Chapter 137: The Powerful Black Arm
Fist,
deeply imprinted on Weibul’s magnified chest muscles.
A rumbling sound like the main cannon of a Navy warship firing echoed across the land of Black Thorn Flower Island. Just hearing this terrifying impact sound made Farrug, who was intimidating the islanders unwilling to abandon their homes and looking back every few steps, shudder as they moved away from the battlefield.
He looked back once.
Instructor Zephyr and Weibul were fiercely fighting on the ruins of the clinic. Weibul, who had taken a punch from Instructor Zephyr, let out a howl like an injured beast. Some white foam appeared at the corner of his mouth, and his wide-open eyes showed scarlet bloodshot veins. The naginata over seven hundred centimeters long swung down fiercely, its blade aura condensed to the extreme visible to the naked eye, slicing a crack into the land beneath his feet with that pale blade aura.
A bottomless crack.
Starting from the clinic ruins, it extended all the way to outside the village.
The houses along the way were severed in the middle, their smooth and flat cuts making one shudder involuntarily.
At the very least,
the islanders who were originally reluctant to abandon their homes became exceptionally obedient upon seeing the might of Weibul’s slash. Without needing Farrug to scare them further, they ran away as fast as if they had greased their soles, sprinting toward the direction away from the village.
“Pah! Now you know to be afraid, huh!”
Farrug disdainfully spat.
Immediately after,
he glanced again at Instructor Zephyr and Weibul locked in combat. The range affected by the battle between these two monsters was constantly expanding outward. The distance he was standing at… didn’t seem very safe. He didn’t dare to watch any longer and led his armed sailors in chasing after the islanders to withdraw to the farthest place.
In his view, the safest place was actually by His Highness Elus’s side, but unfortunately, His Highness was too lazy to bother taking care of so many people and had only sent them to drive these islanders as far away as possible. He could only pray that the battle between Instructor Zephyr and Weibul wouldn’t spread over.
His prayer was actually completely unnecessary.
Instructor Zephyr firmly held the upper hand in the battle with Weibul. Although Weibul had thick skin and flesh and was exceptionally durable, the course of the battle was entirely under Instructor Zephyr’s control. He slowly lured Weibul to chase after him, gradually shifting the battlefield toward the forest behind the village.
Apart from the houses around the clinic that had unfortunately been destroyed, the small village as a whole hadn’t suffered too much damage.
This was Instructor Zephyr.
Former Navy Admiral, the non-killing Zephyr.
His kindness and goodness were deeply engraved in his bones. Yet this former admiral known for not killing ultimately wanted to destroy the world… If he hadn’t reached the depths of despair, how could he make such a choice?
Speaking of which, letting the pirate who severed Instructor Zephyr’s arm and killed many of his students join the Navy to become a Seven Warlord under the king— the Navy’s operation was quite bold.
Well, it’s easy to imagine that this must have been the World Government’s idea.
However, the Navy ultimately acquiesced to this outcome, which completely despaired Instructor Zephyr, who had still held a sliver of hope for the Navy. It was only natural for him to go mad.
Elus leisurely vibrated his wings, maintaining a neither too close nor too far distance to watch the spectacle.
“…Speaking of which, if I help Instructor Zephyr take out Weibul right now, will the NEO Navy still appear?” Elus pinched his chin, falling into thought. The future had already been thoroughly disrupted by him. His original memories could only provide some information now and were no longer enough to let him see the path ahead clearly.
The road ahead would need him to forge personally.
The first problem before him was how to make Instructor Zephyr truly abandon the World Government and Navy’s camp and stand on his side. Currently, while Instructor Zephyr hated pirates, he still retained some hope for the Navy…
However, Elus did not regret his choice.
After all, at this point, even if he concealed Weibul’s whereabouts, in the future he might not be recruited by the World Government to become a Seven Warlord. The future had already changed. Compared to keeping Weibul and gambling on an uncertain future, he preferred to keep this matter in his own hands.
Even if it ultimately failed and all the investment in Instructor Zephyr went down the drain… it would still be his own choice.
“It’s time to find an opportunity to have a good chat with Instructor Zephyr.”
