Looking at Setsuna's youthful yet overwhelmingly powerful face, Ochoku's heart twisted. "Another Rocks? How detestable. This sea doesn't need monsters as dazzling as you!"
On Kizaru's perpetually nonchalant face, a rare expression of gravity appeared. "How truly frightening."
While Conqueror's Haki mattered little to true elites, the power Setsuna had just displayed could almost completely disregard tactics reliant on sheer numbers.
Beside Setsuna, Hancock clasped her hands over her heart, her fair cheeks flushing a captivating rosy hue.
Her beautiful eyes shone with unconcealed adoration. "As expected of the man this Empress chose…"
"Admiral Kizaru, I'll leave Crocodile, Moria, and Weevil to you," Setsuna said, proceeding with the original battle plan. "Ace, Enel, Teach, the three of you will handle Ochoku."
"Ochoku, huh?" Teach's eyes burned with fervor. If the opponent was Ochoku, he didn't mind revealing a bit more of his strength.
"Hancock, Cavendish, you lead the others to clean up the remaining pirates."
Finally, Setsuna turned his gaze to the upright figure standing by the shore. "As for Zephyr… I will deal with him personally."
As his words fell, earth-shaking battle cries instantly erupted across the entire battlefield.
Ignoring the surrounding clamor, Setsuna walked leisurely towards Zephyr.
"Admiral Zephyr, I am here on Fleet Admiral Sengoku's request to stop you," Setsuna stated calmly.
"Sengoku?" Flames of anger ignited in Zephyr's eyes. "So what if he doesn't understand me? Now he actually sends someone to stop me from killing these pirates? Hah! The Marines have truly rotted through!"
Without further waste of words, Zephyr's mechanical arm morphed violently. Its pitch-black cannon muzzle aimed directly at Setsuna.
"Smash Blaster!"
A blinding flash of fire erupted, but Setsuna's figure vanished from the spot like a phantom.
The shell struck the ground. The violent explosion shook the entire coastline.
From within the dust, Setsuna's voice came from behind Zephyr. "Weren't you called [Black Arm] Zephyr? Where is your Armament Haki?"
"Then I'll let you see it clearly!" Zephyr roared, pitch-black Armament Haki swirling around his entire body like flames. His mechanical arm emitted a piercing metallic grinding sound.
He stomped hard, shattering the ground, and charged at Setsuna amidst flying debris. His mechanical fist, carrying a crushing force, aimed straight for Setsuna's chest.
"Smash Buster!"
Setsuna neither dodged nor evaded, merely raising his right hand to block.
The moment the two Armament Haki forces collided, the air exploded with dazzling sparks.
The hydraulic system of Zephyr's mechanical arm groaned under strain, unable to advance an inch further.
"Is this the extent of your Armament Haki?" Setsuna felt disappointed.
Armament Haki was his weakest aspect, and yet, Zephyr's Armament Haki was even weaker than his.
Setsuna swatted Zephyr's mechanical arm aside and countered with a swift hand chop to his shoulder.
Zephyr grunted, skidding back several meters, carving two deep grooves in the sand.
Refusing to concede, he charged again. His mechanical arm spun and transformed at high speed, morphing into three sharp spikes.
"Black Arm: Triple Thrust!"
Three streaks of inky light shot towards Setsuna's throat, heart, and abdomen.
Setsuna didn't even shift his footing. Using only his right index finger, he tapped the air three times in succession, effortlessly nullifying all of Zephyr's attacks.
"Your strength is far inferior to Akainu's or Kaido's. Is it because your conviction has crumbled, weakening your Armament Haki?" Setsuna shook his head in disappointment. Suddenly closing the distance, he delivered a powerful elbow strike to Zephyr's chest.
The former Marine Admiral was sent flying like a kite with its string cut, crashing through half a cliff face.
Struggling to rise from the dust, Zephyr heard Setsuna's cold voice. "They say darkening makes one ten times stronger. How come you've weakened by three-tenths?"
These words struck Zephyr's heart like a heavy hammer.
"Have I deteriorated to this extent?" Zephyr didn't want to admit it, but strength didn't lie.
He remained silent, but his offensive grew even more ferocious.
His mechanical arm continuously changed form, morphing from a heavy hammer into a sharp blade, each strike carrying devastating power.
"This shows you don't truly believe in your own actions either," Setsuna said, parrying while speaking. "Killing pirates is one thing, but wanting to destroy the entire New World? How many innocent civilians would be caught up in that? Is that also the justice you pursue?"
"Silence!" Zephyr roared in anger. His mechanical arm suddenly extended, striking towards Setsuna's throat like a venomous snake. "A mere Warlord has no right to lecture me on what justice is! I was spilling blood for justice when you were still nowhere to be found!"
Setsuna sidestepped, countering with a palm strike to the mechanical arm, deflecting it. "Destroying the New World is your justice?"
"To defeat the most terrifying evil, I must inevitably tear away the thin veneer of false justice," Zephyr declared, his mechanical arm slamming down with immense force, the terrifying impact tearing apart the earth for hundreds of meters around.
"I fought for justice for decades. In the end, I was like a stray dog, unable to protect my family, unable to protect my students, even forced to watch my enemies become 'justice'. Who spoke up for me? Who uttered a single word of fairness on my behalf?"
A pained light flickered in Zephyr's eyes. "What is justice? Justice is the grand, righteous-sounding words spoken by the victors. If you're the loser, there is no justice to speak of."
Setsuna nodded. "Everything you say is right. But there's a saying from my homeland: 'Though all beings suffer, may they still refrain from evil.' What fault do the civilians of the New World have? They were just born into this hell against their will."
Zephyr's offensive noticeably slowed. The whirring of his mechanical arm also became less harsh.
Seizing this opening, Setsuna continued, "I've been to Whole Cake Island. They have to pay two months of their lifespan as tribute to Big Mom every year. Yet even so, the people there don't want to leave."
"Why? Because the world outside is even more terrifying. Forget one-sixth of their lifespan, few people there even live past half their expected years."
"Why are you telling me this?" Zephyr stopped attacking, standing in place, breathing heavily.
His mechanical arm emitted a faint hum, seemingly also under immense strain.
"There aren't many in the Marines I respect. You are one of them," Setsuna said sincerely. "I don't want to watch you die bearing such a stain. Why not follow me? I will bring real change to this world."
Zephyr silently gazed at Setsuna, the anger in his eyes gradually replaced by complex emotions.
Suddenly, he threw his head back and laughed… a laugh carrying both release and a touch of self-mockery. "The victor is justice. If you can defeat me, I will follow you."
A fighting spirit reignited in Zephyr's eyes, but this time, it wasn't that insane light. It was the true battle intent that belonged to [Black Arm] Zephyr. "But you are right. Wanting to destroy the New World… that was my weakness."
"Thinking of destroying the New World for a permanent solution because my own strength wasn't enough… that's the thinking of the weak. A true powerhouse should use their fists to uphold their conviction until death!"