One Piece: Nobody knows Devil Fruits better than me.

Chapter 96: Those who can rise again after being knocked down a million times are 'heroes'!
"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"

On the vast ocean, a tremendous sound exploded like thunder in broad daylight.

The already battered Martial Arts Island continued to tremble violently.

At first glance, it sounds as if there is an army constantly firing cannons on this island.

But everyone knows that this is not the case.

The other contestants had already been evacuated from the island by the medical ship—at this point, there were only two people left on the island.

Or rather, two monsters!

"Boom!"

A huge cloud of smoke accompanied by an explosion, and the two figures moved at a speed almost impossible to detect with the naked eye.

The sky, the earth, the shattered rocks, and the cliffs carved out of thin air—their figures appeared everywhere on the live broadcast screen, but then vanished in an instant.

But every time they appear, every time the aftershocks of their collisions are felt, they contain enough power to defeat most of the so-called 'strong' on the sea.

For example, at this moment
"Blackbody Flow - Spikes!"

After another collision in the sky, Zephyr's mechanical arm spun like a drill, its massive size unleashing a speed that was completely out of its capabilities.

Cherry blossoms burst forth from his fist, and a gust of wind swirled around it, blowing a huge hole in the dust and smoke below.

But when his punch, which should have leveled the mountain, was aimed at Roy...
"Buzz!"

The golden aura and domineering presence emanating from Roy completely neutralized most of the power of that attack.

The remaining force, when it struck Roy, could only cause him a shallow wound.

"Fruit Combination - Defense Enhancement".

After using defensive enhancements to defend against Zephyr's attack, Roy didn't give the old man any time to rest.

[Quick Cut Fruit LV4 → Wind God Pteranodon Fruit LV4]

Using the gust of wind generated by Zefa's attack, his speed increased to its limit once again, and he appeared above Zefa's head in just a moment.

Before Zephyr could react
"Fruit Combination - Strengthening Muscles"

He clenched his fist and slammed it down: "Elbaf Spear - Slay the Nation!"

Zephyr raised his mechanical arm again, but he was still inevitably slammed to the ground like a meteor by Roy's punch.

A huge crater and dust reappeared, but Roy's attack did not stop in the slightest.

[Lightweight Fruit - Increased Weight]

His figure, like a meteorite, plummeted downwards in the next moment!

"Hadouken: Eternal Frost!"

"Hadouken: Burning Sea!"

As he fell downwards, flames and frost clearly gathered on Roy's fists.

But at that moment, Zephyr, who had been blasted to the ground below, saw this attack and immediately flipped over to leap up, dodging Roy's attack. However, the high temperature caused by the magma and the extreme cold caused by the freezing air almost completely changed the surrounding landscape.

Zephyr, who dodged the attack, did not hesitate and immediately raised the Crusher again: "Black Body Flow Secret Technique - Mountain Crash!"

Taking advantage of Roy's momentary stiffness as he fell from the sky, he unleashed the full power of his flowing cherry blossoms and threw another punch at Roy.

Seeing this, Roy remained completely calm.

[Zoan-type Snow Rabbit Fruit LV4]

【Dragon-Dragon Fruit - Tyrannosaurus Rex Form LV3】

[Strength Fruit LV4]

This is
"Leg Strength Enhancement - Moonwalk: Instant!"

The leg strength, enhanced to its extreme, instantly made his Moonwalk speed reach its limit. He leaped out and dodged Zephyr's punch, then raised his foot: "Storm Kick - Mountain Slicer!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the massive slash cleaved the ground open once again, creating a huge chasm, and Roy's figure seemed to have accidentally fallen into the chasm.

But the next moment...
"Buzz!"

His body seemed to have merged into the soil, leaving only a huge crater in the original spot.

"Um!?"

Before Zefa could even react, he heard a sound coming from beneath the ground beneath his feet.

If someone were to observe at this moment, they would clearly see it.
At this moment, Roy is moving rapidly underground.

[Mouse Fruit - Mole Form LV3]

[Quick Cut Fruit LV4]

This is
"Hadoken: Ground-Breaking Enhancement!"

Then, from the ground beneath Zephyr's feet, a powerful surge of energy erupted, accompanied by Roy's figure bursting forth from the earth.

Seeing the Hadouken about to strike, Zephyr, knowing he couldn't dodge this time, simply didn't try to dodge, but instead kicked out with his leg: "Black Body Flow - Sever!"

The next moment, Roy's fist and Zephyr's leg struck each other.

The two figures were sent flying backwards simultaneously, and a massive shockwave exploded again, adding enormous difficulty to the ground repair team's work the following day.

Such a battle almost kept the spectators on the sidelines busy watching.

The commentator, who had always insisted on working even when he bit his tongue, had now given up on commentary.