Elus made his decision.
At this moment,
“His Highness Elus.”
Ain, breathing a bit urgently, came sprinting with her long legs. Not far behind her, Binz dressed as a ninja appeared, following closely. Further back, a group of Pirate Guerilla Squad members could be seen heading this way.
“Um, is Teacher okay?”
The battle between Instructor Zephyr and Weibul looked like a huge commotion, but in Elus’s view, their fight was actually very straightforward. Compared to freaks like BIG·MOM and Beasts who manipulated the weather as easily as eating and drinking, Instructor Zephyr’s fists and Weibul’s naginata were so unadorned.
Of course, straightforward didn’t mean weak.
To be honest, few people were willing to taste the flavor of Black Arm Zephyr’s fists. Back then, he and Garp teamed up to rampage across the sea with their four fists, beating countless pirates until they cried for their parents, with broken tendons and bones. Many old pirates who survived still shuddered at the memory of those miserable years.
Instructor Zephyr was truly very strong.
In that era when the Rocks Pirates fell, yet monsters like Golden Lion, Whitebeard, Beasts, BIG·MOM, Captain John, Silver Axe, and Wang Zhi were born from its corpse, while Roger roamed freely on the Sea, the Navy only had two admirals.
Sengoku and Zephyr.
Of course, nominally only two admirals, but in reality there was also Garp at admiral level combat power. Overall, though, the Navy of that era faced an even greater pressure than the current Four Emperors, because today’s Four Emperors were the great pirates who survived from that era.
Instructor Zephyr, Sengoku, and Garp—the three of them were the most reliable pillars of the Navy in that era, firmly supporting the Navy edifice so it wouldn’t be destroyed by the evil waves stirred up by the pirates.
Don’t think that the current Navy’s three admirals, three Logia ability users, dominate the sea.
In the eyes of those old pirates, the current three admirals actually had less deterrence than the former ‘Iron Fist’ and ‘Black Arm’. This was certainly influenced by the fear accumulated over time, but more so by the awe toward Garp and Zephyr, these two non-ability users.
Without relying on the Devil Fruits known as the Sea’s secret treasures, they ascended to the ranks of the world’s strongest with just a pair of fists.
This pure strength inspired awe from the bottom of many people’s hearts, even pirates.
Ain was still young and her strength limited, so she didn’t fully understand Teacher Zephyr’s terror. Although Teacher Zephyr’s body had improved a lot recently, the habits formed over a long time still made her involuntarily worry about his physical condition.
Back then,
that night.
Teacher Zephyr and Weibul’s battle had clearly gained the absolute upper hand. Weibul could only take beatings under Teacher Zephyr’s fierce assault. However, just before achieving final victory, Teacher Zephyr’s body had a problem, and the lurking malignancy finally began to act openly.
This gave Weibul an opening. Teacher Zephyr lost an arm, and all his classmates on the ship except Binz were killed clean.
That despairing memory left her with nightmares that lingered.
Now,
she saw Weibul again.
And just like that night back then, Weibul was fighting Teacher Zephyr—no, more accurately, getting brutally beaten by Teacher Zephyr.
“The outcome is already set.”
Elus smiled, his gaze glancing toward Ms. Bakin. This petite lady was no warrior; she couldn’t even see the overly fast combat process between Instructor Zephyr and Weibul clearly. But from Weibul’s beast-like roars, she understood his pain.
As Weibul’s ‘mother’, she knew everything about him like the back of her hand.
Just from the sound, she could judge many things.
After listening with perked ears for a while, Ms. Bakin’s face grew grim. The miracle she hoped to see, that unrealistic naive fantasy, gradually shattered. Cruel reality was once again laid before her. This time…
She probably really wouldn’t escape like before.
“Prince Elus, you… what do you want to get from me? I’m just an old woman who knows a bit of medical skill. I, I don’t have anything precious here to give you.” Ms. Bakin spoke up proactively to Elus.
“Didn’t I already say it before?”
Elus smiled and said, “Considering that elderly people might have poor memory, I’ll kindly repeat it once for you, Ms. Bakin with the poor memory. I’m very curious about your true identity, and… what exactly is the relationship between Weibul and Old Man Whitebeard?”
