In an instant—
the seeds Romu had scattered slipped into every gap they could find. The moment they touched the sea, they twisted into warped, folded roots that shot upward, coiling toward Zephyr like living snares.
Above him, a storm of black spikes fell like a lethal downpour.
Below, writhing roots spiraled up like demonic tentacles.
Inside the wooden cages on the ship, the Marines' hearts leapt into their throats.
The spectacle alone was suffocating.
Even with absolute faith in Zephyr, they clenched their jaws, fear and disbelief flooding their chests.
"Can Admiral Zephyr actually hold against that?!"
At the same time, their fear of Romu deepened.
As for Zephyr—
at the center of the storm, he was eerily calm.
Even his heartbeat barely changed.
Then, to Romu's surprise—
Zephyr closed his eyes.
"Paper Art… Martial God."
Shh—
His taut frame compressed inward. His silhouette slimmed.
Every hair stood on end.
Smell. Taste. Hearing. Touch.
Four of his five senses sharpened tenfold.
Wind direction. Velocity. Air temperature. Moisture. The trajectory of every spike. The spiral climb of every root beneath his feet…
Everything snapped into clarity.
At the same moment—
Observation Haki ignited.
The sight lost by closing his eyes was reconstructed in his mind.
The world turned black and white.
Paper Art: Martial God + Observation Haki—
the fusion plunged Zephyr into a state of pure combat clarity.
To him, the battlefield slowed.
Not reality—
his perception accelerated.
Then Zephyr's eyes snapped open.
He stared southwest.
"That's it."
The weakest energy seam.
"Tap-tap-tap—!"
His feet hammered the air.
Moonwalk carried him upward in bursts.
Armament Haki flooded his body.
Iron-hard muscle locked tight.
He threaded through the spike rain and root forest like a dragon weaving clouds—fluid, precise, untouchable.
In mere breaths—
he escaped the kill zone.
Of nearly one hundred thousand spikes…
fewer than a hundred touched him.
A heartbeat later—
roots and spikes crashed into the sea.
The water detonated with violent energy.
Moments later, corpses of sea creatures floated up—
impaled, drained dry, preserved like grotesque specimens.
Zephyr's eyelid twitched.
"…Good thing I didn't tank those with Iron Body."
Otherwise—
he'd be shredded.
In the air, Romu watched Zephyr exit Paper Art: Martial God intact.
He nodded.
Not discouraged—
excited.
In truth, everything he'd unleashed—
World-Tree Wall.
Burst-Spear Trees.
Stake-Forest.
Thunderbolt-Summoning Wood.
—had been layered probes.
Attack power.
Defense.
Mobility.
A deliberate battlefield assessment.
Not fear.
Strategy.
This was his first true Admiral-level duel.
The conclusion?
Zephyr's raw destructive output and defense might not rival Shiki's fruit-born monstrosities…
but his combat awareness, experience, and agility far surpass Shiki.
Overall—
they were equals.
But where Shiki could fall to overconfidence…
Zephyr never would.
Romu rubbed his nose thoughtfully.
Kong… Garp… Zephyr…
Unlike the later trio…
these men are famous for Haki mastery.
Kong — defense.
Garp — offense.
Zephyr — technique.
This fight proves the legends true.
His eyes narrowed.
Time to use that move.
Let's see what happens.
Excitement stirred in his chest.
Meanwhile, the Marines cheered wildly when Zephyr escaped the barrage.
To them, victory was inevitable.
Stake-Forest and Thunderbolt-Summoning Wood already felt like ultimate attacks.
Surely Romu had nothing stronger.
They even began pounding the cages in premature celebration.
As for the CP0 agent—
Romu had stopped sustaining his life once Zephyr arrived.
A witness was secured.
The man was already dead.
Hearing the cheers, Zephyr spared a glance mid-Moonwalk.
Relief flickered.
Romu's fruit is terrifying…
but against top-tier power, it lacks absolute force.
Probably not his fault—plants simply have limits.
That was his thought—
until his body froze.
His gaze dropped.
The sea below looked calm.
Blue.
Still.
Nothing unusual.
Yet—
every hair on his body stood straight up.
Even his purple hair spiked like steel needles.
His voice cracked.
"…What is that?!"
He hadn't exited Paper Art: Martial God.
His perception remained hyper-tuned.
And beneath that calm surface—
he felt it.
A colossal energy mass.
Rising.
Slowly.
Relentlessly.
From the depths below his feet.
Something vast.
Something monstrous.
Coming up.