The Assessment Begins, Setting Off for the New World!

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

In that short time, word of Feng Lei taking the assessment gradually spread through Marine Headquarters, drawing considerable attention.

But most people believed Feng Lei simply could not complete an assessment this difficult.

Feng Lei paid them no mind and threw himself into training instead.

At that moment.

In the training grounds.

Feng Lei finished another round of repeated training.

[Reviewing the old brings new understanding. You completed another round of repeated training. Your physique has been strengthened. Learning progress +0.1%.]

[Eight Gates: learning progress 65.5% (Gate of View)]

"I can finally open the sixth gate!"

Looking at the panel, Feng Lei felt a surge of joy.

With his current strength, he was practically assured of victory as long as he did not encounter a pirate on the level of the Four Emperors.

"Shouldn't the assessment be starting soon?"

Just as Feng Lei was thinking this, a female officer approached him.

She was tall and graceful, her dark hair arranged in a Japanese-style bun. A beauty mark beneath her lips added to her allure.

Her snow-white Marine coat fluttered slightly as she moved, and her pink outfit set off her fair skin, especially the sight at her chest, which made it impossible to look away.

She also had a spider tattoo on her left leg.

"You're Feng Lei, right? Fleet Admiral Sengoku ordered me to take you to the [special recruit] assessment!"

The officer's voice was cold, and she seemed to harbor a trace of hostility toward Feng Lei.

"Oh? And you are?"

Feng Lei found her very familiar.

In response to his question, the officer bit her red lip and said in a low voice, "Marine Headquarters Admiral candidate, Momousagi!"

As an Admiral candidate, she should have been the one to fill any vacant Admiral seat, if not Chaton.

But then Feng Lei had barged in as a [special recruit].

Once he completed the assessment, he would become the first candidate for any Admiral seat that opened up in the future.

Having someone cut in ahead of her put her in a very bad mood, so naturally she felt a trace of hostility toward Feng Lei.

So it's her!

It dawned on Feng Lei. No wonder she looked so familiar.

Then he thought about it.

Momousagi was an Admiral candidate, while he was a [special recruit]. That made them competitors, so no wonder she was so cold.

"In that case, please lead the way!"

"Follow me!"

Momousagi turned and left, and Feng Lei followed.

Before long.

The two arrived at the Fleet Admiral's Office.

But besides Fleet Admiral Sengoku, two other people were there.

One wore black triangular sunglasses and short gray-white stubble, with a massive mechanical arm fitted to his right side. He was the Marines' chief instructor, Zephyr!

The other was tall and wore a flashy golden-yellow Marine uniform. He looked utterly relaxed.

The moment Feng Lei appeared, he fixed him with a resentful stare, as though looking at a nuisance.

Feng Lei recognized him too.

Marine Admiral Kizaru!

"Feng Lei, the assessment officially begins today. Admiral Kizaru will take you to the New World shortly."

Sengoku got straight to the point when he saw Feng Lei.

Only then did Feng Lei understand why Kizaru was looking at him with a trace of resentment.

So he's been told to take me to the New World!

As the Glint-Glint Fruit user, Kizaru was widely acknowledged to be the fastest. Having him take Feng Lei to the New World was indeed the best and quickest option.

"Borsalino, I'll leave the kid to you!" Zephyr slowly spoke up from the side, reminding him.

"Don't worry, Teacher Zephyr. I'll get him there safely."

Kizaru slowly stood up and spoke with a languid expression.

"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, if I complete the assessment, how do I get back?"

Feng Lei asked.

Surely they couldn't just leave him there and forget about him?

And judging by Kizaru's attitude, he was definitely only taking him there, not picking him up. After all, nobody could say when Feng Lei would complete the assessment, and they couldn't keep a Marine Admiral on standby at all times!

Sengoku seemed to have prepared for this. He handed Feng Lei a Den Den Mushi and said, "Take this Den Den Mushi. Once you've completed the assessment, make a call on it, and arrangements will be made!"

"In that case, I'm relieved!"

Feng Lei accepted the Den Den Mushi.

Kizaru walked over to Feng Lei and said mildly, "Then let's be on our way!"

"How are we getting there?"

Just as Feng Lei asked, Kizaru raised both hands and crossed them in front of himself, forming a mirror-like sheet of light.

"Yata Mirror!"

A golden beam shot out of the mirror, forming a path of light.

Kizaru then rested his hand on Feng Lei's shoulder.

The next second.

Feng Lei felt himself flying at tremendous speed, the scenery before his eyes racing backward.

In the blink of an eye, the two became a beam of light and vanished from where they stood.

The three watched them leave before looking away.

"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, do you think he can complete the assessment?"

A trace of doubt showed in Momousagi's eyes.

From her encounter with Feng Lei, this [special recruit] was not as strong as she had imagined.

If Feng Lei failed the assessment, he would lose his qualification to compete with her for the Admiral position.

"It'll be difficult!"

Sengoku shook his head.

If not for Garp and Feng Lei's insistence, he would certainly have rejected the assessment.

However.

Zephyr slowly spoke up. "I have high hopes for that kid!"

His words naturally surprised Sengoku and Momousagi.

The latter snorted coldly.

She wanted to see just how Feng Lei intended to complete this assessment!

The second half of the Grand Line was known as the New World.

A golden beam streaked across the sky above the turbulent sea, heading straight for an island.

"You're Feng Lei, right? Good luck!"

The beam landed on the island. After giving Feng Lei an indifferent glance, Kizaru prepared to leave.

"Huh?"

Feng Lei's eyes widened. He glanced around and saw no sign of human life.

"You're just leaving me in this godforsaken place?"

"My assignment was to bring you to the New World. Where I leave you and how you find clues aren't within the scope of my duties."

"After all, you're the one being assessed, not me!"

With that.

Without looking back, Kizaru turned into a beam of light and sped toward the distant horizon, vanishing completely within seconds.

"What an irresponsible guy. He doesn't have a sympathetic bone in his body!"

Feng Lei released his Observation Haki and discovered that this was an uninhabited deserted island.

He had some suspicion that Kizaru had deliberately left him here.

"Forget it. Since I got a new Ninjutsu from you, I won't put you in my little black book!"

Just earlier.

When Kizaru used the Glint-Glint Fruit's power to take him to the New World, the system, which had been quiet for a long time, finally refreshed its BUG again.

[Host detected learning Ninjutsu. According to the system's determination, the Ninjutsu being learned is: Dust Release!]

[Ninjutsu obtained: Dust Release.]

[Dust Release: learning progress 1%.]

"It's Dust Release!"

Feng Lei's eyes lit up.

As a Kekkei Tōta from Hokage, Dust Release possessed unparalleled destructive power. Once struck by it, all matter would be broken down to the atomic level and utterly annihilated.

With another killing move at his disposal, Feng Lei was a little more confident about this assessment.

"Although pirates with bounties over one hundred million are as numerous as grains of sand in the New World, searching for them blindly across the vast sea would be a complete waste of time."

Feng Lei pondered silently. After a moment, his eyes lit up. "The simplest way is to start with the major powers of the New World."

In almost a second, an idea surfaced in Feng Lei's mind.

"The Four Emperors!!"