“Also, I don’t want to repeat this question a third time. If you, madam, aren’t willing to satisfy my small curiosity, I don’t mind using some impolite means to get the answers I want.”
The blatant threat was like an invisible noose around Ms. Bakin’s neck.
This made Ms. Bakin, who had never suffered much hardship in her life, turn even blacker than the bottom of a pot. The anger in her eyes toward Elus was about to erupt, but before the flames of anger could burst from her eyes, a wave of fear crashed onto the beach, extinguishing that small flame completely.
Resisting would mean death.
Not cooperating would mean death.
And Ms. Bakin, who still wanted to fully enjoy the world’s pleasures before dying, was unwilling to die. Her body was in great shape; with her build, she could live to a hundred without issue. She had at least twenty or thirty more years to enjoy life…
“I am…”
Ms. Bakin opened her mouth to speak, but then glanced at Ain with wide eyes beside her.
The words that had reached her mouth were swallowed back, and she cast an inquiring look at Elus. Glancing at Ain and Binz standing nearby, Elus scratched his head. He didn’t know what explosive inside story Ms. Bakin might reveal. Before being certain of Instructor Zephyr’s final choice, he didn’t want to expose too many secrets.
“Ain, Binz, go help protect the island’s residents.” Elus pointed toward the dense crowd near the distant beach. Ordinary people could only see a blurry black shadow from such a distance, but Elus’s eyesight far exceeded normal levels; he could still make out the rough outlines of individual humans.
“Although Instructor Zephyr said he’s doing his best to control the battle’s aftermath, for safety’s sake, you two go help out too.”
This was blatantly chasing them away.
Ain opened her mouth, not wanting to leave here. Moreover, by rights, Elus had no authority to command her actions. The Pirate Guerilla Squad and Eckmond Kingdom had no superior-subordinate relationship, so she didn’t need to obey any of Elus’s orders.
However, Ain didn’t argue from that angle.
It wasn’t that she hadn’t thought of it; it was just that the rules, laws, and military discipline in real life didn’t perfectly align. Real situations were ten times more complex than those listed in the texts. Facing Elus, whose presence was as terrifying as an ocean suspended in the sky…
Ain had no room to resist.
She could show off her excellent cultural studies performance as much as she wanted, but against Elus’s ‘fist power’, she had no means of resistance. Besides obeying, she had no second choice. Compared to being thrown far away by Elus in the end, it was better to wisely slip away early.
“We’ll do our best.”
Ain simply agreed, then called Binz and started moving toward where the islanders were gathered.
“Alright! Our trouble is solved.”
Elus clapped his hands. “Now within five hundred meters around here, there’s no third person besides you and me… Now we can speak freely, right? Ms. Bakin, I hope your answer proves my actions were necessary. Otherwise…”
Five hundred meters away, at the edge of the forest.
Weibul was kicked flying by Instructor Zephyr, tumbling like a leather ball and knocking down over twenty towering trees along the way. The thinnest among them would take at least six or seven two-meter-tall adult males to encircle, but for a freak nearly seven hundred centimeters tall like Weibul, two Weibuls could encircle the tree.
These unlucky trees didn’t get a hug from the six hundred eighty centimeter-tall Weibul; they faced the merciless crushing of his over thousand-pound body weight. The overburdened trees snapped at the waist under Weibul.
“See, your child is about to lose.”
Elus pointed toward Weibul tumbling through the forest like a leather ball. “Your son has a strong body and can withstand such terrifying impacts, but… madam, perhaps it’s rude to say this, but in my view, though your body is healthy, overly intense activity would still damage your health.”
Ms. Bakin looked at her son being ridden and pummeled by Instructor Zephyr, muttering curses about savagery under her breath, then didn’t glance at Weibul again. She looked up at Elus flying in the sky like a god and slowly said, “Bakin is my real name, but I did have multiple aliases as I traveled the world before. As for my identity… I used to be a scientist.”
After a brief moment of thought, she had realized her life and death were already in Elus’s hands. To survive, she began to desperately show her value.
