Two months later, inside the underground Test Field of the New Recruit Camp building.
Two black shadows collided continuously, their blows making the air boom and crack. The gale they kicked up sent debris flying and smashing to pieces against the walls, showing just how powerful they both were! Zephyr stood at the edge of the room with his arms folded, watching the two spar. Suddenly, he shouted, "Shuzuo! Don't attack so recklessly! Watch your back!"
"Understood!"
Shuzuo took half a step back to open up some distance. His body was covered in bruises as he wiped the sweat from his face.
"And you, Ron! If you can't control lightning's high speed, then don't force it. Soru has the advantage over Teleportation in short-range attacks. Stop thinking about using Teleportation for sneak attacks all the time!"
"Under—"
Bang!
Taking advantage of Ron's distraction while he answered, Shuzuo drove a flying knee into him, sending Ron crashing heavily into the ceiling. He looked even more battered than Shuzuo, blood at the corner of his mouth and one eye swollen nearly shut.
"Hah... ptoo! Understood, Teacher!"
Ron spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm. His feet were embedded in the ceiling as he hung upside down and glared furiously at Shuzuo.
"You shameless bastard!"
"What are you going to do about it?!"
Ron flew into a rage. With a roar, Overload Form made his whole body glow blue, and then he suddenly exerted himself!
Marine Six Powers, Soru!
Whoosh... Bang!
The two collided again, fist meeting fist head-on. A ring of dust burst through the air and spread outward! Feeling the pressure coming from his arm, Shuzuo kept talking tough, but inwardly, he was already shocked.
Ron's rate of growth was universally acknowledged to be monstrous, but even so, Shuzuo had never imagined that after just two months, Ron's raw strength alone would already be no weaker than his own!
From barely being able to keep his footing while using Soru at the start, to being evenly matched in their thirteenth duel today, Ron's progress was simply astonishing!
Even though his Doriki Value and combat experience were still inferior to Shuzuo's, leaving him badly battered in battle, everyone at headquarters now knew that Ron possessed a terrifying attack capable of unleashing at least four or five times his own Power Level!
Five times Ron's current Power Level!
Shuzuo simply could not block it!
If this had been a fight to the death, the answer to who would win was already obvious...
Fine, then! The more outstanding you are, the less embarrassing it is for me!
At that thought, the muscles in Shuzuo's free left arm bulged and knotted, making it noticeably more than ten centimeters thicker than his right arm. It looked bizarre and savage! At the same time, a dark gleam appeared on his elbow, accompanied by a dangerous vibration that surged in every direction as he swept it viciously forward!
Iron Body: Overlord Elbow!!
His pitch-black elbow swept out like roaring thunder!
Iron Body, Armament Haki, and the power technique of the Rokushiki...
At that sight, Ron instantly came to a conclusion: he couldn't block it!!
Over the past two months, apart from earning the right to learn two moves from the Marine Six Powers as his championship reward, Ron's greatest gain had been his eyesight! As a transmigrator, his understanding of the One Piece world's power system had been purely theoretical, all book knowledge with no practical experience. He was even more of a Wang Yuyan than Wang Yuyan herself.
But after two months, that sole weakness had steadily been patched up, allowing him to see through the trick behind Shuzuo's attack at a glance and make an accurate judgment.
He couldn't block it...
But he could counterattack!
Crackle!
Lightning burst forth as Ron instantly ducked his head, evading the attack in the blink of an eye.
Whoosh!!!
The elbow strike cut through the air, bringing with it a shrill, ear-piercing howl of wind, and faint flames could be seen! The air had been compressed so violently that it had ignited into a burning membrane! Shuzuo had achieved this through sheer force alone. It was easy to imagine that if Ron took that elbow head-on, even with his astonishing self-healing ability, he would still suffer severe injuries!
"Heh! What an opportunity!"
Crackle!
Seeing Ron bend over and lower his head to evade the attack, exposing his back as he faced downward, Shuzuo sneered and instinctively raised his leg, intending to kick him flying. But at that moment, a huge flash of lightning suddenly lit up beneath Ron's concealed body!
"Not good!"
Shuzuo's eyes widened in an instant. He pushed off with his foot and dodged backward. He knew perfectly well how powerful Ron's Lightning Fist had become. It was a super-high-speed punch created by Overload Form. Though different from Admiral Kizaru's Light Speed Kick, it was still a decisive move capable of determining victory or defeat!
And he could not forget that cloud-like patches of light were now emerging all over Ron's skin, while his deep-blue eyes shone brightly like lightbulbs. This move was unmistakably the familiar...
Overload Secret Technique: Eight Dragon Pearls!!!
Thud!
Before Shuzuo had retreated even half a meter, a fist smashed heavily into his chin. Eight lightning dragons followed close behind, and earthshaking thunder exploded beside his ears as blue light swirled and flooded the training room!
The terrifying blow immediately left Shuzuo's head spinning, his steps staggering as he fell backward.
But Ron pressed his advantage and showed no mercy. He gave Shuzuo no chance to catch his breath. He still had some strength left, and he had to finish his opponent before the backlash of Overload set in. Riding the momentum of his rising punch, Ron launched himself into the air. The muscles all over his body twisted savagely like pythons, and after spinning once, he hooked his leg down!
Overload: Lightning Kick!
