Movie Morgue Wiki
Advertisement


Z, also known as "Black Arm" Zephyr, is the main antagonist of the 12th One Piece movie, One Piece Film: Z. He was a former Marine Admiral and instructor before his resignation. He then went on to create the Neo Marines, a splinter faction dedicated to annihilating all pirates in the New World.

Past[]

When Zephyr was a kid, he dressed up as a hero and protected a young girl and her doll from a bunch of bullies, equipping a log tied to his arm to defeat this bullies. He then pronounced his hero name after his triumph: Z.

Zephyr later joined the Marines, aspiring to become a hero. He rose through the ranks, eventually reaching the title of Admiral and mastering Armament Haki before that, gaining him the nickname "Black Arm." He had also got married and had a son shortly after. However, tragedy struck and his wife and son were murdered by a pirate who hated him. Heartbroken, he was tempted to leave the Marines but was persuaded to stay as an instructor. He went on to train many cadets, many who became high ranking Marines in the future. Several years later, a ship of his was attacked by an unknown pirate using a Devil Fruit power, slaughtering all of his division but two and losing his arm in the process. Zephyr would go on to make a coalition of Marines with his two surviving students, Ain and Binz, that hunted after pirates with Devil Fruit powers, equipped with a giant metal arm, Battle Smasher, that was embedded with Seastone to combat Devil Fruit users.

A year before the events of the movie, the pirate who massacred his division and severed his arm was invited to be a Warlord of the Sea, a pirate allied with the World Government and the Marines. This pushed Zephyr past his breaking point and resign from the Marines along with Ain, Binz, and his faction of self-trained Marines. Afterwards, Zephyr would create his own group known as the Neo Marines, dawning his childhood alias "Z" and renouncing his real name. He led his group, determined to destroy all pirates and end the Great Pirate Era by destroying the New World and everyone in it.

Some time after the founding of the Neo Marines, two of his subordinates, Ain and Shuzo, dueled to each other for the position of Z's second-in-command. Ain won the duel and claimed the title. They later hear Shuzo and his group had been arrested by Marines and while Ain is worried the Marines will find out their plan, Z reassures her that his men won't talk as they arrive on Firs Island.

One Piece Film: Z[]

Firs Island[]

Z and the Neo Marines storm the island, declaring that he will destroy all pirates before sending waves of attacking Marines flying. Ain and Benz join him in battle, defeating Marines with ease. As Z smashed through the Marines, two members of the Giant Squad attack him, but both are easily taken down with his Battle Smasher. The Neo Marines then broke into the Firs Island Marine Base, stealing dangerous explosives called Dyna Stones. As they were escaping with them, Kizaru, a Marine Admiral, intercepted them, destroying their ships and blowing up many Neo Marine soldiers. Z noticed this and immediately sprang into action to save his men. The two clashed fiercely as Ain and Binz evacuated the Neo Marines to their remaining ships. Kizaru and Z catch up with each other as they fought, Z saying that Kizaru relied on his Pika Pika No Mi powers too much with Kizaru responding that he was stubborn as ever, addressing as Master Zephyr. Z said to him that he had become overconfident about his title as Admiral which Kizaru replied saying he wasn't there to talk about old times before firing a light beam at him. Z deflected it and charged at him. Kizaru attempted to block him with a light sword but had his limbs blown off as the Battle Smasher unleashed a powerful blast at him. Z fell to his knees with the attack, quickly using an inhaler regain his strength. He then looked behind him and countered an attack as Kizaru reformed and teleported behind him, bringing his light sword down on Z's arm. Z struggled to push back the light sword as Kizaru confidently said he was no match for his speed with his heavy metal arm before asking him what he was going to do with the Dyna Stones. Z didn't answer and remarked that they never got along back when he was training him, pushing back the light sword and lunging at him. Kizaru turned into light particles and teleported behind Z. He then asked politely for him to return the Dyna Stones. Z then said the Dyna Stones have enough power to rival the Ancient Weapons as he jumped back to a Dyna Stone behind him. He then grabbed it and explained that Dyna Stones create a huge explosion when exposed to oxygen. A terrified Kizaru tried to teleport away as Z destroyed the Dyna Stone's casing, but Z fired it towards his face as he reformed in the air. The Dyna Stone exploded, destroying the entirety of Firs Island in the blast. Kizaru safely teleported away while Z was blown far away into the ocean.

