"Giant Bear" Sano

What was going on...?

Whether it was Shiryu and Rosinante or the pirate captains, they were all stunned, unable to quite believe what they were seeing.

How long had they been fighting? Not even ten minutes, right?

Swordmaster Kaku, with a bounty of 36 million Beli, had been completely overwhelmed and beaten into this state?

Meanwhile—

Kaku, who was fleeing in utter disarray, was filled with shock and could not help but curse aloud.

What the hell was wrong with this brat? How could he be so strong?!

When they had first crossed blades, Kaku had sensed that the other man had only just touched the threshold of Swordmastery. His swordsmanship was inferior to Kaku's, and Kaku had thought victory was practically guaranteed.

Yet after only a few exchanges, once Noah got serious, Kaku abruptly realized that the opponent before him was a terrifying monster utterly unlike his handsome appearance.

Whether it was strength, speed, or footwork, the other man surpassed him by an enormous margin.

A casual slash was enough to leave Kaku's sword hand numb, while every strike Kaku made seemed to be predicted in advance and effortlessly avoided.

Under such circumstances, even if Kaku's swordsmanship realm was indeed a little higher, how could he possibly defeat his opponent?

Run. He could only run!

After struggling across the seas for so many years, Kaku knew that in a battle like this, a swordsman's so-called honor and dignity were bullshit. Only his life mattered.

"Damn it, Roan is tangled up too and can't get away..."

His adrenaline surged as he poured every ounce of strength into his legs and sprinted desperately down the street. "Otherwise, with that guy's Devil Fruit ability, escaping wouldn't be this hard..."

His two allies could not help him, so he could only seek out Sano!

That monster was on an entirely different level from the three of them, and he was not far away—just in the neighboring block.

As long as Kaku kept running and held out until Sano noticed the commotion and came to support him, that damned brat pursuing him so relentlessly would have only death waiting for him!

But just then, his vision blurred. Noah had somehow appeared directly in front of him, blocking his escape route.

"We haven't even fought for long, yet the moment things went bad, you lost all fighting spirit and only thought about running away. You're really disgracing the title Sword Demon, old man."

Noah looked at the terrified Kaku and sighed in disappointment. "Don't be a pirate in your next life. The sooner you die, the sooner you'll be reborn. Go reincarnate now, and maybe you'll be born in Shimotsuki Village and learn what real Three-Sword Style is."

What kind of nonsense was this guy spouting?

Kaku did not understand a word of the latter half, but he could clearly see Noah's hands simultaneously tightening around his swords.

Not good!

Panic flashed across Kaku's face. Instinctively, he turned to flee in the opposite direction, but beneath Noah's descending blades, he was ultimately a step too late.

Amid a shrill scream, the short, fat body swayed where it stood before stiffly collapsing to the ground.

Meanwhile.

On the mountaintop with its broad view, Aokiji, who had witnessed the scene firsthand, raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"My, that was unexpected..."

Aokiji scratched his head, only to find that after two days of sea wind, his hair was damp, greasy, and clumped together. He quickly lowered his hand in disgust and muttered, "Looks like first place in this practical assessment has already been decided..."

"Who, Shiryu?"

A familiar voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Oh, why did you come up here?"

Aokiji turned around and looked in surprise at Momousagi, who had appeared before him. "Didn't you say the mountaintop was too windy and that you'd stay on the warship until the assessment ended?"

"I was getting a little bored."

Momousagi stretched lazily and said with a smile, "I couldn't stay on the ship any longer after being idle for so long, so I came to watch the excitement."

"Wasn't that what I told you yesterday...?"

Aokiji was rather puzzled, but Momousagi had already walked over to the rocks as if nothing had happened and casually changed the subject.

"What exactly did you see just now? It's rare to see you looking so surprised."

"Uh... you might not believe it, but that young Noah just effortlessly defeated a pirate captain with a bounty of over thirty million."

Aokiji turned his gaze back toward the town and gestured with his chin in a certain direction. "There, he should probably be heading back by now... Hm?"

He suddenly trailed off, his brows knitting slightly.

Momousagi narrowed her eyes. "What is it now?"

"He ran into him a little earlier than I expected."

Aokiji stared at the street below with interest and smacked his lips. "Looks like this kid's luck isn't very good. This time, he's run into real trouble..."

Street corner.

Noah had just searched Kaku's corpse and rose to his feet in satisfaction.

Though all three of the man's swords were of decent quality, one was actually a Ryo Wazamono. Noah had no use for it now that he possessed Yone's Twin Blades, but turning it over to Marine Headquarters should still count as considerable merit and add another accomplishment to his record.

These accumulated merits would directly affect the rank he would be awarded at his commissioning ceremony after graduation.

"I should go back and see how the battle is going."

He turned to look in the direction he had come from, silently calculating. I'll help Shiryu and Rossi deal with those two first, then go find Giant Bear Sano. That'll be safer...

Kaku had not actually been weak, but once he fell behind, his fighting spirit had faded too quickly. This battle had not been satisfying at all, which was truly disappointing.

Noah felt that perhaps in this practical assessment, only Sano—the man even his companions regarded as a monster—could give him the exhilarating thrill of a true duel.

Thud, thud, thud.

He had not gone far after turning around when heavy footsteps, dull as thunder, suddenly rang out from far to near.

Like an omen before a volcanic eruption, the ground along nearly half the street began to tremble faintly.

Noah stopped. He had already realized something, so he took a deep breath, turned his head, and looked toward the street corner where Kaku had just fled.

A man standing six or seven meters tall, as powerfully built as a giant bear from the forest, with a close-cropped haircut, appeared before him.

The man wore nothing but a robe, and every inch of his body was packed with muscles brimming with explosive strength.

His features were fairly delicate, but the two intersecting scars around his jaw and eye sockets completely ruined what little beauty he had, making his entire face appear vicious and terrifying.

He glanced at the fat corpse on the ground and curled his lips mockingly. Then he lifted his head, his bloodshot eyes settling on Noah's face in the distance.

"Brat... was it you who killed Kaku?"