The largest open-air arena in Marineford.
The air was thick with a dry, oppressive heat and a palpable sense of impending violence.
The circular stands were packed to capacity. Apart from the 320 new recruits of this year's class, the dark mass of spectators consisted entirely of Marine Headquarters officers and captains who had come to watch the spectacle. Even some retired vice admirals had shown up.
After all, this generation was known as the "Gathering of Monsters," and everyone wanted to see what they were made of.
At the center of the arena stood three treasure chests made of golden nanmu wood, their lids wide open. Resting on velvet cushions inside were three bizarrely shaped fruits covered in spiral patterns.
Logia: Magma Fruit, Logia: Ice Fruit, Logia: Glint Fruit.
Three Logia fruits standing at the pinnacle of power!
Gulp.
The sound of swallowing could be heard throughout the arena one after another. The flames of desire and ambition burned fiercely in the eyes of the young Marines.
On the main viewing platform, Admiral Sengoku held a teacup, glancing sideways at Zephyr beside him.
"The World Government argued for three whole days over these three fruits. Zephyr, are you sure you want to put them out there now?"
"Hmph, the best steel should be used for the blade," Zephyr retorted with a cold snort, his arms crossed as he scanned the arena below. "Sengoku, we both know how bad the situation at sea has become. The balance is already tipping."
Sengoku fell silent for a moment, then nodded slightly and set down his teacup.
Zephyr continued, his voice low and forceful, "The Headquarters is severely short on high-level combat power. Relying on just the few of us to maintain appearances isn't sustainable. If we don't cultivate true monsters, who will carry the burden of Justice in the future?"
He turned his gaze to the outstanding figures below in the arena. "Most importantly, this year's recruits include Sakazuki, Kuzan, Borsalino, and Kane. With seeds this exceptional, I won't allow them to become mediocre due to lack of resources. Only true powerhouses are worthy of this kind of strength."
Beside them, Garp was noisily devouring rice crackers while laughing heartily: "Puhahahaha! I've got high hopes for that kid Kane! I heard he made you so angry you had to take blood pressure medicine? He's got promise! Really reminds me of my younger self!"
Zephyr's mouth twitched. "That brat may have a terrible personality, but his talent is undeniable. Just watch—he might surprise everyone today."
Sengoku took a sip of tea and said calmly, "As long as he doesn't tear down the training camp."
Before the words had fully faded, Zephyr stood up, his booming voice instantly cutting through the arena's noise:
"The rule is simple—a free-for-all!"
"Only the last ten standing will have the right to choose a fruit! Now, the assessment beg—"
"Hey, hold on a second."
A lazy voice abruptly interrupted Zephyr.
The entire arena fell dead silent.
In the center of the arena, Kane stood alone, holding a megaphone in one hand and the other casually tucked into his pocket, his posture bold and unrestrained.
Under the gaze of over three hundred people, he leisurely blew into the microphone.
"Testing, testing? Can you hear me? Good."
Kane glanced around, looking at the more than three hundred pairs of hostile eyes, and sighed.
"Everyone's busy, and the cafeteria has limited-edition pudding later. If you're late, it'll be gone."
"So, to save time and to avoid any hard feelings over a few spots..."
Kane took a deep breath and shouted into the megaphone:
"Aside from those three monsters over there, the rest of you..."
"Come at me all at once."
The wind stopped.
Sengoku, who had just picked up his teacup, froze mid-air, while the rice cracker in Garp's mouth fell out.
Only Zephyr covered his face in agony.
He knew it!
The next second, the arena erupted.
"Bastard! How arrogant!"
"How dare you look down on us! Let's all go at him! Eliminate him first!"
"Beat him up!"
More than three hundred recruits, thoroughly enraged by these words, surged toward Kane from all directions like a tidal wave.
"Tsk, young people are so hot-headed."
Kane shook his head, but a flicker of wild excitement flashed in his eyes.
Facing the overwhelming crowd charging at him, he didn't retreat a single step.
Instead, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly, and his long legs forcefully pushed off the ground, propelling him into the air.
"Tempest Kick: Dance!"
Kane's body spun rapidly in mid-air. His legs moved like a windmill, unleashing dozens of vacuum slash waves in a single second!
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!"
Blue slash waves, like a violent storm, indiscriminately covered a fifty-meter radius centered on him.
Each slash precisely avoided vital areas, yet was perfectly calculated to render its targets immobile.
"Ah! My leg!"
"This wind pressure... what's going on? I can't even stand steady!"
"M-monster!"
The hundred or so recruits at the forefront crashed into an invisible wall of blades. Amidst a chorus of screams, rows of recruits were sent flying backward like wheat being harvested.
With just one move!
A large swath of the arena was cleared!
In the stands, the officers who had initially been watching for amusement all abruptly rose to their feet.
"Is this... an advanced application of Tempest Kick?"
"Not only is the range enormous, but the control is absolutely exquisite! It didn't sever bones, only cut muscles to incapacitate them... How long has this kid trained to achieve this level?"
In just five minutes.
Kane landed, elegantly brushing off nonexistent dust from his clothes.
The arena was littered with groaning recruits. Aside from the "three monsters" in the corner who hadn't made a move, the only one still standing was the blond youth, whose clothes remained neat and whose hair wasn't even mussed.
