Terrifying Shuzuo with Special Meaning!

Aokiji had been away for months and knew nothing about what had happened at Headquarters. It was only natural that he found it strange when he saw who Ron's opponent was.

After all, in his memory, there had only been two instances where the final test didn't pit new recruits against each other, but instead had instructors fight them, with a total of 29 platforms.

The first time was something he'd heard about...

Back then, Garp and Zephyr fought fiercely for the platforms during the year-end evaluation, while Sengoku sat alone on one of the three platforms. Faced with the monstrous power of the Mythical Zoan: Great Buddha Fruit, no new recruit of his generation was his match, not even Tsuru. Fleet Admiral Kong, after careful consideration, arranged for the then New Recruit Camp Chief Instructor to have the instructors fight Sengoku. Lasting two hours meant direct promotion, setting a precedent.

The second time was something he witnessed. It was within their own batch. He and Sakazuki were grouped together beforehand, Borsalino received a bye, and Zephyr arranged for Shuzuo to fight Kizaru.

There's no need to mention the future achievements of these individuals!

They were all peak figures!

But in the decades that followed, there wasn't a third instance...

Because the overall strength of new recruits later on simply couldn't compare to the past. Within the New Recruit Camp of Headquarters, filled with countless geniuses and strong individuals, they could all find opponents among themselves; there was no absolute overlord.

One could imagine how difficult and glorious it was to be invincible among one's peers, unable to find an opponent! The value and significance contained within that were immense!!

He hadn't expected to witness such a scene just by attending the ceremony as a spectator. Aokiji was immediately shocked.

"Is there something special about him? I've never seen him before..."

"Come, I'll tell you about it..."

And so on, and so forth.

After listening, Aokiji's gaze deepened, and he looked at Ron sternly.

"So that's how it is, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit?"

Thunder, lightning from the sky.

Aokiji was very familiar with the New World's Thunder God Island. Before Hell Island was developed, it was a training ground that the top new recruits had to visit. The island was shrouded in dark clouds, with lightning bolts dancing wildly. What poured down from the sky wasn't raindrops, but terrifying purple-black lightning! In the face of such vast heavenly might, anyone would feel a sense of powerlessness, realizing how insignificant they were. Even though they could now destroy Thunder God Island, that inviolable majesty was forever etched in Aokiji's heart.

"Interesting..."

He curved his lips slightly, thought for a moment, and said, "You've chosen the most likely times. Two hours and winning are no different. Then I..."

Before he could finish, Kizaru's eyes widened. "Hey, hey, no way, you want to bet on him winning?"

"No, I'll bet on one hour too..."

Aokiji smacked his lips, a strange smile appearing on his face. "Admiral Akainu, you'd better be prepared to go on two consecutive missions!"

"Hmph! Ridiculous!"

Akainu snorted coldly, crossed his arms, and lowered his gaze.

In response, the two exchanged glances and didn't care. Akainu was always like this; it would be a fantasy if he argued with them.

Moreover... win?

How could that be possible?!

Even Sengoku back then couldn't last two hours against an instructor. Before breaking through normal limits, the accumulation of time was far more powerful than talent.

However, it was worth mentioning that there was a single exception later on: Kizaru...

He relied on the Glint-Glint Fruit's unparalleled movement speed, continuously evading and dodging, and managed to find an opportunity to stall for two hours.

Then, with his eternally slow speech and lewd expression, he told Zephyr that even without excelling in hand-to-hand combat, one could stand at the pinnacle of the world relying solely on their Devil Fruit abilities.

He drove Zephyr half to death!

But, when was that?

Twenty years ago!

The current Shuzuo was incomparable. He had long developed a unique set of countermeasures against those with astonishing movement speeds. How could he fall for the same trick twice?

Furthermore, Kizaru accomplished that feat a year after joining the Marines, after additional training on Thunder God Island, and with a Power Level of 1500, he had the ability to withstand Shuzuo's fierce attacks.

How long had Ron been around?

Two and a half months at most!

His Power Level was only 700!

Half that of Kizaru!

And...

The platform was made of wood and didn't conduct electricity!

Fighting Shuzuo, who was several times stronger than him and a standard Marine hand-to-hand combat expert, in a confined space was already a disadvantage. Now, even the environment was unfavorable, leaving no room for him to exploit any loopholes. Ron should indeed be considering how long he could last.

The Marine Headquarters plaza was boisterous and lively!

On the other 28 platforms, the sounds of battle were incessant. Flesh against flesh, swords against blood, the new recruits seized this once-a-year opportunity to unleash their hormones and showcase themselves before all the high-ranking Marines! A brilliant victory today might determine their future!

Therefore, even though they knew that going up first would lead to consecutive battles and be detrimental to their final score, some of them, with the idea of showcasing their courage, still charged forward without hesitation. Shortly after the battle began, dozens of people fell off the platforms and were judged as defeated.

