Naruto: Copy System

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“Hah… Hah… Hah…!!”

Zephyr gasped for breath like a broken engine, pulling a vial of medicine from his pocket and downing it in one go.

His body was failing him. He couldn’t fight without it.

“You’ve really let yourself go over the years, Teacher.” Kizaru’s words were merciless.

This was no student-teacher relationship—this was worse than a blood feud.

“You haven’t gotten any stronger either, Kizaru. You’re the same as you’ve always been.” Zephyr swung his Smasher, smashing it towards Kizaru.

Kizaru easily dodged the attack. The Glint-Glint Fruit’s power was truly formidable.

At least in terms of speed, it was nearly unbeatable. Zephyr couldn’t even touch him.

Suddenly, Zephyr raised his Smasher Arm and fired a volley of bullets. These weren’t ordinary rounds—they were made of Seastone.

Even Kizaru wouldn’t risk taking a direct hit. He dodged every shot, then charged toward Zephyr.

“<Shave!>”

Zephyr used one of the Six Powers, instantly appearing behind Kizaru, his Smasher Arm coated in Armament Haki as he brought it down.

Even in his old age, he wasn’t without a few tricks. He was a former Admiral, after all. His strength was still formidable. Any average Vice Admiral who dared to face him would be crushed.

CLANG!

Kizaru blocked Zephyr’s attack, his fist colliding with the Smasher. Both were sent flying back.

Compared to Zephyr, Kizaru’s injuries were minor, but he was thrown back a greater distance.

In terms of pure physical combat, even as an old man, Zephyr still had a slight edge over Kizaru.

“You rely too much on your Devil Fruit, Kizaru. Your hand-to-hand combat is weak,” Zephyr said.

To be fair, Zephyr’s words were a bit harsh. Kizaru’s physical combat skills might not be on par with other Admirals, but compared to the average Vice Admiral, he was a monster.

“You still love to lecture, Teacher Zephyr. That’s what I hate most about you.”

Kizaru said, his tone laced with annoyance. A dangerous glint appeared in his eyes.

“<Ama no Murakumo!>”

He formed a sword of pure light with his Glint-Glint Fruit and slashed down at Zephyr. Kizaru’s swordsmanship was nothing to scoff at. Though not his specialty, it was still impressive enough to hold its own against Rayleigh.

The blade cut a gash in the earth as it raced toward Zephyr, forcing him into a constant retreat, barely dodging each strike.

Growing tired of the chase, Kizaru changed his target, aiming for Ain and the other Neo Marines. If he couldn’t get the old man, he’d go after his students. He’d see if Zephyr would save them or not.

“Laser.”

A laser beam struck one of Zephyr’s students, killing him instantly. Zephyr froze, stunned.

“KIZARU, YOU BASTARD!” Zephyr roared, charging at Kizaru with murder in his eyes. He couldn’t believe Kizaru would resort to such a dirty trick.

Compared to Zephyr’s fury, Kizaru’s expression was calm. As Zephyr turned to fight him to the death, Kizaru simply raised a hand and blocked his attack.

“Getting emotional already, Teacher Zephyr? It seems you really care about these students of yours,” Kizaru said with a smirk.

“The one you should be fighting is me, Kizaru. If you have any guts, come at me,” Zephyr said, suppressing his rage.

Hearing Zephyr’s furious roar, Kizaru’s eyes narrowed, and he slashed at Zephyr again. This time, Zephyr didn’t dodge, choosing to take the hit. He had to keep Kizaru’s attention on him, to keep him from targeting his students.

Compared to Kizaru, their strength was nothing. Only he had a chance of holding Kizaru back—no one else could.

Of course, the truth was that even Zephyr couldn’t hold Kizaru back. In a short fight, Zephyr could hold his own. But if the fight dragged on, he wouldn’t last. Unless he was in his prime, but the current Zephyr was far from it.

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“You’re tougher than you look, old man. You’ve still got some fight in you.” Kizaru was getting annoyed that he couldn’t finish Zephyr off.

Zephyr was panting heavily, cornered and in a miserable state, but he had no choice. He couldn’t run.

He even wanted to cover his students’ escape, but they wouldn’t listen. They refused to leave.

Zephyr was touched, but more than that, he was worried.

“To be distracted while fighting me… Teacher Zephyr, you’re not taking me seriously enough.”

Kizaru mercilessly kicked Zephyr. Because he was worried about his students, Zephyr had been distracted for a moment.

But that one moment was all Kizaru needed. He seized the opportunity and kicked him, injuring Zephyr.

At this moment, Zephyr’s head was ringing from the kick. He felt like he couldn’t hold on much longer.

“That’s enough, Kizaru. At the end of the day, he was still your teacher.”

Just then, a bitter cold swept across the battlefield. Kizaru, who’d been about to deliver the killing blow, stopped mid-strike. He lifted his head toward the newcomer. His eyes narrowed, locking onto the figure. A hint of frost seemed to creep into his gaze, as if the temperature itself had dropped.

“Aokiji. What are you doing here?”

Kizaru was genuinely caught off guard. He had not expected Aokiji to appear here—or perhaps he had come specifically to save Zephyr.

Their relationships with their former teacher could not have been more different. Kizaru and Zephyr shared bad blood, while Aokiji and Zephyr were close.

In fact, Aokiji was likely Zephyr’s favorite student.

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“Aokiji… I didn’t expect you to see me in such a pathetic state…” Zephyr looked at Aokiji, his expression complicated.

“Teacher.” Aokiji gazed at his former mentor, his eyes filled with complex emotion. He understood what Zephyr intended to do.

He had never imagined his teacher possessed such a reckless side—to steal the dangerous Dyna Stones and come so close to executing his plan.

Aokiji didn’t approve of Zephyr’s plan either. He didn’t want his teacher to go down such an extreme path, to make such a mistake. Perhaps he had been pushed to it.

Zephyr’s life had been nothing short of tragic. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have come up with such an extreme idea, to destroy the entire New World.

But that was no excuse. Aokiji had come to stop him, but he also didn’t want to see his former teacher die here.

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