The First Appearance of Ghostly Aura

"What's wrong, kid? Why are you spacing out?"

Colonel Shu watched Long Yi's vacant stare and frowned slightly. In the blink of an eye, the exceptional talent he had admired had actually lost focus in battle. Such a low-level mistake left him somewhat disappointed.

"Hm?"

As if Colonel Shu's call had worked, Long Yi murmured with vacant eyes. His body trembled, and he suddenly regained consciousness.

Still somewhat dazed, Long Yi first shook his head hard and looked blankly at the familiar surroundings. Once he confirmed that he had truly returned from that space to reality, he let out a long breath, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly before he finally laughed out loud.

No one but himself knew why Long Yi was laughing, but the trainee soldiers could no longer hold themselves back and began shouting.

"Long Yi, what are you laughing about? Show him the backbone of us trainee soldiers!"

"Please, Long Yi! We're counting on you!"

"Go, Long Yi! Go!"

The shouts of the surrounding trainee soldiers pulled Long Yi's thoughts back to reality. Feeling the ability imprinted deep within his mind, Long Yi felt strength fill every part of his body, and a surge of fighting spirit rose from his chest.

His expression darkened, his gaze sharpened, and he tightly gripped the hilt of his sword, fixing his eyes once more on Colonel Shu across from him.

The battle had only just begun.

"Hmph! That's more like it."

Feeling Long Yi's fighting spirit, Colonel Shu nodded lightly. He crooked a finger at Long Yi, his provocation obvious.

Long Yi slowly took a step forward, drew a deep breath, and did his best to calm his turbulent emotions. He stared intently at every tiny movement Colonel Shu made, trying to find the right moment to strike.

But Colonel Shu's strength was even more terrifying than Long Yi had imagined. He watched for half a day without finding the slightest opening. The eager gazes around him fell upon Long Yi, making the pressure in his heart grow heavier and heavier. Left with no choice, Long Yi launched a forceful attack.

"Hah!"

After a brief standoff, Long Yi suddenly pushed off the ground, shooting forward like a cannonball. As he shouted, he swung his Marine saber forward with all his strength, its rapidly slashing afterimage drawing a perfect arc through the air.

"Good!"

Colonel Shu's eyes lit up at Long Yi's clean, decisive attack. Though an attack of this level was nothing to a Marine colonel like him, from a Marine's perspective, Long Yi could undoubtedly be called outstanding.

Faced with Long Yi's slash, Colonel Shu did not dodge. Barehanded, he chose to remain where he was and use his fist to take the blade head-on.

"Clang!"

When fist and sword collided, there was none of the spray of blood Long Yi had expected. Instead, a thunderous ring of metal striking metal erupted.

Long Yi stared at Colonel Shu's fist in disbelief, only to find that the man had caught his slash with his bare hand. Long Yi could hardly accept such a result, and in his panic, he changed his sword stance.

Recalling the skill inherited from the sea of consciousness, Long Yi drew back his sword to gather strength, then thrust forward with all his might.

"Chain Thrust!"

Long Yi's gaze sharpened as his Marine saber shot out with lightning speed.

"Not bad at all. His swordsmanship fundamentals are solid, and he knows how to adapt."

Long Yi's sudden change of moves did not escape the eyes of the observing Marine officers. Among those bored officers were quite a few skilled swordsmen, and they gave Long Yi's quick adaptation an impartial evaluation.

Colonel Shu, who had just caught Long Yi's slash, had not even had time to mock him when he found himself facing Long Yi's thrusting blade.

Long Yi's Chain Thrust surprised Colonel Shu somewhat, but with his strength, he could still dodge it easily. Though the two lightning-fast thrusts both struck empty air, Long Yi's performance made Colonel Shu increasingly satisfied.

"Kid! Take this!"

Perhaps feeling that he needed to teach Long Yi a lesson, Colonel Shu did not retreat after dodging the blade. Instead, he closed in and threw a vicious punch straight at Long Yi's youthful face.

Before the fist even reached him, Long Yi's cheek felt the force of Colonel Shu's punch. The fierce wind cut across his face like blades, carrying a suffocating sense of pressure.

"Aah!"

His blood boiled. Like a beast driven into a corner, Long Yi's face twisted as a hoarse cry tore from his throat. Before his brain could even react, his body moved on instinct.

He lowered his blade, then sharply swept it upward!

No one had expected that Long Yi could retaliate like this against an attack from a Marine Headquarters colonel. Seeing Long Yi's youthful yet twisted face, the Marine trainees unconsciously held their breath, staring fixedly at Long Yi's blade and Colonel Shu's fist.

"Tch, to think this kid—"

Colonel Shu gave a bitter smile mid-attack and had no choice but to pull back his punch. From his combat experience, if he insisted on pressing the attack, his arm would definitely collide with Long Yi's blade. Even if he struck Long Yi, he would have to pay a considerable price himself.

With a whoosh, Colonel Shu flashed backward, but the appreciation in his eyes had nearly reached its peak.

