Victory, Instrument Complete

When Ron's fist descended, Shuzuo had already turned around. Looking at Ron's Lightning Fist, which was several times weaker than before, Shuzuo was very surprised.

In his opinion, he could easily block this punch and wouldn't get hurt at all! Since Ron was actively using Lightning Fist to close the distance, Shuzuo would rather give up defense and subdue him on the spot to end the battle!

Shuzuo didn't want to consider any more complicated strategies; he just wanted to win this test.

Coincidentally, Ron thought the same way!

The fight...

It's time to end this!

Grinning, Ron smiled slightly and slammed his fist into Shuzuo's chest. At the same time, Shuzuo tightly grabbed his arm, preventing him from teleporting away again.

Immediately after!

Whoosh!

Boom... Rumble!!!

Falling at high speed, the two, one above the other, smashed onto the hard stone slabs of the plaza...

"Platform No. 29, Ron VS Shuzuo, Ron wins!!!"

The referee, who had been zoning out an hour ago, ran over, glanced at the positions of both parties, and raised his flag to announce. Hearing this result, the spectators fell into a deathly silence for a moment.

Then...

"No, way????"

"Brigadier General Shuzuo lost?!"

"This is rigged! Rigged!"

"How is this possible?! He..."

"Ahem, please calm yourselves..."

On the top tier of the spectator stands, Sengoku, who had been sitting all day, stood up, his body radiating golden light, dazzling and brilliant. He coughed lightly, drawing everyone's attention, and then explained, "There are only two criteria for determining victory in a platform defense match... First, one party loses combat effectiveness or surrenders; second, whoever steps off the platform area first is unconditionally declared the loser."

"Although Ron and Shuzuo both rushed out of the platform area, Shuzuo did so earlier, so in this battle, Ron wins!"

Hearing Sengoku's words, the audience remembered that the combat test indeed had these two rules. Now that Sengoku had pointed it out, the few people who had been shouting about rigging turned red in the face and lowered their heads in shame. However, they quickly came to their senses and cast their burning gazes towards the youth slowly climbing out of the crater below the platform.

Since Fleet Admiral Sengoku had confirmed the victory, did that mean?

He... did it!

A new recruit, in a combat test!

He fairly and squarely defeated Shuzuo!!

"Ron... Ron!"

"Ron!"

"Ron!!"

In an instant, cheers converged into an ocean, engulfing the plaza! People threw everything they could discard into the sky, cheering for this victory that would go down in history, for the super rookie of Marine Headquarters!

Below the platform, Ron spread his arms, a tired but excited smile on his face as he gestured to the cheering crowd around him!

At this moment, even though 28 other platforms were still in battle, no one could steal his glory!

At the beginning of Sea Garden Era 1515, the first place in Marine Headquarters' New Recruit Camp was unconditionally awarded to Ron.

Attack Power Level: 2700! Ranked first!

Physical Power Level: 700! Ranked first!

Combat training, defeating Brigadier General Shuzuo, still ranked first!

With such a perfect record, first place was well-deserved, and no one in the New Recruit Camp was unconvinced.

As he held the champion's medal of honor, Ron felt a sense of unreality... From an Earthling who couldn't even lift a chicken to the first place among a group of monsters, this span of just three months was beyond his imagination.

Hmm... but when he saw Shuzuo, following Zephyr and holding the prizes for second and third place, Ron smiled... that felt very real!

The method he used to win was difficult, yet not difficult... Since he couldn't defeat Shuzuo head-on, he just needed to make Shuzuo step off the platform area before him.

But Shuzuo could use the Marine Six Powers and Geppo proficiently. Even if he accidentally broke through the platform and fell, he could use Geppo to return. Therefore, destroying the entire platform directly was not feasible.

So, Ron deliberately provoked Shuzuo. Under the opponent's fierce assault, like a sly weasel, he carefully scorched a corner of the platform, which was already blackened and smoking from the lightning, into ash that crumbled at the slightest touch. Then, he waited for an opportunity when Shuzuo couldn't use Geppo to return and began to drag him.

The downward angle of his head at forty-five degrees, combined with the inertia from his falling Lightning Fist, and Shuzuo grabbing his arm to prevent him from elementalizing and escaping, which shifted his center of gravity uncontrollably...

