Splat!
In the instant Giant Bear Sano froze in shock, the blade had already come down. At an extremely tricky angle, it broke through the bear claw she had raised in front of herself and carved a deep wound across her shoulder blade.
Blood spurted out. Sano came to her senses, let out an angry roar, and swung her claw in retaliation.
Soru!
Noah did not hesitate. He drew back with his swords, his figure flickering as he appeared out of thin air on a rooftop more than ten meters away.
After Sano's strike missed and smashed a small house in front of her to pieces, he suddenly kicked off the chimney beside him, using the force to launch himself from behind once more and slash at the giant bear's exposed back.
After several exchanges, he had already found the most suitable way to fight Sano.
With his absolute advantage in speed, he held complete control over the battlefield. Even if he could not contend with the giant bear's transformed body in a direct clash of strength, he could still wear her down to death through his formidable endurance!
Endurance did not merely refer to stamina.
It also included resistance to damage, self-healing ability, and the thickness of one's "health bar." Therefore, as long as his battle with Sano turned into a prolonged war of attrition, he would be invincible!
Rumble!
After several more attacks missed, Giant Bear Sano grew increasingly irritated and berserk. She had completely entered a state of fury. Every time her bear claws came down, she used nearly all her strength, and her destructive power had increased by far more than a level.
The surrounding buildings continuously collapsed, smoke and dust filling the air. The area of cracked ground caused by the battle's shockwaves also continued to expand.
The enormous commotion had spread through nearly the entire town, naturally drawing plenty of attention.
Figures began to appear one after another in the surrounding streets and alleys, watching the situation from afar.
Among them were pirate grunts from the West Blue Underground Alliance, as well as Elite Training Camp Marines who had persisted until now and had yet to withdraw from the assessment.
Through the thick fog and dust, they initially had no idea what was happening here and could only make uneasy guesses.
However, as the clash between the two grew fiercer and the battlefield gradually shifted away from the area that had already been destroyed, everyone could finally make out the details of the battle.
The first thing they noticed was naturally the black giant bear standing over ten meters tall. Even from more than a hundred meters away, they could feel the terrifying power of the berserk beast.
"The destruction around here was basically caused by this thing, right... Is this Sano, the strongest captain among those pirates, with a bounty of 52 million Beli?"
Some Elite Training Camp members, after several hours of nighttime pursuit, had extracted plenty of information from the pirates they defeated, just like Shiryu had.
So at this moment, they easily recognized the giant bear's identity.
"She really is absurdly strong. Among pirates who are still in West Blue and haven't entered the Grand Line, she's probably among the strongest."
Someone looked grave, while silently feeling fortunate that none of the pirates they had encountered earlier had been at this level.
"Who's fighting her? Someone can actually keep Giant Bear Sano tied down for this long?"
"Shiryu? No, even him, who has ranked first in the assessments for years, probably couldn't defeat a monster like that alone, could he?"
Boom!
Just then.
From behind a building shattered by the giant bear's fierce blow, a slender figure emerged from the dust with swords drawn, bringing both blades down from above toward the giant bear's head.
That also allowed every onlooker to clearly see his face.
"Eh? Eh? Eh? That's Noah?"
Many recruits from the same class who knew Noah had their jaws drop, their eyes widening in disbelief.
"Wasn't he left behind on Gulu Island? How did he make it to this assessment? Don't tell me Rear Admiral Gion is taking it for him?"
"No, he's using Two-Sword Style. It really is Noah himself..."
"Damn, he really is the training fanatic. When did he secretly become this strong?"
Under countless astonished and incredulous gazes, the giant bear, who had been roaring and wreaking havoc in frustration, suddenly noticed the movement above her. She immediately let out a roar and slapped both bear claws upward at once.
Thud!
Noah avoided one bear claw, but the other struck him squarely. His figure, tiny before the massive black bear, was instantly sent flying backward, blasting a crater several meters deep into the ground.
"Not good!"
Some recruits who were usually close to Noah were immediately alarmed, worry appearing in their eyes.
If they had been hit by such a terrifying blow, they would probably have been knocked unconscious on the spot. Noah had always been known for his freakish stamina among his peers at Marine Headquarters, but he could not be feeling good now, could he?
However.
The next moment, Noah sprang to his feet from the bottom of the crater almost immediately, shook the dust and debris from his hair, and charged back into the battlefield as if nothing had happened.
He performed that entire sequence with astonishing familiarity, as though the same scene had already happened many times during the fierce battle that had lasted until now.
Meanwhile, Giant Bear Sano, despite successfully sending Noah flying, became slower and slower as she faced the two blades that kept coming at her without pause. While growing even more enraged, she began to show obvious signs of exhaustion.
At this point, not only the recruits from Marine Headquarters Elite Training Camp, but even the pirates watching the battle were left dumbstruck.
They, the people affiliated with the West Blue Underground Alliance, knew Giant Bear Sano's strength far better than the Marines did. Precisely because of that, the shock and disbelief in their hearts were even stronger.
She was a great pirate who had roamed the Grand Line for years and returned unscathed! In terms of individual strength alone, even their alliance's boss, Mr. Capone of the mafia family, was no match for Giant Bear Sano.
Yet today, she was completely helpless against a young Marine who was clearly still a greenhorn, and was even gradually falling into a disadvantage?
Time slowly passed, and the battle on the field continued.
Elsewhere, after a grueling battle that had lasted three or four hours, Shiryu finally cut down Tuls, the pirate captain with Fish-Man blood.
After all, Tuls had a higher bounty than even Kaku, and Fish-Men were naturally blessed with powerful physiques. Defeating him completely had not been easy.
Leaning against a wall with one hand on his sword, he tilted his head back and gasped heavily, his expression utterly exhausted.
Only after a long while did Shiryu barely recover. He lit a cigarette, straightened up, and looked toward Noah and Sano's clash in the distance amid the clouds of dust.
"They're still not done..."
Watching Noah get knocked away several times only to quickly get back up unharmed and continue fighting, even Shiryu could not help feeling a little envious.
"This guy's physique is getting more and more freakish. Still, that's good. He seems to have the upper hand, so I won't need to go over and help."
He withdrew his gaze from Noah and looked around, but did not see Rosinante or Big Black Hat Roan, the Door-Door Fruit user.
After thinking it over, Shiryu guessed that Roan's ability was troublesome and well-suited for escape, so the two had likely been fighting while moving and had unknowingly shifted their battlefield somewhere far away.
He was somewhat worried about Rosinante, but his stamina was already close to its limit. Without any trace of the other party, he lacked the strength to search the entire town for them.
After narrowing his eyes slightly, Shiryu set his sights on the pirate grunts hiding in the surrounding streets and alleys, watching the battle between man and bear.
"It's almost noon. There are only five or six hours left in the assessment, so I might as well pick up a few more heads and pad my results with numbers."
He muttered inwardly. Then, as though he had thought of something, he shook his head helplessly and sighed to himself.
"But with Noah's absurd performance this time, I can only watch first place in this assessment slip out of my hands..."
Before you opened this chapter, it might still have been the Year of the Rat. By the time you finish it, it's already the Year of the Ox!
It's Lunar New Year's Eve. The author is spending the holiday alone away from home, with nothing to do but write. Wishing everyone a happy New Year and lots of joy!
Before you continue