Forcing back a Marine Headquarters colonel as a trainee soldier was an extraordinarily impressive feat. The observing Marine officers had practically already branded Long Yi as a promising talent, and many of them began entertaining their own thoughts.

How could a talent like this fall into Shu's hands? I should train him myself.

For a moment, quite a few observing Marine officers thought the same.

"Hah... hah..."

Long Yi panted heavily, looking utterly exhausted. Though he had forced back Shu's attack, he felt no joy whatsoever. The instant Colonel Shu had attacked him, his brain had nearly fallen into a state of oxygen deprivation. If not for the instinctive reactions he had honed over two years, he might not have escaped that blow.

"Roar! Well done!"

"Long Yi! Long Yi!"

"Keep it up, Long Yi!"

The brief exchange had left the trainee soldiers dazzled. Only when Long Yi stood there drenched in sweat and gasping for breath did they come back to their senses, erupting in thunderous cheers.

"Hmph! I have to admit, there really are some gutsy fellows among you trainees."

Under such an atmosphere, Colonel Shu could only put on a solemn air and say this. As soon as he finished speaking, the cheers around him grew even louder, instantly spilling out of the training ground and echoing across half of Marineford.

Long Yi deliberately ignored the cheers. Aside from his own heartbeat, he could no longer hear anything. After forcing Shu back, he had entered a strange state.

Though his reason told him it was unrealistic, every cell in his body craved it. A voice in Long Yi's heart was shouting, desperately wanting to win this battle.

Other than the desire for victory, there was nothing else in Long Yi's heart. Taking a deep breath, he made his decision, gently closed his eyes, and murmured.

"God of destruction, heed my summons."

As the words fell, the atmosphere in the training ground abruptly changed.

Colonel Shu had intended to exchange a few words with Long Yi, step down, and end this not-so-serious battle. But just as he was about to speak, he suddenly discovered that Long Yi's presence had undergone an earth-shattering change.

Blood-red ghostly aura rose visibly behind Long Yi. The instant the bloody aura appeared, everyone in the training ground stared at him in shock, their mouths hanging open.

An ancient ghost god awakened at this moment.

"Empower me! Blade Soul Kazan!"

With a roar, Long Yi abruptly opened his eyes. The moment they opened, two beams of crimson light shot from them, streaking straight toward the heavens. The blood-red ghostly aura solidified, and behind Long Yi appeared the phantom of a hideous ghost god.

The ender of worlds, the god of destruction, Blade Soul Kazan.

"Damn it! What is that thing? A Devil Fruit?"

After seeing Long Yi summon Kazan's phantom, the observing Marine officers could no longer remain calm. They all grew tense. The unknown change in Long Yi stirred towering waves in their hearts.

"Hahaha! Interesting! Interesting!"

The blunt and carefree Karp laughed heartily a few times, set down the rice crackers in his hand, and stared closely at Long Yi. A glint of sharp light flashed through his eyes, which otherwise looked no different from usual.

So this is the power of a ghost god...

After the power of Blade Soul enveloped him, Long Yi felt so exhilarated that he nearly wanted to fly into the sky. Under Kazan's enhancement, he felt his strength and speed greatly increase. But at the same time, the cost of summoning Blade Soul Kazan was considerable. Unknowingly, his stamina was draining away at a rapid pace.

I only have one chance.

Muttering to himself, Long Yi fixed his eyes on Colonel Shu across from him and no longer hesitated. He drew his sword to his side, then thrust out with explosive speed. The thrust was as fast as lightning, its speed and power utterly unlike his previous attacks.

"What's going on? Is this kid a monster?!"

Faced with Long Yi's sword, driven by his determination to win, Colonel Shu finally revealed a serious expression for the first time. His gaze sharpened, and after seeing the trajectory of Long Yi's blade, a strange ripple flashed across his body.

Rust-Rust Fruit, ability activated.

In an instant, victory and defeat were decided.

Long Yi's blade was corroded and rusted by Colonel Shu's hands, and the well-maintained Marine saber turned into iron powder that filled the air.

"This kid actually...!"

Colonel Shu clenched his fists and hid his hands behind his back. In the palm no one could see, a thin wound had suddenly appeared, slowly seeping bright red blood.

"What?! How could this happen?!"

Watching the iron powder swirl through the air, Long Yi fell to one knee in despair, his mind in chaos. Little did he know that the shock of the others was countless times greater than his. After the victor had been decided, the training ground fell into deathly silence.

Clap, clap, clap.

At that moment, a round of applause shattered the silence. Everyone instinctively turned toward the sound, only to see a sturdy old man bearing the rank of Hero slowly walking toward Long Yi while clapping.

It was the Marine Hero, Vice Admiral Karp.

"Hey, kid! You're not bad. From now on, follow this old man. I'll personally teach you what justice is, hahaha!"

His hearty laughter rang through the Marine training ground. Aside from Karp, everyone else, including Long Yi, fell into a dazed stupor.

Elsewhere in Marineford, a bald old man dressed in a white kimono and wearing round-framed glasses gently stroked a katana in his hand that emitted a faint, sinister aura.

The blade gave a soft hum, and the expression on his face became extremely complicated.