Dyna Stone, also known as Power Stone, is a seemingly ordinary stone that contains an unimaginably terrifying energy—it is an absolutely regulated item on the sea.
This type of stone explodes when it comes into contact with oxygen or is directly hit with a massive impact. The power of the explosion is said to rival that of the Ancient Weapons. Just a Dyna Stone the size of a fist can generate a blast strong enough to flatten an entire island.
Due to its terrifying power, only the higher-ups in the Marines are qualified to decide how it's used. Zephyr is one of them. He did not retire; instead, he retained his rank and transitioned to being an instructor, so he still has the authority to access this item.
And at this moment, Sengoku also noticed the Dyna Stone in Zephyr's hand.
"Zephyr? Are you crazy? What are you going to do with that thing?"
"What am I going to do? Of course I'm going to use it to deal with pirates."
"Do you realize how powerful that thing is…? Are you trying to blow up all of Marineford?!"
Sengoku was well aware of the power of the Dyna Stone. If that thing exploded, the entire Marineford would likely be destroyed. Forget the ordinary soldiers on the island—even if the island were empty, he still wouldn't want to use it.
Otherwise, after the war ended, with the entire Marineford destroyed, who knows what kind of rumors would spread about this matter.
If it were that easy, he would have just buried Dyna Stone in Marineford and waited for Whitebeard to show up.
It's uncertain whether this thing could even kill high-level combatants, but ordinary soldiers definitely wouldn't be able to withstand the aftermath of its explosion.
"Whitebeard hasn't caused enough destruction to Marineford already? Whether we use this or not, Marineford is practically ruined anyway. Besides, this one's not that big—it won't destroy the whole island."
"No. I don't agree. This thing won't be much help. The three of them all have the ability to fly. Relying on Dyna Stone to take them down isn't realistic, not to mention I suspect they have the Barrier-Barrier Fruit's ability."
As the Fleet Admiral of the Marines, Sengoku was also well-informed about the Science Unit. In the reports, the word he saw the most was Lineage Factor.
According to current intel, a certain Queen used Kaido's body as a template and developed a large number of Mythical Zoan abilities from his Lineage Factor. But in the Marines' eyes, the most troublesome aspect wasn't the fire or lightning—it was the Lineage Factor of the Barrier-Barrier Fruit.
That ability was just too broken—its incredible defensive power could have miraculous effects at critical moments. The only bit of good news was that the technology doesn't seem to be perfect; if used continuously, it became easier to shatter.
This is a lesson the Marines had paid for in blood. Every piece of intelligence comes at a heavy price. In the battle just now, Kaido had used that kind of technique.
According to past intel, the stronger the user, the stronger the barrier's defense. Even Sengoku didn't know what the upper limit of the barrier Kaido could produce was. Whether the Dyna Stone could break through it was uncertain. If they misjudged this, the ones getting hurt might be their own people.
"So I need your help. First, we have to find a way to trick that barrier out once. Also, don't you have a type of restricting move? Use that to trap me and them in the same area.
I'll detonate the Dyna Stone inside. In that kind of enclosed space, the Dyna Stone should be even more effective."
"Are you trying to die with them?! Things haven't gotten that bad yet! Zephyr, calm down! There's no need to go that far with this bunch!"
Sengoku had long noticed something even more unusual. The Beasts Pirates and Whitebeard's crew didn't seem to have the same goals. The Whitebeard Pirates were fighting the Marines to the death, but the Beasts Pirates acted more like they were out on a sightseeing.
These people were clearly capable of causing even greater destruction if they got serious—but they hadn't done so.
King and Shayna only showed their real strength when fighting the Blackbeard Pirates. You could even say they helped the Marines clear out some hidden threats.
As for Kaido, though he was fighting, it wasn't having much impact. With Garp here, it was hard for him to go all out.
Queen was fighting the Shichibukai, but the Shichibukai were mostly here for show anyway. So this outcome was within expectations. In fact, Sengoku should be thankful Queen hadn't used any of his bizarre, large-scale weapons of mass destruction.
What Sengoku didn't know was just how hard Queen was trying not to draw more attention.
If you looked carefully, only Yamato had stalled Kuzan, occupying one of the Marine's top-tier combatants.
On top of that, with all the deals going on behind the scenes between the Beasts Pirates and the World Government, Sengoku really didn't want things to escalate under such circumstances.
"Sengoku… have you become just like those people?"
"What did you say?"
"Making deals with pirates. Placing your hopes in pirates. What could be more foolish than that?!"
The once "Black Arm Zephyr" was known as the Admiral who didn't kill—back then, he had never taken a pirate's life, only captured them.
But later, his family was killed by pirates. Heartbroken, he threw himself into teaching job. Yet even his students couldn't escape misfortune. On his final mission as a squad leader, only two people survived besides himself on the ship.
Easy-going people often become more extreme after they break down. The once "non-killing Admiral" had long since disappeared. Ever since Zephyr established his pirate-hunting unit, his attitude toward pirates had been reduced to one word—elimination.
In the original timeline, after the Summit War, the World Government, in order to fill the vacant positions in the Shichibukai, actually recruited the very pirate who cut off his arm and killed his students. That completely shattered Zephyr's spirit and led him to devise a final plan to wipe out all pirates.
The current Zephyr hadn't reached that point yet, but his hatred for pirates was no less intense.
"Cough, cough… cough."
As his emotions flared, Zephyr pulled out his medicine again, took a deep breath, and finally steadied himself.
"Sengoku, you've seen it too. I'm not like you or Garp—my body has been deteriorating constantly. In another year or two, I probably won't even be able to maintain my current strength."
"You can go rest and recover."
"Don't talk nonsense. I know my own body. I won't last a few more years. Although I can't stand those guys in the World Government, I'm still a Marine. Rather than dying sick in bed, I'd rather go out with a bang, fighting one last time for the Marines."
"Kuzan, Sakazuki, and even Borsalino, whom I don't particularly like—those young ones have already grown up. An old relic like me doesn't have any other role to play anymore."
"This is Marine Headquarters, the symbol of justice, the place I've fought for my whole life, the place where I've tried to live out my idea of justice."
"Let this place be… my final curtain call."
Kaido and Whitebeard were the greatest pirate threats in the New World. On the front lines, Whitebeard was still locked in a fierce battle with Akainu and Kizaru. If they could manage to take down both of these men here at Marineford, it would be a massive victory for the Marines.
The deaths of two Emperors of the Sea would deal a crushing blow to the pirates' arrogance. As long as that goal could be achieved, even heavy casualties would be an acceptable price.
It could be said that from the moment he stepped onto this battlefield, Zephyr had already resolved to die.
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