Chapter 203: My Pain Is Greater Than Yours
Rewind about three minutes.
On Mont Blanc Island, the fierce battle was raging.
"Black Body Style · Whale Fall!"
Zephyr's figure leaped high, the Battle Smasher wrapped in intense Armament Haki smashing down.
BOOM!
A huge deep pit was plowed instantly on the ground; massive surging shockwaves sent everything around flying.
Zephyr had no scruples—because now, the town originally existing here was gone.
Existing here...
Only the enemy!
"Mama... hurts... body breaking..."
Now, below, Weevil, hit by Zephyr's punch again, had even more hideous injuries.
Almost no intact place could be found on his body; limbs clearly broken long ago.
Zephyr even saw clearly—one-fifth of Weevil's head was blasted away by that punch just now.
Hard to imagine anyone surviving in this state.
But now...
Crack.
"Mama... ow..."
Dragging broken, deformed limbs and fatal injuries, Weevil still struggled desperately.
Those stitches on his body still maintained his body in the most basic form.
"Haha..."
Now, Zephyr, feeling exhausted too, looked at Weevil. "Just a bit... more."
He was sure.
No matter how unhuman the vitality—once the body was thoroughly obliterated, survival was impossible.
"Haa..."
He barely raised the Battle Smasher again, lowering his body.
But just then...
"Mama... Mama..."
"Shut up, Weevil."
Besides Weevil's wailing, he suddenly heard a second voice.
That voice came from Weevil's 'Brain'.
Zephyr's pupils shrank.
He looked at Weevil's broken head—only now did he notice.
Inside Weevil's broken head, embedded on the skull wall, was a micro Den Den Mushi.
Now, that wrinkled snail looking like an old hag was making a sound.
"Really, looks like failure? World Government support is so slow... hey hey, your intel isn't very accurate, Judge? Can't blame this old lady for not saving a Warlord aid for your country!"
"No choice—have to give up Weevil... what a pity, this old lady searched for so long to find suitable material."
She seemed to be communicating with someone, talking nonsense.
Then...
"Hey, Weevil—untie your 'Threads'."
Zephyr heard the voice from the snail say so.
"B-but Mama, it hurts a lot, untying threads... Weevil will hurt more..."
But now, Weevil said so.
Zephyr understood.
Weevil's meaningless, child-like 'Wailing' just now was truly talking to his 'Mama' from the start.
Only the conversation happened directly in his brain.
"What exactly is this guy..."
Zephyr gritted his teeth.
But now, clearly no one would answer Zephyr's doubt.
"It's okay—Weevil, you're used to pain, right? Untying threads will make Mama happy."
The voice on the other end just said so.
Calling herself 'Mama', but the malice and indifference in her words weren't concealed.
"Untie the threads, Weevil!"
"This is Mama's request... and after untying, you won't hurt anymore soon."
Hearing this, Weevil cringed.
Then...
"Yes yes—Mama..."
He stood up trembling again, raising the huge sharp naginata, slashing at... a certain part of his body!
Bang!
Next moment, a certain stitch on his shoulder was cut open by him directly.
Blood splattered, and Weevil let out an unprecedented scream at this moment.
"Hurts! Hurts! Ow!"
Intense pain made his wailing almost like a beast.
And that was just the start...
Snip! Snip! Snip!
He cut open those special stitches on his body continuously.
As stitches snapped, ear-piercing sounds of flesh tearing followed.
Right in front of Zephyr, under the attention of Marines and evacuated crowds on Mont Blanc Island.
Edward Weevil's body began to undergo a terrifying change gradually.
Shoulder, chest, waist, arm... as every stitch was cut and disintegrated, Weevil's body disintegrated too, revealing unimaginable appearance.
Like a doll torn open, people saw the true stuffing inside.
"What... is that thing!?"
Someone couldn't help exclaiming.
Inside Weevil's body.
They saw not normal bones or muscles.
On the contrary—they saw countless overlapping bones, and chunks of flesh with completely different colors, textures, and sizes.
Some muscle chunks were knotted, full of power.
Some were delicate and tense, full of explosive force.
Just his skin had at least ten layers overlapping.
"..."
As a veteran fighting on the sea for decades.
Battle-hardened Zephyr recognized what they were at a glance.
"Corpses..."
Yes—Edward Weevil's body wasn't alive.
Or to be precise.
After a creature dies, its body can actually be considered 'Alive' for a short time.
Still fresh, just the soul dead.
That was Weevil's essence.
He was a monster 'Revived' by stitching together many freshly dead, vital corpses through some incredible means.
No, judging by his appearance, hard to say he truly counted as a living creature.
"Owww!"
Amidst Weevil's beast-like wailing echoing almost throughout the island.
The residual voice of the snail in his brain naturally couldn't be heard by anyone.
"Corpses of strong men adapting to Newgate's 'Bloodline' are hard to find, let alone 'Life Stitching' of twelve corpses, even tough for this old lady... what a pity."
"But—that's it."
She said coldly. "Weevil, with your pain, finally... run wild once more."
Words fell.
With a 'Click', the snail hung up completely.
So...
"Woo roar!"
Weevil's voice seemed to finally snap the last string at this moment.
BOOM!
His body was collapsing at an exaggerated speed—Zephyr could see meat chunks and weird bones falling and separating from him almost every moment.
But from Weevil's body.
A stronger aura surged like a tsunami!
"Roar!"
Weevil swung the naginata abruptly.
No martial arts or moves—just the simplest sweep.
But...
Whoosh!
