The shameless senior is actually this strong?

Wood and Gion had quite a bit of interaction due to the shooting and artillery assessments.

Gion was a highly competitive person. After being thoroughly defeated by Wood in both shooting and artillery scores, she made an effort to learn more about him.

For an ordinary person, obtaining Wood's detailed information might have been difficult, but it wasn't too challenging for Gion.

Vice Admiral Tsuru was not only a Vice Admiral at Marine Headquarters but also the "Grand Strategist" of the entire Navy, one of the few high-ranking officials with real power.

Despite the significant age difference, Gion and Tsuru were as close as sisters.

With Tsuru's help, Gion obtained extremely detailed intelligence on Wood and came to understand the man before her even better.

Wood was born on Maple Leaf Island in the first half of the Grand Line. His experiences before the age of 15 were unremarkable, or rather, no different from any ordinary boy.

However, at the age of 15, he single-handedly annihilated a pirate crew that had landed on the island, and from then on, he was unstoppable.

Between the ages of 15 and 16, eight pirate crews landed on Maple Leaf Island. He wiped out five of them completely, while the remaining three fled after their captains were killed.

Before coming to Marine Headquarters, he had single-handedly slaughtered more than half of the Iron Arm Pirates and killed their captain, who had a bounty of 20 million Beli.

On Maple Leaf Island, Wood had an excellent reputation. He was not only loved by the islanders but was even called the "Guardian of Maple Leaf Island." The residents unanimously considered him a good child.

Upon arriving at Marine Headquarters, he directly faced the oppressive aura of Marine Hero Vice Admiral Karp. Both his willpower and his caliber earned the praise of Vice Admiral Karp and Admiral Zephyr.

After seeing the intelligence about Wood in her hands, Gion was undoubtedly stunned.

The Wood described in the intelligence was vastly different from the Wood she knew.

The Wood in the intelligence possessed exceptional talent. Both his willpower and his character could only be described as outstanding for his age.

But the Wood Gion knew? His mediocre grades were one thing, but he was also extremely timid and afraid of trouble. As for his character, calling him immoral would be giving him too much credit!

The discrepancy between the intelligence and reality was so great that Gion even wondered if she had the wrong person.

However, there was only one person named Wood of the appropriate age in the entire Marine Academy.

Clearly, a person couldn't have two personalities. Either the person had a split personality or was deliberately putting on an act.

Wood had lived on Maple Leaf Island for over a decade, and his personality hadn't changed much during that time. It was only after arriving at Marine Headquarters that he became the way he was now.

Therefore, it wasn't difficult to understand. Wood's mediocre performance and his morally questionable personality were both carefully crafted facades.

Gion didn't know why Wood was doing this, but she understood that everyone had their secrets. She wouldn't pry into Wood's affairs, as long as his true nature wasn't bad.

To verify the accuracy of the intelligence, Gion had even secretly tested Wood several times. He was unexpectedly strong in terms of stamina, reaction, and speed.

Furthermore, as a Swordsman herself, even though Wood concealed his aura perfectly, Gion could still vaguely sense a sheathed sharpness from him.

It wasn't without reason that Gion had viewed Wood as a rival when they first met.

Although Wood wasn't the top performer in the shooting assessment back then, Gion had still taken notice of him. Thinking back now, it was probably his aura that influenced her.

When one Swordsman encounters another, even if one side hides perfectly, the feeling of meeting a worthy opponent is undeniable.

Gion didn't know the reason for Wood hiding his strength, but she felt that as long as he was still in the Marine Academy, they would eventually have a chance to clash.

After all, the enhanced training for Marine cadets included practical combat courses. At that time, even if Wood hid his strength deeply, she was confident she could force out his true abilities.

This was what Gion initially thought. However, a year passed. Even during the final assessment, Wood's performance remained mediocre. He had already submitted his graduation application, preparing to become an ordinary Marine soldier, and Gion finally couldn't sit still!

According to her original plan, Wood should have at least revealed some of his strength during the final assessment and been selected as an elite to stay.

Yet, this guy, who clearly possessed such formidable strength, chose to become a mere Marine soldier with no ambition!

The "Swordsman" duel she had anticipated hadn't happened yet, and Gion naturally wouldn't let Wood desert. Moreover, she believed that with his abilities, becoming an ordinary Marine soldier was a waste of talent. So, she informed Tsuru about the matter and asked for her help.

This was also why the Marine Captain from before said that both Admiral Zephyr and Tsuru would simultaneously notify them to keep Wood behind.

"Classmate Gion thinks too highly of me... The three people lying over there all had much better results than me.

If it's about shooting or artillery, I still have some confidence.

But when it comes to hand-to-hand combat, I'm a weakling. Let alone those three, even in a one-on-one fight, my chances of winning aren't high."

Hearing Wood's words, Gion immediately showed a look of disdain. The shooting and artillery skills Wood displayed, and he still had the nerve to say he had confidence?

"You don't need to pretend to be a harmless little bunny in front of me. If you didn't have the strength, I wouldn't have gone out of my way to ask someone to keep you here..."

"So it was you! I knew my assessment scores had nothing to do with being an elite, so why was I kept behind? It turns out you were the one pulling the strings.

We have no past grievances, and I just wanted to be a Marine soldier. Why are you trying to ruin me!"

Hearing Gion's words, Wood, who had been wearing an innocent expression, suddenly looked enlightened and annoyed. So the problem wasn't with Admiral Zephyr, but with Gion.

"Because I haven't defeated you yet, and your strength is actually very strong, right? You killed a pirate with a 20 million Beli bounty before even entering the Marine Academy.

With such qualifications, do you think Admiral Zephyr would let you become an ordinary Marine soldier even if I didn't interfere?"

The speaker was unintentional, but the listener was attentive.

When Wood heard Gion's words, his expression didn't change much. However, the two youngsters beside him looked at Wood's expression and were stunned.

Leaving Hina aside for now, the bruised and swollen Smoker looked at Wood with an expression of disbelief. He simply couldn't fathom that such a shameless person could be such a formidable existence.