When Ron's fist came crashing down, Shuzuo had already turned around. Looking at Ron's Lightning Fist, which was several degrees weaker than before, Shuzuo was deeply surprised.
In his view, he could easily block this punch without being injured at all! And since Ron had taken the initiative to use Lightning Fist to close the distance, Shuzuo would rather give up defending and subdue him on the spot, ending the fight!
Shuzuo no longer wanted to think about all those twists and turns. He only wanted to win this test.
As it happened, Ron thought the same way!
The battle...
It was time to end it!
Grinning, Ron smiled faintly and drove his fist into Shuzuo's chest. At the same time, Shuzuo tightly grabbed his arm, preventing him from using Teleportation to escape again.
Then!
Whoosh!
Bang... rumble!!!
As they plummeted at high speed, the two of them, one above and one below, crashed into the hard stone slabs of the plaza...
"Platform No. 29, Ron versus Shuzuo. Ron wins!!!"
The referee who had slipped away an hour earlier ran over, glanced at their positions, and raised his flag to announce the result. Upon hearing it, the stands fell deathly silent.
Then...
"No... way????"
"That Brigadier General Shuzuo lost?!"
"It's rigged! This is rigged!"
"How is that possible?! He..."
"Ahem, everyone, please calm down..."
At the very top of the stands, Sengoku, who had been sitting there all day, rose to his feet, golden light radiating from his body in a dazzling display. He gave a light cough to draw everyone's attention, then explained, "There are only two criteria for determining victory or defeat in a platform defense match... First, one side loses the ability to fight or admits defeat. Second, whoever steps out of the platform area first loses unconditionally."
"Although Ron and Shuzuo rushed out of the platform area together, Shuzuo did so first. Therefore, Ron won this battle!"
Only after hearing Sengoku's words did the spectators remember that the combat test indeed had those two rules. Now that Sengoku had pointed it out, the people who had been shouting about it being rigged immediately flushed red and lowered their heads in shame. But they soon came to their senses and turned their burning gazes toward the young man slowly climbing out of the crater below the platform.
Since Fleet Admiral Sengoku had acknowledged the result, didn't that mean?
He... had done it!
A recruit, in a combat test!
Fair and square, he had defeated Shuzuo!!
"Ron... Ron!"
"Ron!"
"Ron!!"
In an instant, cheers gathered into an ocean and flooded the plaza! People threw everything they could spare into the sky, cheering wildly for this victory worthy of being recorded in history, for Marine Headquarters' super rookie!
Below the platform, Ron spread his arms wide, an excited smile on his exhausted face as he acknowledged the cheering spectators around him!
At that moment, even though twenty-eight other platforms were still fighting, no one could take away the glory that belonged to him!
At the beginning of Sea Garden Era 1515, first place in the Marine Headquarters New Recruit Camp was awarded to Ron without question.
Attack Power Level: 2700! Ranked first!
Physical Power Level: 700! Ranked first!
Combat training: defeated Brigadier General Shuzuo, still ranked first!
With such a flawless record, he deserved first place beyond all doubt, and no one in the recruit camp objected.
When Ron held up the Honorary Medal representing the championship, he felt as though it was unreal... In just three short months, he had gone from an Earthling powerless enough to kill a chicken to first among a group of monsters. The leap exceeded even his imagination.
Well... but when he saw Shuzuo behind Zephyr, carrying the prizes for second and third place, Ron smiled... Now that felt real!
The method he used to win was difficult in one sense and simple in another... Since he could not defeat Shuzuo head-on, all he had to do was make Shuzuo leave the platform area before him.
But Shuzuo could use the Marine Six Powers and was proficient with Geppo. Even if he accidentally smashed through the platform and fell, he could use Geppo to return. So directly destroying the entire platform would not work.
Thus, Ron deliberately provoked Shuzuo. Under his fierce assault, Ron had carefully, like a weasel stealing chickens, roasted one corner of the platform—already charred and smoking from the lightning—into ashes that would crumble at a touch. Then he waited for an opportunity when Shuzuo could not use Geppo to return and began drawing him in.
The forty-five-degree downward direction of their movement, combined with the momentum from his falling Lightning Fist, and Shuzuo grabbing onto him to prevent him from escaping through Elementalization, creating a center of gravity beyond Shuzuo's control...
