"Soru"
On the platform, Benjamin stood furious, but Duz suddenly disappeared from his sight, leaving him astonished.
Suddenly, a strong wind gust came from behind, making his hair stand on end from the proximity.
He didn't have enough time to use the same move and had to hurriedly take a defensive stance instead.
"Tekkai!"
Boom!
A black fist rose from below, striking Benjamin's abdomen with such force that he vomited bile, and his body shot out like a cannonball, leaving a long streak across the platform.
This brief confrontation caught the attention of the hundreds of recruits in the square.
When they saw that Benjamin, a Marine Colonel, couldn't even withstand a single punch from Duz, who was clearly a doctor, the new soldiers froze in place, their mouths agape in shock.
He was incredibly fast!
Colonel Duz of the Marines defeated Benjamin in less than two seconds.
He only used the "Soru" technique from the Six Powers and one heavy punch to take Benjamin down.
Duz slowly walked toward Benjamin, who was lying on the ground, unable to get up for a long time, and smiled as he said:
"Not bad, dear Colonel Benjamin, you took a punch from me and didn't pass out. Your strength isn't bad at all."
"Impossible!"
Benjamin gritted his teeth, forcing himself to stand up, glaring at Duz with hatred as he smiled back.
Haki!
The man before him, Duz, could control Armament Haki!
And his speed in using the Six Powers was far superior to Benjamin's.
Benjamin couldn't match him.
But even in defeat, Benjamin wasn't convinced.
He suddenly let out a cold snort, pointed at Duz, and shouted to the new recruits:
"Listen up, recruits! Colonel Duz said that in a few days, a new recruit from the North Blue will come, and he will try to defeat you all. If that brat named Rorschach manages to do this, it doesn't mean he's strong, it means all of you are failures!"
As soon as he finished speaking, silence fell over the place.
Benjamin's voice was filled with rage and was so loud that it echoed throughout the square.
After a moment of silence, the square erupted with excitement.
The young soldiers, who had come from all over the world to join the training camp, began to show signs of anger as they stared at Duz on the platform.
Duz, wearing a white coat and standing out so prominently, couldn't be ignored.
"What nonsense is this? There are over a thousand recruits participating in the elite camp selection! How can the Colonel say that someone can defeat all of us alone?"
The new recruits began to get angry.
A tall young man, over three meters in height with a thick beard, shouted angrily:
"Rorschach from the North Blue? I'll be the first to object! I'll wait for him in the main camp and be the first to challenge him!"
"Rorschach? I think I've heard of him. There have been recent rumors that an exceptional recruit has emerged in the North Blue, claiming that all the recruits in this batch of the Marines are trash and that no one can stand against him. When he arrives at the main camp, he'll follow the North Blue tradition."
In the middle of the soldiers, someone was deep in thought and said:
"The North Blue tradition? What is it? I'm from the North Blue and haven't heard of it."
Asked one of the new recruits from the North Blue curiously.
"The tradition is for one recruit to challenge the entire training batch alone, from start to finish, and defeat them all."
The Marine training camp is divided into three stages.
The first stage is the selection competition.
This means selecting new recruits through Marine officers' training to pick out the best warriors for advanced training.
The second stage is the elite training camp.
In this stage, the trainers become the legendary Black Arm Zephyr, the Admiral! It's said that those who make it into the elite training camp will at least reach the rank of Major in the future.
The third stage is the officer training camp.
At this stage, the elite among the elite receive training. Even though they're still new recruits, they're trained to become high-ranking Marine officers. Anyone who graduates from the officer training camp will at least reach the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Marines.
"Are you kidding? Defeat all the recruits? We're not weak!"
"Which idiot set this rule? Is he stupid?"
A new recruit sneered.
"I heard Admiral Sakazuki said this when he came from the North Blue for training..."
"..."
"And furthermore, he actually succeeded in defeating all three batches of the recruit training camp, except for Admiral Borsalino, who was in the same batch. None of the other recruits could withstand a single punch from him."
"...Don't say any more, that's terrifying."
In the distance, on the balcony at the top of the Fortress of Justice, a middle-aged man wearing a yellow-striped suit and yellow glasses was watching from afar, pursing his lips.
"Oh, it's really terrifying. Sakazuki's military doctor is so strong that he even scares me a little."
"Didn't I tell you? The Kingdom of Prince could be managed by other North Blue countries, but only on the condition that they capture ten thousand pirates! Additionally, they must bear the Kingdom of Prince's share of the Heavenly Tribute and rebuild the royal castle as soon as possible. If they can't do that, don't bother speaking to me again, and there's no room for negotiation!"
From inside the Admiral's office, the roar of Sengoku could be heard, shaking the walls.
Kizaru scratched his ear and opened the door, his face showing signs of discomfort.
"What a fright, Admiral Sengoku is so angry."
He walked toward the sofa on the right, sat down with his legs crossed, and took out a nail clipper, starting to trim his nails.
"Hahahaha! Isn't this because the heir to the Kingdom of Prince decided to abandon the throne and join the Marines? He's truly an exceptional young man, giving up the throne to pursue justice. I can't help but admire him."
On the left sofa, an old man with a robust build and white hair was already seated.
This old man had a square face and a thick neck, with a light scar over his left eye and blue eyes.
At that moment, he was munching on senbei (rice crackers) loudly.
Listening to the crunching sound, Sengoku, who was on the phone with the World Government through the Den Den Mushi (Transponder Snail), became so furious that he almost blew out the other person's eardrums.
"Garp!! You fool! You're annoying me! If you have nothing to do, get out!"
"Hahahaha!"
Garp stood up, laughing, and walked over to the desk, knocking on a stack of documents placed on it.
The topmost paper had a photo of a silver-haired, blue-eyed young man.
In the photo, the young man wore blood-stained white clothes, clenched his fist, and beneath his feet were countless pirate corpses.
"I can leave, but remember, Sengoku, I want to take this brat as my disciple."
Hearing that, Sengoku's voice rose eightfold, shouting so loudly that the person on the other end of the Den Den Mushi almost lost their hearing.
"Take him as your disciple? What can you teach him? Dragon or Kuzan?"
"So what? Aren't they strong? Hahahaha!" Garp looked smug.
"Strength? What good is strength alone? One turned against the World Government, and the other is so lazy he could sleep standing up! Do you think I'd let you take him as a disciple? Unless I've lost my mind!"
Sengoku looked at Garp with a smile full of pride, then snatched the bag of senbei from his hands and poured it into his mouth.
"Huh? My senbei! You bastard!"
"Forget about training disciples, Garp! If I really let you take that kid, Zephyr would fight you to the death. We've finally found a good seedling, and I won't let you ruin it."
(End of Chapter)
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