"Rankyaku, Soru, Kami-e, Shigan… It seems you've mastered the Rokushiki."
Roya stood in front of Lucci, sword in hand, looking at him with an indifferent expression. There was a faint sense of superiority in his gaze, as though he were looking down from above.
Before this, it had always been Lucci who looked down on the Elite Camp recruits in this manner. Now, however, the situation had completely reversed, and Lucci found it extremely uncomfortable.
"Your slashes are very strong… but if you can't hit me, they're completely useless!"
Lucci stared calmly at Roya. The instant his words fell, his entire body blurred into an afterimage and he charged at Roya once more, launching a storm-like barrage of attacks with sheer speed.
In terms of raw physical strength, Lucci was actually superior to Roya. Moreover, Lucci's mastery of Soru was slightly more advanced, making his overall speed noticeably faster than Roya's.
However—
Even with Lucci's extreme speed, amid this tempestuous exchange, not a single one of his attacks managed to land on Roya!
On the contrary, several times Lucci nearly got cleaved directly by Roya's sword. On one occasion, he failed to dodge in time and was grazed by Roya's sword energy across the shoulder, instantly leaving a deep, bloody gash!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Some of the Elite Camp recruits could not even clearly see the fight between Roya and Lucci. All they could make out was Lucci's figure flickering incessantly, splitting into multiple afterimages as if surrounding Roya from all sides, seemingly forcing Roya into a disadvantage.
When blood suddenly splattered into the air, the Elite Camp recruits instinctively thought that Roya had been injured.
It was only when Lucci abruptly retreated to the distance and halted his assault that everyone realized—
The one who was injured was not Roya, but Lucci!
Roya stood there calmly, sword in hand, without a single wound on his body, looking utterly relaxed.
The difference between the two was immediately apparent!
"And now—do you still think I can't hit you?"
Roya did not pursue Lucci. He simply stood there calmly, a faint trace of mockery at the corner of his mouth. Even if you're fast—so what?!
Many of the Elite Camp recruits could not tell what was going on, but Sengoku, Garp, and the others saw it with perfect clarity.
Observation Haki!
Under Observation Haki, nearly every movement Lucci made was sensed by Roya in advance. In such a situation, how could Lucci possibly compete with him?!
In terms of predicting attacks, Lucci was highly skilled in Kami-e, one of the Rokushiki. But Kami-e was merely a rudimentary precursor to Observation Haki. Against Roya's true Observation Haki, it was clearly insufficient!
"Observation Haki… how scary. He can already use Haki at this age?!"
Kizaru watched the scene with an exaggerated expression that was half genuine, half playful.
Still a recruit who hadn't even graduated, yet already capable of using Haki?!
And—
It wasn't just Observation Haki!
Roya's earlier slashes clearly carried the power of Armament Haki as well. Even though he hadn't deliberately used full Armament hardening, Kizaru and the others—top-tier powerhouses of the seas—could tell at a glance.
"Garp's nephew… is he really this outstanding?"
Even Sengoku showed a look of shock.
Roya's demeanor had been extremely relaxed, his movements casual and effortless, as if his face clearly said, I haven't even used my full strength yet.
Judging solely from the strength Roya had displayed so far, he was already no weaker than a Rear Admiral. If Roya went all out, could it be that he was already approaching the level of a Vice Admiral?!
The moment this thought arose, Sengoku felt his heart tremble.
Before even graduating, possessing strength close to that of a Marine Vice Admiral—only Aokiji, Kizaru, and Akainu had reached such a level back in the day!
In other words—
Did Roya possess the potential to become a Marine admiral?!
At that realization, Sengoku's gaze toward Roya instantly became heated.
In recent years, the Marines had not produced any particularly outstanding new recruits. With Aokiji, Kizaru, and Akainu still in their prime, the situation was manageable for now—but if this continued, a decade or so later, the Marine high command would face a serious gap in top-tier combat power.
At that point, they might be forced to resort to world conscription, directly promoting exceptional individuals to fill the vacancies.
Under such grim circumstances, a recruit like Roya—someone with admiral potential—suddenly emerging was enough to ignite Sengoku's excitement.
The World Government officials watching this scene were also visibly stunned.
They clearly hadn't expected Roya to suppress Lucci so completely, nor that Lucci would appear utterly incapable of matching him.
Marine Headquarters actually had such a powerful new recruit?!
If not for Roya's youthful appearance, some of the officials would have suspected he was actually a disguised officer pretending to be a recruit.
"Lucci, go all out!"