Saved by the Straw Hats[]

Elswehere, the Straw Hats are celebrating their cherry blossoms blooming on their ship. They then noticed an injured and unconscious Z floating on a piece of wood in the ocean. Luffy and Chopper tried to rescue him, but Luffy got weak as he touched Z's arm, causing Sanji and Zoro to reel in Z with Luffy's limp elongated arm. The crew debated giving him care and discovered his metal arm was made of Seastone, commonly used against Devil Fruit users. Chopper defended the injured man and Luffy ordered Chopper to save the man's life, saying he'd defend him if the man attacked. Chopper started to tend to Z inside his infirmary with Luffy inside the infirmary and Zoro and Sanji outside it. Z soon awoke and thanked Chopper for taking care of him. Z then met Luffy, immediately identifying him as the captain of the ship. Luffy asked him what he was gonna do now he was ok and Z said that he had a Vivre Card and his crew would pick him up soon. Luffy then started to ask questions about Z's mechanical arm, asking where he got it. He told them them that he lost his arm to a pirate and how Marine scientists gave him the metal one he has now. He also told them that he use it against Devil Fruit users and was able to weaken them with a touch, but his arm was really heavy and would cause him to sink into the ocean like a Devil Fruit user without a special key used to unlock it. Luffy asked if he was a marine to which he responded that he left them as he was too old and had different goals. Luffy was relieved by this, telling Z that if he was a Marine, it would've been bad as he and his crew were pirates.

Neo Marines Attack the Sunny[]

As Luffy admits that, Z gets angered by this and says under his breath that he should've known. He then punched Luffy through the infirmary door, destroying it and putting the Straw Hats on high alert. Zoro and Sanji rush to the ruckus. Z walks out of the infirmary and demanded Luffy tell him why he became a pirate. Luffy proudly answered that it was because he was going to be King of the Pirates. Z became enraged at his response and tried to smash him with his metal arm, Luffy dodging it. Zoro and Sanji joined in on the fight and the three Straw Hats exchanged blows with Z, attacking, deflecting and dodging each other's attacks. Usopp and Brook where about to back up the three when suddenly another crashed into theirs. Ain and Binz boarded the Straw Hats' ship, the Thousand Sunny, occupied the rest of the crew as Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji continued fight with Z. With a single Smash Buster attack, he hits Luffy and blows up the entire cabin they were fighting in. Zoro and Sanji are sent flying onto the grassy deck of the Sunny where they are restrained with vines along the most of the other Straw Hats with Binz's Mosa Mosa No Mi. Z held Luffy in his metal arms grip, ridiculing him that he would never become King of the Pirates with his strength. He remarked how tragic it was that the Pirate King would die so young and asked for his name. He said it was Monkey D. Luffy and Z made the connection aloud that he was his old Marine friend Garp's grandson. With this, he tossed him away, sparing his life momentarily. Z then tells Ain that they were done here and it was time to retreat to their ship. Before they did, he declared that his name was Z, leader of the Neo Marines, and that he would destroy every single pirate in the world. He then shouted that he'd like to see them survive this as Z's ships open fire on the Sunny. Z returned to his ships as he watched the bombardment. Luffy called out to him, saying their fight wasn't over, but eventually went to free his shipwright Franky. Once freed, Franky then used a Coup de Burst to escape, launching away as Z was left to watch with a scowl.

Secon Island[]

Later, on Secon Island, the Marines of the island attack but prove no use against him. A Marine Commodore named Kibin tried to stand up to him and used the technique Iron Body, but with an Armament Haki-infused fist, he easily knocked out the commodore and made him crumble to the ground. He tells the unconscious Marine that the Marines' justice is useless and won't amount to anything. He then shouts that if he really wants justice and freedom, he'll have to burn it all down and start from the beginning. As he shouts this, the Dyna Stones rigged around Secon's volcano explode, triggering an eruption. Z tells his men that the destruction of the Second Point has been successfully and with only one more Endpoint remains before their dream of the Grand Reboot becomes reality.

