Dao Power Assessment

Rustle, rustle... Reg emerged from the distance, pushing through the bushes.

His fight with Black had delayed him for a while, and the area before the tower had already been claimed by the older children.

"Hey, hey... it's Reg."

"That monster—can he reach 100 today?"

"He was already at 90 last month... he probably can, right?"

"But... Instructor Colin's test won't be easy to pass."

"He's here, he's here..."

After a brief commotion, the older children all fell silent... voluntarily making way toward the tower entrance.

Reg calmly nodded to everyone and walked straight through... A year ago, during combat training, he had beaten a ten-year-old who always liked picking on him until the boy coughed up blood. No one had dared bully him since then, though he had been put in solitary confinement twice.

Coupled with how unusually busy he was every day, always carrying an air that kept strangers away... naturally, he had no so-called friends.

Reg was perfectly happy with that... He really was busy, so busy he wished he could split every second in half.

The effort he put in was more than ten times that of these people... The reason was simple: Reg knew just how vast, how boundless this world was!

In the year 1490 of the Sea Circle Calendar, the seas were already brimming with excitement, blood mingling with wine:

The future Pirate King... Gol D. Roger.

The Flying Pirate Admiral, the Golden Lion... Shiki.

The world's strongest man, Whitebeard... Edward Newgate.

In this era, before the Four Emperors had been celebrated by the world and before the Seven Warlords system had been established... the pirate crews of those three men dominated the "New World," the latter half of the Grand Line.

At this time, Charlotte Linlin of the future Four Emperors' "BIG Mom Pirates," commonly known as the Big Mom Pirates, was also making her way through those waters, seizing territory on one hand while "planting seeds" on the other.

Kaido was only just starting out, while Shanks was still back in his hometown in the West Blue... he had not even boarded Roger's ship yet.

The future Seven Warlords—Hawkeye, the Pirate Empress, Moria, Crocodile, Doflamingo, Kuma, Jinbe... these countless figures were all still on their paths of growth.

On the Marine side, Fleet Admiral Kong sat high in Marineford, commanding the overall situation.

Garp and Sengoku relentlessly chased Roger as he fled all over the place.

Zephyr, who did not kill, still had his family and remained active on the front lines of fighting pirates.

Of the future three Admirals—Aokiji, Akainu, and Kizaru—aside from Aokiji, the other two had already joined the Marines.

Moreover... Akainu and Kizaru had already consumed the Magma-Magma Fruit and the Glint-Glint Fruit.

The Celestial Dragons still murdered, set fires, raped, plundered, and committed every imaginable evil. Though hated by the world, no one could do anything about them.

Dragon of the Revolutionary Army... Garp's son and Luffy's father, was still unknown to the world.

Though the world was already chaotic enough, Reg knew... this was merely the calm before the storm.

Eight years later, Roger would personally usher in the "Great Pirate Era"... and the world would enter a truly chaotic age.

It was an era filled with bloodshed and turmoil, dreams and freedom.

It was a magnificent, sweeping era.

It was an era running wild... and no one could stop it!

Anyone standing in the path of that era would be mercilessly crushed to dust.

Ever since Reg had come to this world, he had wondered more than once... what kind of person he was meant to become.

Should he shout, "Are kings and nobles born to their stations?"—and rise in rebellion?

Should he become a trembling weakling, breathing out an ordinary life in some corner of the world?

Or should he honestly rely on the knowledge in his head and become an ordinary yet happy wealthy man?

Such thoughts churned through his mind... Reg knew very well that he was different, but not exceptional.

There were far too many people in this world luckier than him, stronger than him, and born into better circumstances. The "benefit" of his transmigration merely ensured that he would not become one of the lowest commoners.

Did he expect to become Hawkeye just by practicing swordsmanship? Or Garp just by practicing his fists?

Don't dream. People like that were one in a hundred million.

At his pace, even if he kept training... after another ten years, he would only end up like Kaku, P9's long-nosed agent: around 100 Doriki. After all, he was not a genius like Lucci.

Even if he awakened Observation Haki along the way, or even mastered Armament Haki, at most he would possess the strength of a Marine Headquarters vice admiral.

As a transmigrator deeply familiar with the One Piece World, Reg was naturally not satisfied with that... Had he seen too little death over the past three years?

Those who ran, those who regretted, those who had been eliminated, those filled with fear, and those filled with pride... all died.

Reg would not overestimate himself and try to stop Roger's actions... Even if he succeeded, the era that was about to run wild would merely be delayed by a few years.

