Kuzan's Challenge? Sorry, Too Lazy to Fight.

The exhaustion from Episode 13 and the battle just now vanished as though nothing had happened.

That was the effect of the Second Gate: it offset the energy drain from opening the lower gates as well as the expenditure from battle.

It could now be said that simply opening the Second Gate would turn Mu Chen into a fully revived, tireless fighting machine.

No sooner had he spoken than Mu Chen charged in from the pincer attack like a sharp sword.

Ah, again?

Jia Ji caused trouble, and without another word, he met Mu Chen's fist head-on.

With a deafening boom, Mu Chen's and Jia Ji's fists collided, creating a sonic boom.

The next instant, the shockwave from the sonic boom spread in every direction. Dust flew from the ground, and a massive crater appeared beneath Mu Chen and Jia Ji's feet.

What?

How was that possible?!

Mu Chen's fist had actually matched Jia Ji's Armament Haki-coated fist blow for blow!

No one dared believe their eyes. Without Armament Haki protection, an ordinary fist could not possibly fight an Armament Haki fist to a draw—unless Mu Chen's physical strength was extraordinarily high. But Mu Chen was only a newcomer. How could his body be so strong?

In truth, Mu Chen could still feel the gap between them when facing a fist covered in Armament Haki. After all, he had no Armament Haki protecting him.

He could even feel that his fist might have suffered slight fractures, yet he did not feel much pain at all.

Is your physical strength really that great?

Jia Ji could not believe his eyes either. He had taken another punch, and once again, neither side had gained the upper hand.

Jia Ji's gaze unconsciously fell upon Mu Chen's Blood Sharingan.

It was Jia Ji's first time examining Mu Chen's eyes from such close range, and he was instantly somewhat stunned. Your eyes are such a good opportunity!

Mu Chen glared at Jia Ji. The tomoe in his pupils began to rotate, and Jia Ji immediately seemed frozen in place, his gaze vacant. A lewd smile even appeared on Jia Ji's face as he muttered, "Uh... support, support... hehe..." Aside from Garp, no one understood what had happened. They only wondered whether Jia Ji had gone stupid. Was he getting horny at a time like this?

Mu Chen seized the opportunity, leaped into the air, and viciously struck Jia Ji's head with a spinning kick. Jia Ji showed no reaction whatsoever. He flew away like a cannonball and slammed into the wall. Dust and smoke filled the air as every Marine present stared fixedly in Jia Ji's direction.

When the smoke cleared, Jia Ji's head lolled to one side, and he had already passed out.

What?

What happened?

Why hadn't Jia Ji dodged just now?

What was going on?

Jia Ji couldn't possibly make such a mistake!

No one could believe what they had just witnessed. They had been evenly matched moments ago, so why had Jia Ji shown no response at all to Mu Chen's spinning kick? He had even seemed like an idiot. No one had expected that. It made no sense—absolutely no sense!

"Hahaha! Mu Chen, you brat, well done! You really made me proud! Zephyr, Sengoku, what else can you say now?!"

Garp naturally knew what had happened just now, but Mu Chen had won. All he wanted to see were Zephyr's and Sengoku's expressions.

"Garp, what exactly happened?"

"Do you know something?"

Zephyr looked utterly confused.

"The only thing I could tell was that when Mu Chen threw that kick, he merely glared at Jia Ji once, and Jia Ji went stupid," Sengoku, who had remained silent until now, said as he walked over. Garp, meanwhile, looked like a child who knew a little secret, his grin stretching nearly to his ears.

"Take a guess, then."

Garp refused to say anything. He simply wanted to infuriate Zephyr and Sengoku to death.

At the same time, Kuzan seemed to have noticed something. "There's something wrong with his eyes?"

Kuzan vaguely guessed something. He was now extremely curious about Mu Chen.

Kuzan unconsciously stepped forward. "His eyes?"

Onigumo looked puzzled. He had no idea what had happened just now. It was as if Jia Ji had simply stood there and let Mu Chen kick him.

"Kuzan, are you talking about Mu Chen's red eyes?"

Doberman was just like Onigumo. He could not see what was unusual about them.

Although Mu Chen's red eyes were peculiar, there was nothing special about them that could be sensed.

"Could he be a Devil Fruit user?"

Wu Shu voiced his opinion. He had observed very carefully: from the moment Mu Chen glared at Jia Ji, Jia Ji had become completely motionless, like an idiot. That was why he strongly suspected Mu Chen was a Devil Fruit user. Otherwise, this would be far too unbelievable.

"Whether he's a Devil Fruit user or not, we'll find out with a test."

Kuzan stepped forward. Cold air began to rise from his entire body, and with every step he took, ice crystals formed beneath his feet.

"Mu Chen, how about a fight with me?"

Mu Chen had never expected Kuzan to challenge him, but he had no idea that Kuzan was very interested in his abilities. As a Devil Fruit user himself, Kuzan wanted to test himself against another ability user.

Moreover, Mu Chen was not weak. Kuzan was also curious just how far this newcomer's strength had reached.

What?

Kuzan was making a move?

Kuzan, the user of the Ice-Ice Fruit, was unquestionably the strongest in this elite training camp. They hadn't expected this newcomer to have some skill.

Wu Shu and the others had not expected Kuzan to challenge Mu Chen.

Facing Kuzan's challenge, Mu Chen was not the kind of hot-blooded youth who would agree on impulse. Fighting was troublesome. If he had not made an agreement with Zephyr, he would not even have wanted to make a move.

When Zephyr and the others saw that Kuzan wanted to fight Mu Chen, they said nothing, as if they tacitly approved. After all, they were also curious about Mu Chen's ability and whether he was a Devil Fruit user.