Smoker: What kind of power is this?

As the gale roared in his ears, Luo Yi's peripheral vision finally caught Zephyr's left fist coming from his side.

At this moment, Smoker, standing nearby, wore a rare expression of schadenfreude.

Having undergone Zephyr's training himself, he knew this scene was a mandatory part of Zephyr's teaching method.

After all, those selected from the new recruits to be trained by Zephyr were undoubtedly the most outstanding geniuses among their peers.

And every genius had their pride.

Zephyr's punch was intended to test their physical strength and reaction speed, and also to shatter their arrogance.

According to Zephyr's own words:

"Those without resolve cannot undergo my training. This is the 'Punch of Resolve'."

In fact, Smoker still remembered the punch he received back then—he had been extremely arrogant due to his Logia-type Devil Fruit ability, and that punch truly...

"Hurt."

He held his cigarette, his expressionless face betraying the flood of memories.

But in the very next moment...

His memories were shattered by the reality before him.

Because at this moment...

"Such a fast Shave, I can't dodge it."

Luo Yi had already made his judgment—Zephyr's Shave was too fast; he couldn't evade this attack.

However, his heart was not in a panic.

Because...

"Haki is wrapped around the fist, but it's not very strong. Is this a test?"

"If it's just this..."

A thought flickered through his mind.

[Fruit Slot Loaded]

[Dragon-Dragon Fruit: Pterodactyl Form LV3 Loaded]

[Ox-Ox Fruit: Great Rhinoceros Form LV2 Loaded]

[Paramecia-type: Strong-Strong Fruit LV2 Loaded]

So Luo Yi didn't dodge, he just turned to face Admiral Zephyr.

Then, "Since we're settling this with fists, Admiral Zephyr—let me have my say too!"

Beneath his Marine uniform, his skin faintly took on the hues of Dragon Scales and Ox Hide at this moment, and his muscles erupted with unimaginable power.

Then, under the incredulous gazes of Smoker and Binz, he also threw a punch, blasting towards Admiral Zephyr!

And it was precisely at the instant their fists collided.

Even the face of the Former Marine General, who had seen his fair share of storms, showed clear surprise.

The next moment.

"BOOM—"

A sound like thunder roared throughout the training ground.

And visible, circular white shockwaves spread out instantly from the center of their figures.

"White Shield!"

"Lush Wood!"

At this moment, Smoker and Binz also unhesitatingly activated their Devil Fruit Abilities—a shield made of smoke enveloped Smoker, while the branch in Binz's hand rapidly grew into a wall to protect him.

But even so, one could see the waves of white smoke and wooden walls constantly scattering and shattering under the violent impact!

"So strong!"

Binz stared in horror at the surging shockwaves around them.

"Luo Yi, you bastard..."

And on Smoker's eternally grumpy face, disbelief and shock finally appeared.

He had fought Luo Yi before, both in the past and recently.

He believed he understood Luo Yi well and recognized his potential and strength.

In his judgment, Luo Yi possessed strength and talent beyond that of ordinary people, but he should have been weaker than him.

But now.

"What kind of power is this—you really kept this hidden, didn't you!?"

He looked at the figure within the battlefield, locked in a fistfight with Admiral Zephyr.

Smoker almost bit through the cigar in his mouth.

And it was precisely at this moment.

"Without Armament Haki, to achieve this level of pure physical strength is remarkable!"

"No, it's practically unbelievable."

At this moment, Zephyr's astonishment had long since faded from his face.

In its place were excitement and undisguised admiration—the look of a master teacher encountering unprecedented talent.

This exaggerated physical strength almost made him doubt if the person he was exchanging blows with was even human.

With this thought, the smile on his lips grew even more unrestrained.

"Kid, I heard your resolve!"

"But, as your instructor—don't you underestimate this old man!"

As he spoke, an even more imposing aura surged from his body.

"Are you ready?"

Zephyr grinned.

Accompanying his words, Luo Yi saw the muscles within Zephyr's left wrist constantly bulge and expand.

The Haki on his hand also seemed to intensify, making his left fist almost black and purple.

"Of course, old man—bring it on!"

And so, Luo Yi smiled too.

"Boom!"

The next moment, Luo Yi's figure was sent flying backward.

His body, like a cannonball, slammed heavily into the thick iron wall at the edge of the training ground!

Accompanied by the sound of impact and thick dust, there was also...

"Crack!"

A crisp shattering sound.

At this moment, Binz, who had already been stunned, looked over at the sound.

He saw spiderweb-like cracks spreading continuously along the wall.

"Hey, hey, you're kidding, right?"

Binz, who had also witnessed the scene, looked even more aghast.

