Silence!
In the vast courtyard of the headquarters, the eyes of more than a thousand recruits and trainers were all focused on the silver-haired figure who stood tall and imposing among them.
"Gulp."
One of the recruits swallowed nervously.
"What did he do? How did so many people fall without him even moving?"
"Could it be... could it be the legendary Conqueror's Haki?"
After a brief moment of silence, the courtyard erupted in whispers.
"Rorschach, that kid, what has he been through this past year? This killing aura... his strength may be greater than I thought."
Daos looked at Rorschach, who stood at the center of the crowd, with no one daring to approach him, his face filled with contemplation.
"Daos, are you sure this guy is a new recruit?" Smoker asked, holding a cigarette in his mouth, exhaling smoke.
Daos suddenly laughed and extended his hand toward Smoker.
Smoker froze for a moment, then bit his lip and pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, tossing it to him.
"These are the finest cigarettes in the East Blue, costing a thousand Beli each."
"Haha, I know you only carry the best. And of course, if it wasn't good, I wouldn't smoke it."
Daos lit the cigarette, inhaled deeply, and exhaled the smoke with a chuckle: "He's not just any recruit; he's a very young lad. Want to guess his age?"
"How old is he?"
Smoker raised his eyebrows and looked at Rorschach again, noting his height before making a guess.
"18 years old?"
"I'm talking about his actual age."
"Of course, I'm talking about his age."
Daos, holding the cigarette in his mouth, said, "A little younger."
"17 years old? If he's 17 and has this kind of power, that's definitely..."
Smoker didn't finish his sentence.
"A little younger."
Smoker's expression stiffened.
"16 years old?"
"Even younger."
"15 years old?"
"Still younger."
The corner of Smoker's mouth twitched as his right hand turned to smoke, grabbing Daos by the neck and pulling him forcefully.
"Are you messing with me? Are you telling me this kid is only 14 years old?"
Daos raised his eyebrows and said, "To be precise, he's 13."
Smoker gave Daos a look that clearly said, 'Do you think I'm an idiot?'
Daos, now enraged, exclaimed: "I'm telling the truth! If you don't believe me, you can ask Commander Sengoku. He saved him last year, and at the time, he was just a skinny 12-year-old boy."
"13 years old?"
Smoker bit down on two of his thick cigarettes, staring at Rorschach for a long time.
Then he turned his head and looked toward a group of female recruits, among whom was a short-haired girl wearing glasses.
"Is this the Northern Base?"
While one of the recruits nervously recounted the events of that day in the courtyard, Smoker's gaze shifted back to Daos.
When Daos noticed Rorschach's gaze turning toward him, he trembled slightly and quietly took a step back behind Smoker, smoking his cigarette as if nothing had happened.
"Daos, that damn scoundrel! Putting me in a tough spot again!"
"That guy is nothing but trouble!"
Rorschach felt a surge of anger, his teeth grinding with frustration.
But if he tried to explain the situation in front of so many people, it would only embarrass both him and Daos.
At that moment, the sound of metal clanging echoed from the execution platform below the Castle of Justice.
An old man with purple hair appeared, holding a loudspeaker as he walked with steady steps.
When the soldiers and trainers in the courtyard saw this man, respect appeared on their faces, and all eyes turned toward him.
"It's Master Zephyr!"
When Rorschach saw Zephyr appear, a wave of unease washed over him.
Sure enough, in the next moment, a familiar announcement rang out across the Marineford courtyard.
"Attention, all recruits!"
"Attack recruit Rorschach. Anyone who can defeat him, or even just injure him, will be immediately promoted to the elite camp."
"Only the first one hundred will have the opportunity."
"You can attack together, and you may target vital points."
"I will bear all the consequences."
"Now, begin immediately!"
As soon as Zephyr finished speaking, the recruits' eyes turned red with excitement.
They didn't need to defeat Rorschach—just injuring him was enough to secure a precious chance to be promoted to the elite training camp!
Having such a rare opportunity in the Marine headquarters was like a dream come true.
And with a limited number of slots, there was no way the recruits would stand idly by and watch the fight without getting involved.
There were over a thousand recruits in the courtyard.
If anyone waited too long and missed their chance for promotion, those confident in their abilities would regret it deeply.
Thus, a rare scene unfolded in the Marine headquarters, something that hadn't happened in ten years!
A massive wave of blue and white uniformed recruits surged toward Rorschach's position with intensity.
The charge was fierce, like a pack of wolves closing in on its prey.
"Take him down! Injuring him means promotion to the elite training camp and receiving direct training from Admiral Zephyr! I'll be a headquarters commander soon!"
"If I miss this opportunity, who knows how long I'll have to wait for something like this again. I'll give it everything I've got to hit him!"
"What's going on here? He's just one guy, and Admiral Zephyr doesn't seem to be taking us seriously. Let's show him that we aren't weak!"
"You from the Northern Blue! Don't blame me if I take you down!"
Rorschach glanced at Daos, then at Zephyr standing on the execution platform, and sighed deeply.
"Why... does this keep happening to me?!"
Suddenly!
His body disappeared from the sight of the charging recruits.
And in the next moment...
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Straight paths suddenly appeared among the rows of blue and white recruits.
A mysterious shadow darted through the crowd like an arrow, and anyone it passed was sent flying into the air, screaming in pain.
The surrounding recruits felt as if a storm had swept through, and in the next second, they were hit with a painful jolt as they were thrown off the ground.
"Don't get too cocky! Some of us recruits are skilled in martial arts too! Soru!"
One recruit dashed forward with agility, leaping behind Rorschach and aiming a punch at his stomach.
Rorschach didn't move or try to dodge the attack. He let the punch land.
"I hit him!"
The recruit grinned in excitement.
But in the next second, he heard the sound of bones breaking. The force of his punch was so strong it fractured his own wrist.
Whoosh!
A strong gust of wind surged, and Rorschach grabbed the recruit by the head, hurling him toward the advancing crowd.
BOOM!
The impact rippled through the air, knocking over more than ten recruits as the thrown recruit collided with them.
Rorschach leapt into the air using Geppo, looking down at the massive crowd below.
"Over a thousand people here... am I going to have to fight until sunset?"
"I don't have time to play cat and mouse with a bunch of kids, Rankyaku..."
The recruits looked up at Rorschach in the sky, stunned.
Although some of the recruits were talented, more than ninety percent of them hadn't even mastered the basic Marine techniques like Tekkai and Shigan. How could they possibly use advanced skills like Geppo or Soru?
They glanced at each other, confused and bewildered.
Some began cursing out of frustration.
Those who sensed the danger started moving quickly.
"ROOM!"
With a flick of his finger, Law created a semi-transparent spherical field around him, precisely locating Jurois, Bepo, Pekin, and Shaki among the crowd.
Even Hibari, who was hiding among the female recruits, was transported to the outskirts of the field.
After pulling them out, Rorschach raised his right leg into the sky.
ZZZZZZZZ...
Sparks of electricity began to gather around his right leg.
Air currents swirled faster, forming a long whip of air stretching dozens of meters.
Electric light flowed through the air whip, turning it into an electrified whip nearly ten meters long.
"Rankyaku! Dengeki Hakai no Muchi (Electrifying Destruction Whip)!"
(End of Chapter)
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