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Returning to Marine Headquarters. As usual, Law continued his frantic training, training every single moment. Everything that happened in Amazon Lily had not spread. Law's reputation was limited to the recruit camp and a small circle of Marines. The only change, perhaps, was that thousands of miles away, a peerless beauty had developed a new habit: she would stand at the highest peak, gazing into the distance, in the direction of Marine Headquarters.
"ROOM!"
A massive space enveloped the small hill, reaching a diameter of hundreds, even close to a thousand meters. A figure within the space constantly changed position. Was it teleportation, or speed?
"Break!"
Instantly appearing before an ancient tree that ten people could embrace, his Armament Haki-hardened fist was pitch black. He slammed a punch into the ancient tree. No withered leaves fell. With a gust of wind, the centuries-old ancient tree turned into powder, scattering into the air. Perfect control over power, and Haki strength reaching an astonishing level. This was the result of two years. Two more years had passed. Law only did two things: extreme training and researching human anatomy, cell structures, and genes. Both his strength and medical skills were rapidly improving. He even missed many recruit camp assessments, just to have more time to train, just to become stronger.
"Slash!" Sword shadows filled the sky, sweeping past the ancient tree. Moments later, the ancient tree was reduced to fragments of uniform size, all fingernail-sized. This was pure swordsmanship.
"I don't feel any pressure from the elite Vice Admirals. How does my current strength compare to an elite Vice Admiral?"
This year, Law was just over seventeen, yet he already possessed the power to establish himself on the Grand Line. Whether in the Marine Headquarters, teeming with strong individuals, or in a Four Emperors' pirate crew, with his current power, he could become a dazzling star. The abilities he possessed at this moment were even more than those he had in the original story after becoming a Warlord of the Sea.
"I knew you'd be training here, Law."
A graceful young girl came jogging over, her flushed face having lost some of its former cuteness, but gained a certain charm.
"Remember to call me Senior Brother." Law ruffled Ain's small head. A year ago, Ain was also taken as a student by Zephyr, and she was now one of the prominent strong individuals in the recruit camp, even more famous than Law. This was because Law had rarely appeared in the recruit camp in four years, missing many assessments. Even in some mandatory practical combat assessments, Law merely participated casually, his scores being only middle-to-upper. As more and more recruits graduated, Law's reputation gradually faded.
"Understood, Senior Brother." Ain rolled her adorable white eyes, pouting. "Senior Brother, tomorrow is a big event for all the recruits: the time for all recruit camps to compete. You absolutely cannot be absent again."
"All recruit camps competing, huh? Does that include the branch recruits?" He seemed uninterested. Recruits were too weak, although Law himself was also a recruit.
Marine Headquarters, Chief Instructor Zephyr and all instructors gathered for a meeting. Solely for the entire recruit camp competition tomorrow.
"As recruits of the Headquarters Recruit Camp, you enjoy the highest treatment. In every inter-recruit camp competition, the victor has always been a Headquarters recruit. This time, only victory is acceptable; defeat is not an option," Zephyr said sternly. Defeat would be a disgrace to the entire Headquarters Recruit Camp.
"Admiral Zephyr, it seems there are a few strong individuals in this term's branch recruit camps. Sentomaru from the Science Unit's recruit camp is rumored to be very strong, even stronger than veteran officers. He was personally taught by Admiral Kizaru."
"Sentomaru, huh?" The instructors' faces changed in shock. How could they not have heard of Admiral Kizaru's formidable reputation? A recruit trained by an Admiral must be very strong.
"What's there to fear? Kizaru himself was taught by this old man. Are his students stronger than those taught by this old man?" Zephyr glared with his tiger eyes. The instructors naturally dared not boost others' morale and diminish their own prestige, but a shadow of doubt still fell over their hearts.
"The strongest in the G-36 Marine Branch Recruit Camp is Drake, who left the Headquarters Recruit Camp. Rumor has it his strength has grown very quickly and he's extremely powerful. He's also a thorny opponent."
"Drake, huh? That useless fellow, the trash who left the recruit camp because he feared Law, is not worth worrying about," Zephyr said dismissively. "Now, let's discuss who Headquarters Recruit Camp should send to battle?"
The entire recruit camp competition. Each recruit camp could only send one participant, who had to be the strongest in that camp. Finally, the strongest recruit from all the camps would be determined.
"Naturally, it's Smoker. To ensure he participates in this competition and that there are no mishaps, he hasn't even applied for graduation yet."
"That's right! Smoker, with his Logia-type Devil Fruit, is virtually invincible. Victory is naturally ours," the instructors unanimously recommended Smoker. Very few recruits were qualified to train Haki, so a Logia-type was naturally unbeatable among recruits.
"Smoker, huh? Indeed, he's good." But Law's image involuntarily flickered in Zephyr's mind. "Should we let Trafalgar Law represent the recruit camp?"
"Law, you say?" Although Law had been very low-key these past few years, rarely appearing, the instructors hadn't forgotten this new recruit who had once left a deep impression. "With Admiral Zephyr's guidance, Law must have become very strong over these years. But he is still young, and he hasn't shown any outstanding performance these past few years. Even if he's strong, his chances of victory can't be higher than Smoker's, can they? After all, a Logia-type ensures absolute victory."
Zephyr's brows furrowed slightly. He weighed the pros and cons in his mind. This concerned the century-old honor of the Headquarters Recruit Camp; he couldn't make a decision lightly.
"Then Smoker it is." Zephyr finally chose Smoker. After all, a Logia-type offered more security. No matter how fast Law grew, he shouldn't be able to surpass Smoker yet, right?
"In that case, our Headquarters Recruit Camp is sure to win," the instructors smiled. They had also feared that Admiral Zephyr might choose Law out of favoritism, which would be dangerous. Fortunately, Smoker was still the one sent to battle.