The instructor in charge of giving orders happened to be an acquaintance—the very Colonel who had overseen Ron's test on his first day. Seeing Ron step onto the platform, he suddenly remembered something and raised a hand to stop the other recruits.
"Wait a moment. Let him finish his test before you go up!"
"Ah?!"
The remaining recruits stared at one another in bewilderment, at a loss. But facing an instructor, they did not dare question him and retreated from the platform with their stomachs full of doubts.
This made Kizaru's eyelid twitch in the stands. He opened his mouth and said, "Whoa, whoa, does it have to be this scary? It has only been a little over a month, hasn't it?!"
As a fellow Logia user, he naturally knew why the Colonel had done that.
If one asked what the most obvious trait of a Logia was, nine out of ten people would answer, "Elementalization!"
Indeed, that special ability to ignore all physical attacks unless they carried Armament Haki and could strike the real body was the foundation of why Logias were called the "strongest fruits"! But aside from Elementalization, what else was there?
The answer was attack range!
A Logia's most powerful offensive capability was not the lethality of its element, but the vastness it displayed once unleashed, as though it were a natural disaster! With every gesture, it could unleash unavoidable, all-encompassing attacks that drove ordinary people to despair!
Like what Aokiji had shown in the original story—freezing the sea and creating an ice passage connecting two islands that remained unmelted for a week... That degree of coverage could no longer be described as merely "vast." It truly fit the phrase: "blotting out the sky and covering the earth"!
So the answer was obvious by now... Considering Ron was not one of the Three Admirals and lacked such precise control, coupled with lightning's uncontrollability and destructive power, the instructor feared that Ron would be unable to control the affected area if he went all out and might injure the other soldiers. That was why he had the others wait until Ron finished testing before taking the stage.
But...
"If I remember correctly, we did not earn the privilege of testing onstage alone until half a year later, did we?"
Kizaru smacked his lips and sighed. "He really is... so terrifying, so terrifying!"
"Lightning naturally spreads easily. Perhaps Instructor General Zephyr had him take the stage alone because he considered that..."
Akainu could not quite figure it out and offered that speculation.
Kizaru neither agreed nor denied it. Looking at the sturdy figure standing on the platform, he stroked his chin. "Is that so?"
In the stands, the Colonel waited until the other soldiers had retreated to a safe distance before signaling Ron. "Recruit Ron, you may begin!"
Judging by where he stood, he was ready to turn and run at the first sign of trouble!
Ron: "..."
Why did it feel like they were treating me as a dangerous person?
Have a little faith in me, would you?!
At that moment, seeing Ron standing there in a daze, Zephyr snapped, spittle flying from the corner of his mouth. "What are you spacing out for, brat? Finish this quickly and get down here!"
"Ah... yes!"
Over the past month, Ron had personally learned just how "kind" Zephyr was toward his disciples. Seeing him angry now, Ron promptly grew serious as electric currents wrapped around his body.
In an instant, thunder boomed. An invisible oppressive aura seized everyone's hearts like a demonic claw, making them hold their breath. Blue light flickered through the air as muffled thunder rumbled, shaking their eardrums!
"Oh!!! Is that the Rumble-Rumble Fruit? What terrifying momentum!"
"Not bad! Even if his first test only had a Power Level of 50, judging by this display alone, it is definitely over 100 now!"
Just as everyone else began looking forward to Ron's performance, a bolt of lightning as thick as a water barrel suddenly shot into the sky. Brilliant lightning flared, dazzling and bright, but the next second, it vanished abruptly. Only Ron remained, standing on a charred platform and moving his limbs.
The civilians farther away stared blankly at the sight. One of them asked uncertainly, "What happened? Is he done testing?"
"Could he have failed to use his ability?"
"No, he has not..."
An officer who possessed Observation Haki wore a grave expression as he stared at Ron in the center of the field, whose entire body radiated an intensely dangerous aura.
"He is only warming up!"
"Uh... is that so?"
