristically gentle.
"You did well. At your age, you're at least better than some people." As he spoke, he glanced meaningfully in Kuzan's direction.
"Garon, you really are... a man like a natural disaster," Kuzan said, pretending not to notice Zephyr's look.
Zephyr then turned to the now-silent crowd and suddenly roared, "Did you all see that?! This is a New World battle!"
The field was silent for two seconds, then exploded in a deafening cheer.
...
Garon's ears ached from the roar of the crowd. His vision suddenly went black. He staggered, trying to stay upright, but his legs felt as if they were filled with lead.
Zephyr's heavy hand was still on his shoulder, and it was now the only thing holding him up.
Zephyr sensed the weakness and glanced over. "Garon. Kid, are you alright?"
"I'm... fine..." Garon wanted to say something tough, but his voice was as thin as a whisper.
The bright sun of the training ground began to distort into colorful blotches. The cheers of the crowd sounded as if they were coming from under water.
He vaguely saw Kuzan's blurry figure rushing over, his mouth moving, but the world was rapidly fading to black.
Dammit... is this a delayed reaction to Zephyr's punch...? Garon's pupils dilated, and his body slumped forward like a puppet with its strings cut.
Zephyr reacted instantly, catching his falling body as he yelled, "Medical team!!"
Kuzan had already flashed to his other side, placing a hand on Garon's sweaty forehead. The cold from his palm instantly frosted over.
"He's alright, Teacher Zephyr. It's just extreme stamina depletion. After all, using his fruit at that intensity, on top of taking those punches from you..."
As he spoke, Kuzan tore open Garon's tattered training uniform, revealing a chest covered in a spiderweb of dark, deep-tissue bruises—the price of taking Zephyr's Haki-infused blows.
Zephyr looked at the fist-shaped marks he'd left on Garon, his thick eyebrows knitting together.
"Dammit... He was already at his limit, and he still had to get that last shot in..."