Chapter 221: Berserker Zephyr
The sudden gravity field instantly suppressed Zephyr and the Pirate Hunter Unit, who had just come ashore!
The ordinary Pirate Hunter soldiers were all violently slammed to the ground by the rapid gravity, their faces, bodies, and limbs pressed flat against the earth. The immense gravity brought excruciating pain, as if all the air in their lungs had been squeezed out, making it hard to breathe and utterly miserable.
"Oh! What... is this thing!?" Zephyr, who was only wearing a coat, now strained every muscle in his body to resist the gravity, causing his muscles to bulge explosively.
Ain and Binz, Zephyr's two students, were not completely overwhelmed either. They knelt on the ground, gritting their teeth and holding on.
At the same time, a voice rang out: "Good, at least my ability can finally be used again!"
Zephyr looked ahead and saw a group of people slowly coming into view. Even with his sunglasses on, he recognized them immediately—this was the target of both him and Kizaru: the Dragon Hunter Pirates!
Leading them was Ian, supporting Fujitora on his right and dragging Ace on his left. Behind them followed the members of the Dragon Hunter Pirates, all of them soaking wet.
Seawater heavily restricted Devil Fruit users, but that was only when submerged. Once out of the water, their abilities could be used again.
However, a short period of weakness was unavoidable, as if the seawater had drained their stamina. Fujitora and Ace both looked completely drained, with Ace's arms hanging limply in front of him as he shuffled forward. Ian had to support them.
Behind them, Matthew, Old K, and Baby-5, the three ability users, were in even worse shape. Their physical stamina was naturally inferior to Fujitora and Ace's, so they were being carried by other Dragon Hunter Pirates members.
When the tsunami wave had struck earlier, thanks to the warning, the Dragon Hunter Pirates members had grabbed onto those nearby as soon as they were swept away. Having experienced the slide down the Red Line before, the concept of "holding tight" was no issue for them. Plus, their numbers were small, so after the seawater receded, they quickly regrouped.
In contrast, Kizaru, due to the suddenness of the event, hadn't been rescued by the Marines immediately. After all, he was a Marine Admiral, a figure of immense power in the eyes of the soldiers. Who would think that a mere soldier could save an admiral? So Kizaru fared worse—he was swept far away by the current, unable to swim, and ended up swallowing a lot of seawater.
Everyone knows about drowning. After choking on a few mouthfuls of water, one can fall into a daze. The water displaces the air in the alveoli, preventing oxygen intake, leading to dizziness and hypoxia.
So, by the time Ian and the Dragon Hunter Pirates regrouped, Kizaru had just been found by the Marines and was being resuscitated. Whether any Marine gave him mouth-to-mouth... well, that image is too beautiful to imagine.
Taking advantage of Kizaru being temporarily unable to pursue, Ian and his crew planned to leave. But they hadn't expected to run into Zephyr and his men disembarking at the port.
This was fine. Ian had been worried that the tsunami might have capsized their ship. Since Zephyr had landed, there must be a Marine warship docked at the port. Ian intended to check if their own ship was damaged; if so, they'd seize the warship.
Fujitora understood his intention and struck at Zephyr and his men from a distance.
To be honest, Kizaru's Glint-Glint Fruit was quite broken. As a Logia, it was also a speed-type ability. Although Fujitora had strength comparable to an admiral, facing Kizaru for the first time caught him off guard, and he was suppressed for a while. Even with Haki, he couldn't keep up with Kizaru's speed, so Fujitora had been frustrated earlier.
Now, with his Gravity-Gravity Fruit working on Zephyr and his men, Fujitora felt a slight sense of satisfaction.
Damn it, finally no wasted ultimate...
Seeing Ian and the others appear, Zephyr, while enduring the gravity suppression, grinned and said, "Another Devil Fruit user, huh?"
As he spoke, Zephyr's right wrist suddenly lifted! The massive Seastone mechanical arm, known as the "Crusher," opened its palm, aiming at Fujitora.
