Absolute Justice!

Onigumo followed the swordsman's path. Though young, he had already mastered swordsmanship and gained considerable insight into the way of the sword.

In Hybrid Form, Onigumo moved incredibly fast, and climbing trees was child's play for him.

A black, ghostly shadow flashed through the forest.

In an instant, Onigumo appeared before Morito, all eight spider legs controlling eight great swords as they slashed down in a frenzy.

The arcs of the blades shone white as strands of hair, like countless fine white spiderweb threads woven into a net that came crashing down.

Dense! Swift!

"Spider Gari!"

Like a spider hunting its prey, the sword net sealed off every escape route Morito had.

The Den Den Mushi had started working again.

Many Training Camp cadets in the square saw what was happening. Though they disliked Morito, their expressions changed in unison.

Anyone with eyes could see how ferocious Onigumo's attack was.

If Morito was hit, he would probably be torn into countless pieces! How could future Marines, men of justice, stand by while someone was killed before their eyes?

Most of them merely disliked Morito and wanted him kicked out of the Naval Academy.

Seeing this, the examiner in charge of the forest course nearby instinctively moved to intervene.

The examiner's job was to prevent accidents.

He had never expected Onigumo to open with such a vicious killing move.

Unfortunately, it was already too late to stop him.

Still, quite a few people watched with mocking smiles, as if looking forward to seeing Onigumo butcher Morito.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!!

The web of sword shadows came crashing down!

The tree Morito stood on was instantly sliced into countless pieces. Onigumo cut through it as easily as a block of tofu, without the slightest resistance or hesitation.

For a moment, Morito's body seemed to be sliced into countless pieces as well.

"No way! Was he killed?"

"Has anyone ever died during the Training Camp exam before?"

Those watching through the Den Den Mushi in the square couldn't see clearly. Judging with their naked eyes alone, they thought Morito's body had been sliced into countless pieces.

But Onigumo, there in the forest, wore a grave expression, as if he had seen a ghost.

He hadn't felt his blades cut into flesh. Not a drop of blood had sprayed out!

The next second—

Thud!

A muffled sound rang out, and Onigumo's body suddenly shot into the air.

Then—

A terrifying burst of brute force sent Onigumo flying out of control.

Like a cannonball, he slammed into a tree several feet thick!

The tree snapped, and Onigumo was instantly swallowed by its dense foliage.

The onlookers cried out in shock once more.

"What happened? Was that a person flying through the air?!"

"I think I saw Onigumo get sent flying!"

In the forest, they saw Onigumo shoot backward through the air, but Morito was nowhere to be seen.

The Den Den Mushi quickly searched for Morito, too.

Boom!

Just then, another explosive crash rang out.

It came from where Onigumo was!

Morito had appeared above him at some point. He drove a powerful stomp down, and his seemingly slender leg forced Onigumo's entire body into the ground!

Speed beyond the limits of sight, backed by ferocious, explosive power.

Onigumo could barely fight back!

A good-for-nothing? The bottom of the exam every year?

If this was what a good-for-nothing who always came last looked like, then what did that make the rest of them?

That was Onigumo, one of the Training Camp's top three—a monster guaranteed to enter the Elite Class!

The Training Camp cadets in the square, along with the spectators who had come to watch, fixed their countless gazes on the boy standing over Onigumo.

Shock. Astonishment.

Morito had easily dodged Onigumo's airtight, web-like barrage of slashes. That proved his speed utterly outclassed Onigumo's.

Among the spectators, the sharp-eyed Marine officers could tell what technique Morito had used.

It was clearly Shave, one of the Marine Six Styles!

But wasn't his Shave a little too fast?

Was Morito's Shave really the same technique as the one they practiced? They hadn't even seen a hair of him!

On the top floor of the teaching building, Zephyr was equally stunned, unable to believe his eyes.

"He's mastered Shave, one of the Marine Six Styles, to this extent?"

The kid was only fifteen, wasn't he?

Zephyr wanted to tell a joke: someone learned Shave at fifteen, and was fast as hell!

Thinking back to when he was fifteen, he had spent most days doing physical training and running errands at Marine Headquarters!

Compared to Zephyr's shock, Garp seemed much calmer.

There it was again—the technique that released energy outward! It was exactly like the one Morito had used during his Doriki test.

Garp's eyes gleamed. He was certain it wasn't Armament Haki.

He could rack his brains all he wanted, though; he would never guess that Morito's technique was a Gentle Fist method, releasing Chakra from the acupoints throughout his body.

He released and gathered Chakra, then combined it with his punches and kicks to unleash an explosive strike.

It was an attack that fused speed, short-range power, Chakra bursts, and several other methods into one!

In the forest—

Morito looked down at Onigumo beneath his foot. "Sorry. I thought you were strong, so I went a little too hard."

It sounded like an apology, but those careless words hurt the most.

Onigumo came back to his senses. In his eyes, Morito's apology, his faint smile, his gaze—

Everything about the Morito before him seemed to be mocking him!

I thought you were strong, so I went a little too hard.

I thought you were strong.

Morito's words branded themselves into Onigumo's mind like a curse. They kept echoing in his ears.

One of the Training Camp's top three.

A guaranteed place in the Elite Class.

It had all been an illusion!

At that moment, Onigumo felt as if the whole world had rejected him. The "blind cripple" he despised most was pressing a foot against his head!

Morito had him pinned beneath his feet!

Morito crouched down and patted Onigumo's face.

"Did that hit leave you stupid?"

"You're asking to die!"

Onigumo came back to himself, eyes bulging with fury. Blood rushed into his pupils, turning his eyes a hellish, bloodshot red.

Whumm!!

A terrifying energy storm erupted around Onigumo.

Sand, stones, leaves—everything around him was blasted away.

"Armament Haki?"

"Good heavens, Onigumo has mastered Armament Haki!"

"He's not even eighteen yet, is he?"

"How is that possible? Is that guy a genius?"

Everyone stared at Onigumo on the screen, utterly shocked.

Onigumo was pouring Armament Haki into his attacks without restraint. A night-black sheen spread over the great swords gripped by his eight spider legs.

A keen, razor-sharp edge shimmered beneath the darkness!

"Not just Armament Haki—he's got sword intent, too!"

"If he keeps growing at this rate, he'll become an extraordinary Great Swordsman in thirty years!"

Many of the spectators were powerful Marine officers, and their eyes were exceptionally keen.

They could see Onigumo's state at a glance.

"That boy named Morito is in danger."

"I hope the examiner can stop him in time."

Even so, the Marine officers in the square felt that even if they were there themselves, they wouldn't be able to stop Onigumo easily.

At that moment, Onigumo looked like he'd just powered up with the protagonist's plot armor.

Danger ahead! Extras, cannon fodder, supporting characters—get out of the way!

Run, or you're about to get killed off!

"Spider... Asura Slash!"

Sensing the terrifying, ferocious threat, Morito's expression shifted slightly. He immediately stopped pinning Onigumo down and leapt back.

With a whoosh!

Morito turned and darted into one side of the forest.