He just stared wide-eyed at the incredible battle.

"This is this"

He didn't know what to say.

Although he was a core member of the World Economic News Agency, he had seen powerful figures and all kinds of news.

But without a doubt
This was the first time he had ever seen a battle of this magnitude.

"What incredible power—look at that island, folks! Those two are practically a moving catastrophe!"

Looking at the enormous Martial Arts Island, which was specially built by the World Government and reinforced countless times, but is now almost completely falling apart.

His trembling voice expressed the thoughts shared by the entire world at that moment.

For ordinary people on the high seas, that battle was completely beyond their comprehension—the power displayed by the two people in that battle was beyond their understanding.

But what they found even more incomprehensible was...

On the screen, the two people who had just exchanged blows and were slowly standing up were actually laughing.

That was a genuine, heartfelt smile.

"Haha, you little rascal, you're really not bad."

Zefa's teeth chattered, and the veins on his left arm bulged.

That wasn't anger, but excitement.

Zephyr knew that Roy was very strong, and he had sparred with Roy more than once before. He even guessed that Roy's growth rate might bring him some surprises.

But he never expected the surprise to be so great.

He had never unleashed such power since the attack four years ago—yet even so, Roy had managed to hold his own against him until now.

Correspondingly.
"Old man, you're still got it!"

Roy grinned as well.

His fists were clenched tightly as he felt the sensations coming from his body.

At that moment, he felt as if he could understand those battle-crazed people.

The long-lost pain and exhaustion did not frighten him; instead, they excited him like a wild beast that had smelled blood.

That was the power he possessed rejoicing.

Come on, long-lost warriors—let's fight!

For Roy, this feeling was a first—he had faced an opponent he could truly fight with all his might.

He felt that exhilarating pleasure with perfect clarity!
then
"Come on!" *2
The two let out a low growl.

Then, they each charged at each other again!

"Super Hadouken".

"The Secrets of Blackbody Flow"

But just as the two gathered their domineering aura and were about to make their move.

"Um!?"

Zefa's expression changed instantly.

The next moment, his domineering aura immediately began to decline at a visible speed.

His body went limp almost uncontrollably, and pain surged from within him.

"Has it reached its limit?"

In that instant, images from the past seemed to flash before Zefa's eyes again.

"A very serious asthma attack—General Zephyr, is likely a side effect of your overtraining in Blackbody Flow when you were young, triggered by your wife's situation. Although I'm very sorry, I think you should retire from the front lines."

"This kind of asthma is incurable, and it will become more severe as you get older. You must try your best to restrain your use of strength."

“Especially after the age of 70, you may have to carry asthma medication with you at all times and will no longer be able to use ‘black body flow’.”

This is the first scene—after his wife and daughters were killed, and he collapsed from asthma due to excessive grief, the diagnosis given to him by the Navy's best medic.

Then comes the second scene.

That was four years ago, on that recruit training ship.

The ugly pirate who had once completely overpowered him cut off his right hand while he was having an asthma attack and killed almost everyone on the ship.

Those were all his students.

He was in the same boat then—the helplessness brought on by the pain of asthma left him no choice but to collapse and let tragedy unfold.

And this time.
"Is it like this again?"

Zephyr's body collapsed limply, and in his heart he murmured, "I'm supposed to be a teacher, but I'm so unwilling to accept this."

Regret, pain, resentment, and sorrow—these seemed to permeate his life after the age of 40.

But
"." In the next moment, Zefa felt no pain.

A hand supported him.

He did not fall.

"teacher?"

He heard the sound.

At this moment, the scene before Zefa's eyes seemed to gradually become clearer.

He saw Loy Amos standing in front of him.

Zefa could see the concern in the other person's eyes, as well as the other person's arm, which was somewhat deformed from forcibly withdrawing its power.

"Sorry, you brat."

"Then," Zefa said softly.

Roy grinned and said, "What are you talking about? Teacher—can you even stand up?"

"Your battle is not over yet!"

Then, Zephyr seemed to feel something slowly melting away inside him.

"Kid, who do you think I am? Of course I can stand up!"

So Zefa took a deep breath.

next moment.
He stood up firmly.

A hero is, of course, someone who is always victorious and never loses.

But can someone who can still stand up after being knocked down and suffering millions of times also be called a 'hero'?
They are not no longer in pain.

But pain could no longer defeat them.

"Come on, Roy!"

Zefa then burst into laughter.

"Prove it to me, my disciple!"

The words fell.

The shredder in his hand once again unleashed an unprecedentedly powerful and domineering aura.

The sheer intensity of that domineering aura was so great that even his shredder visibly cracked at that moment.

Concentrating all the power in your body into one point is the skill of controlling the limits of every part of your body.

