“Soru!”
On the stage, Benjamin had just regained his stance when Dawes disappeared from his sight, sending a chill down his spine.
Whoosh!
A strong gust from behind made his hair stand on end.
Too close for comfort, he barely had time to use “Soru” himself, resorting instead to a defensive move.
“Tekkai!”
Bam!
A pitch-black fist landed under his abdomen, making Benjamin vomit bile, his body flying backwards like a cannonball, leaving a long mark on the stage.
This brief exchange drew hundreds of new recruits around the plaza to watch.
Seeing a headquarters lieutenant commander like Benjamin unable to withstand a single punch from the clearly medical officer Dawes left the recruits dumbfounded.
“So fast!”
The headquarters captain named Dawes had ended the fight in less than two seconds from the moment he stepped onto the stage.
A single “Soru” combined with a heavy punch had defeated a lieutenant commander.
Dawes leisurely approached the struggling Benjamin, who had not yet managed to get up, and cheerfully comforted him.
“Not bad, my dear Benjamin. To take a punch from me and not pass out, you’re quite strong.”
“Damn you!”
Benjamin gritted his teeth, forcing himself up, glaring hatefully at the smiling Dawes.
Haki!
This damn guy had Armament Haki!
And his mastery of the “Rokushiki” techniques was far superior to Benjamin’s.
He couldn’t beat him.
Despite his defeat, Benjamin’s face still showed defiance.
He coldly snorted and suddenly pointed at Dawes, shouting to the hundreds of new recruits below the stage:
“Listen up, you rookies! Captain Dawes said that in a few days, a new recruit from the North Blue will single-handedly defeat all of you. If that kid named Rosha can do it, it doesn’t mean he’s strong. It means…”
Benjamin roared, “It means you are all useless!”
His words brought an instant silence to the scene.
His voice, filled with rage, echoed across the entire plaza.
Now, basically, all the recruits training in the Marine Headquarters plaza, including the supervising instructors, had heard his words.
After a brief silence, the plaza of Marineford exploded.
The young, passionate recruits from all over the world looked angrily at Dawes on the stage.
There was no mistaking it, Dawes, dressed in a white coat, stood out too much.
Combined with his brief but impressive display of strength, he stood head and shoulders above the rest.
“What a joke! There are over a thousand recruits here for elite training. This headquarters captain is too arrogant, saying someone can defeat us all single-handedly!”
The recruits were furious.
A burly young man, over three meters tall and sporting a bushy beard, roared:
“Rosha from the North Blue, huh? I’ve remembered the name! I’m the first to challenge him when he arrives!”
“Rosha? I’ve heard of him. There are rumors about an incredible new recruit from the North Blue, claiming this year’s headquarters recruits are garbage, not worth fighting. When he arrives, he’ll uphold the North Blue tradition.”
In the crowd, someone thoughtfully stroked their chin.
“The North Blue tradition? What’s that? I’m from the North Blue, and I’ve never heard of it.”
A recruit from the North Blue asked, confused.
“It means a single person challenging the entire training camp, from start to finish, defeating every phase.”
The Marine Headquarters training camp was divided into three phases.
The first phase was the selection tournament.
An open selection where the best recruits were chosen for high-standard training through rigorous drills by Marine officers.
The second phase was the elite training camp.
At this stage, the legendary Black Arm Zephyr would train the recruits!
It was said that those who entered the elite training camp were guaranteed at least a lieutenant’s rank in the future.
The third phase was the officer training camp.
Those undergoing this phase were the elite among elites.
Though still recruits, they were being groomed for mid to high-level officer roles.
Graduates from the officer training camp would start as headquarters lieutenant commanders at a minimum.
“Are you kidding? Fighting through all the recruits? We’re not weaklings!”
“Who came up with this rule? They must be an idiot!”
Some recruits sneered.
“I heard it was Admiral Akainu who set this rule when he came from the North Blue for training…”
“…”
“And he did it, defeating every phase of the training camp except for Admiral Kizaru. No other recruit could withstand a punch from him.”
“… Stop talking, that’s terrifying.”
In the distance, on the balcony atop the fortress of justice, a middle-aged man in a yellow-striped suit and wearing yellow glasses pouted as he watched the scene.
“Oh, so scary. Even I’m a little afraid of Akainu’s ship doctor.”
“I already said, let the North Blue nations manage Prince Kingdom. But the condition is to capture ten thousand pirates! They must also handle the celestial gold for Prince Kingdom and rebuild the royal city quickly. No bargaining!”
From inside the Marshal’s office, Sengoku’s roar shook the walls.
Kizaru picked his ear, pouting as he pushed the door open and walked in.
“So scary, Marshal Sengoku. You’re really angry.”
He sat on a sofa to the right, crossing his legs, and took out a nail clipper to trim his nails.
“Hahaha! Isn’t it because that Prince Kingdom heir doesn’t want the throne and wants to join the Marines? Such an admirable young man, giving up the throne for justice. I can’t help but respect him.”
On the sofa to the left, a burly old man with a square face, a thick neck, a shallow scar over his left eye, and blue eyes was munching on senbei.
Hearing the crunching, Sengoku, still on the Den Den Mushi with the World Government, roared again, “Garp!! You idiot! Shut up and get out if you have nothing to do!”
“Hahaha!”
Garp got up, laughing, and walked to the table, tapping a stack of documents.
On the top was a photo of a silver-haired, blue-eyed boy.
In the photo, the boy was covered in blood, his fists clenched, surrounded by countless pirate corpses.
“I can leave, but remember, Sengoku, I want this kid as my disciple.”
Sengoku’s eyes widened behind his glasses, his voice rising by eight decibels, nearly deafening the person on the other end of the Den Den Mushi.
“As your disciple? What can you teach? Dragon or Kuzan?”
“What’s wrong with them? Aren’t they strong? Hahaha!” Garp said proudly.
“Strength? What’s the point of just strength? One’s gone rogue, the other’s lazy as hell, falling asleep standing up! I’d be crazy to let you teach another one!”
Sengoku, infuriated by Garp’s smug face, grabbed Garp’s senbei bag and poured it into his mouth.
“Hey! My senbei! You bastard!”
“Forget about taking on a disciple! If I let you have this one, Zephyr will go mad. We finally found a good seedling, we can’t let you ruin him.”
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