The combination of those three conditions made it impossible for Shuzuo to instantly turn around and use Geppo to return.
By the time they hit the ground, they were already far beyond the edge of the platform, and the fruit of victory naturally fell into Ron's hands!
So at that moment, his smile seemed to be saying to Shuzuo, "I'm itching for a beating!"
Shuzuo answered with a fierce glare that said, "Meet me after school if you've got guts!"
"Ron, cong..."
After handing out the medals to the top three, Zephyr noticed the clash of their gazes. The corners of his mouth twitched, and he lowered his voice as he roared.
"Quiet the hell down! Whoever dares embarrass me here, I'll tear him apart!"
"Ahem!"
At those words, the two of them immediately became warm and friendly, even shaking hands amicably in the end... Though they squeezed a little too hard, and after letting go, the webbing between their thumbs was blue and white.
Finally, Sengoku gave a speech, extolling Marine justice before announcing the successful conclusion of this year's New Recruit Camp year-end assessment!
That night, dark clouds filled the sky, burying the stars beneath thick layers of clouds. The sea was dim and quiet. Patrol soldiers walked along the silent roads of headquarters, and aside from their footsteps, not a single other sound could be heard.
At the Marine Headquarters Science Unit's station, light still faintly shone from Kizaru's room. Wearing pajamas and looking half-asleep, he complained to the Den Den Mushi, "Dr. Vegapunk, there's a time difference between the North Blue base and headquarters. Could you at least consider what time it is?"
"Sorry, I was too excited..."
The Den Den Mushi mimicked an utterly ordinary male face. Its most distinctive feature was its left eye, which bulged unnaturally and resembled a mechanical component. After offering a calm apology, Vegapunk continued, "Then... to keep it brief, the devices have entered testing. The first batch of three hundred is ready. You can send a ship to collect them."
"Oh? That fast?"
Kizaru exclaimed in surprise, then sighed. "As expected of you, Vegapunk."
Ron's speed of growth was truly astonishing, and many people had researched the reasons behind it, including Vegapunk.
In the end, they had all reached the same conclusion...
Aside from talent, most believed that the Lightning Stimulation Method was what had helped him!
No matter how rigorously ordinary people trained, there were many areas they could not properly address, such as rarely used muscles, fragile internal organs, and so on. It was nowhere near as comprehensive as the Lightning Stimulation Method.
Therefore, imitating the Lightning Stimulation Method to provide ordinary people who were not Rumble-Rumble Fruit users with the same training effects became a subject worthy of research. Although Zephyr had submitted the relevant materials, regulating the current's intensity, determining where it should be applied, projecting the final results, and so on all required immense effort to understand. They had thought that even with Vegapunk personally handling it, this would not be completed in a short time, but unexpectedly...
In only one month, there was already a mass-producible result!
"However, this is merely the first-generation prototype. It has effects, but its limitations are also severe. Those below 500 Power Level are best off not using it, while it has no effect on those above 2000 Power Level."
A well-trained soldier had a Power Level of 10. Exceeding 500 Power Level meant becoming superhuman, and that was also the limit ordinary people could reach. In other words, to use this device, one first had to surpass the limits of the human body, and only then could one use it for further training!
That made it somewhat... underwhelming.
Vegapunk showed neither modesty nor regret. As a researcher, he was merely stating a fact. "So the device still has plenty of room for improvement. If there's time, it would be best to have Ron come here... Hmm, just tell him I have something that can make him stronger. I'm sure he'll be interested."
"All right, I'll speak to the Fleet Admiral..."
Kizaru accepted the troublesome task, thought for a moment, then added, "But don't get your hopes up too high. The Fleet Admiral won't let Ron leave headquarters this coming year."
"Hm? Why one year?"
"Don't worry about that... Oh, right, the Five Elders asked about the Pacifista's progress again today. Are you confident?" Kizaru changed the subject, his tone slowly turning cautionary. "That's a project they value greatly. If anything goes wrong, even I won't be able to cover for you!"
"Don't worry. Very soon... you'll see the results."
I drank too much. I feel awful and want to throw up. Sorry for the late update, everyone...
Before you continue