No one paid the slightest attention to Tokikake, who was now crouched on the ground, weeping like a heartbroken pervert.
The entire battlefield fell silent.
Everyone stood frozen in place, faces blank with disbelief, as though they had just been struck by lightning. They couldn’t process what they had just heard.
One glance at Big Mom—Charlotte Linlin—her towering frame practically drooling over Darren with desire, then another glance at the solemn, righteous-looking Marine Commodore... and everyone’s mouths twitched uncontrollably.
The legendary pirate Big Mom had... set her sights on Commodore Darren!?
In that instant, a storm of thoughts raced through every Marine’s mind, clashing, spiraling, creating absolute chaos.
It was enough to make their brains overheat and smoke.
Darren’s battlefield record was stellar, his methods fierce, his talent unmatched. Ever since joining the Marines, both in regional postings and here at HQ, he had shown abilities that left others in the dust.
His brilliance had even outshone other so-called "monsters" like Rear Admirals Sakazuki and Borsalino, or even his training camp peer, Captain Kuzan.
That was a well-known fact.
But it was equally well known that Darren was also... the greatest disgrace in Marine history.
He was flamboyant with money, possessed obscene amounts of wealth that couldn’t possibly match his official salary.
And when it came to beautiful women? Darren never turned one down. Even back during his time in the North Blue, HQ had already heard whispers of his tastes.
As for Big Mom—Charlotte Linlin?
This woman, who carved out a vast empire in the New World called Totto Land, had risen to power through monstrous strength and a web of political marriages.
According to incomplete records, Charlotte Linlin had over twenty-five legal husbands!
One’s a shameless skirt-chaser, the other’s a mature dominatrix with more husbands than birthdays...
Both had bodies built like steel fortresses.
If you set aside the fact that they were enemies—pirate and Marine—then...
...damn it, they actually kind of matched!?
The Marines’ faces contorted in horror.
Zephyr’s expression darkened as his old, weathered face twisted. He stared at Darren with blazing intensity, fists clenching and unclenching.
Kaido let out a thunderous, bestial howl.
"LIKE I GIVE A DAMN, YOU CRAZY HAG!! I’M GONNA SLAUGHTER THAT DAMN MARINE BRAT!!"
His pupils turned blood-red, laced with frenzied veins.
Muscles surged in his legs, and the ground cracked beneath his feet. In the blink of an eye, Kaido shot forward like a fired battleship cannon.
Darren’s pupils contracted slightly.
The surrounding Marines couldn’t even track Kaido’s movement. All they felt was a monstrous gale rushing past—and then that demon-like figure was right in front of Darren.
Purple lightning exploded across Kaido’s massive kanabo. The spiked club dragged his hulking body with it as he swung it down in one devastating strike.
A black combat boot suddenly stomped in from the side!
The boot slammed down on Kaido’s kanabo with terrifying weight, grinding it into the earth.
The ground within a hundred meters instantly collapsed, spiderwebbed with fractures.
Debris flew. A furious windstorm kicked up the wide white cloak bearing the word "Justice."
Everyone stood stunned.
Zephyr had stomped down on Kaido’s kanabo with full force. His black-armored fist, cloaked in jet-black Armament Haki, came crashing down toward Kaido’s stomach like a meteor.
"Darren might be a damn little bastard, but he’s my student!!"
His punch tore through the air, releasing rings of compressed wind like white shockwaves.
Kaido’s pupils shrank.
His body surged a full meter in size. Dark green dragon scales rapidly covered his skin. A thick dragon tail whipped out from his spine.
Hybrid form—Human-beast form!
"You old retired bastard—get the hell out of my way!!"
Kaido roared and slashed forward with a deadly dragon claw.
Claw and fist collided in a violent explosion of force.
Sparks flew across Zephyr’s sunglasses. And in their reflection—
—was Kaido’s massive dragon tail swinging toward him like a falling stone pillar.
But in the next second, Zephyr caught it with one hand.
Kaido’s expression froze. His vertical pupils shrank to pinpoints.
This strength—he was being overpowered!?
He stared at Zephyr’s arms, encased in pitch-black armor-like Haki. For the first time, a chill ran down his spine.
"Been out of the seas too long, huh? Seems like people forgot who I am..."
Zephyr raised his cold, unflinching gaze.
"Kaido, you little punk... back when I ruled the seas, you were still scrubbing toilets on Rocks’ ship!!"
With that, Zephyr snarled and gritted his teeth.
Veins bulged across his arm as he gripped Kaido’s tail tight. His muscles swelled like boulders.
Then, in a single step forward—he swung Kaido’s entire body into the air...
...and hurled him like a boulder straight at Charlotte Linlin!!
"I’m the Black Arm Zephyr!!"
Caught off guard, Big Mom had no time to dodge. Kaido slammed into her with full force.
The two juggernauts flew like wrecking balls into a nearby military fortress, crashing through the walls in an explosion of smoke and debris.
"Kaido and Big Mom are mine—
—Darren, you take command of the battlefield!!"
Without waiting for a response, Zephyr charged forward again, raising his arm high as his voice thundered:
"Hold the line at Marineford—
His deep, powerful voice sent a wave of adrenaline through every Marine present.
They watched that short-haired, purple-headed figure charge forward—and their blood began to boil.
Those who once followed Zephyr, the "Black Arm," into battle had tears of awe in their eyes. Their faces flushed red with emotion.
"That back... it’s been so long..."
Perhaps many of the younger Marines only knew Zephyr as a grumpy old drill instructor.
But the veterans remembered—
—the man who, with nothing but blackened fists and unstoppable charges, led them to countless victories on the open sea.
The title Black Arm wasn’t some exaggerated nickname.
It was a name earned with blood and war—fist by bloody fist.
"Follow Zephyr-sensei!!"
In an instant, the Marines’ war cry thundered through the battlefield.