Victory Through Battle

Inside the Marine Headquarters recruit training camp, on the vast drill ground, viewed from above, the recruits stood in pairs one meter apart, forming a huge circle eighty meters in diameter. At its center stood a man holding a sword, looking up at the man in the sky whose lower body had turned into white smoke.

The two remained locked in a standoff for two minutes before Smoker lost patience. His body turned, and as if fitted with rocket boosters, he glided down through the air. When he was twenty meters above the ground, he threw punch after punch while moving, sending streams of white smoke pouring down like snakes.

An attack from above could not all be evaded with Kami-e. Zhong Hao shifted lightly, causing every stream of white smoke to miss and strike the ground. Meanwhile, Smoker had already risen again, flying even higher.

"Boring attacks, Smoker. Can't you aim a little better?" Zhong Hao shouted mockingly. Though standing on the ground did not drain his stamina, staying on guard continuously would consume a great deal of mental energy. Besides, passively taking hits had never been his style. He had been thinking of a way to bring Smoker down.

This time, Smoker seemed exceptionally composed. He was not provoked by the taunt and dove down again, unleashing White Fist after White Fist like a fighter jet strafing the ground. At twenty meters above the ground, he climbed again; once he reached high altitude, he dove once more, repeating the cycle over and over.

Zhong Hao easily dodged Smoker's attacks, but his brow furrowed slightly. What is Smoker doing? He knows this won't work and will only waste his stamina. Wait, this is...

He had kept his head raised, guarding against attacks from the air, and had never noticed that the smoke from White Fist did not disperse after striking the ground. Instead, it gathered again around him, clinging close to the ground.

By the time he noticed, it had already spread up to his chest.

Smoker's arrogant laughter came from above. "Hahaha, you finally noticed! Since you've noticed, there's no need to hide it anymore. White Smoke Bomb."

The dense smoke that had been bound to the ground began to rise, enveloping Zhong Hao completely. Everything around him was a vast expanse of white, making it impossible to tell direction.

"It's not over yet. White Gale." The dense smoke began to spin rapidly, and the rotating smoke drove the air into a whirlwind. Pulling forces tugged at Zhong Hao's body, trying to drag him into the sky. Once he was airborne, his feet could no longer draw strength from the earth. Not only would he be unable to use Soru, even Kami-e would be difficult to perform. Then Smoker could attack as freely as he pleased.

"Why do I always run into idiots? You knew I was troubled over not being able to hit you, yet you still gave me a helping hand. Soru."

Borrowing that pulling force, Zhong Hao stomped fiercely against the ground and shot upward, faster than usual. His jumping power combined with the pull carried him all the way to a height of twenty-six meters, leaving only four meters between him and Smoker.

"Hahahaha, Zhong Hao, looks like I still won. I've trapped you in the air—let's see how you dodge now. White Vine." Thick white smoke sprayed from Smoker's hands, condensing into vine-like tendrils that curled toward Zhong Hao.

"Geppo."

Zhong Hao stepped in midair. A muffled bang sounded beneath his feet as his body shifted five meters to the side, evading the White Vine's entanglement.

"Geppo? Hmph! So what? How many times can you dodge? White Vine." Smoker turned both hands into smoke and sent another White Vine binding toward him.

"Is that so? That's why you're just an idiot smoke man. Don't you know Geppo can jump upward in midair too? Rankyaku." Zhong Hao mocked him playfully. His right leg lashed out like a whip, and Rankyaku unleashed a whirlwind that made Smoker's smoke body sway violently.

"Damn it." Smoker struggled to steady himself, but Zhong Hao would not give him the time.

"It's not over yet. Geppo." Though he could not use Geppo repeatedly in a straight vertical ascent, he could shift sideways three times. Taking advantage of Smoker's unstable form in the whirlwind, Zhong Hao used Geppo to rise another three meters. He was still one meter away, but one should not forget that his arm length plus Sea Fang's length was far more than one meter.

"Idiot, get down here." Sea Fang traced a semicircle, its flat striking Smoker hard toward the ground as if swatting a fly.

Smoker's rapid fall gave a brutal demonstration of gravity. His body crashed into the ground and scattered into a cloud of white smoke. Just as the smoke gathered back into Smoker, Zhong Hao descended from above, and Sea Fang's spine slammed into Smoker's abdomen.

"Logia types really are troublesome. Hey, you're not dead, are you?" Zhong Hao let out a breath, rose to his feet, and nudged the motionless white-haired man with his toe.

"B-Bastard... couldn't you have gone a little easier?" The white-haired man clutched his stomach, his body twitching.

"Who told you to be so arrogant? Besides, if I hadn't hit you hard enough, you'd have flown back into the sky. Then it would've been hard to catch you again." Zhong Hao spread his hands.

Two medics ran over and were about to help Smoker away for treatment when Zephyr spoke up to stop them. "Wait. Help him to the side first. Now, everyone, form up."

Upon hearing the order, the recruits quickly returned to their positions and lined up neatly. Zhong Hao naturally walked over to stand behind Zephyr.

Zephyr swept his gaze across everyone and said, "The result is obvious. Your strength is simply not worth mentioning."

All the recruits lowered their heads in silence. Even Smoker had lost. That meant they would have to bear the title of the weakest class, and their gloom was easy to imagine.

Zephyr shouted, "The purpose of the recruit training camp is to cultivate the future elites of the Marines! You were all the finest Marines selected from every branch. You should have been the group with the greatest potential in the entire Navy! But look at yourselves—a child not even half your age can beat you into this state! You are absolutely the weakest class of recruits I have ever trained!"

Without the slightest shame, he used Zhong Hao to draw their hatred with the phrase "the weakest class ever."

The recruits' spirits sank to rock bottom. A few of the more emotional ones had tears streaming down their faces, their bodies trembling as they fought not to cry aloud.

"Enough!" Zephyr roared again. "Look at the state you're in! You can't even withstand a little setback—how are you supposed to become Marine elites? How are you supposed to protect the people? How are you supposed to fight pirates?"