He wanted to survive. He wanted to live brilliantly. More than that, he wanted to ride the first wave eight years from now... and become one who rode the tides of that era!

Today held extraordinary meaning for him... As long as he passed his instructor's assessment and became a P9 trainee, he would receive the most professional and demanding guidance over the next three years.

Yes, he only planned to stay here for three years... No matter what happened then, he would find a way to leave and carry out the next step of his plan: heading to the sky island, "Birka."

Without a sufficiently powerful "cheat," choosing a Devil Fruit that could maximize his strength was the best possible option.

Among them, Logia types naturally ranked first... Akainu and Kizaru had already joined the Navy and were terrifyingly strong. As future P agents, they naturally would not overlook such important information.

After all, rumors had already spread throughout the Navy... calling the two of them the most suitable candidates for admiral.

As for the yet-to-appear Aokiji, given Reg's current state... he was not qualified to obtain information about him. Even if he knew, he might not necessarily be able to beat him.

Ace's "Flame-Flame Fruit" had been obtained in the East Blue, on Xixis's uninhabited island... not in the forest, but by the shore. As though it had been destined, the Flame-Flame Fruit had crossed the seas and arrived in his hands.

The "Dark-Dark Fruit" that Blackbeard had endured for decades to obtain... was likewise elusive, without a trace to follow.

Smoker's "Smoke-Smoke Fruit" and Caesar's "Gas-Gas Fruit" were the same... there was no information whatsoever.

The only Logia Fruit he could think of was Enel's "Rumble-Rumble Fruit": when he encountered Luffy, he had only been in his 0s or so.

Reg could not accurately determine Enel's age, which was why he had set the time for years later... over the past few years, most of the books he read during training had been about navigation.

All so that he could successfully stay alive long enough to reach... Skypiea.

Otherwise, if he delayed for a few more years... who knew whether Enel might be born having already obtained the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.

Given Enel's contemptuous, arrogant, cruel nature and his extremely poor mental fortitude, this possibility was very high.

If he had not gained power strong enough to crush everything around him, he probably would not have called himself a "god." Nor would he have been unable to endure the slightest setback, to the point that when facing Luffy, a rubber man immune to electricity... he became flustered and unsettled, ultimately fleeing in disgrace.

"Instructor Colin, I request a Justice Assessment."

Smack... Reg, the first to enter the classroom inside the tower, brought his feet together and gave a crisp military salute.

The reason it was called a "Justice Assessment" was that this had already become routine on Tower Forest Island... every day, trainees like them had to spend one hour learning about how great the World Government was.

Reg knew this was necessary ideological and political coursework, and he never showed impatience... nor did he feel any psychological burden over leaving in the future.

After P9... the next step would be P0.

Those were agents who directly received orders from the World Nobles—the Celestial Dragons... work for people like them?

What a joke... the deeds of the Celestial Dragons were too numerous to record.

Though human lives were cheap in this era... there still had to be a most basic bottom line.

Pirates were certainly hateful, committing every kind of evil—murder, arson, plunder... but where did these pirates come from?

How many civilians from allied nations had been sacrificed to pay the "Heavenly Tribute" that the Celestial Dragons collected every year?

The nation on the bridge in the East Blue had been under construction for nearly 700 years... how many civilians from non-allied nations were there?

How many families had been shattered, how many wives and children separated... and how many had gone along with the times and become pirates?

Where there was a cause, there was an effect... pirates were not necessarily evil, and the Navy was not necessarily just.

If he had to define the nature of "justice," Reg greatly agreed with Doflamingo's words: only the victor was justice.

Ultimately, this was an era of the strong... the weak had no right to speak.

If he did not want others to control his fate, then he had to become one of the strong himself!!

"Very well... test yourself first."

Inside the hexagonal classroom, the thin-faced Colin, dressed in a black suit, casually handed his coat to an instructor beside him.

"Yes."

Taking a deep breath, Reg raised his right fist and threw it straight out... Bang!

Colin raised his hand, his palm unmoving, without taking a single step... naturally. He was the highest-ranking person in this tower, a powerful man who had mastered the Six Powers and possessed a power level of 000.

The method he used was one every instructor knew: Hand Match, a technique from the Six Powers specifically used internally by P to measure power levels.

"Power level: 10. You meet the requirements... the rest is up to you two."

After taking back his coat, Colin instructed the two teachers beside him, then waved for Reg to follow.

Wasn't it supposed to be a practical assessment?

Watching Colin head up to the second floor, Reg's expression did not change as he followed... obeying orders was the only requirement here.