"If you're really that confident, aren't you afraid your arrogance will destroy you?" Weite glared fixedly at Roy, wishing he could tear him apart.
"Not really. How should I put it? If I ran into an admiral, then I'd just be out of luck. If it's a vice admiral, I'll kill you while you're already badly wounded. Facing one vice admiral alone would be a bit of a stretch, but as long as it isn't one of those freaks, I think the outcome would still be uncertain. As for rear admirals, that should be the best possible result."
"As for risk, hehe, when you roam the seas, what day is ever without risk? Rather than face a future that can't be predicted at all, it's better to keep some of the variables in my own hands. And judging by the current result, it seems I made the right bet."
Though Roy sounded relaxed now, this situation was not actually easy to handle. He was indeed stronger than Rear Admiral Weite, but only by a limited margin—not enough to crush him outright. Especially with two Marine rear admirals joining forces, the threat they posed was far from as simple as one plus one equaling two.
But there was no helping it. Ever since he had obtained that chip, he had needed to quicken his pace. If he continued moving along sluggishly, he would not have enough momentum to cross the cliff ahead.
He had to force himself to grow stronger without pause, to break through his limits in battle after battle. But even if he were given the chance to start over, he would not change his choice.
Only after being hammered and tempered countless times could iron transform into steel. People were the same. Only under immense pressure could they