The Grappling Hold I Just Learned

Kuzan recovered from his stiffened state and half-opened his eyes to look down, but he could not find the figure in the Floral Shirt. Before he could even steady his body, which was still flying upward, his Observation Haki sensed someone behind him.

He knew it was Mo Xingchen. Just as he was about to turn elemental and pull away, his arms suddenly tightened, and he discovered that his elementalization had failed!

"Hehe, have you ever gone bungee jumping?"

Mo Xingchen's voice sounded beside his ear. The next second, Kuzan's heart seemed to stop. Bracing against the violent wind pressure, he opened one eye and saw the training ground rushing ever closer. He realized that he was upside down, plummeting straight toward the ground at terrifying speed!

He hurriedly tried to break free from Mo Xingchen's restraint, only to find that Mo Xingchen was far stronger than him. He could not break loose. He was done for! He was going to die!

Boom!

The impact burst outward, sending dust into the sky. Everyone stood with their mouths agape, feeling the tremors from the ground as they stared fixedly at the center of the field, eager to see the final outcome. When the smoke cleared—

Kuzan lay in the middle of a huge crater, ice crystals glittering around him. His eyes had rolled back, blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, while Mo Xingchen stood casually at the edge of the crater, dusting himself off.

"Ehh~~~"

At the sight, everyone's eyeballs nearly popped out of their sockets.

"It's fine. He just passed out."

Seeing their comical expressions, Mo Xingchen smiled and spoke to Zephyr.

In the end, he had still withdrawn his True Qi and adjusted their positions. He had not let Kuzan slam headfirst into the ground. It was only a fight, after all. There was no need to kill the guy!

Besides, Kuzan had been so polite, revealing his ability right from the start. How could he go too hard on him? He was a man of principles! And it was not really Kuzan's fault for getting taken down instantly—who told him to act so cocky and underestimate his opponent?

If Kuzan knew what he was thinking right now, he would definitely jump up and curse him out! Who underestimated whom?! He had already looked down on his opponent strategically while taking him seriously tactically.

He had elementalized from the very beginning, yet he never expected Mo Xingchen to kick him into a stiffened state, then follow up with a whole combo! Who could have imagined that a new recruit from the East Blue knew Armament Haki? And that bastard was ridiculously strong! He really wanted to grab Vice Admiral Garp by the collar and ask him, "You call this a captain?!"

"This new recruit is amazing! Even Kuzan was beaten by him!"

"His moves flow together so smoothly. They look so cool! I want to learn them!"

"Yeah, me too! When we fight, it's either throwing a punch or slashing with a blade. It doesn't look cool at all!"

"Exactly! When have we ever seen anything like that?"

The surrounding cadets began chattering among themselves. At that moment, Dragon also recognized Mo Xingchen as the person who had questioned Roger in Loguetown. He furrowed his brow, not knowing what he was thinking.

"Alright! Stop standing around and watching. Go find opponents and train. Fire Mountain, take Kuzan to the hospital."

Zephyr stopped the cadets from crowding around, then said to Mo Xingchen, "Kid, come with me!" He led Mo Xingchen to the side of the training ground.

"Xingchen, you haven't eaten a Devil Fruit, have you?"

"No, Admiral Zephyr. And I don't plan to eat one in the future either."

"Oh? Why not? Have you never encountered a Devil Fruit, or do you have a particular one in mind?"

"I just don't want to leave myself with such an obvious weakness. Compared to a Devil Fruit ability, I would rather trust my own fists."

"Hahahaha, what an ambitious young man! I couldn't see too much from that spar just now, but you've awakened Armament Haki, right? And where did you learn that martial arts style of yours? It looked quite flashy!"

"Vice Admiral Garp said I should have awakened Two-Color Haki. He also taught me the Marine Six Styles, and I've learned them all. As for my martial arts... I just figured them out on my own."

Mo Xingchen scratched his head and answered shyly. Zephyr, on the other hand, could no longer remain calm. Wasn't this the perfect successor he had been dreaming of?

His talent was flawless, and unlike Sakazuki and Borsalino, he did not rely too heavily on Devil Fruit abilities. Kuzan would likely develop in their direction as well. After all, with a top-tier Logia Type Devil Fruit, it would be a terrible waste not to develop it properly. Thinking of this, Zephyr's heart grew heated and his eyes gleamed as he asked:

"Did Garp say when he would send you to the Elite Training Camp?"

The moment Mo Xingchen saw that look, he knew Zephyr wanted him to enroll. He had already transmigrated, and he still had to go to school? Not to mention a military academy! He hurriedly invoked Garp's name.

"Vice Admiral Garp won't let me join the training camp. He said anything you can teach, he can teach too, and told me to stay by his side and study properly for a few years."

The moment he heard that, Zephyr flew into a rage!

"That bastard doesn't know shit! He's just a brute. Other than eating Senbei, what else can he do...?"

Mo Xingchen looked embarrassed, but inwardly he was grinning as he listened to Zephyr curse Garp out. What a sin, what a sin. Uncle Garp, better you than me. You're more capable, so please bear with it for this kid!

Just then, a soldier ran up to them, panting heavily. He first saluted Zephyr, then turned sideways toward Mo Xingchen while maintaining the salute. "Captain Mo, Vice Admiral Garp has asked for you."

Mo Xingchen nodded to the soldier. "Admiral Zephyr, I'll be leaving first, then."

Watching the two leave, Zephyr pondered how he could block that bastard Garp tomorrow and make him send Mo Xingchen to the training camp. He could not let such an outstanding prospect be ruined by him.

The soldier led Mo Xingchen to a small villa in the officers' residential area. After passing through a little courtyard, he knocked twice on the door of the building and called out loudly, "Vice Admiral Garp, Captain Mo Xingchen has arrived!"

"Come in."

The soldier said to Mo Xingchen, "Captain Mo, please enter." Then he clasped his hands behind his back and stood guard beside the door.

Mo Xingchen pushed the door open and examined the room's layout. It was clearly Japanese tatami-style, with little decoration. Garp sat cross-legged at a small tea table, eating Senbei. He waved Mo Xingchen over and gestured for him to sit.

"If you want tea, pour it yourself. Where did you wander around just now?"

"I checked out the food at the Navy cafeteria, then went to the training ground and got into a fight."

Garp immediately became interested and asked curiously:

"Who did you fight? Did you lose or win?"

"I fought Kuzan. Of course I won. I couldn't embarrass you, could I? He's still in the hospital now!"

"Yohohohoho! Then you were probably about to become famous. But come to think of it, why did you two start fighting?"

Garp burst out laughing at that. Neither of them was the troublemaking type, so how had they ended up fighting? He looked at Mo Xingchen in confusion.

"Heh~ Uncle, let me tell you. I was just strolling around the training ground, drinking coconut juice, when Admiral Zephyr called me over and said I was disrupting their training and had a disheveled appearance. Then he told me to pick someone for combat practice.

"Good grief! The moment I heard that, I knew he just wanted someone to beat me up! But then I thought, I couldn't embarrass you, right? So I boldly declared that I wanted to fight ten people! Admiral Zephyr actually doubted my strength and only picked Kuzan to fight me.

"Well, Kuzan looked down on me too. He even said his rank was higher than mine, so he'd let me make the first move. Could I put up with that kind of humiliation? I'd just learned Grappling Technique—how could I let him get away with that? Bam, I pinned him right to the ground!"