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"The results of this practical combat?" Zephyr's pupils suddenly dilated as he stared in shock at the score sheet. How could this be? It took him several breaths to compose himself. His astonished gaze, hidden behind his sunglasses, fixed on Law within the ranks of the new recruits.
"First place, Smoker, with a score of: one hundred eighty-nine points!"
"As expected, first place is Smoker again."
"Well, he has a Logia-type Devil Fruit, immune to physical damage. He can slowly wear down even those high-scoring fierce beasts." No one was surprised by the first place. A few recruits looked at Smoker with admiration, but more felt a sense of unfairness. "If he didn't have the Logia-type, his strength wouldn't be greater than ours. Tsk." Many recruits were unconvinced. The main reason Smoker consistently held first place in this batch of recruits wasn't his inherent strength, but rather his Smoke-Smoke Fruit, a Logia-type. It was because Smoker's own power couldn't fully command the respect of the recruits. When Kuzan, Sakazuki, and others were recruits, they also possessed powerful Logia-types and were likewise the strongest in the recruit camp. However, even without their Devil Fruits, their inherent strength surpassed all other recruits, earning everyone's respect. Unfortunately, Smoker couldn't achieve that level.
"Second place..." Zephyr couldn't help but look at Law, his eyes showing even greater appreciation: "Second place, Trafalgar Law, with a score of one hundred seventy-two points!"
"What?"
Law was already the center of attention, but now he was the focal point of the focal point. Smoker didn't even get a second of glory; all eyes were now on Law.
"What's going on?" Many recruits knew Law's strength was decent, especially after he displayed his extraordinary medical skills. All the recruits looked at him without schadenfreude, but they all knew that the monstrous Drake had boasted about making Law's score zero. All the recruits knew how abnormal Drake was. How could Law possibly achieve such a score under Drake's direct targeting? To obtain such a high score, such an impressive result, despite being targeted by such a powerful opponent, was arguably more difficult than achieving first place.
"How did he do it?" Even the instructors' gazes swept between Trafalgar Law and Drake. The former looked calm, while the latter gritted his teeth. "What happened between them during the practical combat?" This was what everyone was curious about: "Did Drake not target Law? Then Drake's score must be very good, right? But even if he wasn't targeted, Law's score couldn't be this high, could it?"
"Third place, Hina, with a score of one hundred sixty-four points!"
"Fourth place, Shu, with a score of one hundred sixty-three points!"
All three were Zephyr's students. It could be said that in any previous assessment, the top three places were always claimed by these three. This time, however, Law had emerged as a dark horse, snatching second place.
"Could he be my greatest rival?" Smoker stared blankly at Law.
"This isn't fun anymore. Hina actually got surpassed. Hina is very upset, you know." The beautiful pink-haired woman looked at Law with curiosity.
"Law, you're so amazing." Ain's dark eyes sparkled like stars as she gazed at Law beside her.
"Fifth place..."
"Sixth place..."
"..."
The scores continued to be announced, some rejoicing, some in despair, but most scores were within their expectations. However, there was one thing everyone found puzzling. The scores for even the initial recruits were almost all announced. But Drake's name had still not appeared.
"Impossible. Drake is so powerful. He still doesn't have a score. His score couldn't be that bad, could it?" Everyone looked at the grim-faced Drake, baffled.
"One hundred and third place, Drake, zero points!"
One hundred and third place was also the very last place.
"Zero points?"
Everyone stared dumbfounded at Drake. His score was zero? How could that be? Even many instructors were perplexed. They didn't believe Drake was incapable of killing even the weakest fierce beasts.
"It seems Drake boasted at the start that he'd make Law's score zero, but in the end, Law's score is an astonishing second place, while he got zero points? What exactly happened?"
"It looks like Drake suffered a huge loss at Law's hands during the practical combat, didn't he?" Many recruits couldn't help but look at Drake with a mocking glint. Drake, who had challenged all the initial recruits on his very first day in the training camp, was seen as an arrogant fellow in the recruits' eyes, and no one liked him. But due to his strength, no one dared to target him. But now, they were quite pleased to direct their mockery at Drake.
"Eating his own words, karma certainly works fast."
"Poor guy."
Drake became the target of ridicule.
"Bastard." Drake gritted his teeth, his gaze sweeping menacingly over all the recruits, finally settling on Law, his expression vicious, even brutal. He still couldn't understand why Law had so easily stolen his kills.
"Why?" Drake, overwhelmed by fury, suddenly had an epiphany. "That's right, there was something wrong with the gun that guy had. Many times he shot from two or three hundred meters away. The guns issued in the recruit camp don't have that kind of range. He used a stronger gun without permission, which is a violation, isn't it?" Drake suddenly revealed a cruel smile, staring chillingly at Law: "Such cheating is far worse than a zero score in their eyes."
Drake, a cold sneer on his face, mocked Law, then stepped out of formation: "I have an important matter to report."
"Oh?" Zephyr cast a cold glance at Drake. Drake's brutal aura at this moment greatly displeased him. How could a Marine be so violent? Zephyr didn't care how Trafalgar Law and Drake clashed in practical combat, but for now, Law was the victor, and that was enough. The loser not only failed to learn his lesson but wore a savage expression, which displeased Zephyr even more.
In contrast, Zephyr couldn't help but look at Law. To achieve such a score and demonstrate extraordinary medical skills, yet not be conceited or arrogant, but rather composed – a comparison naturally highlighted the disparity.
"I accuse Trafalgar Law of using a gun outside of regulations during the practical combat. He used a gun with extremely high destructive power," Drake said, pointing at Law with malicious intent. Let's see if you can still stay calm now.
"Idiot." Law glanced at Drake dismissively.
"Is that so?"
Everyone looked at Trafalgar Law!
"A high-powered firearm?" Zephyr frowned. He admired Law greatly now, but if he had cheated in practical combat like this, his good impression would undoubtedly plummet.
"So that's it? Is that how Law achieved such a good score in practical combat?" All the recruits suddenly understood. Based on his inherent strength alone, they found it somewhat hard to believe Law could rocket to second place.
"The evidence is the gun on his back. A simple inspection will be irrefutable proof," Drake pointed triumphantly at the gun wrapped in bandages on Law's back. You're finished. Even if it's cheating in practical combat, even General Zephyr, the chief instructor, can't be biased.
Zephyr's brows furrowed. He truly wished this wasn't true, but Drake was so insistent that they couldn't simply brush it aside.
"Alright." Law voluntarily unslung the gun from his back and handed it over: "Inspect it."
His lips curved into an even more mocking smile as he looked at Drake. Such a person truly wasn't worthy of being an opponent.