The Recruit Camp had an unwritten tradition: whenever new recruits joined, the senior recruits would give them a harsh welcome.
No one knew when this tradition had started, but it had been around for many years.
The Three Admirals had gone through it as well!
However, in their generation, they had directly crushed every veteran and entered the Elite Camp as exceptions!
It was precisely because of that outrageous performance that they had been called monsters from the very beginning!
In the end, they had not disappointed anyone's expectations. All three monsters had become Marine Admirals!
Over a hundred people broke away from the main group and marched toward them in a grand procession. The remaining senior recruits did not come over; a hundred people were enough. They simply watched the show from the side.
Naturally, Yun Ye and the other new recruits noticed their movements.
At first, they paid them no attention. But soon, a group of senior recruits blocked the road ahead of them.
With the path blocked, the new recruits came to a halt in the middle of their training.
Everyone looked over, confusion written across their faces. Who were these people? What did they want?
Yun Ye raised his eyes. He was the only one who noticed the ill intent in the people ahead...
Among the new recruits, a young man could not help frowning. "Who are you people? You're interfering with our training!"
He was not stupid. He had guessed that they were likely other members of the Training Camp.
They could not have been the only ones training in the Training Camp. There had to be others, and these people were probably soldiers who had entered the Training Camp before them.
A slovenly senior recruit stepped forward. Ignoring the new recruit who had spoken, he looked at the rookies ahead with a mocking gaze and said in a strange, taunting tone, "You lot are this year's new recruits?"
His tone was extremely rude, carrying even a sense of superiority.
The new recruits who heard him all frowned.
The new recruit who had spoken earlier opened his mouth again. "We're new recruits, that's right. But who are you? Are you soldiers from the Training Camp too?"
However, upon hearing that, the slovenly senior recruit suddenly sneered and kicked him, sending him flying more than ten meters away. Only then did he say with a cold laugh, "Don't you know the rules? Here, you call us seniors!"
The sudden attack left all the new recruits stunned. Especially the one who had been kicked—he clutched his stomach, his eyes full of confusion... Why had he suddenly attacked?
Only the group of senior recruits burst into laughter:
"Ha ha ha, Jace, why did you suddenly attack? What if you scared the newcomers?"
"Exactly. What if you frighten the little kids?"
Though they sounded as if they were criticizing the senior recruit named Jace, their tone was anything but. It was more like provocation.
Jace did not care. He spread his hands and smiled. "Who told them not to understand the rules?"
They were obviously looking for trouble!
All the new recruits realized it. Someone was here to cause them trouble, and once they understood that, their expressions turned extremely ugly.
Naturally, the commotion here did not escape the Training Camp instructors' notice.
Several instructors were currently inside a building, watching the scene unfold.
It was routine. Every time new recruits arrived, something like this would happen.
The instructors did not choose to stop it. Instead, they quietly watched how things developed.
Failure was not frightening. What was frightening was being unable to recover from it.
This was also a test—a test for the new recruits.
An instructor with a sturdy bare upper body and the rank of Rear Admiral smiled and shook his head. "Here they go again. I just hope they go easy and don't interfere with the new recruits' upcoming training."
Another bald instructor with the rank of Commodore chuckled. "They won't. They know their limits."
The instructor with a sword at his waist suddenly thought of something and said with a smile, "I wonder how this batch of newcomers will perform. Will they dare to fight the senior recruits? I remember one class of new recruits was really fierce. Even the senior recruits suffered losses!"
"Smoker's class, right? The active ones seemed to be Smoker and Drake, two Devil Fruit users, along with a little girl? Oh, her name was Hina? They all entered the Elite Camp. I heard Smoker and Drake have already graduated from the Elite Camp. They really are geniuses!"
At that moment, Kage walked in. Hearing their conversation, he smiled and joined in. "Rear Admiral Maynard, Commodore Lydon, Commodore Mandel, what are you talking about?"
Maynard, bare-chested, saw Kage and greeted him with a laugh. "Ha ha, Rear Admiral Kage. Why are you only getting here now?"
Commodore Lydon, who carried a sword, pointed ahead and said with a smile, "The new recruits just arrived, and the senior recruits couldn't hold themselves back."
Commodore Mandel also smiled. "It's the old 'tradition' every year. They only know how to make trouble. So restless. Later, make everyone run a few dozen extra laps!"
Kage's mouth twitched. That was rubbing salt in the wound. He ignored Maynard's question. Why was he only arriving now? Naturally, because he had just finished running laps—three thousand of them. Even as a Martial Arts expert, it had taken him nearly an entire day to finish!
Kage did not want to answer that question. Instead, he looked over and immediately understood the general situation. "You mean that 'tradition' that's been going on for who knows how long?"
In the past, he would have smiled and watched these students fool around too. But this time, with that monstrous new recruit from yesterday who had been able to force him back, could the new recruits still be bullied?
He looked over with a chuckle, only to discover that Yun Ye was looking in his direction at that exact moment. However, Yun Ye quickly withdrew his gaze.
Yet Kage's heart tightened, and he thought, This kid... it really is Observation Haki...
Yesterday, he had vaguely felt that Yun Ye's senses were unbelievably sharp, sharp enough to catch even his movements. He had already been suspicious then.
Now, he could be almost certain. That kind of perception was definitely Observation Haki, one of the Two-Color Haki!
Kage drew in a breath. This kid really was a monster!
Mandel looked at Kage and asked, "Right, that's it. I remember Rear Admiral Kage was in the same class as Admiral Aokiji, wasn't he? I heard that in that class, Admiral Aokiji alone knocked down all the senior recruits?"
"Uh, more or less. Admiral Aokiji had displayed terrifying talent even back then. Almost no senior recruit could withstand a single exchange with him." Kage collected himself as he recalled that scene. It had been utterly brutal...
"Hey, enough talking. Watch the show—they've already started clashing!"
"Let's hope they don't make too much of a mess this time, or we'll get scolded too!"
"We're watching over them. No one will die."
Listening to his colleagues, Kage smiled and shook his head. "Don't worry, it won't get out of hand. The senior recruits are probably about to suffer a setback..."
"Hm?"
The three of them looked at Kage with puzzled expressions.
Kage only smiled without speaking. "Just watch!"
The three were confused, unable to understand what Kage meant.
With that question in mind, they turned their gazes back toward the scene.
Back to the other side.
Yun Ye withdrew his gaze from the instructors and thought to himself, They didn't come out to stop this. Are they tacitly approving the current situation? Judging from the fact that none of them looked surprised, this probably isn't the first time something like this has happened. Some kind of "routine"?
Yun Ye's mind was clear, and he immediately saw through the situation. He roughly understood why the instructors were allowing this to happen.
They simply wanted to see how the new recruits would react. Perhaps this was another kind of assessment...
Heh, what a devious scheme...
Yun Ye could not help mocking them inwardly. They really had too many tricks!
First, the instructors had given them a harsh welcome. Now, the senior recruits were doing the same.
Were they afraid the new recruits did not understand their own strength? Afraid they would grow arrogant and overconfident?