The next day, as Rorschach strolled through the Marineford courtyard, holding a bone filled with meat and eating from it, he noticed that all the trainers and rookie soldiers around him quickly scattered to the sides, clearing the way for him as if he were an important figure.
"What's going on? Am I that terrifying?" Rorschach said, shaking his head while continuing to eat.
Ahead, a familiar trainer appeared, saluted him with a smile, and extended his hand saying, "Major Rorschach, I'm Branew, the one you kicked yesterday."
"Oh, oh, Major Branew, hello." Rorschach quickly returned the salute and shook his hand.
Rorschach walked a few more dozen meters and saw another familiar trainer smiling and greeting him.
Along the way, all the trainers treated him warmly, surprising Rorschach.
When he reached the end of the line of new recruits, he saw Major Benjamin standing tensely, his body stiff as if ready for inspection.
"Major Rorschach, hello. I'm Benjamin. I apologize for my reckless behavior yesterday and hope you won't take it to heart."
Benjamin spoke quickly and nervously, and Rorschach even noticed cold sweat dripping from his forehead.
Waving his hand, Rorschach said, "No worries, it was a minor thing. I didn't take it seriously. But, why haven't I seen Lieutenant Commander Smoker today?"
Rorschach looked around but didn't spot Smoker in the courtyard.
Benjamin responded, "Lieutenant Commander Smoker went to take up a position in the East Blue. He's been appointed governor there."
A look of envy flashed across Benjamin's face.
A governor is the highest-ranking officer in a naval branch for a particular area. Smoker going to be the governor of the East Blue meant he had gained significant authority.
"East Blue, huh?" Rorschach mused, a complex expression in his eyes.
Then Rorschach noticed the new recruits Benjamin was supervising, and among them were Law and Bepo.
Rorschach bent down slightly, whispered something in Benjamin's ear, then left with a smile.
Law looked at Rorschach in amazement, feeling that something strange was going on.
"What? What are you doing, recruit? Why are you dawdling? Are you training seriously or thinking of commanding a warship? You seem like a mischievous brat who needs extra training!" Benjamin yelled, angrily scolding Law.
The veins on Law's forehead bulged, and he finally realized what was happening.
"That idiot tricked me again!"
On the other side, Rorschach was feeling completely relaxed, even starting to hum a tune.
"Law, train hard so you can upgrade to the elite camp. I paid a great price to convince Major Benjamin to give you extra training. No need to thank me, we're both from the North Blue, aren't we?"
When he lifted his head, Rorschach saw, in the corner of the courtyard, a tall, muscular man standing with a stern expression and crossed arms. He wore a red military uniform, and behind him, a large white cloak bearing the "Justice" symbol fluttered in the wind.
"Uncle Sakazuki?" Rorschach said in surprise, quickly stepping forward to salute him.
Rorschach glanced around curiously but didn't see Zephyr or Garp.
Instead, he saw Dauss, who wasn't participating in the training of the new soldiers, leaning against an artillery base on the steps, with a large medical box beside him.
Seeing that box, Rorschach felt something wasn't right, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Looking at Sakazuki, Rorschach asked, "Uncle Sakazuki, where's Instructor Zephyr? Is he…"
Sakazuki replied in a calm voice, "Today's training is my responsibility."
"Your responsibility?" Rorschach began sweating.
Could it be that Sakazuki had found out about what happened in Hibari's room?
"Don't stand there like a fool, attack me! Use all your strength!" Sakazuki growled in a low voice as he began walking toward Rorschach.
As he approached, Rorschach felt as if he were standing in front of a lake of erupting lava, where immense energy was slowly awakening, ready to devour everything in its path.
"Good luck, Rorschach!" Dauss' voice came from afar.
"Good luck? With Sakazuki?! That's just adding fuel to the fire!" thought Rorschach, glaring at Dauss.
"Uncle Sakazuki, you won't be using lava, right?" Rorschach said nervously, tightening his grip on his spear.
Sweat began dripping from his hands.
Sakazuki responded, "A fight requires you to give it your all! Fear won't solve any problem! Courage is daring to face those you cannot defeat."
