Dust billowed across the training ground.
Darren, Gion, and Gion's partner faced off at a distance, their imposing auras gradually growing stronger.
The yellow sand swirled as the broad capes behind Gion and Gion's partner snapped in the chilly sea breeze.
The Marines of Branch 321 had all rushed over after hearing the news, packing the training ground shoulder to shoulder as they waited eagerly for what would happen next.
"Vice Base Commander Momonga, do you think Base Commander Darren will lose?"
A young Marine asked Momonga, who stood with his arms crossed.
Momonga, wearing a Marine cap, smiled but said nothing.
Losing simply wasn't in that guy's vocabulary.
More accurately, the question was just how badly those two "chosen ones of heaven" from Marine Headquarters would get thrashed.
"Then, Marine Captain Darren, who would you like to spar with first?"
Gion's partner asked eagerly, flicking his sparse hair with a flashy flourish.
Noticing that quite a few of the female Marines at Branch 321 were watching them expectantly, he felt even more pleased with himself.
He'd received guidance from plenty of experts at Headquarters, and even Admiral Sengoku had praised his talent.
Among his peers, only Gion could compare with him.
He could already picture himself taking Darren down in one clean move, then basking in the admiring, eager gazes of the female Marines.
Thinking about it, Gion's partner couldn't help letting out a silly little chuckle.
Darren glanced at him and shook his head.
"No. To save time, you can both come at me together."
Gion and her partner were both taken aback. Then anger rose in their hearts.
This guy... What an arrogant thing to say!
"Then don't blame me for being rough! I'll go easy on you!"
Gion's partner gritted his teeth.
He'd make sure this country bumpkin from the North Blue saw just how powerful the Marines at Headquarters were!
He bent his knees slightly, and every muscle in his body visibly tensed.
Boom!
The ground burst into a crater beneath his feet. Propelled by his incredible strength, Gion's partner shot forward like a cannonball, charging toward Darren at astonishing speed.
It wasn't the Six Powers technique Shave. Gion and her partner hadn't yet entered the Officer Training Camp, so they hadn't mastered the superhuman Six Powers techniques.
This was simply an explosive burst of speed and strength!
The Marines watching from Branch 321 all drew in a sharp breath. Their vision blurred, and Major Gion's partner vanished from sight.
In less than a second, he'd covered more than ten meters and reached Marine Captain Darren. His muscles bulged as he drove a devastating punch toward Darren's abdomen!
There was no flashiness,
no feint,
just the full force of his formidable physique!
Seeing Darren standing there motionless, as if he hadn't even noticed the attack, Gion's partner laughed inwardly.
He could already picture Darren taking the punch, then crumpling to the ground and throwing up.
That's what you get for showing off!
For flaunting your muscles and your physique!
For sleeping with Lady Margery!
For being so eager to care for the people!!
Get down on the ground!
Boom!!
At last, his punch landed squarely on Darren's sharply defined abs, sending ripples of white shockwaves through the air.
But the cunning smile on Gion's partner's face abruptly froze.
Something was wrong... That punch had felt like it hit an iron wall.
Darren hadn't budged an inch!
Gion, standing not far away with her Famous Sword in hand, ready to step in at any moment, was also stunned.
Gion's partner looked up in disbelief. Darren's young face stared back at him with a faintly helpless expression.
"Um... Major, I'm grateful that you're going easy on me, but please take this spar seriously."
Darren's smile was playful.
Gion's partner's mouth twitched.
"Gion's partner, what are you doing? Stop fooling around!" Gion demanded, a flicker of confusion crossing her face.
Gion's partner...
He clenched his teeth and took a deep breath. The muscles in his arm bulged as he threw another powerful punch at Darren!
Boom!!
Another wave of air surged outward, and a violent gust swept up clouds of dust.
Darren, the base commander of Branch 321, still hadn't moved an inch!
Gion's partner was stunned all over again.
Was this... Iron Body!?
He hadn't learned the Six Powers yet, but even he knew what it looked like.
This sort of defense, which gave the body the hardness of "steel," was clearly the effect of Iron Body, one of the Six Powers.
Iron Body worked by accelerating blood flow and speeding up muscle movement.
But what was incredible was that Darren didn't show any of the telltale signs of straining his muscles to use Iron Body!
"Major, I said you really don't need to go easy on me. I genuinely want to see what you're capable of," Darren said again, his voice unhurried.
"Gion's partner, what are you doing!? I said to go all out!" Gion snapped angrily.
Gion's partner looked as if he was about to cry. I am going all out!
He gritted his teeth and unleashed a furious barrage of punches with both arms.
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
His fists came down like a storm, turning into countless afterimages that engulfed the Marine Captain.
His punches were powerful enough to smash through stone walls with ease. They struck Darren's chest, abdomen, legs, and even his head, yet they couldn't make him take so much as half a step back.
They had no effect at all!
The Marine Captain stood firm, like a rock defying a raging storm.
It wasn't working...
How was that possible...
Gion's partner stared at Darren's unbothered expression and the faint amusement in his eyes. A thought too incredible to believe suddenly rose in his mind.
Could it be...
Just then, Darren grinned at him.
"Had enough? If you have, then it's my turn."
Gion's partner froze. A bone-chilling cold rose from the soles of his feet and shot straight up his spine to his brain.
A rough hand darted toward him faster than he could react, growing rapidly in his vision...
It was too fast... There was nowhere to run!
Gion's partner's face changed dramatically. As Darren made his move, his nagging suspicion finally became reality.
This guy... was strong enough to crush him with ease!!
"D-don't hit me in the face!!"
Gion's partner let out a shriek, but the next instant, that large hand was already covering his face.
In Gion's disbelieving gaze,
under the stunned expressions of the Branch 321 Marines, all drawing in sharp breaths,
under Momonga's helpless gaze,
amid Gion's partner's pig-like screams,
Darren held him down by the face,
took a menacing step forward,
and then...
smashed Gion's head into the ground!
Rumble!!
The earth within a twenty-meter radius shook violently. A shocking crater formed, and countless cracks spread across it.
Gion's partner's entire head was buried in the ground at the bottom of the crater, while his two geta-clad legs stuck up in the air, twitching now and then.
Dust billowed, swirling like a dragon.
At that moment, everyone present watched the scene with clenched teeth, their eyes twitching.
That... It hurt just to watch.
Before you continue