Suddenly, Luffy appears, charging at him. Z quickly notices him and blocks his attack, slightly surprised to see Luffy. Luffy, accompanied by Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp, demands he turn his friends back to normal as Ain had made his crewmates Nami, Chopper, Robin, and Brook 12 years younger using her Devil Fruit, the Modo Modo No Mi. This made Nami 8 years old, Chopper 5 years old, Robin 18 years old, and Brook 78 years old although this didn't affect him much aside from feeling younger. Z sent Ain and Binz to deal with the Straw Hats with Ain battling Zoro and Binz fighting Sanji. Z then shouts to Luffy that if a pirate wants something, they take it and if he wants to have his friends turned back to normal, he's gonna have to beat it out of them. Luffy and Z then clash as the eruption becomes more violent in the background, causing destruction to Secon. Luffy then activates Gear 2, yelling to Z that he won't be able to catch him this time. Z then remarks on the cleverness of using his powers to accelerate his blood flow, increasing his speed. He then fired a barrage of bullets which Luffy weaves through before closing the distance. He throws a punch but it's blocked by a Haki-infused arm. Z questions Luffy's conviction to become King of the Pirates as they clashed with Luffy responding that he won't stop until he finds the One Piece. Z then shouts to him if he's willing to sacrifice his crew as he sending Luffy running with another volley of bullets. He further asks if he's willing to walk over their corpses to become Pirate King, firing a powerful blast that toward Luffy. He dodges it and charges toward Z as the blast blew up a large portion of the beach, threatening to consume Luffy if he didn't run fast. Luffy soon closes the distance and they clash once more, with Z telling him that he'll never land an effective hit on him if he doesn't get over his fear of his Battle Smasher. He then punched the ground and unleashed a powerful blast into it, creating a large dust cloud and sending Luffy into the air. Luffy's straw hat was blown away from the gust as he desperately tried to grab it. Before he could reach after it, Z fired a barrage of bullets at the airborne pirate, multiple hitting him before he touched the ground. On the ground, Luffy announced that he was rubber and bullets didn't work on him before bouncing back all the bullets that hit him back at Z. He easily avoids them before pulling out a pistol and shooting Luffy in the shoulder. This bullet was made of Devil Fruit-negating Seastone, catching Luffy off-guard. The Seastone weakens him and makes fall to his knees, his straw hat landing by his side. He mocks Luffy as he approaches him, saying that the pirates of the New World wouldn't have fallen for that trick but it came in handy when dealing with cocky Devil Fruit users that get sloppy. He then takes his hat and as he walks away, he promising to Luffy that that he'll bury the hat with the Great Pirate Era when he destroys it. Luffy struggles to his feet as he shouts to him to give it back, telling him "Red Haired" Shanks gave him. As Luffy charged at him, Z caught him in his Battle Smasher and reassured Luffy that Shanks, the Four Emperors, and all the other pirates won't know what hit them when the Grand Reboot is started. Luffy shouted at him to not lay a hand on Shanks before Z blasted him with his Battle Smasher.

As the Neo Marines watch Secon Island's destruction, Ain asks Z if Luffy is still alive to which he responds that only the flames can tell. He goes on to reflect on the One Piece and all the suffering and destruction such a dream has caused. If that is what pirates call free will, he vowed that he would crush it and bring an end to the Great Pirate Era.

Piriodo Island[]

The Neo Marines eventually arrive at Piriodo Island. the final endpoint. Z is resting on one of the ships clutching a bottle of wine with Ain watching over him. Later, he lands on the island to visit a Marine memorial grave on a cliff. He finds Kuzan, a former Marine Admiral and one of his former students, there singing a requiem for fallen Marines. Kuzan was at Secon Island and saved many people during its destruction with his Hie Hie No Mi's ice powers. He senses Z is there and tells him that he used to hate that song because it was morbid and never gave him any sense of peace. He then tossed a bottle of his favorite wine to him, telling he used to drink it so he could be just like him and he thought it was the coolest thing in the whole world. Z stops him, saying he couldn't talk him out of his mission and that he won't stop. Kuzan asks him if he's willing to die and Z responded he would if that's what it took. He tells Kuzan tthat the Marines don't have the courage to destroy all the pirates and that someone has stand up for justice no matter the cost. He then states that if they meet again, they should have a drink before threatening him to stay out of his way. Kuzan then threatens him back, saying that he doesn't want to kill him either as his arm freezes over, ready to attack. They face each other, tension in the air as they awaited to see who would make the first attack. Eventually, Kuzan concedes and walks away from him, unable to fight his former teacher. He leaves Z to stare at the bottle of wine he gave him.

