I Am Qualified to Look Down on You!

Conrad was excited; he felt his blood accelerating. This was his first time seeing such a massive creature, visually estimated to be over ten meters in both length and width.

He vaguely remembered his first elementary school field trip to the zoo. Since he was born in the Year of the Tiger and was a Leo, he became mesmerized the moment he saw a tiger and decisively stuck his head into the cage to say hello.

The tiger had also run over enthusiastically, wanting to greet him, but unfortunately, the orphanage teacher was a coward and insisted on dragging him away in a hurry.

That incident caused him to miss the chance for physical contact with the tiger, and when they reached the lions, the teacher monitored him even more closely, refusing to let him get near.

"So high-tech!" Conrad was eager to try. "Is this a turtle that ate the Projection Fruit?"

Bling Bling shook his head. He was from the countryside in the East Blue and hadn't seen much of the world, so he was also a bit excited at this moment.

"Close enough." A young girl replied to Conrad. The girl had wavy, sea-blue hair, rose-red eyes, and soft facial features, but her voice was very cold.

The girl walked out from behind the phalanx. She seemed to be late, or perhaps she had arrived right on time. She did not stop at the phalanx but walked toward the west side of the drill ground.

That was where the Devil Fruit users were, as they required Seastone-equipped testing.

Conrad kept looking into her eyes. He thought they were beautiful, like two rubies—clean and devoid of sorrow or joy.

"It is a Projection Den Den Mushi that ate the Turtle-Turtle Fruit," the girl said as her blue-haired back moved further away.

Conrad couldn't recall who she was; after all, she was too young, and there might be differences compared to when she grew up, or perhaps she wasn't famous yet. So, he shouted, "Thank you! What is your name?"

The girl didn't stop. She turned back to look at him, her light purple lace-trimmed dress highlighting her graceful curves. She hesitated for a few seconds before saying, "Ain."

Conrad noticed at this moment that the girl's eyes were actually pitch black. Backlit, it seemed they only appeared that rose-red color when hit by light.

"My name is Conrad!"

Ain didn't reply. She had already walked quite far, turned, and stepped into the line of ability users, where she was obscured and hidden from view.

The Doriki test had begun. Tokikake stood in the center of the drill ground before the Hand-Match Turtle, calling names one by one from the list.

The Hand-Match Turtle pulled its forelimbs in, pressing its ten claws together to perform the Rokushiki technique "Hand-Match," its two large, lantern-like eyes glaring at the backdrop wall.

Boom!

A punch slammed into the turtle's shell.

"Fullbody, 100 Doriki," Tokikake said.

Fullbody raised his fists high, blowing kisses to the crowd. After the painful lesson of being beaten up that day, he had reflected on his mistakes, worked hard, and finally broken through the 100-point barrier! He had reached the level of a commissioned officer!

Next came one person after another, mostly scoring between fifty and eighty. These were mostly veteran marines, and few exceeded one hundred. This was likely the power ceiling for ordinary people after long-term training.

"Next, Prince Grus."

The Prince was full of suppressed anger. He had been holding back for a long time, and every word Conrad had said to humiliate him was replayed in his mind, unable to be shaken off.

He raised his hand and pinched the half-meter brim of his peaked cap. This was something he had worn since he was a child to look cool while walking with his head down, but after he bumped into a pirate and got beaten up, his mother had it custom-made to prevent him from running into people.

But now, he rarely bumped into anyone—not because he had broken the habit of looking down, but because he was tall enough! Only by looking down could he clearly see that group of shorties below!

"Ah!" The Prince stood before the Hand-Match Turtle and let out a roar. He wanted people to look at him, to focus their attention on him.

He stepped back with his right leg, coiled his strength, and swung his arm. His biceps bulged against his sleeves, and with another sharp cry, he struck out heavily.

Clang~

A lingering echo vibrated from the turtle's shell.

A green number, its color shifted, was projected onto the screen—360!

"Not bad, very excellent," Tokikake praised, picking up a pen to record it and marking it with a star.

Two hundred Doriki was the threshold for a field officer.

At this level, one possessed the strength to lead a team alone to capture ordinary pirate crews.