The person who had asked shrugged, about to say something, when he suddenly sensed that something was wrong. Looking up, he saw that the entire viewing stand had fallen into deathly silence, so quiet one could hear a pin drop! The Marine officers who possessed Observation Haki all frowned continuously as they stared at Ron. Influenced by them, the surrounding civilians awkwardly fell silent as well and turned their gazes toward Ron.
What exactly had happened?
Ordinary people naturally could not sense, as the Marine officers could, the dense threat of death emanating from Ron. They did not know that Ron had changed from an insignificant figure they could casually ignore into a beast ready to devour its prey! In their eyes, there were merely a few more glowing spots on his skin, making him look somewhat strange.
As Ron's teacher, Zephyr let out a deeply satisfied laugh.
"Have you finally completed it, Ron... Then go! Show them that the only ones who come out of Headquarters' New Recruit Camp are monsters!"
Overload Form: Thirty Million Volts!!!
Ron looked the same as he did in Ten Million Volts Overload Form, but upon closer inspection, one would find that his pupils had vanished, his entire body transformed into a brilliant orb of light. Strands of electric current appeared out of nowhere in the surrounding air, shrill and riotous. Lightning as thin as hair could leave scorched cracks even when it struck the ground.
Click... click...
Casually flexing his fingers, Ron muttered to himself, "Thirty minutes to heal, fifteen minutes unable to use lightning, and all my stamina drained... After paying such a huge price, I wonder how much Power Level I can produce?"
Right now, he could only perfectly control Ten Million Volts Overload Form—not merely ten million volts...
To test his limit, Ron directly used his strongest Overload Form!
Crack!
Crack!
Slowly raising his arm, strands of Silver Serpents scattered wildly beyond his control as the lightning's high temperature made the air explode again and again. Savoring that familiar scent of ozone, Ron slowly curled his fingers into a fist and drew back in a forward stance.
Gulp...
At some point, everyone's eyes in the viewing stand had locked onto Ron, unable to look away. Staring at him felt like staring into an abyss—there was an inexplicable pull that sent chills down their spines.
The civilians swallowed with difficulty, their eyes unblinking as they waited for the test.
Then...
Bzzzt!!
Dazzling lightning gathered around his fist, crackling explosively. Yet it was not simply condensing. Instead, it took the shape of eight curved lightning pillars, constantly coiling around his arm. Very quickly, those initially smooth, round pillars of white light transformed into dragon-shaped forms with distinct scales and horns. Every bolt of lightning was a Little Dragon.
Rumble!!!
Suddenly, bolts of lightning burst out of control, baring their fangs and claws through the air and throwing the viewing stand into chaos. Yet before the lightning could strike, an inexplicable force of attraction pulled every bolt back. When everyone turned to look, they found it was Ron!
This lightning was not external power he could waste at will. It was the energy Ron had released to build up force. He could not perfectly control this move yet, and all his attention was focused on controlling the lightning around his fist, leaving him with no choice but to resort to this method.
With the lightning's support, the Little Dragons around his fist rapidly expanded. In the blink of an eye, they became gigantic creatures over ten meters long, flashing with surging electric light and guarding him on either side!
"This move has a nice name. It is called..."
Ron raised his head and grinned.
Then he stomped forward, turning into a bolt of lightning as he viciously drove his fist out.
"Overload Form: Secret Technique: Eight Dragon Pearls!!!"
Under everyone's watchful eyes, eight lightning dragons spiraled above and below Ron, chasing the fist that had become an orb of light! Their roars and long cries rang out without end, leaving beautiful yet deadly tassels of lightning in the air before they crashed violently into the testing machine. With a deafening explosion, an invisible shockwave erupted and blasted everything around it away!
Then the eight lightning dragons arrived one after another. Blinding lightning radiated brilliant light as it exploded amid thunderous roars!
For a moment, even people on the other side of the island heard an earth-shattering blast!
BOOM!!!
Before you continue