The combination of these three conditions made it impossible for Shuzuo to complete the instantaneous turn and return with Geppo.

By the time they fell to the ground, the distance had long exceeded the edge of the platform, and the fruits of victory naturally fell into his hands!

So, at this moment, his smile seemed to say to Shuzuo, "I'm itching for a beating!"

Shuzuo returned a fierce glare that said, "Don't leave after school if you have the guts!"

"Ron, congra..."

After awarding medals to the top three, Zephyr noticed the exchange of glares between the two, his mouth twitched, and he lowered his voice and roared.

"Shut the hell up! Anyone who embarrasses themselves here, I'll tear them apart!"

"Cough cough!"

At these words, the two immediately became amiable, putting on pleasant expressions, and finally shook hands amicably… though their grip was a bit too strong, leaving their tiger's mouths bruised and pale after they let go.

Finally, Sengoku gave a speech, trumpeting the Marines' justice, and declared the current year-end evaluation for the New Recruit Camp a complete success!

That night, dark clouds gathered, burying the stars in thick cloud cover, and the sea was dim and quiet. Patrol soldiers walked along the quiet paths of Headquarters, and besides the sound of their footsteps, not a single other noise could be heard.

At the Marine Headquarters Science Unit's barracks, a dim light shone from Kizaru's room. He was wearing pajamas, his eyes groggy, and he complained into the Den Den Mushi, "Mr. Vegapunk, there's a time difference between the North Blue base and Headquarters. Could you please consider what time it is?"

"Sorry, I got too excited…"

The Den Den Mushi displayed a plain, unremarkable man's face, its main feature an unnaturally protruding left eye that resembled machinery. After a faint apology, Vegapunk continued, "Then… to put it briefly, the device has begun debugging. The first batch of three hundred is ready, you can send a ship to pick them up."

"Oh? So soon?"

Kizaru exclaimed in surprise, sighing, "As expected of you, Vegapunk."

Ron's speed in getting stronger was truly astonishing. Many people, including Vegapunk, had researched the internal reasons for it.

Finally, they all reached a consensus…

Besides talent, most people believed it was the help provided by that Lightning Stimulation Method!

Even with the most rigorous training, ordinary people had many areas that were neglected, such as less-used muscles, fragile internal organs, and so on. It wasn't as comprehensive as the Lightning Stimulation Method.

Therefore, imitating the Lightning Stimulation Method to provide ordinary people who were not Rumble-Rumble Fruit ability users with the same training effects became a worthy research topic. Although Zephyr had submitted the data, controlling the current intensity, determining the release position, and deducing the final effects, all required significant effort to fully grasp. They had initially thought that even with Vegapunk's involvement, this matter wouldn't be completed in a short time, but they hadn't expected…

In just one month, there was already a mass-produced result!

"However, this is only the first generation prototype. Although it has some effect, the limitations are also very large. It's best not to use it if your Power Level is below 500, and it has no effect if it's above 2000."

A well-trained soldier's Power Level is 10. Exceeding 500 Power Level means being superhuman, which is also the limit that ordinary people can reach. In other words, to use this instrument, one must first surpass the limits of the human body, and only then can they use the instrument to train!

This made it seem somewhat… redundant.

Vegapunk showed no modesty or regret, merely stating a fact as a researcher: "So, the instrument still has a lot of room for improvement. If you have time, it would be best to have Ron come over… Hmm, just tell him I have something that can make him stronger. I believe he'll be very interested."

"Alright, I'll tell the Fleet Admiral…"

Kizaru took on this troublesome task and, after thinking for a moment, added, "But don't get your hopes too high. The Fleet Admiral won't let Ron go out for the next year."

"Hmm? Why a year?"

"That's none of your business… By the way, the Five Elders asked about the Pacifista progress again today. Are you confident?" Kizaru changed the subject, reminding him in a slow tone, "That's a project they value very highly. If anything goes wrong, I won't be able to cover for you!"

"Don't worry, soon… you'll see the results."

Drank too much, feeling unwell, want to vomit. Sorry for the late update, everyo