As he said this, his gloved hand began to glow red. The air around him heated sharply, as if it were boiling.
Sweat poured down Rorschach's body, and the overwhelming pressure made it hard for him to breathe.
Sakazuki was serious this time!
This was different from the hits Zephyr and Garp had given him yesterday.
Although I got badly beaten and felt excruciating pain.
Those two old men still had limits to their strikes.
Their aura was no less than Akainu's now.
But they didn't have this endless, brutal pressure.
Under the monstrous aura emanating from Akainu, I felt as if my bones and muscles couldn't withstand the pressure, and I could hear them cracking.
As if, in the next moment, I'd be crushed under this enormous force and fall to my knees.
"Roar!"
My body started to grow larger, with shiny blue scales spreading across my body as the wind around me intensified. Gripping the Heavenly Dragon Spear with massive claws, I directed a strike at the advancing Akainu!
Facing this mounting pressure that grew like moving mountains, I chose to attack!
"Szzz!"
Lightning began crackling along the blade of the war spear, cutting through the air ahead, aimed directly at Akainu's head.
"Fifty Million Volts! Thunder Slash!"
The war spear glowed with lightning as it launched the attack. Akainu's right fist, glowing red, struck out.
Boom!
The lava-covered fist collided with the spear blade, causing an eruption of lightning, and the blade was sent flying.
The flaming fist of lava struck fiercely against the lowered spear blade, causing lightning to erupt and the blade to rise high.
"Swooosh!"
The ground beneath Akainu's feet exploded, shattering the stones.
His massive body collided directly with Rosha's exposed chest.
"Boom!"
A wave of white air exploded, and Rorschach spat a large amount of blood as his massive frame bent backward, like a falling star shooting across the sky, flying hundreds of meters in a straight line.
"Boom!"
He crashed into the base of a large coastal artillery, and the heavy cannon fell into the inner bay, splashing huge amounts of water.
Rorschach's body smashed into the thick stone steps, cracks appearing on his shiny blue armor.
Slowly, red blood began to spread.
"Cough! Cough cough!"
Rorschach coughed violently, spitting more fresh blood, feeling as if his chest bones had been shattered.
"Is Sakazuki trying to kill Rorschach? Striking with such force? How can he use the strongest levels of 'Armament Haki' against a rookie who doesn't even know Haki?"
From atop the fortress, several veteran leaders looked on in shock at what was happening from a distance.
Sengoku was extremely tense and almost rushed towards Rorschach, but Zephyr held him back.
Rorschach was now the new hope of the Navy, and Sengoku aspired for him to lead the next generation.
If he died at Akainu's hands, everything would collapse!
"How awful, Sakazuki! How can he be so harsh with someone who will be his son-in-law in the future? He should be careful, or Hibari might not care for him when she grows up."
Kizaru, sitting on the balcony, said this with a smile as he crossed one leg over the other.
Kuzan was also there, frowning, uncomfortable with Akainu's brutal training methods.
In the square.
The new recruits who were training stopped because of the huge noise, and hundreds of stunned eyes stared at Rorschach's blood-covered body, buried in the stone steps.
One soldier said in shock, "Is this what they call rookie training? Having an admiral attack with full force against a beginner?"
"Rorschach!"
Among the soldiers, Hibari's eyes filled with tears as she ran toward Rosha.
In the corner, Daos opened a medical kit, nervously preparing bandages and scalpels.
"Rorschach, you have to hold on!"
Thud… Thud… Thud…
Heavy footsteps echoed across the ground.
Akainu approached Rorschach, raising his lava-filled right hand once more.
"Remember, the enemy will not show you mercy for your weakness."
"Being content with your current weak strength will only bring about the tragedies of the past."
"Do you want to experience that again?"
"If not, then you must be willing to sacrifice your life in training."
Akainu pointed to the recruits in the square and said, "This kind of weak training will not produce real admirals."
Silence fell over the square.
"Huff… Huff…"
Rorschach started breathing heavily, memories of a burning wooden hut flashing in his mind, the image of a hunched old man clutching a piece of blackened bread.