Kane clapped his hands, looked at the "corpses" strewn across the ground, and offered an apologetic smile to the stands.
"Sorry about that, I might have gone a little too hard. But I was just helping everyone test their resilience."
[Ding! Engaging in a group brawl, causing collective psychological trauma!]
[Violation Value +2000!]
So satisfying!
Kane turned and looked at the three remaining individuals at the edge of the arena.
Borsalino was raising his hands in surrender: "So scary~ Kane, you're as strong as a monster~ I think I'll just concede~"
On the other side, Kuzan scratched his head. "Ara ara, what a hassle... But since it's come to this."
"Hmph!"
A cold snort cut off Kuzan's rambling.
Sakazuki strode forward, each step leaving a footprint in the ground.
"This week's humiliation... I'll pay you back for all of it today!"
"You two! If you're still men, follow my lead! Let's take down this bastard first!"
The future three Admirals, the embryonic form of the Navy's supreme combat force, were actually being forced by Kane to join forces at this moment!
"Now that's more like it."
Kane cracked his neck, producing a series of popping sounds.
"If I don't beat all three of you into submission, how could I possibly teach you about 'Justice' later?"
"Shave!"
Four figures almost simultaneously vanished from their positions.
BOOM——!!!
A terrifying shockwave instantly erupted at the center of the arena, the hard stone floor cracking inch by inch.
Sakazuki's fist, Kuzan's whip kick, and Borsalino's lightspeed kick (though he hadn't eaten his Devil Fruit yet, his leg techniques were extremely fast) attacked Kane simultaneously from three directions.
This was a certain-kill situation!
Even a Rear Admiral from headquarters would meet their end facing the combined assault of these three monsters.
But Kane smiled.
He directly closed his eyes, as if giving up resistance.
"Paper Drawing: Armed Body!"
Kane's body twisted at impossible angles, like a sheet of paper sliding past Sakazuki's fist wind and grazing the sole of Kuzan's shoe.
Only Borsalino's kick landed on him.
"Iron Body: Steel!"
Kane didn't stiffen, but instantly hardened his back muscles while moving.
"Clang!"
A metallic clang rang out. Using the impact of the kick, Kane didn't retreat but instead advanced, crashing into Sakazuki's chest like a cannonball.
"Sakazuki, your wound seems to have reopened, huh?"
Kane's voice was like a demon's whisper.
"Finger Gun: Bone Pierce!"
Thump!
Kane's finger stabbed directly into the unhealed wound on Sakazuki's chest.
"Argh——!!!"
Excruciating pain caused Sakazuki's movements to stiffen momentarily, cold sweat instantly drenching his entire body.
"Despicable!"
"This is called tactics, my dear friend. You need more practice."
Kane seized Sakazuki's arm, executing a perfect shoulder throw that sent the future Fleet Admiral crashing hard into the approaching Kuzan.
"Thud!"
The two collided and tumbled together in a heap.
Finally, only Borsalino remained in the air.
"Sorry, Kizaru-kun, time to clock out!"
Kane shattered the ground beneath him, using Moon Walk to shoot skyward and appear above Borsalino.
"Tempest Kick: Battle Axe!"
His right leg descended like a giant battle axe from heaven, carrying immense wind pressure as it chopped down violently.
Borsalino crossed his arms to block.
"BOOM!!"
He felt as if he'd been struck by a mountain, his entire body falling like a meteor before crashing hard into the ground, eyes rolling back as he lost consciousness (or possibly pretended to).
As the dust settled.
The entire arena fell deathly silent.
The sunglasses in Zephyr's hand had been crushed into powder.
At the center of the arena, only one person remained standing.
Kane stood proudly among the three fallen figures, his uniform somewhat disheveled but his aura blazing like the midday sun.
He won?
A single person had challenged the entire camp and openly crushed three monsters?!
Just as everyone was stunned by Kane's invincible presence—
In the center of the arena, Kane fell to his knees with a thud, cradling the unconscious Sakazuki in his arms. He threw his head back and let out a long wail, tears instantly streaming down his face.
"Sakazuki! Kuzan! Borsalino!"
"Wahhh... How could I have hit you so hard!"
Kane cried as if his heart were being torn apart, snot and tears mixing together.
"My heart aches! Every blow that landed on you, I felt it in my heart!"
"I'm not human! I'm a beast! I shouldn't have won! I shouldn't have hurt our friendship for the sake of that damned first place!"
"Teacher Zephyr!" Kane turned his head, his tear-filled eyes fixed on the stands. "I don't want this first place anymore! Even if you just cash out the prize and give it to me, that's fine! Please, you must heal them!"
Everyone watched the "strongest recruit" crying like a two-hundred-pound child, their mouths twitching in unison.
This acting... is way too over-the-top!
When he was fighting earlier, he was clearly laughing more maniacally than anyone else!
[Ding! Detected the host's extremely hypocritical performance, successfully disgusted the entire audience!]
[Ding! Single-handedly defeated all the elite recruits of the training camp, establishing the "Great Demon King" status!]
[Subversion calculation in progress... Violation Value critical hit reward: +8000 points!]
Listening to the pleasant notification sounds from the system, Kane, his face buried in Sakazuki's chest, revealed a look of ecstatic joy—one that was even uglier than his crying.