The next second, the Vulcan cannon hidden in his mechanical arm opened fire violently at Fujitora!
Flames shot from the muzzle, and the rapidly fired bullets, propelled by immense kinetic energy, overcame Fujitora's gravity suppression and flew toward the group.
"Watch out!"
Ian had been focused on Zephyr's right arm since he saw him. The Seastone mechanical arm was too conspicuous. So when Zephyr raised his arm, Ian reacted immediately, shouting a warning while quickly drawing Thousand Cherry Blossoms from his waist and slashing forward to create a wind wall.
Seastone was both hard and heavy. Ian had obtained a pair of Seastone handcuffs before, so he knew this well. Zephyr's right mechanical arm was entirely made of Seastone. Under Fujitora's gravity suppression, its weight was unimaginable. Yet, Zephyr could still lift it so quickly—this surprised Ian.
It meant Zephyr not only had incredible physical combat skills but also possessed monstrous muscular strength.
One Kizaru was a speed-type, and now Zephyr was a strength-type... a perfect match.
The Wind Barrier skill had a special effect: it could block ranged attacks. Although Zephyr's Vulcan cannon fired a storm of bullets in an instant, they were all stopped by Ian's wind wall, clattering to the ground in front of them.
Ace had seen Ian's Wind Barrier before, so he wasn't worried. But noticing some dark, unusual bullets among the pile, he got curious and bent down to pick one up.
The moment he picked it up, his eyelids drooped, and he nearly collapsed.
Ian kicked his hand from behind, sending the bullet flying, and scolded, "Idiot, can't you see? Those are Seastone bullets!"
Indeed, Ian knew that among Zephyr's bullets were special Seastone rounds. Though few in number, they were highly effective against Devil Fruit users who thought they were immune to physical attacks. For example, if Ian hadn't blocked them, Ace might have relied on his Logia intangibility and been hit—by then, it would be too late.
"Not bad, you've got some knowledge!" Zephyr grinned at Ian, then suddenly stomped the ground hard!
Boom! The ground beneath Zephyr's feet cracked! The immense reaction force propelled him at incredible speed toward Fujitora, his massive mechanical arm swinging down to crush him.
Ian quickly swung his sword to intercept, knowing Fujitora hadn't fully recovered his stamina, and took the hit for him.
But Zephyr's punch carried terrifying strength. Ian's blade was struck by the mechanical arm, nearly knocking the sword out of his hand. He barely held on with his numb arm, but the ground's friction couldn't support the force, sending him sliding back a long way.
With Ian's position vacated, Ace immediately stepped in, his fist blazing with flames as he punched at Zephyr.
However, Zephyr's mechanical arm suddenly opened its palm and caught Ace's fist.
The moment Ace's fist touched Zephyr's palm, the flames vanished. Zephyr grabbed his fist, and Ace felt a wave of weakness wash over him, going limp as Zephyr lifted him off the ground.
"Se... Seastone again..." Ace mumbled weakly, his tongue hanging out.
Fujitora acted again. Standing still, he drew his staff sword a bit more.
The gravity Fujitora had applied to Zephyr earlier wasn't strong—Ian even trained under similar gravity. Fujitora had hoped it would affect Zephyr, but Zephyr's movements seemed barely hindered. Forced to, Fujitora intensified the gravity suppression on Zephyr.
"Arrrgh!" Zephyr roared, veins bulging all over his body. His burly frame now looked like a berserker.
He hurled the powerless Ace toward Fujitora.
Since Ace was a comrade, Fujitora couldn't harm him. He quickly altered the gravity on Ace and gently deflected him with his staff sword.
But while throwing Ace, Zephyr charged at Fujitora again. Though the stronger gravity slowed him down considerably, he could still move under such pressure. Even Fujitora was startled by his physical strength.
Despite his shock, Fujitora found himself countering Zephyr effectively. He had been applying downward gravity, but just as Zephyr was about to reach him, Fujitora suddenly reversed the gravity's direction!
Weightlessness!