"That experience…"
Lightning began to erupt explosively from his right hand.
Rorschach lifted his thumb, pressing it forcefully against his chest.
"Once is enough!!"
"Overload mode! Activate!"
Boom!!
The stone steps by the inner bay's edge exploded, sending fragments flying in all directions.
Rorschach's silver hair shot upwards into the sky, lightning surrounding his body, flowing from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose.
Doom! Doom! Doom!
His heart pounded intensely like battle drums, pumping blood through his body at incredible speed, extracting his hidden potential.
Large muscles and veins surfaced across his body.
A violent storm swept across the sky and earth as Rorschach let out a loud roar, stomping the ground and turning into a flash of white lightning, vanishing instantly from his spot.
In the next moment, above Akainu's head, a war spear covered in lightning descended with tremendous force.
Akainu's body swayed slightly, dodging the sharp spear that struck the ground in front of him.
Doom!
A massive explosion like the collapse of heaven and earth echoed through Marineford Square.
The ground struck by the lightning spear sent countless fragments flying.
It was as if a meteor had struck the earth, leaving a crater dozens of meters in diameter.
Rorschach twisted his wrist, trying to pull the spear and angle it towards Akainu.
But Akainu lifted his right foot and planted it on the edge of the spear, pinning the weapon to the ground.
Rorschach's arm muscles bulged, straining to pull the spear, but it felt as if a mountain 10,000 meters high was weighing it down—he couldn't move it an inch.
Without hesitation, he released the spear immediately, and his scaly, bone-covered tail shot out like a cannonball, striking Akainu's body.
This time, Akainu did not evade and allowed Rorschach's tail to strike him.
Slash!
The upper half of Akainu's body tore open, and Rorschach's tail, three to four meters long, pierced into Akainu's body.
However, it caused him no harm.
On the contrary, Rorschach let out a pained groan.
Hiss…
His terrifying tail was burned by the lava inside Akainu's body, the scales and sharp bones incinerating instantly.
"Rorschach, brother!" A tearful female voice called from afar.
"Don't come near! I'm training, Hibari!" Rorschach shouted loudly, trying to endure the deep pain coursing through his tail.
"But…" Hibari's eyes filled with tears.
She wanted to ask Akainu to stop but couldn't address him as her father in public, as her identity as Akainu's daughter was a closely guarded secret known only to a few for her protection as the daughter of a high-ranking military leader.
"Go to the cafeteria and prepare me some delicious food, please."
In pain, Rorschach clenched his right hand, his muscles swelling to form a massive arm like a mythical Kirin, gripping Akainu's head with a lightning-clad claw.
Akainu raised his left hand, gripping Rorschach's tail, and slammed him to the ground with immense force!
Doom!
The entire Marineford Square shook.
The ground in front of Akainu exploded, creating a pit seven or eight meters deep.
A massive crack extended for hundreds of meters, almost splitting the square in half.
"Is he mad? Zephyr, stop holding me back! If we don't stop him now, that boy will die."
Sengoku was extremely anxious.
Because at the bottom of the pit, Rorschach's broken armor could no longer withstand the blows, and more than ten bones were shattered.
His tail was twisted, and his ribs, arm bones, and legs were widely fractured.
This was the first time Rorschach had suffered such severe injuries.
His bones were incredibly strong, as shown when Doflamingo's sharp scythe was used against him.
At that time, he had just consumed the fruit, and his body was much weaker than it is now.
What made things worse was that he was in his most explosive state, with his abilities massively amplified.
Bubble… Bubble…
Rorschach heard the sound of bubbles popping next to his ear, lying at the bottom of the pit, staring at Akainu's lava-covered right arm.
"The enemy won't spare you just because you've lost your combat power. Cutting the roots is the best way to ensure they never return."
As he spoke, Akainu raised his lava-filled right arm toward the immobile Rorschach at the bottom of the pit!
"He's going to kill me! Uncle Sakazuki wasn't joking! He really intends to kill me!"
