Zephyr was gravely wounded, a long sword gash spanning his chest, and he coughed violently.
Seeing Roger rushing toward Lloyd, he gritted his teeth and followed.
By the time Roger arrived, Lloyd was a whirlwind of destruction amidst the pirates. Corpses lay strewn everywhere: some beheaded, some cut in half, others so mangled they were barely recognizable.
The scene was so horrific that even Roger gasped. For a moment, he could not tell Navy from pirate.
Lloyd stood in a pool of blood, holding a woman's head, her hair falling over her face.
He glanced at Roger, then coated the head in Armament Haki, tossed it with a kick.
This was his new cruel habit, similar to how Garp once liked to play with cannonballs. The only difference was Lloyd preferred using the heads of his enemies.
Roger instinctively swung his sword, cutting the flying head clean in two.
When the members of the Whitebeard Pirates saw this, they cried out in grief and rage.
"WHITEY BAY!!!"
Only then did Roger realize he had just cut down Whity Bay, once known as the Ice Witch among Whitebeard's crew.
He looked up furiously at Lloyd.
"Are you still Navy? You have no humanity!"
Armament-coated iron heads answered him one after another.
Although Roger tried to evade them, several heads struck true. Soon, his sword was stained with the blood of the pirates.
His rage ignited. He charged Lloyd, blocking flying heads and swinging his blade with masterful precision.
Lloyd snorted coldly, wrapping his Muramasa in Conqueror's Haki and raised his sword to counter.
The clash of Haki caused a powerful explosion, cracking the ground beneath them.
Lloyd's right arm still hadn't fully healed, so he fought with his left. Roger, sensing this, forced his advantage and drove Lloyd back.
Roger's eyes narrowed. With a low roar, he focused his Conqueror Haki further. Lloyd's stance shifted, inching backward under the pressure.
At that moment, Zephyr stumbled onto the field and rammed into Roger with his full weight.
Roger was hurled backward, spitting blood.
Zephyr, however, was already weakened. He fell hard, coughing painfully as blood trickled from his mouth.
Lloyd rushed to his side. Zephyr's face was ashen.
Pulling Zephyr aside, Lloyd supported him. Zephyr smiled weakly.
"Lloyd... held him back..."
Lloyd shook his head.
"Zephyr Sensei, you saved me!"
Zephyr sighed and coughed again. Roger's earlier blow had clearly damaged his lungs.
Lloyd's expression hardened. He began to raise his right arm, but Zephyr gripped it gently.
Zephyr shook his head.
"Using that power strains your body. Calm yourself. If anything happens to you, the Navy is truly doomed."
Lloyd hesitated. Zephyr was right. With the current situation, he was the only top-tier fighter the Navy still had. If he fell, there would be no one left to hold the line.
Pirates continued to advance, and Roger was preparing to strike again.
Lloyd closed his eyes briefly, then a brilliant white energy flared from his body.
Shinra Tensei.
A massive repulsion wave erupted outward, dismembering the approaching pirates instantly. Roger plunged his sword into the ground, bracing against the force.
With a clear space around him, Lloyd rose slowly. Zephyr nodded weakly.
"Go, Lloyd. Don't worry about me."
Lloyd gave a curt nod, then vanished in a blur.
Before Roger could rise, Lloyd struck him down with a kick that drove him into the earth. Lloyd dove after him into the crater formed by their battle.
Deep beneath the shattered ground, the clash continued. Flames erupted, and the earth itself trembled.
When the two emerged again, nothing remained intact around them.
Roger stood across from Lloyd, breathing heavily.
"Black Dragon," Roger said deeply, "this time your Navy has truly lost."
Lloyd's gaze was steady and cold.
"Is that so?" he answered calmly.
Roger shook his head.
"Without Garp, the Navy is lacking."
Lloyd tilted his head, amusement in his voice.
"Have you grown tired of chasing me yet?"
Roger's eyes narrowed.
"You don't feel like Navy at all."
Suddenly, Conqueror's Haki flickered around Lloyd like lightning in darkness. He spoke without emotion.
"The Navy isn't defined by a pirate like you."
He raised his hand, and in the shrouded air, a massive fireball erupted, radiating blistering heat and light.
The blazing orb hovered like a miniature sun. Roger felt a strange mixture of awe and dread.
Even now, he could not understand how Lloyd, a user of the Dark-Dark Fruit, could command flames so freely. Darkness and fire should not logically connect, yet here they were.
Lloyd's wings unfurled, and with the fiery sphere blazing above him, he surged forward.
"Flame Emperor!"
Roger braced with ace raised. At the moment of contact, the fireball exploded, consuming both warriors in a conflagration.
At that moment, a Navy warship appeared on the horizon. Before it even reached shore, figures leaped toward the battlefield.
Kuma was flung backward by the hulking iron form Barrett had created. Barrett roared in excitement, eager to pursue, but his foot suddenly froze in place.
He staggered forward, supporting his iron form with both hands to avoid falling.
Frozen ice coated one foot while thick vines wrapped around the other.
Two figures appeared beside Kuma — Aokiji and Aramaki.
They hoisted Kuma upright. Kuma's Paw-Paw Fruit couldn't heal external wounds, but Aokiji exhaled freezing air to seal several bleeding gashes.
Kuma nodded thanks. Aokiji smiled.
"Kuma Senpai, at last we fight together."
Aramaki shouted behind them.
"Stop talking! That monster is charging again!"
Bullet charged forward like a battering ram, roaring,
"Hahaha! Come—"
Suddenly, a massive golden palm descended from the sky, unleashing a shockwave so powerful it stopped Barrett in his tracks.
---