A CP officer's expression darkened as he barked the order at Lucci.
Lucci glanced at the wound on his shoulder, then looked back at Roya. A sharp glint filled his eyes. Suddenly, his body underwent a drastic transformation—his human skin was instantly overlaid with leopard-like patterns.
Zoan-type, Cat-Cat Fruit, Model: Leopard!
"So you're finally using your Devil Fruit ability?"
Roya looked at Lucci without any surprise. Instead, a hint of interest appeared on his face.
There were still more than ten years before Luffy would set sail, and Roya hadn't known whether Lucci had already eaten a Zoan-type Devil Fruit.
Now it was clear—he had.
"He even has a Devil Fruit ability?!"
Zephyr, Aokiji, and the others frowned upon seeing this.
Previously, Roya had almost completely suppressed Lucci. But now that Lucci had revealed his Devil Fruit ability—especially a Zoan leopard form that greatly enhanced agility and strength—the situation became uncertain.
On the other side, a CP officer chuckled and said to Zephyr, "I never said Lucci didn't have a Devil Fruit ability."
Whoosh!!
After transforming into his hybrid form, Lucci's agility and strength increased dramatically. Though the boost wasn't as overwhelming as Drake's Ancient Zoan, it was still enormous.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!!
The two figures clashed once again in the field.
This time, when Lucci engaged Roya, he was no longer restrained. He could avoid Roya's slashes while launching counterattacks of his own.
Under Lucci's storm-like offensive, Roya seemed to be gradually pushed into a disadvantage.
"So be it, then…"
Watching Lucci's increasingly ferocious assault, Roya gripped Engetsu with both hands, gently shook his head, and a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
Boom!!
In the next instant, flames erupted violently from Engetsu's blade, spreading outward in all directions. In a blink, they engulfed an area more than ten meters around Roya, forming a blazing domain of fire!
"Taimatsu!"
The flames appeared too suddenly and covered too wide a range. Lucci barely had time to react before he was swallowed by the inferno, his body instantly wrapped in crimson flames.
Whoosh!!
Lucci burst out of the flames in a disheveled state, rolling across the ground in the distance to extinguish most of the fire, then hurriedly patting himself to put out the remaining embers.
Even so, his body was scorched black in several places, and he looked utterly miserable.
"Flame-type abilities as well?!"
After finally extinguishing the flames, Lucci stared at Roya—who stood at the center of the blazing domain like a lord of fire—his eyes filled with shock.
At the same time, the World Government officials were equally stunned.
"A Logia-type Flame-Flame Fruit?"
"No—this isn't a Logia ability… Flames erupting from the sword itself—could it be flame-based sword aura?"
"Impossible! Such terrifying flames can't be mere sword aura!"
Gazing at the sea of flames, the officials' faces were filled with disbelief.
In fact, even Zephyr and Garp—who initially believed Roya's flames were flame sword aura—were now beginning to doubt the true nature of these flames. Could flame sword aura really unleash such horrifying fire?!
This was practically indistinguishable from a Logia Devil Fruit ability.
"This… is genuinely scary…"
Kizaru stared at the blazing domain with astonishment. Though his tone retained its usual flippancy, the shock in his heart was unmistakable.
Even if Roya were using the Flame-Flame Fruit, Kizaru wouldn't be this shocked. But he could clearly tell—this fire was not from the Flame-Flame Fruit, but from a power he couldn't understand!
He was a Marine admiral, yet he couldn't discern the foundation of this ability!
That was what truly shocked him.
Sengoku and Aokiji wore expressions similar to Kizaru's, staring at the crimson inferno with deep uncertainty.
Whoosh!!
The flames continued to ripple, but with nothing left to burn, they gradually began to die down.
Standing at the center of the flames, Roya paid no attention to the astonished looks of Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Admiral Aokiji and Kizaru. His heart remained perfectly calm.
Roya knew this well.
At first, his power had been mistaken for flame sword aura. But as his flames grew stronger—and once he eventually released Ryūjin Jakka—that explanation would inevitably be questioned and overturned.
But so what if it was questioned and overturned?!
He was Garp's nephew. There was no need for him to explain the origin of his power to anyone. At most, he could tell Garp that he was born with it and didn't know why himself. Would Sengoku or Kizaru dare suppress Garp and drag him off for experimentation?
And once he released Ryūjin Jakka, he would have even less to fear.
In a world where strength reigned supreme, all he needed was for others to know that he was powerful—powerful enough to inspire awe. He did not need anyone to know why he was powerful.