Later, as the Straws Hats storm the island with the Marines following shortly after, Z sits alone in the mouth of Piriado's volcano, drinking his wine as Dyna Stones surrounded him. He eagerly awaited his arrival as he stared at Luffy's straw hats, placed on a Dyna Stone. Soon, after plowing through the Neo Marine forces, Luffy reaches the mouth of the volcano where a Dyna Stone detonates. Z tells him it's too late as the Dyna Stones are already starting to explode and destroy the endpoint. Luffy doesn't care and tells him he's only here for his hat. Z asks him what's so special about the hat and Luffy responds that it shows him the way to become King of the Pirates. Z laughs and says that his nonsense is exactly why he can't just destroy every pirate, but destroy every single dream any pirate has. He stands up and sheds his jacket before charging at Luffy. They clash, Luffy pounding away at Z's battle Smasher as each hit makes his knuckles bleed. The two exchange blow after blow, Luffy's shirt incinerated in the process. Luffy unleashes a Gum Gum Gatling on Z as he hits him with a barrage of punches, breaking a strap that connected his Battle Smasher to his left hip. He compliments Luffy about how he is braver than the Marines, but to him, the only good pirate is a dead one. Luffy goes into Gear 3 and inflates his arm before throwing it at Z. Z tries to counter with his Battle Smasher but is overwhelmed by the giant fist and stumbles backward. He declares that he won't lose, especially to Luffy. Luffy then goes into Gear 2 and both of their fists clash, the shockwaves of their clash causing more Dyna Stones to explode. The Straw Hats soon arrive to the mouth of volcano, seeing the battle. Luffy's fist imprinted itself into Z's Battle Smasher, dripping with blood. Z asked him why he still continue to fight him even though they all were going to die. Even if he beat him and made it out alive, he was still a pirate and would never be thanked for his efforts because of that. Luffy removed his fist from the Battle Smasher and backed away, declaring that he didn't care and he did what he wanted. He also told him that if he couldn't beat him, he couldn't be King of the Pirates. Z's Battle started to crack and started to disassemble, falling to the ground. A smaller metal prosthetic was underneath it. He then swore to Luffy that he would dedicate his life to crushing his ambition, challenging him to one last fight.

Z's arms turned a hardened black as he activated his Armament Haki, prompting Luffy to do the same. They start to fight and a nearby Kuzan watching the fight, saying "Black Arm" Zephyr was back. The two traded punches, Z pummeling Luffy and giving him a strong punch to the stomach, causing Luffy to stumble back and puke. Luffy then jumped back into the fight and retaliates with a series of punches before knocking off his glasses with a punch to the face. Both stagger back as Z chuckles. Luffy throws a weak punch but a heavy punch from Z's metal arm sends him stumbling into a rock, Luffy having to hold onto it for support. Z continues his assault as he has Luffy cornered against the rock, battering him until Luffy slumps down against the rock. As Z catches his breath, Luffy then pushes him back with a two-feet kick. He gets back to his feet and shouts to Z that he's going to be King of the Pirates with absolute confidence. Z then throws a punch to challenge his words but Luffy takes it and throws a punch at his face as well. Z staggers back and Luffy pummels him a little before falling to his knees in exhaustion. Z chuckles as he sees this but collapses from exhaustion as well. Luffy gets to his feet as Z bitterly says he's gotten old and his body won't listen to him anymore. He laments that whenever life gives him a little joy, it always seems to escape him. He slowly sat up as Luffy gets his hat. He tells Luffy that when someone has a dream, everything in their way gets trampled and left behind. He then requested from him to take his straw hat back and take his life. He denied it, just taking his hat back and saying the fight was fun. He offered to continue fighting him but Z declined and agreed with him. As the Straw Hats rushed to take check on Luffy, Ain and Binz rushed to check on him. Z apologized for dragging them along and putting them in a lot of trouble for his foolish dream but Ain starts crying, saying she just happy he's alive.

Death[]

Z's Last Stand

Suddenly, Kizaru and the Marines show up and interrupt the reunions. He said that he was here to kill them all, tons of Marines charging toward the Straws Hats and the three Neo Marines. Z then started tio walk toward them, saying he did everything he wanted to do but now he had to pay the price for walking over all the people he did to get to where he was. He said to Luffy that he won and earn the right to continue his adventure as he put on his glasses, facing the army. He told him he would handle the Marines as they escaped. Luffy tried to call out for him to stop and Ain ran toward him to stop him, but Kuzan created a wall of ice, separating Z and the Marines from the others. Z appreciated Kuzan giving him a place to die as Z began his last stand. The remaining Dyna Stones were frozen as well. Even weakened and near death, Z's raw strength overpowered all the soldiers surrounding him. Kizaru then unleashed his Yasakani no Magatama attack, saying farewell to Z as several small beams of light rained down on his old teacher. Z's body was riddled with holes as he spit out blood, backing up to the ice wall. Several Vice Admirals stood by and watched with tears as they were forced to kill their former teacher. Z calls out to all the Marines to pay attention as he has one last lesson for them. He then barrels into the crowds of Marines, giving his all in his final battle.

Zephyr's Grave

"Until he took his last breath, our master held to his beliefs. That's the coolest thing in the whole damn world."

Later, his Battle Smasher is draped over his grave on the same cliff he met Kuzan at. Ain and Binz and weeping over his death before Kuzan shouted at them to stop crying, holding a bottle of Z's favorite wine. He told them that until his last breath, their teacher was a man who held to his beliefs. "That was the coolest thing in the whole damn world."

Advertisement