Future Admiral Candidates? One Against Two

"He didn't tell me any of this last night because he didn't want to discourage me, did he?"

Thinking about how she had mastered Armament Haki Coating Hardening yesterday and had even felt a little proud showing it off in front of Rosen, Gion could not help blushing in embarrassment at her own behavior.

Someone else had mastered all three Colors of Haki and every technique in just two lessons, yet kept it hidden.

And her?

She had merely mastered Coating Hardening in one day, yet she had actually dared to show it off.

The more she thought about it, the more ashamed she felt.

"Is... is that really true?"

"Young Man."

Tokikake turned his stiff neck and looked pitifully at Rosen.

"Just luck."

Seeing Tokikake and Gion's expressions, Rosen could only say that.

Gion: "..."

Tokikake: "..."

"Two against one. Any objections?"

Zefa was blunt.

"None at all."

"Teacher Zefa."

"I request that we begin now."

Tokikake glared at Rosen through gritted teeth, his clenched fists cracking like roasted chestnuts.

He was definitely not jealous, nor was he taking the opportunity to beat Rosen up.

Without saying a word, Gion drew the famous blade Tsuru had given her.

Konpira.

She was definitely not envious either. She simply wanted everyone to improve together.

"What about you?"

Zefa looked at Rosen.

"I have no objections."

While Zefa had been revealing that he had mastered all three Colors of Haki and every technique, Rosen had already poured his consciousness into the three types of Haki within his body. With the meticulous control over Haki granted by the Haki Supreme Art, he planted Observation Haki in his upper dantian, Armament Haki in his middle dantian, and Conqueror's Haki in his lower dantian.

Although he had yet to form a Qi Infant, the seeds of Haki had already been planted in his dantians. What they needed now was combat and cultivation to nourish them.

Rather than resisting Zefa's proposal, Rosen was eager to give it a try.

He also wanted to test what he had learned yesterday in actual combat, along with the effects of the Qi Body Origin Flow he had just mastered.

"Begin."

Zefa flashed to the edge of the plaza.

Almost the instant his voice fell, Gion and Tokikake attacked at the same time.

"Gion is using her blade to attack my center."

"Tokikake is circling behind me, striking with a heavy punch."

A moment before the two moved, Rosen focused. A red gleam flashed through his eyes as Observation Haki spread out, and one voice after another surfaced in his mind.

It was as though an invisible person were describing Tokikake and Gion's next movements to him.

Though it was far inferior to top-tier Observation Haki's ability to foresee the future as if watching a movie—with sound, images, and the sensation of being there—it was undoubtedly a tremendous advantage to sense an opponent's next move in advance when the opponent lacked Observation Haki and there was not much difference in strength.

Especially when facing a group attack.

After all, a one-on-one fight and getting ganged up on were completely different matters.

Let Teacher Kai, or Whitebeard at his peak, fight the three Admirals one at a time in 1v1 rounds, and even fighting two Admirals in succession would be no problem at all.

But if it were one against two, being ganged up on by two or more Admirals at once, the circumstances would be entirely different.

There was a gap between Admirals and Emperors, but it was nowhere near as wide as the gap between Admirals and Vice Admirals.

Two Admirals joining forces would not only make up for the difference between an Admiral and an Emperor, but could even gain the upper hand against a Four Emperors.

Rosen's current situation was the same.

Either Tokikake or Gion alone would not be enough for him to handle with one hand.

But once they joined forces, everything changed.

"First, disrupt their rhythm. I can't let them form a coordinated line."

In the blink of an eye, Rosen made his decision.

His eyes widened sharply, and a blood-red light that sent chills down one's spine bloomed in his pupils.

At this moment.

He was no longer a Military Academy student who had attended only two lessons. He was a king.

A new king who ruled the world and looked down upon the seas.

Surging Conqueror's Haki spread in all directions like an invisible tidal wave, yet it did not affect a single person in the Navy School.

Even Zefa, standing close to Rosen, felt none of the oppressive force of Conqueror's Haki.

Only Gion and Tokikake were affected.

The instant that crimson light flashed in Rosen's eyes, the two felt a heavy pressure, like raging waves crashing against their minds one after another.

Though it could not cause tangible harm or knock them unconscious, their movements were inevitably affected.

Whether it was Gion's blade about to slash out or Tokikake's fist poised at his waist, ready to strike, both slowed for an instant.

And in that instant.

Rosen lunged forward like a fierce tiger descending a mountain. Armament Haki surged through his body like a river, flowed into his right arm, coated and hardened his fist, then drove it forward in a cannon punch.

When fist and blade collided, there was no sound of a sharp edge cutting flesh. Instead, sparks flew, accompanied by the piercing clang of metal striking metal.

Gion felt an immense, overwhelming force surge through the hand gripping her blade. It was as though the person punching at her was not someone shorter than herself, but a giant over twenty meters tall.

His powerful Haki and fist strength erupted together, jolting her right arm—the arm holding the famous blade Konpira before her—along with the blade in her hand, violently to the right.

At that moment.

Gion's center was completely exposed, without the slightest defense.

Seeing this, Rosen stepped forward in a bow stance. His left fist, which had long been poised to strike, shot out like a cannonball, aiming straight for the lower abdomen beneath her ample chest.

Her chest was more conspicuous, easier to hit, and would cause more serious damage, but this was only a spar. There was no need to be ruthless.

"Don't even think about it!"

Gion sensed Rosen's intention. Though a trace of gratitude arose in her heart, her body did not slow in the slightest.

Her long leg, clad in a high heel, stomped down hard. She forcibly crushed the plaza floor, which had only been repaired yesterday, into a sunken web of cracks. Then she borrowed the force to fly backward, as though she had been tied to a string and violently yanked away.

"Rosen, Young Man."

"Don't forget."

"This is two against one!"

At that moment.

Tokikake had already flashed around to Rosen's left side. His fist, coated and hardened with Armament Haki, shot out like a cannonball leaving its barrel, carrying a shrill gale toward Rosen's neck.

Before the fist arrived, Rosen had already felt the wind bursting from Tokikake's punch.

He knew very well that if he had not used Conqueror's Haki to intimidate Tokikake from the start, that punch would have struck his neck while he was clashing with Gion's blade, rather than letting him feel the oncoming fist wind only now.

"The distance isn't enough."

"No."

"Teacher Zefa said he mastered all three Colors of Haki, as well as every technique."

Seeing that Rosen's fist was still about a meter away from her, Gion first thought this, then suddenly realized something.

If their positions had been reversed, the distance would indeed have been too great for that punch. But for Rosen, this distance was still within the range of his Haki strike.

Sure enough.

Rosen's left arm extended fully and straightened completely, yet it still could not reach Gion's abdomen. There were still more than two meters between them, but the air before his fist rippled in rings, like the surface of a lake struck by a stone.

Then.

Centered on his fist, a Haki shockwave erupted like a bursting dam and a mountain flood, shooting from his fist and crossing the distance between him and Gion in an instant. Like a white rainbow piercing the sun, it slammed into her abdomen.