Trial from Karp

Though this is a treacherous Pirate World, most people their age haven't even held a proper weapon, let alone fought for their lives with real blades.

Yet the guy in front of them, whom they'd previously written off as a "connection hire," with that harmless look on his face and even acting like a disabled person before boarding the ship, had taken more lives than most full-fledged Marines!

The rookie Marines, now knowing Wood's true face, felt incredibly lucky that back on the ship, out of respect for Zephyr's ties, they hadn't provoked this menace. Otherwise, now...

With Zephyr's wave of awkward praise, Wood could clearly feel the gazes around him shift, and his own face twisted into a bitter gourd.

This was nothing like the persona he'd wanted to maintain. He had to turn things around and make everyone see him differently!

"Admiral Zephyr flatters me too much. I'm still just a kid—how could I have slain a vicious pirate with a 20 million Belly bounty?

The pirate crew was taken down with help from the island's townsfolk, and that pirate captain was a paper tiger. He came in badly wounded; I just got lucky with the finishing blow."

Compared to Zephyr's words, Wood's explanation was far easier to believe.

After all, Wood was only sixteen, and pirates weren't wooden dummies—it was genuinely hard to accept that this seemingly shy, sunny boy had butchered pirates like chopping vegetables.

"But even if what you say is true, and you just picked up the scraps, at your age, daring to cut down so many pirates is already remarkable.

Since Zephyr thinks so highly of you, let me see if you've got the backbone you claim."

Before Wood could react, almost the moment Karp finished speaking, Wood felt himself enveloped by a powerful presence.

The source of that presence was the Marine Hero before him, Monkey D. Karp!

As a Navy Vice Admiral and a famed hero of the Marines, Karp had actually gotten serious with a newly enlisted rookie!

Karp didn't have Conqueror's Haki, and the power he was using now wasn't Haki either.

But after so many years of battle and slaughter on the seas, even without Conqueror's Haki, Karp still possessed an overwhelming aura.

What now enveloped Wood was Karp's own formidable presence, along with the killing intent he directed at him.

Because the aura radiated out like Conqueror's Haki, unable to target a single person, everyone else nearby felt it when Karp released his presence and killing intent.

Seeing Karp acting so recklessly, Zephyr immediately moved his tall frame in front of the rookies, using his own presence to shield them from the terrifying pressure.

But while the other rookies had Zephyr's protection, Wood wasn't so lucky.

Since he'd been called out earlier, Wood was now the closest to Karp, so the crushing weight of that killing intent hit him first.

Equally unlucky was Rear Admiral Kadaru, standing just a few steps away—he was also a prime target.

Some thought Karp was amiable, but Wood figured that was relative. A guy who'd toss his own grandson, under ten years old, into a jungle—how amiable could he be!

The killing intent surged forward like a flood, and in that instant, Wood felt his body plunge into an ice cellar.

Nothing physical was on him, but now Wood felt his shoulders heavy as a thousand jun. The immense pressure blurred his consciousness, and his legs involuntarily began to tremble.

Every pore on his body, sensing the surrounding atmosphere, instinctively sent warnings to his system.

Like the natural suppression of a top predator over its prey, Wood's biological instincts detected danger, and his brain, receiving that signal, transmitted it to every nerve in his body.

Karp still stood in the same posture as before, constantly shoving rice crackers into his mouth.

Yet the feeling he gave Wood was completely different now. The old man was still the same old man, but Wood felt he was like a towering mountain, with no end in sight!

The heavy pressure forced Wood's body to slowly bend. Under that indescribable weight, he thought about just giving up resistance and lying flat on the ground—that would fit the persona he'd set up from the start.

But instinct told him that if he did that now, he'd never advance on the path of swordsmanship, and becoming a "Swordsman" would be nothing but a pipe dream.

On the path of the sword, if you don't advance, you retreat. Only by daring to challenge the strong can your mind and swordsmanship be elevated—like Zoro challenging Hawkeye, and Hawkeye challenging Whitebeard.

It was fine to be timid normally, but if he backed down now, his instinct told him he'd regret it later.

His back was completely soaked with cold sweat, and the ground beneath his feet had two deep indentations from his stomping. Yet even so, the curve of Wood's struggling legs grew steeper and steeper.

Just as Wood was about to lose consciousness from the killing intent so thick it felt almost solid, Zephyr finally couldn't stand it anymore and called a stop.

"Karp, that's enough. This kid's injuries just healed—you'll make them flare up."

The terrifying presence came and went quickly. The suffocating killing intent receded like a tide, and Wood's body collapsed uncontrollably to the ground, gasping for air.

He hadn't done anything, yet Wood felt that everything just now was more dangerous than his fight with Iron Arm Cook.

In just a few minutes, both physically and mentally, Wood was utterly exhausted.

"Well, well, this kid's got something. Under my presence lock just now, he still managed to stay conscious.

With that kind of caliber, setting aside your current strength, I can say for sure your future achievements will be quite impressive."

Wood, slumped on the ground panting, heard Karp's words and wore a puzzled expression.

In his own opinion, his performance just now had been pretty pathetic—why was he getting such high praise?

Seeing Wood's confusion, Karp knew what he was thinking, so he tilted his head, signaling Wood to look behind him.