Unexpected Situation

"Passat!"

The other two pirates' expressions changed drastically at the sight. After exchanging a glance, they gritted their teeth and roared, charging at Noah simultaneously from the left and right.

Their judgment was sharp; seeing their companion killed in a single exchange, they knew they had run into a formidable opponent.

Years of drifting on the sea and the experience they had accumulated told them that turning to run now would be nearly impossible. Instead, launching a joint attack immediately offered them a slim chance of survival.

Regrettably, while they had made the most logical decision, they had ultimately underestimated Noah's strength.

"Soru!"

Amidst a whisper, Noah's figure vanished like a ghost right before their eyes. Their eyes widened, and before they could even react, a chilling breeze brushed against their backs.

Puchi!

The red blade struck left, the white blade struck right; two slender swords pierced through both their chests from behind simultaneously.

Noah twisted his wrists, turning their internal organs and heart vessels into mush. By the time he pulled the blades out, the light in their eyes had already faded, and their bodies stiffened as they toppled backward onto the ground.

Noah did not stop there. He skillfully delivered a finishing blow to each of their necks before wiping the blood from his blades and sheathing them once more.

This was Noah's first time participating in a live-combat assessment, but it was certainly not his first time in battle.

Back when he was at the 16th Branch in the East Blue, Noah had often accompanied his father, the branch captain, out to sea to participate in suppression operations.

His record might not have been glorious, but he had killed at least several dozen pirates, including some with bounties exceeding a million berries.

The good habit of delivering a finishing blow had been ingrained in him years ago; he was merely reclaiming that long-lost feeling now.

"Their average strength is indeed quite a bit higher than the pirates in the East Blue."

Noah glanced at the three corpses on the ground, shook his head, and strode past them. "But to think they could threaten me as I am now... they were a bit too naive."

These three burly men were actually not weak; they likely all carried Marine bounties. A few months ago, taking them down would have required some effort.

But now, it was nothing more than a single sword stroke.

"What those guys said earlier... something feels off."

He continued to walk briskly toward the building engulfed in flames, silently ruminating on the reactions of the men he had just faced. "Why were they so excited to see me, as if they'd found prey? And why were they trying to interrogate me about the whereabouts of their companions?"

By all logic, at this stage, shouldn't the remaining pirates on the island be pushed back step by step by his colleagues from the Elite Training Camp, left to struggle for survival in the dark alleys?

Why did it seem like the pirates held the initiative, searching everywhere for isolated Marine recruits?

"This shouldn't be happening. What are Shiryu and the others doing..."

Noah's brow furrowed. He looked up at the growing fire in the distance and quickened his pace.

--Regardless, he had to find someone he knew and get to the bottom of the situation.

In a dim alleyway.

"Don't run, you little brats!"

"Stop right there!"

Accompanied by arrogant roars, two or three dozen pirates flooded into the alley, chasing the three figures sprinting desperately ahead.

They were three young Marines in white uniforms.

The one in the middle had a graceful figure, waist-length blue hair, and exquisite features—a rare beauty by any standard—while the two on either side were girls with short hair.

All three were covered in blood, appearing as if they had just survived a fierce battle. Their expressions were exhausted, and they looked to be at the limit of their physical endurance.

"Huff... I can't do it anymore. I'm spent..."

Rounding another corner, the short-haired girl on the right finally reached her limit. She leaned against the wall and stopped, gasping for air.

"Shiya, Monica, this won't work. Our speed has dropped too much. No matter how we run, we can't shake these guys off. Why don't we just..."

"Send out a distress signal and let the instructors handle it?"

The beautiful girl with waist-length blue hair slowed her pace, glanced back at her, and said expressionlessly:

"If we do that, we won't be in any mortal danger, but this live-combat assessment will be declared over early. We won't be qualified to stay on the battlefield. Are you sure?"

"Is that really so bad?"

The short-haired Marine named Monica seemed to share the sentiment, smiling bitterly as she interjected:

"We've already taken out plenty of enemies anyway. If it weren't for the fact that a bunch of pirates suddenly appeared in the city for no reason, our assessment should have been over by now."

"Yeah, Shiya."

The girl who had stopped first also chimed in weakly. "And we definitely won't be the first to give up. Even if we're out now, our final ranking won't be too bad..."

"I am not giving up."

Before she could finish, Shiya coldly refused:

"At worst, we find a place to hide, rest for a few hours to recover our strength, and then come back out to keep fighting. But if you two want to leave, I won't force you. Do as you please."

"I knew it, there's no reasoning with you..." Monica sighed. "Shiya, you're too stubborn. Why go to such lengths? Sometimes, if you just learn to be a little flexible..."

Before she could finish, she was met with Shiya's indifferent gaze and was forced to swallow the rest of her words.

"Fine, then we're leaving, take care of yourself."

The sound of footsteps in the distance grew closer; it was clear that the pirates pursuing them had already entered the alleyway. Monica and the short-haired girl hesitated no longer, taking out their Den Den Mushi to prepare a joint distress signal.

The recruits of the Marine Elite Training Camp were all one-in-a-thousand talents. The headquarters did not want them to become flowers in a greenhouse, so they used life-and-death combat filled with blood and fire as a mandatory assessment on the path to becoming strong.

However, there is always a limit to everything. For these highly valued seedlings, the headquarters would naturally not allow them to perish while still growing.

Therefore, apart from Aokiji, who oversaw the entire situation, more than a dozen instructors who had traveled on the warships from headquarters were distributed throughout the various blocks of the town.

They remained silently hidden on the sidelines, observing and monitoring the performance of the recruits. Under normal circumstances, they would never intervene, nor would they let the pirates detect their presence.

But when a member of the Elite Training Camp was in mortal danger, or when they could no longer hold on and actively requested help, they would enter the fray immediately to provide protection and extraction.

However, once this happened, those Elite Training Camp recruits who were saved would naturally be declared as having withdrawn from the assessment, losing the opportunity to remain on the field and earn military merit.

For these elites from headquarters, the vast majority naturally did not wish to reach this point. Everyone had their own pride and dignity; who wouldn't want to eliminate more enemies and push their ranking higher?

But... unfortunately, plans could never keep up with changes.

Faced with the large number of pirate reinforcements that had suddenly surged from nowhere tonight, many Marine soldiers who had been fighting bitterly for two days and were exhausted to the point of collapse could only helplessly choose to withdraw, no matter how unwilling they were.

People like Shiya, who chose to persist to the end even in the face of adversity, were ultimately in the minority.

First update, thank you to Changsheng Zi and Lewis_Chen for the 2000 coin tips, and to Mashang Badao and Li Yi for their support.

Additionally, Shiya's character card is now live. Feel free to give the characters some likes when you have time, although as a newbie like me, I don't really know what that does QAQ...