As one of the only two survivors from four years ago, he was Admiral Zephyr's right-hand man and naturally knew the situation of this training ground very well.

"That's the 'Z Alloy' specially prepared by the Science Division for Teacher Zephyr, used to test Teacher Zephyr's new arm. To think that..."

He couldn't help but swallow: "Admiral Zephyr's punch..."

He had already realized.

This punch from Zephyr had clearly surpassed any 'test' he knew of before.

This was a serious punch.

"Major Luo Yi? He's not dead, is he!?"

So Binz, somewhat flustered, wanted to rush forward.

But before he could make a move.

"Hah!"

He heard a loud exhale coming from the smoke.

Then...

As the dust settled, he saw Luo Yi's figure walk out again.

"That packs a punch. As expected of Admiral Zephyr. Terrifyingly strong."

He twisted his neck, his body covered in scrapes, and his fists bruised.

And behind him, the specially made 'Z Alloy' iron wall had been dented into a human-shaped depression by him!

"..."

Binz was speechless.

What made him even more speechless was that he could now clearly see Luo Yi's condition.

The bruises on his fists and the scrapes on his body were healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

By the time he walked back to Zephyr, his injuries were clearly not a major concern.

"Not just physical strength, but also regenerative ability and toughness are this exaggerated? You're the scary one, kid."

Seeing this, even the well-traveled Zephyr couldn't help but exclaim.

His eyes showed increasing admiration.

Although he had heard from Vice Admiral Billoss that this kid was strong, he never imagined he would be this strong.

At this moment, Zephyr even had a bold thought.

"Kid. I heard you've also mastered a special type of martial art."

So, Zephyr continued speaking.

"."

Upon hearing this, Luo Yi glanced at Smoker beside him—You're quite the chatterbox, aren't you?

Smoker silently turned his head away, refusing Luo Yi's gaze.

That's right.

It was he who had told Zephyr about the 'Wave Fist' after hearing about Luo Yi.

His intention was purely good—he wanted Luo Yi to display his full strength, so Zephyr wouldn't underestimate him.

However, Zephyr clearly wasn't in the mood to concern himself with the 'love-hate relationship' between Luo Yi and Smoker at this moment.

He just looked at Luo Yi: "Kid, since you want me to train you, I need to fully understand your strength."

"Come on—don't hold back, let this old man see your power!"

With things having reached this point, Luo Yi naturally had no more hesitation.

[Fruit Loaded: Ox Ox Fruit · Great Rhinoceros Form → Human-Human Fruit · Great Buddha Form]

"Swish!"

The next moment, Luo Yi's figure appeared before Zephyr with the distinctive whistling sound of 'Shave'.

And Luo Yi's fist had already been thrown.

"Your use of Shave is quite proficient, but the speed isn't fast enough."

Zephyr instinctively dodged to the side—although he was only testing Luo Yi's strength, he wouldn't stand there like a log taking hits; that would render the test meaningless in actual combat.

But just as the Admiral praised Luo Yi's proficient use of Shave.

"Hmm?"

A hint of shock flashed in his voice.

"Buzz!"

Because in the next moment.

The surging shockwave from the fist he dodged had already swept around him.

"Boom!"

The ground almost instantly caved in, forming a huge pit, and the massive shockwave whipped around Luo Yi and Zephyr's naval cloaks.

"Wave Fist: Round Seal."

Luo Yi softly uttered the name of his punch, then retracted his fist.

Both Smoker and Binz could see the faint red marks that had appeared on Zephyr's body.

Yes—this master of physical techniques, known as 'Black Arm', the former Admiral, was actually injured.

Although the injury was minor compared to his body.

This was still enough to make Binz's jaw nearly dislocate.

Zephyr himself was also staring at Luo Yi with wide eyes.

He didn't care about the minor injuries on his body; what truly surprised him was.

"He dodged the punch, yet still suffered damage from the shockwave directly from the inside. It's exactly like Sengoku's ability."

At this moment, Zephyr instinctively had this thought.

As the oldest veteran, who entered the Marines at the same time as Fleet Admiral Sengoku.

Zephyr had fought alongside Sengoku countless times and naturally knew Sengoku's ability very well.

And without a doubt, the shockwave brought by Luo Yi's punch seemed very similar to Sengoku's ability in his eyes, the only difference being that the power was much smaller.

If it were Sengoku's full palm strike in his Great Buddha form, the impact would be enough to completely shatter an island from the inside.

But—

"Kid. Are you really not an Ability User?"

Therefore, at this moment, even though Zephyr had already heard about Luo Yi from Vice Admiral Billoss, he couldn't help but ask this question.