That is
"Blackbody Flow - Great Secret Technique - Black Tea King!"

Correspondingly.
At this moment, Roy also clenched his fists tightly.

His remarkable regenerative abilities have allowed his hand to almost fully recover, but recovery alone is not enough.

"The Limits of the Gluttony Fruit, Enma Iron, and Ryuo Released!"

"The Buddha Fruit has the highest power output for wave release!"

And finally.
His muscles, domineering aura, and energy were all gathered together, just like Zephyr's.

His stamina was being rapidly depleted, but Roy didn't care.

"Boom!"

An unprecedentedly large golden wave and flowing cherry blossoms surged from his fist, almost on par with Zephyr's domineering aura.

"Blackbody Stream - Super Wave Fist - Elbaf Spear!"

The next moment, their fists lashed out simultaneously.

then
Golden waves and pitch-black torrents collided at the center of Martial Arts Island like two comets!

But this time, even the thunderous roar seemed to be swallowed up by that power.

The world seemed to fall silent for a moment.

then
"boom!"

A visible, perfectly condensed circular impact force then spread wildly outwards from Martial Arts Island in all directions!

The clouds shattered instantly, and the sea, centered on Wudou Island, seemed to be flattened by a giant hand.

What followed was an apocalyptic scene—with the center of the impact as the core, ring after ring of tsunamis, each more than 100 meters high, suddenly appeared!

They surged in all directions, even towards Marineford, including the coastline!

"It's a tsunami!"

"Unbelievable—the battle between those two actually triggered a massive tsunami! Me, hide? Hide what? It's a rare opportunity to witness such a powerful battle; even if I die, it's worth it!"

Even as panic inevitably gripped the crowd, the commentator remained dedicated to his duties.

Judging from his trembling voice... well, he was still afraid.

But it is precisely at this moment
"wait wait wait!"

The commentator seemed to suddenly notice something—three figures were clearly visible on the shore at that moment.

"Those two are really reckless."

"Oh well~ there's nothing I can do about it~ after all, Professor Zephyr's new disciple is as strong as a monster~ it's terrifying~"

“Loy Amos, for his age, that is truly remarkable strength.”

The figures, dressed in blue, yellow, and red military uniforms respectively, were none other than...

"Three or three generals!?"

Before the commentator could finish speaking, the three generals had already moved.

"bake!"

Hot, dark red lava flows.

"Here!"

Blue frost surged.

"Buzz!"

The shimmering light danced.

The three generals made no extra movements, simply extending their hands.

Then they saw the enormous tsunami that had come from the distant sea surface being frozen in an instant, then blasted into powder by the light bomb, and finally evaporated by the magma.

The next instant, the water vapor, smoke, and shockwave that filled the sky and earth also dissipated.

But at that moment, the three top naval combatants ignored the gasps of the crowd behind them.

Whether it's them, Garp and Sengoku standing at the very top of the platform, or the other vice admirals.

Their gazes were all fixed on Martial Arts Island at that moment.

Or rather, the place where the former Martial Arts Island once existed.

At this moment, the enormous island, which was built by the world's top craftsmen specifically for the military exercises, had almost disappeared from the sea.

Its fragments are scattered everywhere with the waves.

Where the original island once stood, only the last fragment of the island's foundation remained.

And on the fragments of that island base.

Zephyr and Roy remained in a fistfight stance.

But at this moment, the shredder in Zephyr's hand, which was originally a 'test version', had clearly shattered.

"Crack!"

"Crack!"

Fragments of Z-alloy iron fell to the ground, but Zephyr paid them no heed.

He simply looked at Roy in front of him.

At that moment, the clouds were dispersed by the force of the two.

The sunlight falling from the sky shone on Roy.

His navy coat fluttered in the wind, and Zephyr could just make out the word 'justice' on his back.

That appearance made Zephyr feel as if he were seeing himself.

I saw that boy who made a promise to his heart under the castle tower of Marineford.

"I will follow my own path and uphold the banner of justice."

And now.
The flag has a new flag bearer.

Zephyr could not say for sure which side the other side would lead the Navy to, nor could he say whether the other side's justice was the justice that the World Government needed.

However, he can now at least be relieved to be certain.

"I have indeed taken on a remarkable disciple."

He has left a legacy for the navy.

He will no longer be constrained by responsibility.

"boom."

Then, he collapsed.

And it was precisely at this moment
【0:00:00】

The countdown, which had been blasted apart and plunged into the sea, had also just ended.

That marked the end of the 'military exercises'.

But at this moment, everyone who was paying attention to this martial arts demonstration knew—

The shock and aftershocks of this battle on the sea are certainly only just beginning.

　9.1K words updated today.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)