One word: fast!!
Lightning's explosive force was unmatched, and combined with Ron's body forged through countless trials, the speed was astonishing!
Already struck hard, Shuzuo only had time to barely raise both arms in defense. The next second, Ron's heel, which had nearly turned into a mass of blue light, slammed down, shattering through his arm guard and colliding with the crown of his head.
Bang!!!
"What... terrifying power!"
Human legs were naturally stronger than arms. The force of that kick against his arms made Shuzuo feel as if he were facing Zephyr! Before he could think further, Lightning Kick erupted in place alongside violently surging Silver Serpents, exploding into a black cloud!
Bang... rumble!!!
In an instant!
Silver Serpents danced wildly, and thunder roared without end!
Seeing this, Zephyr covered his forehead and sighed. "I told you to guard against sneak attacks from behind, and you completely ignored what was in front of you? You... sigh!!"
Ron was a Lightning Person!
Fast, explosively powerful, and immensely destructive!
Even without using the Rokushiki, the lightning-powered ambushes he launched were incredibly fast! Retreating straight backward at a time like this was the most unwise thing to do. Ron did not even need to make any judgment. Lightning was fast enough to catch anyone in a straight line, then strike them hard!
Shuzuo should have used Observation Haki to determine the attack's range, then counterattacked instead of defending. He should have closed in and interrupted one of Ron's arms, leaving Ron unable to use his advantages and forcing him to Teleport away!
Shuzuo had mastered Life Return and possessed abundant stamina. As long as he weathered this wave of fierce attacks and continued dragging things out, Ron's defeat after pushing Overload to its limit would only be a matter of time.
But now...
Within the explosion, Shuzuo had been struck in the head twice in a row. Dazed and muddled, he heard Zephyr's sigh and was instantly rendered speechless.
"I... pfft!!"
Bruised blood sprayed out. Shuzuo, who had still been able to continue fighting, tilted his head and lost consciousness.
What was the point of explaining?
Continuing would have only meant dragging out a victory, but the fighting spirit in his heart had dissipated. Shuzuo simply conceded.
As the smoke cleared, Ron, who had been preparing to continue his attack, suddenly stopped and pointed at his own nose. "Wait, did I... win?!"
Shuzuo had passed out, while he was still standing. Didn't that mean... he had finally won?!
Over the past two months, he and Shuzuo had fought thirteen matches.
In the first twelve, Shuzuo had seized opportunities in seven of them and beaten Ron down with severe injuries. In the remaining five, Ron had grown stronger like a monster and given Shuzuo no openings, only to lose in the end from exhaustion.
He had assumed this match would be about the same...
Who would have thought that he had actually won?!!!
"That's right! Congratulations, Ron..."
Zephyr flashed forward. After checking Shuzuo's injuries, the corner of his mouth twitched. He kicked Shuzuo aside and applauded. "With a Power Level of 3,000, you defeated Shuzuo, who has a Power Level of 4,000 and mastered Two Types of Armament Haki... I have to say, you're quite impressive!"
"I'm flattered, I'm flattered. It's all thanks to your excellent teaching, Teacher..."
Ron, whose height had now soared to 2.33 meters due to training the Rokushiki to develop his potential, wore a strange grin. His tall, straight body was covered in bruises, one eye narrowed to a slit and his face swollen like a bun, yet he still stood firmly. "I think you should let Instructor Shuzuo go out to sea for some training. If he keeps staying in the New Recruit Camp, this guy is finished..."
Going out to sea for training was something only raw recruits needed to do.
For Ron to give Shuzuo that assessment was undoubtedly the same as calling him a rookie... a deep-fried ice cream that had graduated thirty years ago, crispy on the outside... soft on the inside!
If Shuzuo had not lost his fighting spirit and passed out, he would probably have jumped up in fury and fought Ron to the death!
It had only been a joke, and Ron had not taken it seriously, but to his surprise, Zephyr actually stroked his chin thoughtfully after hearing it. "That makes sense! Shuzuo has indeed been stifled by staying in the New Recruit Camp these past few years. Tomorrow, I'll go discuss it with Sengoku and have him reinstated to his former post... Uh... what are you doing?"
Slap!
Ron slapped himself across the face. Hearing that, he muttered, "Nothing, just swatting a mosquito..."
Why the hell did I have to tempt fate!
Without Shuzuo, where was he supposed to find such a perfect opponent?
Looking across the entire New Recruit Camp, was he supposed to fight Zephyr?!
That was far too big a leap!
No matter how weak Zephyr might be, he had once been an admiral. He was countless times stronger than Shuzuo!
Before absolute strength, Ron only had one possible outcome: getting beaten one-sidedly!
"Where would a mosquito come from in weather this cold?"
Zephyr frowned, then waved for Ron to stop talking. "All right, you've completely learned Soru and Iron Body. Your championship reward ends here. If you want to learn the rest, you'll need to exchange military merit for them. Understand?!"
"Understood!"
"Good! Now come with me. There's something I need you to do!"
"Hm?"
Ron, who had been rubbing the bruises on his body, stopped and looked at Zephyr in confusion.
"A mission? For a new recruit?"
The New Recruit Camp did indeed send recruits out for field training, but that usually happened around May or June. It was only March of 1515 now. What mission could there possibly be for him?
Before you continue