Test

In the training ground, Dawn was in the middle of a battle.

Meanwhile, Aokiji, Garp, Sengoku, and other Navy big shots were in the Marshal's office, acting as spectators, watching the same fight alongside the other on-site personnel from the training camp.

No, perhaps "one-sided beating" was a more fitting description.

Well... because Dawn was constantly getting hit, completely unable to fight back...

After all, compared to his opponent, Dawn was far too green.

At this moment, Dawn had none of his earlier composure. His face was grim as he stared at the fierce fist closing in on him. He tapped the ground rapidly with his feet, using "Shave" to create distance and dodge the blow.

Without any pause, Dawn quickly returned to his original position. Before his opponent could retract his fist, Dawn unleashed a barrage of straight punches, pouring down like a violent storm.

But even against Dawn's well-planned assault, his opponent showed no panic. His right leg whipped out like a lash, sweeping straight toward Dawn!

"Boom!!"

Facing this strike, Dawn showed no fear. He sank his waist, steadied himself with his left leg, then lifted his right foot. With a gust of wind, it collided with his opponent's leg, producing a heavy impact.

Dawn's counterattacks grew fiercer. Every punch and kick aimed at vital points, his entire being growing more savage with the battle's momentum.

Finally, after a clash of fists, both sides used the force to leap back in an instant.

But before Dawn could relax, that figure took a single step, used "Shave" to cross the distance in a flash, and appeared before Dawn. A brutal fist came crashing down!

Facing this ferocious overhead strike, Dawn had no time to dodge. He could only brace himself, crossing his arms in front of him, accelerating blood flow through his limbs to harden his muscles and block the blow.

"Boom!!!"

The sound of the massive collision echoed throughout the training ground.

Dawn's arms trembled as his entire body was sent flying by the immense force. After taking that hit, his arms went limp, unable to muster any strength.

But Dawn didn't stop for a moment. He stomped the ground repeatedly, using "Shave" to close the distance with explosive speed from the reaction force. He employed the kicking technique of "Rankyaku" and aimed a vicious kick at his opponent's head!

"Kami-e."

Facing this sharp strike, the figure simply tilted his head lightly, dodging the swift attack with ease.

But the follow-up attack Dawn expected never came.

"Alright, that's enough for today. You managed to use Tekkai during the fight just now—very good. Spend the next few days getting more familiar with it and solidifying your grasp.

As for Rankyaku, your mastery is a bit weaker. Once Tekkai is solid, focus your next training on Rankyaku."

The burly man with purple hair wore a satisfied expression. Who else could it be but Admiral Zephyr?

Judging from the fight just now, Dawn's progress during the battle was clearly quite impressive.

"Yes, thank you, Instructor!" Dawn saluted and retreated to the edge of the training ground.

A nearby doctor, already prepared, began treating Dawn's injuries.

"Alright, next!"

Meanwhile, in the Marshal's office, Sengoku, Garp, Aokiji, and Tsuru were all watching the previous battle through a Den Den Mushi.

As for the office's original owner, Fleet Admiral Kong, now that he had a successor handling Navy affairs, most of his attention was on his upcoming role as Commander-in-Chief of the World Government.

After all, once Sengoku took over as Fleet Admiral, Kong would be stepping into the position of Commander-in-Chief. If he couldn't smoothly take over the highest military post, things would get troublesome.

Rising to Commander-in-Chief meant handling even more responsibilities, so Kong had no choice but to be cautious.

"So this is the kid Aokiji brought back, right? Good talent. I hear his Devil Fruit ability is also well-suited for the Navy?" Tsuru said with a chuckle after watching the footage.

Clearly, seeing such an outstanding junior in the Navy made Tsuru quite happy.

"That's right. Though he's young, this kid survived on Stomach Baron for a long time. Because of that island's unique nature, his willpower and foundational skills are both excellent."

Aokiji smiled at Tsuru's words and added, "And he's developed his fruit ability into something very rare.

Based on my later investigation, the previous user of this fruit was a pirate, but his ability could only affect himself."

"Not only that, I had someone look into the records of this fruit. He's only the second user. Comparing the previous user and Dawn at their respective ages, and then comparing their development, this alone is enough to show the kid's talent."

Admiral Sengoku spoke up, adding to Tsuru's observation.

From this perspective, it was clear that Sengoku valued Dawn highly. Otherwise, he wouldn't know so much about a child.

Devil Fruit abilities were just a foundation. In terms of potential, every fruit could be developed into something incredibly powerful.

But fruit development ultimately depended on the person. Only when the right person met the right Devil Fruit would an unremarkable fruit be honed into something immensely strong.

Take this Aura Fruit, as Sengoku saw it. Its previous user had developed auras that only affected himself, while Dawn had already figured out how to develop abilities that could be applied to others.

This had to be credited to the information explosion of his past life. Generally speaking, Devil Fruit effects on others were negative, used to kill enemies, while self-targeting effects boosted one's own strength.

The previous user had first developed self-enhancing abilities, but before he could develop further—or perhaps never even thought of abilities that could boost others—he died on the island.

In Dawn's view, Devil Fruits were as strong as the imagination behind them.

And fruits didn't always reappear in the world. Aside from those lucky enough to be found, most would vanish after appearing once.

So getting a fruit with a predecessor's development experience, and actually inheriting that experience, was extremely rare. Only the Navy could collect a few such records.

To Sengoku and the others, this was Dawn's talent.

But to Dawn, this was just basic common sense from playing games.

If the aura couldn't be applied to allies, then wouldn't it be better to just turn it into a passive skill?

It was precisely because he held onto such a rigid, rule-based mindset that Dawn had long since developed an amplifying aura capable of affecting others.

After all, a Devil Fruit was a highly intuitive item—if you firmly believed in a bizarre fruit, you could still develop formidable abilities from it, even ones that seemed completely unrelated.

Conversely, even a powerful fruit, if not properly developed, was nothing but trash.

Yes! I'm talking about you, Silver Fox Foxy!

A perfectly good, powerful Slow-Slow Fruit, yet you've barely developed it at all—what a complete waste.