But immediately, new challengers rushed up, challenging the擂主 (擂主 -擂主). However, unlike the other platforms, on platform 29 where Ron was located, Shuzuo had just arrived. The instructor and referee in charge of this area decisively made a swift exit, abandoning even their primary duties.

Creak, creak...

Shuzuo's knuckles cracked audibly as he clenched them, a cold smile on his face. He wore a black off-the-shoulder T-shirt.

"Yo, isn't that Ron? Why the long face? Seeing me has filled you with despair?"

Hearing this, Ron raised an eyebrow.

"What do you think?!!!"

"Should I laugh instead of cry?!"

"This arena is 100% rigged by Teacher Zephyr to target me, isn't it?"

"You came up here with the intention of beating me to death, didn't you?!"

"Don't treat me like an idiot!"

"Shameless!"

Below the high platform, Zephyr heard these words through Observation Haki, his eyelids twitching rapidly. "Beat this bastard to death for me, Shuzuo!"

"Understood!"

Answering loudly, Shuzuo shrugged. "Don't say such harsh things. A wooden arena is just easier to make, and the year-end evaluations have always been like this. Besides, beating someone to death... I'm your instructor, how could I possibly beat you to death? At most..."

Thump!

As soon as he finished speaking, Shuzuo unleashed his strongest speed. Under Ron's terrified gaze, he transformed into a black streak and charged straight at him.

"At most... I'll beat you into a cripple!"

Bang... Rumble!

The air exploded, and a circular dust cloud rippled through the sky. An invisible pillar of energy shot out, piercing the clouds and disappearing into the azure sky!

Shuzuo, when serious, was completely different from when he was self-restrained during the test and interfered with by the steel passageway! Every move, infused with years of rigorous training, was devoid of any wasted motion and possessed immense power!

The failure twenty years ago had taught him an unforgettable lesson. Today, he was determined to beat Ron down, no matter what!

"Huh?"

As he threw a fierce punch, Shuzuo smiled slightly, confident of victory. But suddenly, he let out a surprised sound, looking at his wrist as it passed through Ron's chest.

He was certain he had covered his fist with Armament Haki, and Ron couldn't have dodged this punch with Elementalization. But this bizarre scene made him realize that the opponent had calculated his attack timing and Elementalized in advance!

Logia-type Elementalization could be active or passive. Armament Haki couldn't nullify Elementalization; it merely made contact with the physical body, canceling out the passive effect. But when the opponent actively dispersed their body through Elementalization, Armament Haki became useless. After all, if it were still effective, wouldn't it be equivalent to directly shoving one's hand into the opponent's internal organs? That would make Logia types too weak!

Faced with this situation, Shuzuo's mouth twitched. He could only pull back, dodging the lightning that blasted from Ron's palm.

Boom!!

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!

An electric net coiled up, separating the two of them. It dissipated after a few seconds.

Watching Ron drift backward, creating a safe distance before re-forming, Shuzuo gritted his teeth in annoyance.

"Tch, slippery little brat!"

Ron curled his lips in response, a strange smile appearing on his face. He clenched his fists and said out of the corner of his eye, "Likewise! Your sneak attack skills are also quite impressive!"

Shuzuo's sneak attack was incredibly swift. If he hadn't Elementalized and dispersed his body in advance, that punch would have knocked him down!

To win, Shuzuo had thrown all pretense of dignity out the window!

The terrifying nature of Logia types was evident. Even Ron could evade the powerful attacks of a Marine martial artist like Shuzuo.

However, actively dispersing one's body through Elementalization consumed a large amount of stamina!

Ron couldn't possibly predict the landing point of his attack, so he must have Elementalized his entire body.

In that case, if he could last for an hour, Shuzuo would willingly surrender!

"Hmph! Stubborn as a mule! Let's see how long you can last!"

With a cold snort, Shuzuo closed in again. Such elite speed, combined with the Marine Six Powers, Tekkai, which had become almost instinctual, made his speed no weaker than Ron's lightning-based movement! Thus, Ron could only see an afterimage before Shuzuo's fist landed on him once more in the blink of an eye.

"So fast!"

But...

"Just as I planned!"

Whoosh... Bang!!!

With a cold smile, Ron allowed the explosive fist wind to scatter him into streaks of lightning snakes, then he painstakingly tracked the electromagnetic field in the air. The next second, his figure flickered!

Teleportation!

Thank you all, great lords, for the recommendation tickets!

Tomorrow is finally Friday. If nothing unexpected happens... four days from now, this book will get its first recommendation.

Sigh, you might not believe me, but my contract was sent out by express on Monday morning, yet the status only updated at 6:30 PM on Friday. Even including processing time, it should have arrived at YueWen by Friday afternoon, four days later. Yet the computer power supply I bought from Guangdong only took two and a half days to arrive... This incident tells us that Shentong's express delivery speed is entirely dependent on their mood.