A Draw

Tokikake still wore that smug, irritating expression, but his gaze turned grave as he glanced at the blade.

"The cost of that ability must be enormous. Otherwise, you wouldn't have waited until you were pushed this far to use it."

"More than that, this intangibility probably can't make everything intangible, can it? I saw it just now. Your blade became hazy, but the hilt and your body remained real. If you could turn your entire body intangible, I wouldn't even be able to attack you at all."

Doflamingo snorted coldly, seeming somewhat irritated, as though Tokikake had struck a sore spot.

Of course, Tokikake's judgment of the intangibility ability was not wrong. After all, there was no such thing as an Intangibility Fruit in this world. Doflamingo could do all this only because his tremendous Mental Energy had pushed the Illusion Fruit far beyond its limits, allowing solid objects to become intangible.

But the cost was that the physical strength he expended far exceeded imagination. Moreover, after becoming completely intangible, if he did not immediately revert it, there was no way to restore it afterward.

That was fine if it was a weapon. At worst, he would lose a Grade Sword. But if it was a person, that would be utterly screwed up.

"You make it sound so easy. Try taking one slash from me first!" As soon as he finished speaking, Doflamingo slashed at him.

This time, Tokikake was the one at a disadvantage. Since he had no idea when Doflamingo would use his intangibility ability, he could only evade every one of Doflamingo's attacks and did not dare take them head-on.

Although Mingo's strength was a weakness, his speed was not much slower than Tokikake's. For a time, the arena became a scene of him chasing Tokikake around and slashing wildly.

"That's enough!" Zephyr moved from the platform and appeared in the arena, casually separating the two.

Doflamingo only saw a blur before an irresistible force shoved him back to his original position. When he looked up, he saw Zephyr's towering figure.

"Let's call this match a draw. What do you two think?" Zephyr asked with his arms folded.

Tokikake scratched his chin. "Ah, I'm certainly willing, but wouldn't that be a little unfair to Steve?"

Doflamingo rolled his eyes. Although he had seemed happy chasing Tokikake around with his blade just now, he had not even harmed a single hair on Tokikake's head.

Throughout the entire match, Tokikake had only suffered a little when he was ambushed at the beginning. He had not been injured at any other point. The reason he had kept dodging was also to wear down Doflamingo's stamina.

If he really fought Tokikake using only his intangibility ability and nothing else, the one who would definitely lose in the end would be himself.

Yet at a time like this, Tokikake still acted as if Doflamingo was no match for him. He had truly mastered the essence of playing the pig to eat the tiger.

No wonder his future nickname would be Chapon!

"It is rather unfair. I don't think I'm a match for Big Brother Tokikake." Doflamingo did not want to take advantage of this either. He sheathed his sword and spoke.

"It's Big Brother, not Uncle," Tokikake instinctively retorted. He wanted to say more, but Zephyr cut him off.

"Enough. I already understand both of your strengths. This round is a draw!"

As he spoke, he patted Tokikake and Doflamingo on the shoulders. Doflamingo felt half his body go numb. Looking up, he saw Tokikake's face had turned bright red as well.

"Starting tomorrow, you'll train under me! I'll teach you properly!"

As he spoke, a somewhat savage smile appeared on Zephyr's face.

Doflamingo immediately shut his mouth.

At five o'clock the next morning, all the members of the Elite Training Camp gathered at the training grounds following an urgent assembly whistle.

The entire Elite Training Camp had around five hundred members. Though Zephyr was the Chief Instructor, he certainly could not personally teach every trainee.

Only trainees who possessed at least the potential to become rear admiral-level officers would receive Zephyr's personal instruction. There were only around a dozen such trainees in the entire camp.

Doflamingo was naturally among them, and he and Tokikake were also Zephyr's key trainees.

In fact, the trainees Zephyr taught had basically already gained a foundation in physical combat and Haki. They might not have been proficient in using the two types of Haki, but they had at least developed and mastered them.

Aside from teaching them more advanced techniques, Zephyr's best method of instruction was to fight them!

One-on-one, one-on-two, group brawls, duels—regardless, the day would not end until he had beaten them black and blue.

Among them, the two who naturally received the most attention from Zephyr were Doflamingo and Tokikake.

"Pfft!" Doflamingo sprayed out a mouthful of blood, spun seven hundred and twenty degrees through the air, and finally crashed headfirst into the ground.

After spitting out two bloodied teeth, his entire right cheek had swollen up like a loaf of bread. Just as he was about to stand, another figure fell from the sky and crashed onto his back.

"Cough, cough, cough..." Tokikake saw stars and felt dizzy, as if several of his ribs had broken. He coughed up several mouthfuls of bloody foam.

"Say, Uncle Tokikake, aren't you a little too heavy? Shouldn't you lose some weight?" Doflamingo's muffled voice came from beneath him.

Even in such a severely injured state, Tokikake still replied, "It's Big Brother, not Uncle."

"How much longer do you two plan to lie there?" A tall figure approached, casting a huge, demonic shadow over them that made both of them tremble involuntarily.

"I'm getting up right away!" Tokikake sprang up without hesitation, and Doflamingo flipped himself upright as well.

Zephyr gave them both a cold look. "Steve! How many times have I told you? Stop dodging all the time during combat training!"

"Even if speed is your advantage, and your intangibility ability can help you avoid a great deal of damage, that does not mean there will never be times when you have to clash head-on with others!"

"Don't always think about taking shortcuts and using your intangibility ability for a one-hit kill! Truly experienced powerhouses will never give you such an opportunity!"

"Only by tempering your body until it is as hard as steel and your will until it is unbreakable can you truly become a powerhouse!"

"Yes! I understand, Teacher Zephyr!" Doflamingo answered seriously despite his swollen, pig-like face.

Zephyr then shifted his gaze to Tokikake. "Tokikake, are you really a pig?"

"Listen carefully. Use your brain more in battle. That does not mean you should play clever tricks during training!"

"Do you think I don't know where your limits are? I've taught people even more slippery than you before!"

"If you want to slack off, ask my fists first!"

"I'll definitely work hard, Teacher Zephyr!" Tokikake, blood still at the corner of his mouth, immediately raised his head and puffed out his chest as he answered.