The registered marines also cast gazes filled with shock and awe. No matter how arrogant the Prince was, they could not underestimate this strength.

More importantly, the Prince was only seventeen; he had an infinite future ahead of him.

"Nex..."

"Officer, wait, I haven't... finished the test!" The Prince suddenly interrupted. He retracted his fist, took off his hat, and pulled out a dirt-yellow fruit with interlocking patterns—a Devil Fruit.

His wealthy family had spent a fortune to acquire this for him, all so he could stand out and make a name for himself!

He bit off a large chunk in one go. The disgusting taste almost turned half his face purple, but he gritted his teeth and took another bite, swallowing it without chewing.

"I am now... a Devil Fruit user," the Prince said, clutching his churning stomach. "I need to test again!"

"Young people these days are truly impatient," Tokikake shook his head helplessly and kicked the Hand-Match Turtle. "Flip over."

The Hand-Match Turtle was clearly impatient, but it still pushed off the ground and flipped over, revealing its blue-black belly shell covered in Seastone.

Although Seastone would restrict fruit abilities, consuming a fruit—especially a Zoan or Paramecia—would grant a certain degree of physical enhancement.

The Prince took a deep breath. He had eaten the Paramecia-type Clay-Clay Fruit. At this moment, he felt as if his body had lost its shape and could expand infinitely.

He suddenly turned his head to look at Conrad. "Kid! I'm telling you now, I have the qualifications! I can look down on you lot!"

He turned back and threw a punch, his arm suddenly expanding into a one-meter-wide clay fist.

It slammed into the turtle's belly shell, and the clay dissolved and lost its effect.

The numbers projected on the screen from the Hand-Match Turtle's eyes began to scroll; the leading digit spun past 4, and the following numbers continued to climb until they finally stopped at 444.

These three identical digits were filled with irony.

The prince instinctively raised his thumb and drew it across his throat, making an arrogant throat-slitting gesture like a boxer taunting an opponent before a match.

Conrad laughed, and he laughed quite happily, neither panicked nor angered by the provocation.

He loved a life full of challenges and enjoyed it when people challenged him, for then he could use his strength to defeat them and prove that he was the true top-tier powerhouse!

Every marine present could feel the scorching intensity of their gaze, as if a fuse were burning, waiting for a ferocious explosion.

"Next, Bling Bling."

"Here!" Bling Bling trotted out from the formation, passing through the line of sight where the two men were clashing; in the middle of the day, he could even feel a sense of heat, though he wasn't sure if it was just psychological.

He walked up to the Hand-Match Turtle, which had returned to its prone position, performed ten deep squats, and rotated his waist to loosen his muscles and increase his joint flexibility, avoiding any poor performance caused by restricted power.

He gripped his weapon of choice: a standard-issue straight-bladed long sword used by the marines.

They were allowed three attacks to record the highest value, but since almost everyone achieved their peak on the first strike and wouldn't bother attacking again, he intended to use his full strength on the first blow.

He drew his blade, held it diagonally to the right, and inhaled.

"Hiyah!" Bling Bling exhaled with a shout, channeling his strength through his breath; this was what Conrad had taught him. Although he couldn't feel any "energy," as long as the sound came out, there was momentum!

Clang!

The turtle shell vibrated slightly.

The wall projection displayed a Doriki value of 81.

Bling Bling's eyes sparkled, blood rushed to his face, and he jumped up in excitement, cheering; the Doriki preliminary round would eliminate half the candidates, and he was definitely in the top half!

Back in the East Blue during the wooden stake-splitting tests, the highest he had ever managed was a stake with 60 Doriki!

He turned around, his steps light, and ran back into the formation, lifting Conrad up and spinning around like a flexible noodle. "Thank you for the swordsmanship!"

Conrad didn't speak, because from his perspective, from the way Bling Bling channeled his energy to his actual movements, he hadn't done a single thing right; it was entirely based on the brute force of his arms.

"When you get back to the East Blue, change your stakes; they might be a bit too hard."

"Yeah, haha! They're all old stakes we've used for over a decade, patched up with iron plating a few times." Bling Bling's eyes were overflowing with hope.