A Single Punch Shattered the Stone, Shocking Everyone!

"Hey! Kid, what are you spacing out for? If you don't want to push, then get the hell off... What?!"

The second lieutenant's disdainful words had not even finished when it was as though an invisible hand had clamped around his throat!

Bang—!!!

There were no flashy moves, no running start.

Rochi merely threw an ordinary punch, smashing it squarely into the center of the hundred-pound black iron stone!

Time seemed to freeze at that instant.

Then, beneath the second lieutenant's pupils, which had suddenly shrunk to pinpoints, and before the disbelieving eyes of every villager and Navy soldier present—

Crack! Crack!

A dense series of cracking sounds erupted like popping beans!

The hard black stone, which even grown men could barely budge, instantly split with countless terrifying, spiderweb-like cracks from the spot where Rochi's fist had landed!

Boom!

The next second, the hundred-pound boulder exploded! Large and small chunks of stone shot in every direction like cannonballs!

Silence.

The entire square of Locke Village fell into a dead silence so complete that a pin drop could be heard.

Everyone stood with their mouths open, having forgotten even to breathe.

They stared blankly at the rubble covering the ground, then at the young man slowly withdrawing his fist, his expression still as cold as ice.

Clang!

The cigar in the second lieutenant's mouth fell onto his tall leather boot and burned a hole through it, yet he did not notice at all.

His eyes bulged like those of a dead fish as he stared fixedly at Rochi, his heart pounding wildly from the overwhelming shock and excitement!

"He... he shattered the test stone with his bare hands?!"

The second lieutenant's voice shook violently with shock.

How was this possible!

This was the East Blue, the weakest of the Four Seas! This was Locke Village, one of the most remote and impoverished places in the East Blue!

Even those monsters from the Navy Headquarters Recruit Camp could not do much better using nothing but raw physical strength, could they?!

"Hey... you! What's your name?"

The second lieutenant leaped down from the platform, his gaze locked onto Rochi like that of a starving wolf. The contempt in his eyes had long vanished, replaced by barely concealed fervor!

"Rochi."

Rochi answered expressionlessly.

"How old are you?! Answer me, how old are you really?!" the second lieutenant pressed urgently, even stepping forward to grab Rochi by the wrist.

"Today, I turned fifteen."

Boom!

Upon hearing the words "fifteen years old," it felt as though a bomb had exploded directly inside the second lieutenant's mind!

Fifteen!

There was no trace of any Devil Fruit ability. It was entirely pure strength unleashed through his muscles!

Once such supreme talent was sent to Navy Headquarters, he would undoubtedly become a dazzling monster!

And as the one who had discovered such a monster, wouldn't promotion and a raise be practically guaranteed?!

"Hahaha! Good! Excellent!"

The second lieutenant completely shed his former arrogance and threw back his head in wild laughter. He patted Rochi's shoulder intimately. "Rochi, right? Congratulations, you passed! From now on, you're a member of the Navy!"

He turned and pointed at Bart and Moore, who had barely passed earlier. "You two as well. Board the ship with me!"

The surrounding Navy soldiers all looked at Rochi with reverence.

In a world where the strong reigned supreme, displaying overwhelming strength could instantly earn everyone's respect.

Rochi stood where he was, without the slightest ripple in the depths of his dark eyes.

He glanced at the warship in the distance, then turned his gaze to the second lieutenant and spoke calmly. "Sir, could you give me one more day?"

"One day?" The second lieutenant froze.

"I want to spend more time with my mother and sister." Rochi's voice was steady, without the slightest emotional fluctuation. "At dawn tomorrow, I'll board at the dock on time."

Under normal circumstances, if any recruit dared to negotiate with an officer, the second lieutenant would have smashed him with a rifle butt already.

But in the World Government, rules were always made for the weak.

Geniuses always had privileges.

Looking into Rochi's unfathomable eyes, the second lieutenant inexplicably felt a chill run through his heart.

He hesitated for only one second before bursting into laughter and agreeing.

"Fine! I'll give you one day off! I'll be waiting for you aboard the warship tomorrow morning. Kid, don't disappoint me!"

Night fell.

Inside a wooden house in Locke Village, the faint kerosene lamp swayed in the wind.

"Rochi, do you really have to go?"

His mother, Mary, clutched Rochi's rough, broad hand tightly with reddened eyes, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face.

Nine years ago, her husband Ron had been forcibly taken away by the World Government, and his fate remained unknown to this day.

Now, her only son was about to set foot upon that perilous road of no return as well.

His older sister Roski sat nearby, covering her mouth as she wept silently, her shoulders trembling.

Rochi clasped his mother's hand in return. The hand that had once been as delicate as a baby's was now covered in calluses, and so large it could completely envelop both of her hands.

"Mom, I have to go."

Rochi's voice was low and forceful, leaving no room for discussion.

He raised his head and looked through the broken wooden window at the pitch-black night sky beyond the sea.

"Nine years ago, to keep the entire village from being slaughtered, Father knelt at those people's feet like a worm. Yet all he received was a vicious beating, and even his life and death were no longer his own to decide."

"For the past nine years, I've thought every day that if I were strong enough—strong enough to make that officer from back then, even the World Government behind him, fear me—we would never have to suffer such humiliation."

In the lamplight, two ghostly flames that could burn everything seemed to blaze within Rochi's dark eyes.

"Running away will not bring peace. Only strength, absolute strength, can control everything!"

"I will enter the Navy's core of power and seize the strongest military force in this world. When that day comes, whether they are those nobles who look down on everyone from above or the pirates ravaging the seas, I'll make them lower their heads before you!"

Mary looked at her son's sharply defined face, filled with endless killing intent and ambition. Her lips trembled a few times, but in the end, she could only let out a helpless sigh and hold him tightly.

They spent an ordinary yet warm night together.

The next morning, just as a faint glimmer of light appeared on the horizon.

At the dilapidated dock of Locke Village.

The second lieutenant had already been waiting on deck. When he saw Rochi arrive as promised, the weight in his heart finally lifted completely.

"Kid, get aboard!" the second lieutenant shouted with a laugh, waving his hand.

Carrying a simple bundle, Rochi stepped onto the gangplank with the other two boys from the village, beneath Mary and Roski's worried gazes.

The instant Rochi's military boots stepped onto the deck of the warship bearing the symbol of the World Government's armed power—

The mechanical voice that had remained silent in the depths of his mind throughout the night exploded like thunder from the highest heavens!

[ Ding! Detected that the host has officially boarded a World Government warship and received recruitment approval from a Navy officer! ]

[ Unlock Condition 2: Join the Navy or pirate faction—completed! ]

[ Ding! All dual conditions have been met! Congratulations, host! The anti-addiction safety lock on the [Supreme Beginner Gift Pack] has been completely removed! ]

[ Gift pack opening... ]