Rorschach, unable to move due to his severe injuries, felt a cold chill penetrate his body, and a massive sense of death surrounded him from all sides.
The killing intent Akainu emitted at that moment was like an endless bloody wave, ready to engulf all of Marineford.
By comparison, Rorschach's killing intent was just a tiny flicker against a shining moon.
It wasn't just about killing intent—it was Akainu's absolute belief in justice, even if it cost his life!
Crack!
On the fortress balcony, a piece of ice broke, and Kuzan's form vanished.
"Heh, are you kidding me? Why isn't anyone stopping this madman? He's going to kill Rorschach!"
Law's face was full of shock and disbelief.
His right hand opened, a swirling wind vortex forming without hesitation.
In the distance, Hibari was sitting on the ground, while Daos rushed toward them with a medical kit.
Red-hot lava streams were flowing toward Rorschach at the bottom of the pit, while Akainu's face remained expressionless.
"Move! Move now! If you don't move, you'll die!"
Rorschach saw the red-hot lava falling toward him, and his combined powers of wind and thunder surged upward.
Boom!
The lava scattered everywhere, covering his body.
Immediately, the scales on Rorschach's body started emitting black smoke and burned away rapidly.
The unbearable, excruciating pain ignited Rorschach's heart.
Doom! Doom!
Blood rushed through his veins, and Rorschach's vision was covered in a deep red hue.
At the moment when the lava was about to engulf his entire body, a latent power suddenly awakened within Rorschach, shattering all restraints.
That power was 'Armament Haki!'
But the Haki that awakened within Rorschach wasn't the usual black-colored Haki.
Instead, it appeared in a dark blue hue, just like the color of his eyes and scales!
This dark blue Haki emerged from within him, blending with the power of wind and lightning on the surface of his body, creating a beautiful blue glow.
"Fwooo!"
The scorching lava fell upon his head.
From a distance, shouts could be heard.
A piece of ice fell from the sky, and Kuzan's figure appeared within it, though he stopped reaching out.
Law appeared at the edge of the crater, using his ability, ready to teleport Rorschach away.
In the next instant, a massive gust of wind exploded from the bottom of the crater, sending the falling lava flying back towards Akainu.
Then, a colossal figure leapt from the depths of the crater, with a dark blue glow shining on its fist, aiming a punch at Akainu's face.
Akainu stood still, not even attempting to block the attack.
But that massive lava-scorched fist stopped just before reaching his face.
Rorschach's body contracted, his chest heaving rapidly.
He looked at his fist, covered in dark blue Haki, took a deep breath, then stood upright and bowed to Akainu.
"Thank you, Uncle Sakazuki, I will remember your teachings for the rest of my life!"
"Rorschach! Are you... are you okay?"
A soft, small voice rushed towards Rorschach, as a young girl embraced him, causing him to feel a sharp pain.
When Akainu saw who it was, his expression turned into a frown, and he said calmly, "Dos, take care of him."
He then turned and walked away with large strides.
The moment Akainu left, Rorschach felt utterly drained of all his strength and collapsed onto his back, unable to move.
"Move aside, move aside, don't block the way, he needs emergency treatment!"
Dos pushed the marine soldiers away roughly, placing the medical kit next to Rorschach and began treating him.
"I'll help too."
"ROOM! Sterile surgery zone!"
A transparent dome appeared, covering Rorschach completely, and Law and Dos together began performing treatment in the middle of the field.
"Stop staring, and get back to training. Don't let anyone surpass you. Rorschach just awakened dual Haki (Observation Haki and Armament Haki)."
Kuzan placed his hands in his pockets and looked calmly at the soldiers and officers around him.
"Dual Haki?"
The soldiers exchanged surprised glances, with some not even knowing what Haki was.
As for the officers, their faces remained expressionless.
This newcomer from the North Blue had defeated the training camp and the instructors just yesterday.
And today, he awakened Armament Haki.
Honestly, in comparison, they felt defeated.
But they'd rather never awaken Haki in their lifetime than go through training like Rorschach.
This wasn't training; it was a pursuit of death!
(End of Chapter)
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