Dao Power Test

After spending three days in his own small building, he even had dinner with Gion once.

Coincidentally, they ran into Tokikake at the restaurant again. That poor bastard saw his goddess with another man, acting intimate (or so he thought), and immediately abandoned his meal, fleeing out the door in tears and snot.

Of course, Senga was already used to it by now. If Gion didn't say anything, he cared even less.

On the morning of the fourth day, just after Senga finished breakfast, Gion came knocking to notify him that enrollment day had arrived. She told him to follow her immediately to the Training Camp to report.

By the time Senga and Gion reached the Training Camp, he saw quite a few new recruits reporting in. In the middle of an open space stood a machine, shaped like a punch strength tester from Earth—used in One Piece to measure Doriki Values.

The officer in charge of testing hadn't arrived yet. The recruits who had come to report were gathered in small groups, discussing the upcoming test.

Everyone had a hint of nervousness on their faces. After all, they'd finally made it to Marine Headquarters and earned a spot in the elite Training Camp. No one wanted to fall at the first hurdle—the Doriki test.

But this thing was fair too. It didn't care who you knew; if you hit the passing line, you got into the Training Camp. At the same time, it was brutal. Many of the people here weren't first-timers. No matter how they trained, they just couldn't reach the standard. For them, that line was like an unbridgeable chasm.

Right then, Gion was explaining the test details to Senga.

"When it's your turn, just punch the machine's pad with all your strength. If the display shows a value of 300 or higher, you pass."

Senga said he'd definitely hit that number, but Gion shook her head. She looked into his eyes and emphasized seriously, "The Head Instructor of the Training Camp is former Admiral Black Arm Zephyr. The current three Marine Admirals and many Marine Headquarters Vice Admirals were once his students. Fleet Admiral Sengoku has already recommended you to him, so this time you have to give it your all. Don't let him down."

Hearing this, Senga felt a stir. From the moment he arrived at Headquarters until now, Sengoku had really taken good care of him. He wasn't some ungrateful ingrate with a Byakugan, so this time he wanted to show his best.

"Don't worry, Sister Gion. Just wait and watch." Senga smiled confidently, making a promise.

Gion said nothing more. She bent down slightly to straighten Senga's clothes, which made him a bit embarrassed. He waved his hand, saying it wasn't necessary.

Gion covered her mouth with a laugh.

"You can still get shy, huh? When you steal the spotlight later, you can't look sloppy. So many people are watching you."

Senga rolled his eyes, then suddenly pinched the hand Gion had resting on his clothes. Taking advantage of her momentary daze, he vanished from the spot with a Body Flicker Technique.

"You little brat! If you've got the guts to touch me, don't run!" Gion, snapping out of it, swung a fist at the air and scolded with a laugh.

"If you embarrass yourself later, I'll be coming for you!"

Senga, having "escaped" from Gion, appeared among the crowd waiting for the test, biding his time until it started.

Soon enough, the testing officer arrived at the testing ground. He briefly stated a few rules, then announced the start of the test. He called out names, and those named stepped forward.

The first recruit to test was a bit nervous. He only scored a Doriki Value of 280. Luckily, he had a second chance. On his second try, he adjusted his mindset and scored 318, passing smoothly.

The test got off to a strong start, giving the later recruits a shot of confidence. One after another, people passed.

Among them, a man and a woman caught Senga's attention slightly.

The man was named Binz, and the woman was Ain. Both had decent strength, scoring 410 and 520 respectively—excellent results compared to most who barely scraped by.

But that level of strength wasn't enough for Senga to remember their names. What really piqued his interest was that these names reminded him of a One Piece movie: Z.

That movie mainly told the story of Zephyr's drastic actions after leaving the Marines, with Binz and Ain following at his side.

At the same time, these two were also the last batch of students Zephyr ever taught. This meant the triggering event for Zephyr's disillusionment with the Marines—Whitebeard Jr.'s massacre of the ship—would happen during this batch's sea training exercise.

As for this Whitebeard Jr., Senga naturally wasn't afraid. He was confident that once his training was complete, stopping that incident would be a piece of cake. Still, it was always good to be mentally prepared in advance.

Slowly, everyone around him had taken the test, and Senga ended up being the last.

The testing officer glanced at Senga, who was standing alone in the testing area. As everyone knew, among those who stepped up to show their skills, the first and the last usually drew the most attention from the audience—and the most nervousness from the performer.

But seeing Senga's calm demeanor, without a trace of tension, the officer nodded inwardly. No wonder Fleet Admiral Sengoku specifically told me to keep an eye on him.

Arranging for Uchiha Senga to go last was Sengoku's idea. With the Marines critically short on manpower, a promising talent like Senga naturally needed to grow as fast as possible. So Sengoku wanted him to attract more attention this way, build up greater renown, and smooth the path for his future assignments, cutting out pointless procedures. Truth be told, the current special circumstances had already made Sengoku a bit impatient.

"Uchiha Senga!" The testing officer loudly called out the last name on the list in his hand.

"Here!"