In the air, Zephyr watched Charlotte Linlin flying toward him, old and new grudges surging in his heart, and he roared almost through gritted teeth:
"Charlotte Linlin! Five years! Five years!! Do you know what I've been through these past five years?! Shattering Strike!"
His massive fist, covered in pitch-black Armament Haki and carrying irresistible power, smashed fiercely toward Charlotte Linlin.
"Who the hell knows what you've been through! You disgusting creep, can't you stop sticking to This old lady like a piece of taffy? Hokushin Ittō-ryū: Wind Slicer!"
Charlotte Linlin was equally enraged. The nodachi in her hand, wrapped in high-level Armament Haki, met Zephyr's iron fist.
Boom—!
The fist and the sword sheath collided violently, and a fierce wave of air exploded outwards in a ring. The calm sea surface below was instantly pressed into a huge depression by this immense force, resulting in turbulent waves!
"This old lady doesn't slaughter the innocent, nor does she plunder civilians! You're a Navy Vice Admiral with a promising future, why are you ignoring all those heinous pirates and staring at This old lady all day?!"
Charlotte Linlin questioned furiously while fiercely attacking with her blade.
"You certainly aren't like those other scumbag pirates!" Zephyr parried the slash and roared back in rebuttal,
"But you detestable woman, you've sunk dozens of my warships! Those are warships! Valuable military funds! The cost of building them combined is higher than your bounty! I don't even have the face to walk into the logistics department anymore!"
The two exerted force again, their figures intertwined as they fought fiercely. Every collision erupted with a deafening roar, and the intense confrontation whipped up endless gales, causing the sea below to churn relentlessly.
"Who told you to chase after This old lady for no reason?! As soon as This old lady steps out of the New World, you pounce like a shark smelling blood! If I don't give you a profound lesson, how will you ever learn?!"
"You wretched woman! Just go to Impel Down and reflect for the rest of your life! Shattering Burst!"
Veins popped on Zephyr's forehead. His pitch-black right hand accumulated terrifying explosive energy, and he unleashed a punch that seemed capable of shattering space itself.
"You've overused that move! Taste the feeling of being countered by your own technique! Shattering Burst!"
Charlotte Linlin threw a punch as well. The Armament Haki wrapped around her fist and her technique were remarkably similar to Zephyr's signature move!
Years of fighting had allowed Charlotte Linlin to learn the majority of Zephyr's skills.
Bang—!
The two fists, one large and one small, both wrapped in destructive energy, violently collided again. This time, the dispersed energy even tore a temporary rift in the sea surface below!
After the fierce impact, the two were pushed back a distance by the recoil, hovering in the air and staring intently at each other, their momentum perfectly matched!
"Are you an old dog, always chasing after This old lady?!"
Charlotte Linlin turned sideways to avoid a fierce heavy punch from Zephyr. Her dragon tail, wrapped in Haki, swept horizontally like a battle-axe, and the resulting wind pressure sliced through the seawater below.
Zephyr raised his arms, covered in pitch-black Armament Haki, to block. The immense force pushed him back over ten meters, his Moonwalk creating a series of sonic booms beneath his feet.
Enraged, he laughed instead: "A dog? I think you're the rabid dog, tearing up the house every chance you get!"
He suddenly rushed forward, his fist condensing highly compressed Haki, slamming toward Charlotte Linlin's face like a massive cannonball.
"You World Government lapdog, your insults are improving, aren't they?"
Charlotte Linlin didn't back down. Her nodachi was instantly covered in flowing black electrical arcs.
"Hokushin Ittō-ryū: Thunder Blade Slash!"
Boom—!!!
The fist and the thunder blade collided again. This time, the energy released far surpassed the previous impacts!
Pitch-black lightning shot out everywhere, and the shockwave spread spherically, instantly scattering the high-altitude clouds. Below, the sea surface erupted in a massive water curtain a hundred meters high, as if the ocean itself had jumped from the strike.
The two separated once more amidst the flying spray and overflowing energy, hovering and confronting each other, both breathing slightly heavily.
"Tch," Charlotte Linlin shook her slightly numb wrist and mocked,
"Five years, and your moves are still the same old routine! Is Marineford out of people? Relying on just you to hold the fort? What happened to your reputation as 'The Non-Killer'? You're hitting This old lady harder every time!"
Zephyr's face was ashen, and his chest heaved: "Against an arch-pirate like you who sank dozens of my warships, how can I talk about 'non-killing'! My biggest regret now is not sending you to Impel Down back in Dressrosa!"
"Heh, you talk as if you could have done it back then!" Charlotte Linlin sneered, her Dragon Wings flapped, and her figure instantly appeared like a phantom above and to the side of Zephyr.
"Hokushin Ittō-ryū: Heaven's Descent!" A massive sword energy, wrapped in thunder, slashed down like divine punishment.
"Arrogance!" Zephyr roared, his arm erupting with a pitch-black sheen. He didn't dodge, launching a punch upward. "Shattering: Heavy Cannon!"
Clang—!
The metallic explosion pierced the eardrums. Zephyr relied on his sheer strength to forcibly withstand the fierce slash, but his Moonwalk involuntarily sank several meters downward.
He was secretly shocked: This woman's strength is greater than the last time we fought!
"What? Can't hold on already?" Charlotte Linlin pressed her advantage relentlessly. Her sword stance shifted, transforming into countless slashes wrapped in electric light, engulfing Zephyr like a torrential storm.
"Lightning Rain!"
"Don't get cocky, pirate!" Zephyr's eyes sharpened. His fists spun like wheels, precisely shattering each slash. Pitch-black Haki and black electrical arcs continuously collided and annihilated each other, exploding into dazzling halos in the air, like a grand fireworks display—except these 'fireworks' contained deadly danger.
"Shattering Barrage!"
Seizing a tiny gap in Charlotte Linlin's slashes, Zephyr suddenly lunged forward, launching continuous punches like a heavy machine gun. The dense shadows of his fists instantly engulfed Charlotte Linlin's figure.
However, the expected feeling of impact did not arrive.
"Mirror Flame: Thunder Barrier!"
A massive barrier woven from fire and thunder instantly appeared in front of Charlotte Linlin. Zephyr's fist force, powerful enough to shatter mountains, struck it yet was like a clay ox entering the sea, only stirring up intense ripples but failing to break through.
"What?!" Zephyr's pupils contracted.
The Fire Thunder Barrier suddenly contracted, then violently expanded and exploded! The scorching air currents mixed with savage lightning forcefully pushed Zephyr away.
Charlotte Linlin reappeared from the dissipating flames, completely unharmed. She patted non-existent dust off her shoulder, her tone laced with mockery:
"Old man, times have changed. If you only know how to blindly swing your fists, you won't catch anyone."
She raised her hand, palm up. The power of her Devil Fruit silently activated, and the Thunder elements in the surrounding air rapidly converged with her Haki:
"Warm-up finished. Let me give you a taste of being chased by your own 'enthusiasm'—Heavenly Punishment: Hornet Hunt!"
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