Cavendish struck first, but not only did he fail to subdue Smoker immediately, he was instead forced back several steps by Smoker's punch. If he had not reacted quickly, taking that punch head-on would have ended far worse than simply being driven back.
Seeing that his counterattack had actually been blocked, Smoker was inwardly startled as well.
Cavendish's attacks were incredibly fast and fierce. During their brief exchange of dodging and counterattacking, Smoker had already been forced to use Soru. He had yet to become a Smoke-Smoke Fruit user; what had allowed him to stand out at the Marine Academy was his exceptional martial ability.
Perhaps influenced by Tsugikuni Yoriichi, the Marine Academy led by Zephyr had begun consciously loosening the requirements for young trainees to learn the Marine Six Styles. And Zephyr's measures had indeed produced good results.
The differences between people were enormous. Everyone had things they excelled at and things they did not.
Perhaps some trainees had limited physical talent and could not learn abilities such as Soru and Tekkai, which required outstanding physical conditioning, but they might be exceptionally gifted at Paper Arts. Perhaps some trainees could not learn Paper Arts, an ability that required a certain talent, but through relentless effort, they could master abilities such as Soru and Finger Pistol.
Smoker had also benefited from Zephyr's changes to the curriculum. He had successfully mastered four of the Marine Six Styles, and Soru was the one he had mastered best.
"Gentlemen, fighting in the streets of Whole Cake Island will get you—"
Behind the stall, Kujaku had wiped away much of the blood on the young shop owner's face. The girl looked up at the menacing Smoker and Cavendish in the middle of the street and hurriedly tried to dissuade them.
Unfortunately, Smoker and Cavendish