The young Zephyr was the strongest opponent Black had encountered so far.
He compensated for his lack of attack power with martial arts, turning himself into a fighter with virtually no weaknesses.
No wonder this guy liked to comment that others were "relying too much on Devil Fruits."
Perhaps in his opinion, if Kizaru could cultivate even one martial art or swordsmanship skill to Zephyr's own level, his strength would increase dramatically.
The reefs near the beach had already been shattered into dust by the aftermath of their battle.
Zephyr's martial arts showed terrifying evolvability after each of Black's attacks, his muscle memory automatically optimized his counterattack methods.
"Cicada's Cry!"
When Black used the same skill for the third time, Zephyr had already predicted Black's attack route.
He opened his mouth and bit down.
Amid a twisted metallic grinding sound, Zephyr actually caught Black's long sword with his teeth, while his left hand seized the back of the blade.
Black was greatly surprised.
"What the hell? Do Marine recruit camps also teach the acrobatics of 'catching a sharp blade with your bare teeth'?"
Without time to think, Black tried to pull back.
But Zephyr's one-inch punch had already slammed into Black's heart.
Black only had time to condense Armament Haki for defense.
Instantly, his clothes turned to ash, and three hundred meters behind him huge waves exploded from the sea.
Blood flowed from the corner of Black's mouth, and his breathing carried a faint rattle.
Armament Haki and the Iron Balloon talent helped him resist part of the attack.
However, Zephyr's Armament Haki also possessed the ability to inflict internal damage, leaving Black with a rather serious internal injury.
Zephyr had already closed the distance again, launching a penetrating finger thrust with Armament Haki compressed to the extreme.
Black gritted his teeth and slammed the long sword in his hand violently into the ground.
Power flowed from the blade into the earth's crust.
The entire beach suddenly rose upward.
Zephyr clearly hadn't expected Black's target to be the ground, and subconsciously adjusted his center of gravity with the shifting terrain.
"Final Act · Overlord's Martial Dance!"
Black seized the opportunity to unleash the strongest attack he had used so far.
The Haki wrapped around the blade tip created a plasma-blue glow through friction with the air.
A crisp crack of dislocated bones echoed from Zephyr's blocking right arm.
Before Zephyr could launch a counterattack, Black's true killing move followed immediately.
He pushed his Armament Haki to the absolute limit, condensing it onto his forehead, and smashed it fiercely into Zephyr's face.
Boom!
A scar tore across the clouds in the sky as Zephyr's figure slowly fell toward the ground.
Having learned from his battle with Bullet, Black didn't give the opponent time to recover.
As the final slash descended, Zephyr gradually transformed into blue light particles and dissipated.
Returning to the System Space, Black let out a long breath.
He glanced at the ability card in his hand.
Armament Haki (Young Zephyr)
"Sure enough, Zephyr's martial arts can't be counted as a special ability."
Black sighed but wasn't too disappointed.
He got out of bed and stretched his body.
With the help of the maid who had been waiting nearby, Black yawned and walked out of the cabin.
Perona, who had been playing on the deck, saw him appear and immediately made a face.
"Big lazybones! It's already noon!"
Robin also began to complain.
"This is the decadent lifestyle of a Celestial Dragon."
Black waved at them dismissively, ignoring their teasing.
Originally, he had planned to challenge the young Hawkeye after defeating Zephyr.
But now it seemed better to wait a few days.
Battles in the card space didn't consume physical stamina, but continuous high-intensity combat left Black mentally exhausted.
He hadn't felt much during the battle itself.
But afterward it was like entering a sage-like state.
All he wanted to do was lie down on a lounge chair and rest, not wanting to do anything else.
Seeing Black's exhausted expression, Robin and Perona exchanged glances suspiciously.
Perona muttered in confusion.
"This guy clearly slept for more than ten hours, so why does he still look like he hasn't woken up?"
Robin stroked her chin and glanced thoughtfully at Stella, forming a rather impolite speculation in her mind.
"Could it be that Sister Stella is that amazing? I never expected you to be such a Stella."
If Stella knew what Robin was thinking, even with her gentle temperament she would probably scold her.
...
The sanctuary was traveling along one of the main shipping routes in the North Blue, so they encountered passing ships almost every day.
Whenever those ships saw the World Government flag flying on the sanctuary, they would immediately steer away.
But today, a rather stubborn ship appeared.
Just as Black was slowly recovering his energy, a pirate ship approached the sanctuary across the nearby sea.
On its ragged sails hung a rusty anchor emblem and a pirate flag with three crossed claw marks.
In the center of the flag was a dripping hyena skull.
...
On the deck of the Hyena Pirates, Gerald fiercely sniffed the air with his beast-transformed nose.
Saliva mixed with blood dripped from his fangs.
"Do you smell it? That's the scent of gold."
He grinned and pointed toward the blurry silhouette of the massive ship in the distance.
The sanctuary was sailing through sea fog, its bow faintly glimmering in the mist.
Poruk, the helmsman, slammed a hydraulic anchor chain against the ship's side, rust flakes scattering everywhere.
"Boss, a ship that big must be loaded with treasure."
Crawford, the sniper, knelt on one knee inside the crow's nest.
The scope of his modified flintlock rifle slowly scanned the cruise ship's mast.
"It's a World Government ship. But the main sail looks a bit strange there's also an iris emblem on it."
"Fools always play tricks like that!"
Gerald kicked over an empty wine barrel.
"Last year's 'Silver Gull' did the same thing."
"It turned out to be just an official secretly using a World Government ship for his family's private business."
"We robbed it clean and it didn't even make the newspapers. Our bounty didn't go up either."
"That guy probably patched the damage himself and didn't dare report it."
"This one is probably the same situation."
Gerald's reasoning was actually quite accurate.
The iris emblem was the symbol of the Hilbert family.
Both the Silver Gull and the sanctuary were ships built by the World Government but privately used by certain noble families.
Poruk smashed a wooden table apart with the anchor chain.
"Let's just ram it! I'll cut down their mast!"
"Idiot!"
Crawford slammed the stock of his rifle onto the back of Poruk's head.
"That's a ship built by the World Government. The mast has special reinforcement. Your rusty anchor wouldn't even scratch the paint."
He unfolded a hand-drawn sea chart.
"There's a reef cluster three nautical miles northeast."
"We'll drive that ship there and force it aground."
"The sea fog is thicker in that area. We can use smoke grenades to cover our boarding."
Gerald suddenly transformed into his full beast form.
The roar of a hyena shook the deck.
His claws dug into the wood, leaving scratches half a foot deep.
"I want to rip open the throats of those nobles right now!"
Crawford helplessly slapped his forehead.
"Alright, alright. But at least let me fire a flare shell first."
"You go in after their vision is blocked."
He added one final instruction.
"Remember, don't kill everyone. At least the treasurer must be captured alive."
"I know already! You're so annoying!"
...
On the other side, Black lay on his lounge chair and slowly raised his head.
He frowned slightly toward the direction of the Hyena Pirates' ship.
Interrupting his rest at such a moment.
Then Black suddenly smiled.
He clapped his hands and said cheerfully:
"Girls, it's time to test the results of your training."
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