The air went still.
A faint killing intent settled over Training Ground No. 1.
Kai stood at the center of the field, left hand loosely gripping the black seastone dagger. Ten or so meters away, Smoker glared at him, eyes sharp like a drawn blade.
Side by side—
They looked absolutely absurd.
On one side, a nineteen-year-old Marine prodigy, tall and broad-shouldered, his aura sharp and oppressive.
On the other—
A four-year-old kid.
Short. Small. Baby-faced.
And yet—
No one laughed.
Kai hadn't even bothered to strip off his shirt and bare that demonic back or his terrifying musculature.
In his eyes—
There was no need to go that far for just Smoker.
All around them—
Dozens of trainees ringed the field, unable to hide their curiosity and excitement.
This match felt like a joke at a glance—a duel with a ridiculous age gap—
And yet they still couldn't understand:
Where had this four-year-old gotten the guts to challenge Smoker?
A Logia user.
The undisputed strongest in the camp.
"Even if all of us went at Smoker together, we probably still wouldn't beat him…"
"This brat is insane."
"I seriously don't get what Teacher Zephyr is thinking, letting a four-year-old challenge Smoker…"
"And Smoker actually accepted."
"I'm calling it now—this ends in three moves. Smoker wipes the floor with him."
The muttering grew more and more heated.
Almost no one—
Thought Kai had any real chance of winning.
Even Tina…
Couldn't help but feel nervous for him.
In the field—
Smoker blew out a thin stream of smoke and spoke first.
"You ready?"
"Of course." Kai smiled.
"Then I'll warn you…" Smoker's eyes sharpened, killing intent stirring. "I won't hold back."
"Within three moves…"
"I'll put you down."
His confidence was absolute.
"Is that so?" Kai tilted his head slightly. "I'm looking forward to it."
For some reason—
That three-move declaration lit something violent in his chest.
For a brief, hot moment—
He almost wanted to tear Smoker apart on the spot.
He took a slow breath and forced that impulse down.
If he actually ripped Smoker in half in front of Zephyr…
The old man might really lose his mind.
"—Soru!"
Smoker moved first.
As the top of the training camp, his foundation was solid as iron. Even without the Devil Fruit, he would've still stood among the elite.
Rokushiki?
Of course he'd learned it.
His form wasn't perfect, but by normal standards, it was more than good enough.
His figure blurred.
In the blink of an eye—
He appeared right in front of Kai, less than half a meter away.
Fists clenched.
Gray-white smoke coiled around his body.
He swung.
A straight punch, aimed directly at Kai's forehead.
Kai's smile didn't even twitch.
"Your Soru," he said calmly, "is still too slow."
"Let me show you…"
"What real Soru looks like."
Power surged through his legs in an instant.
"—Soru."
He vanished.
With a sharp crack of air—
Smoker's fist smashed straight through the fading afterimage Kai left behind.
He hit nothing but wind.
A complete whiff.
Smoker's body locked up. His pupils shrank.
"T-That was…"
"Rokushiki?!"
"This brat can use Rokushiki too?!"
"And he's faster than me?!"
His mind blanked for a moment.
A four-year-old using Rokushiki?
If this spread around the base—
No one would believe it.
Smoker hadn't even recovered from his shock—
When a chill ran down his spine.
He spun around.
Kai was already behind him—
Grinning.
The boy's fist was already on its way down, knuckles drawn tight, muscles coiled like steel cables.
He was holding nothing back.
Boom—!
The punch tore through the air with a sharp sonic crack.
For a split second, it felt like the very space behind Smoker warped under the force.
So fast—!
Real danger surged up Smoker's spine.
It wasn't an illusion.
This punch—
Could kill him.
"This kid…"
"Isn't just 'strong'… he's a monster!"
"At four?!"
His pride didn't matter anymore.
A heartbeat before the blow landed—
Smoker gritted his teeth.
"Elementalization!"
His body exploded into smoke.
Kai's fist drove straight through his torso—
With a soft whoosh.
No resistance.
No impact.
His fist punched right through the smoky silhouette, carving out a hole—
But there was no blood, no shattered bone.
Only a roiling cloud of smoke.
Smoker, fully elemental, drifted back together and reformed several meters away.
He let out a slow, shaky breath.
"…Good thing I used my fruit in time."
"Otherwise, that punch…"
"Would've crippled me."
The memory of that force still made his scalp tingle.
"That kind of strength—"
"From a four-year-old…"
"If I hadn't seen it myself, I'd think it was a joke."
Across from him—
Kai lowered his fist and sighed.
"Logia really is busted…"
"I was pretty sure I had him there."
"And then…"
"Elementalization."
He shook his head.
Logia users really were cheating.
No wonder—
On the first half of the Grand Line, they were practically called "invincible."
That one ability—
Was all it took to make most people helpless.
"It's really as the rumors say…"
"Among Devil Fruits, Logias are tyrants."
"Anyone who eats one jumps straight into the 'untouchable' bracket."
If you don't have Armament Haki, Kai thought, elementalization is just unfair.
"Logia…"
"Is really domineering."
He couldn't help feeling both impressed and annoyed.
This was the first time—
He'd personally felt just how disgusting a Logia really was in battle.
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