Senga sat bored in the spectator stands, his eyes half-closed as if he had fallen asleep. He no longer needed to participate in the remaining matches.
Don't misunderstand—it was not because he had been eliminated. Rather, the assessment rules had changed. Since Senga's strength was simply on a completely different level from everyone else's, the higher-ups had decided to separate him from the others and exclude him from the competition.
Chris, the unlucky fellow who had faced Senga in the very first match, could compete again as well.
Senga's assessment had been changed from sparring against trainees to being tested by a Vice Admiral sent by Marine Headquarters. Before this, Headquarters had already asked for Senga's opinion, since this was certainly unfair to him.
However, Headquarters had decided that regardless of how Senga performed in his battle against the Vice Admiral, he would definitely be given a Devil Fruit.
Senga had no objections to this arrangement. It was more convenient this way, and it also spared him the awkwardness of eliminating people he knew.
Today was the third day of the competition. The final four trainees to emerge from groups A, B, C, and D were Ain, Smoker, Binz, and Graves.
In the end, Graves was eliminated. Smoker, Binz, and Ain took first, second, and third place respectively.
Smoker did not choose a Devil Fruit or a Great Fast Sword. Instead, he made his own request: a jitte inlaid with Seastone as his weapon.
Marine Headquarters agreed. After all, Smoker was a Logia Ability User and the first-place winner of this competition, even though Senga had not participated in the final matches.
Binz chose a Great Fast Sword with a green hilt, called Green Wisteria.
What puzzled everyone was that Ain, an Ability User herself, actually chose a Devil Fruit. And because she had placed third, she could only choose an unknown fruit that was not listed in the encyclopedia.
Holding a Devil Fruit, Ain silently returned to the spectator stands. Her roommate immediately asked why.
Ain pursed her lips, recalling a conversation she had once had with Senga before the assessment.
"What reward do you want from this assessment? Anyway, I can't think of anyone besides you who could take first place."
"A Devil Fruit. It has special significance to me."
"Special significance?"
"Hehe, that's a secret. I can only say that it'll greatly help improve my strength."
"You're going to eat it?"
"No. If I ate it, wouldn't I become a landlubber?"
"...Who are you calling that?"
"Uh... sorry."
"Fine, don't tell me. It's your secret, but I understand now."
"What do you understand?"
"Hehe, secret."
"..."
Coming back to herself, Ain turned and smiled at her roommate.
"Because there really wasn't anything else I wanted. Maybe I can trade the Devil Fruit for money someday."
Her roommate thought about it and felt that made sense. She stopped dwelling on the matter and continued.
"Fine, you little money-grubber. Watch the match. The main event is next—the showdown between Uchiha Senga and a Vice Admiral from Headquarters. Tsk, this has never happened before. Uchiha Senga really is a monster. He's on a completely different level from us."
Hearing her roommate call Senga a monster, Ain shot her a reproachful glance. Only then did the roommate remember that Ain was practically Uchiha Senga's biggest fan. She had been caught red-handed.
With an awkward laugh, she hurriedly said,
"Alright, alright, watch the match, watch the match! It's about to begin!"
Ain was not truly angry. She put away the Devil Fruit in her hands and quietly waited in her seat for the next match.
By then, the arena had mostly been cleaned up and repaired. Tokikake, draped in a Justice Coat, appeared on the stage. Today, he was no longer wearing that black suit underneath it, but rather the brown casual clothes he found most comfortable.
Holding a microphone, Tokikake cleared his throat and announced to the crowd,
"Next will be the battle between Uchiha Senga and a Vice Admiral from Headquarters. Given that trainee Uchiha Senga's strength differs significantly from that of the other trainees, this arrangement has been specially made with his personal consent."
Everyone present had already known about this, so there was no particular reaction. Seeing the crowd remain calm, Tokikake continued,
"In this match, regardless of victory or defeat, trainee Senga will receive a Devil Fruit as a reward. And if he wins, then..."
At this point, Tokikake deliberately paused to build suspense and whet the audience's appetite. To his surprise, the crowd did not play along at all. Before long, banana peels, eggshells, and all sorts of things had appeared around him. Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Tokikake stopped wasting time and hurriedly said,
"If trainee Senga wins, then upon graduation, he will receive at least the rank of Rear Admiral from Headquarters!"
The moment those words came out, the entire venue erupted. Previously, even the top student of the elite Training Camp could receive no more than the rank of Colonel. Yet between Colonel and Rear Admiral lay an almost insurmountable gulf. A Rear Admiral already had one foot in the upper ranks of Marine Headquarters. Uchiha Senga was only seventeen this year, wasn't he? A seventeen-year-old Rear Admiral?
But on second thought, the condition was that he had to defeat a Vice Admiral. That was even more absurd. Vice Admirals of Marine Headquarters were genuine members of the Headquarters' upper ranks. Though they might have looked somewhat underwhelming in the anime, they still had real strength.
Perhaps the higher-ups at Headquarters had merely painted an enticing picture as a gimmick. That was what everyone present thought.
It was not just the spectators. Even the many high-ranking Marines on the elevated platform thought the same, aside from Zephyr and Sengoku.
Upon hearing this, Tsuru looked at Sengoku in surprise and asked,
"Sengoku, what is the point of doing this? Is it merely to add a gimmick?"
The other Marine higher-ups all turned to look at Garp as well. This was the question they wanted to ask too.
Sengoku shook his head, his gaze fixed on the arena below.
"Zephyr has confirmed it for me. Uchiha Senga currently possesses combat power at least on the level of a Vice Admiral."
"What?!"
Sengoku's words were no different from a heavy bomb, leaving everyone stunned. They turned to look at Zephyr, who nodded solemnly.
This rate of growth was truly astonishing. Given Zephyr's personality, he would never joke about something like this. So seventeen-year-old Senga already possessed the combat power of a Vice Admiral from Headquarters?
Gion, seated beside Tsuru, had her legs together and her hands folded over her thighs. Her peach blossom eyes were fixed on Senga in the spectator stands, her expression subtle.
Senga seemed to sense her gaze. He raised his head toward the elevated platform, his eyes settling on Gion, who was watching him.
Senga smiled faintly and mouthed a few words at Gion, making a blush rise to her cheeks. With her strength, she naturally saw them clearly and understood what he meant.
"Don't forget our promise, Sister Gion."
Of course Gion had not forgotten. She remembered it more clearly than anyone. She also used lip-reading to convey her reply to Senga.
"Of course I haven't forgotten. But aren't you getting a little carried away? Are you really so confident that you can handle that Vice Admiral?"
Senga did not offer any unnecessary explanation. He merely mouthed three more words.
"Trust me."
Having received Senga's answer, Gion did not continue communicating with him. She had already received the answer she wanted most.
Although she did not know exactly how strong Senga was, she always felt a sense of security from him. It was that feeling that made her lose herself in it. She murmured softly,
"You really are going to do it, Senga."
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