The air swept by this strike emitted a sharp sonic boom.
Visible blood-red slash flew out轟然.
Where it passed, gale howled.
The earth was split instantly; gravel and debris shattered into powder.
"..."
Seeing this, Zephyr looked stern.
He understood.
Now after untying those stitches.
Inside the monster named Weevil, residual vitality and power from different strong men lost restraint too.
They were erupting frantically for the last time.
"Hurts... Mama... kill..."
Now, Weevil's last residual consciousness looked at Zephyr.
Pain was all his consciousness now; his already ignorant consciousness naturally locked onto the purple-haired old man causing him pain.
"Last strike?"
Just as Zephyr tensed his body again, wrapping Armament Haki on the Battle Smasher, ready to engage.
"Hah... hah..."
His expression changed abruptly.
Violent breathing burst out almost uncontrollably; Haki on the Battle Smasher flickered instantly.
Zephyr clutched his chest tightly with one hand, supporting his knee with the other, face turning pale instantly.
"Teacher Zephyr!?"
On the distant high platform, Ain and Binz watching the battle exclaimed simultaneously.
This scene was too familiar to them.
Like a replay of that nightmare four years ago.
Zephyr's asthma attacked exactly at this moment.
"Too long... battle time too long!"
Binz gritted his teeth. "Although Teacher carried enough asthma medicine, that bastard's body is tougher than imagined—why at this time..."
Yes.
Zephyr knew his asthma problem.
So to ensure this battle, he carried enough asthma medicine.
But clearly—that only treated symptoms, not the root cause.
With age, high-intensity battle burdened Zephyr's body heavily.
Medicine could delay the attack, but not prevent it truly.
Now, Hans and Pharrel, having started evacuating surrounding crowds per Roy's instructions, took out the emergency snail without hesitation, shouting to the other end, "Chief! Something happened—Admiral Zephyr's asthma attacked!"
Just as Hans' shout came out...
BOOM!
Weevil's crumbling body, accompanied by flying flesh and blood, rushed toward Zephyr!
Just then...
RUMBLE!
Above Mont Blanc Island, black-red Conqueror's lightning roared.
Golden fluctuations wrapped in streaming light, like a meteor tearing the night, pierced the sky at a speed beyond the naked eye limit!
That terrifying oppression made all evacuated crowds below feel difficult to breathe—even though Roy controlled his Haki, the spirit still almost made them faint.
Besides them, Pirate Guerilla members and detention unit Marines naturally knew who it was.
"Chief!"
"It's Lord 'Kuroyagi'!"
"Vice Admiral Roy!"
Yes—descending here with intense fluctuations and Conqueror's Haki was Roy rushing over!
"Scum... don't think about touching the old man!"
Five senses enhancement already on, Roy locked onto Weevil on the battlefield easily.
He stopped abruptly in mid-air; strong inertia raised a gust of wind instantly.
His right fist wrapped in black-red lightning clenched instantly.
VMMM!
Fist ready.
However...
"!!!"
In the next instant.
Roy's punching motion stopped abruptly in mid-air!
"Roy... kid! Is it you?"
Because his enhanced senses clearly captured the voice from the battlefield.
"Don't attack..."
The source of the voice came from the hunched purple figure below.
"This old man said—this old man hasn't fallen to the point of needing a disciple's help to eliminate a pirate."
Now, Zephyr stood up slowly, like an aged lion still full of fighting spirit.
"This guy, this old man must resolve personally."
His sunglasses fell to the ground, revealing his eyes.
Those eyes seemed to have something burning.
"You keep saying you hurt?"
Zephyr looked at the monster charging at him with a naginata.
Zephyr still panted heavily, cold sweat all over.
That meant his attack was still ongoing.
But his hand clutching his chest lowered slowly but firmly.
Click!
Battle Smasher clenched.
In this instant, Zephyr seemed to return to the past.
He seemed to see the place once called 'Home' burning.
He saw the corpses of his wife and son killed by pirates—they died because of him.
In the next instant, he seemed to see another past.
On the Marine recruit training ship.
Corpses of his disciples, who should have been alive, lay everywhere.
Blood spread on the deck—they also died because of him.
"Truly... laughable!"
He let out a hoarse, low roar.
Deafening.
"Roar!"
At the same time, Weevil raising the naginata slashed down at Zephyr!
Destructive blade edge lifted Zephyr's purple hair, blowing his tattered Marine coat behind him.
But now, Zephyr's expression remained calm.
"..."
Pain on body, heart discomfort, breathing difficulty...
He perceived these pains clearly.
In the past, these pains were enough to knock him down.
But, after the joint military exercise.
After unloading the shackle named responsibility, after following his heart.
He understood, these physical pains were insignificant compared to the 'Pain' he always endured.
"Hoo..."
Zephyr breathed, swallowing all pain like bellows.
With the severe pain of every breath, his back straightened slowly, bit by bit.
Yes.
'Pierre' used ancient technology to convert pain into power.
Weevil used pain as madness before final destruction.
But for Zephyr.
Pain was fuel.
It burned fiercely in his heart, tempering his soul and will every moment.
To this day, it was hard as steel.
It allowed him to stand here transcending physical pain; even the World Government's betrayal couldn't knock him down.
VMMM!
On the Battle Smasher, pitch-black Armament Haki was more solid than ever before.
"With what resolve do you think this old man came to this battlefield!?"
Zephyr raised his hand...
"If knocked down again, what qualification does this old man have to stand before his disciples?"
"Pirate!"
He punched, greeting the slashing naginata.
☆☆☆
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