Young and Reckless, Conflict Arises

The next day, as usual, Ye Chen sweated profusely, training with complete focus.

Compared to the rapid progress he had made before, Ye Chen now felt as if he had hit a barrier. Continuing to train like this would not do much good unless he broke through again.

But each breakthrough was harder than the last. After giving it some thought, Ye Chen felt that perhaps he should go out and see the world. He had trained single-mindedly for long enough; it was time to rest a little and set sail to witness this cruel world for himself. As long as he did not encounter a true powerhouse, he was now capable of protecting himself.

Most importantly, it was time for him to take revenge.

However, he was still only a trainee. Going to sea was simply impossible unless, like Sakazuki, he followed someone else out for training.

"Brother Ye Chen, something's wrong! Shu and Very Good are being bullied!"

While Ye Chen was training, Hina suddenly came running over from afar. Her pretty face was full of grievance, and her eyes were slightly red. She had clearly been crying.

Stopping his training, Ye Chen frowned.

"What happened?" Ye Chen asked with an indifferent expression as he looked at the panting Hina.

"Today, while I was talking with Sister Gion, that Chaton started proposing to her again. I couldn't stand it, so I scolded him, and then... then..."

Her voice grew quieter and quieter. Like a child who had done something wrong, Hina lowered her head, completely forgetting that she was a year older than Ye Chen.

"Let's go take a look."

Ye Chen felt helpless. Over the past few years, there had been several conflicts between the two sides. They were all hot-blooded youths at an age when they thought highly of themselves, so clashes born of impulsiveness were inevitable.

The previous times, Ye Chen had only heard Shu and the others mention it. With Smoker and Vergo around, he assumed the other side would not dare bully them too badly, so he had not paid much attention.

It seemed the conflict had been building up deeper and deeper, and this time, it had finally erupted.

After all, many trainees were unhappy with Ye Chen and his group. Perhaps a single incident had been magnified without anyone realizing it. That was the restlessness of their age.

The scene returned to where Shu and the others were.

Lying on the ground with bruised and swollen faces, Shu and Very Good had blood all over their mouths. Their injuries appeared serious; even standing up was a problem.

Bang!

Sand and dust flew everywhere, and the ground was riddled with craters. In the air, Vergo and Smoker were fighting two opponents.

One of them was Chaton, the man who repeatedly proposed to Gion and a future candidate for Marine Admiral. The other was Momonga, a future top Vice Admiral of Marine Headquarters.

White Fist.

A massive cloud of white mist condensed into a fist. With a grim expression, Smoker launched it at Chaton.

Amid dull booming sounds, Chaton clenched his fist with a disdainful look. A faint black Armament Haki coated his hand as it collided heavily with Smoker's attack.

The two landed, their feet sinking deeply into the ground and kicking up a gust of sand.

"Brat, you've been sticking your noses where they don't belong. Today, I'll teach you a lesson," Chaton said as he pulled his foot from the ground. His slightly short body seemed to contain astonishing strength. He vanished from where he stood and appeared beside Smoker, all ten fingers blackened.

"You damn shorty! You dared bully Hina? I'll kill you!"

Even more arrogant, Smoker's face twisted in rage. The same faint black Armament Haki coated him as he punched toward Chaton.

With a deafening crash, the two were sent flying backward uncontrollably, raising a cloud of dust as they coughed heavily.

Getting back to his feet, blood dripping from his fists, Smoker charged out again.

For a time, the two fought evenly. The onlookers were filled with disbelief, because they had never expected a newcomer like Smoker to be able to hold off Chaton.

They had joined the Marines much earlier than Smoker and the others. Even as a Logia user, he should not have been this strong! Moreover, his power was only smoke, which had no offensive strength to begin with.

Compared to Smoker and Chaton's evenly matched fight, the battle on the other side was what truly set the blood boiling.

With pure hand-to-hand combat, Vergo and Hōshō appeared in midair. Their fists were blackened as they collided with explosive force.

Sweeping his leg across, Vergo wore a cold expression as he viciously kicked toward Hōshō's waist, only for the attack to be blocked.

Having anticipated it, Vergo straightened his left arm. His ten fingers turned pitch-black, becoming afterimages as they flashed toward Hōshō's chest.

Hōshō's scalp went numb as he sensed a deadly threat. This man actually wanted to kill him.

His eyes turning ruthless, Hōshō made the same move and used Shigan as well.

The two strikes collided like metal, sparks flashing between them. Hōshō screamed as his finger bent at an unnatural angle. He had actually lost the exchange.

Pfft!

Seizing the chance, Vergo kicked Hōshō in the chest. Rocks flew everywhere as the ground shattered. Hōshō spat blood and collapsed, clutching his hand as he rolled back and forth.

At the same time, a three-meter-long bright white arc descended rapidly with a cutting gleam. Vergo still intended to attack. It seemed Hōshō and the others had truly angered him this time; otherwise, he would not have been so ruthless.

At that moment, a figure from the crowd of spectators appeared in front of Hōshō. He drew the longsword at his waist and directly cut apart Vergo's Rankyaku.

"Sir, you've gone too far."

Vergo landed and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. Several wounds covered his body, all inflicted by Hōshō. Vergo had not had an easy time in their battle either.

With a cold expression, Vergo looked at the sword-wielding man before him without saying a word. He merely removed the four weighted bracelets from his body.

Bang!

The ground trembled slightly. Seeing the accessories Vergo had removed smash a crater into the ground, Onigumo and the spectators were stunned before their faces twitched.

These guys had been carrying such heavy weights even while fighting?

When they usually watched these people train, they had thought it was merely ordinary training. Though they worked hard, there had been nothing especially surprising about it. After all, they had trained that way in the past too, though they had become somewhat lax over the last year or two.

"Vergo is serious now."

Not far away, Shu and Very Good, who were being tended to by Gion, swallowed hard.

The spectators no longer looked unconcerned. Their expressions turned solemn, because they could sense a chilling, dangerous aura from Vergo.

Only now did they feel as if they were truly getting to know these fellows who did nothing but train.

After removing the weights, Vergo felt refreshed all over. He moved his body a little, and crackling sounds rang out with a powerful sense of impact.

Whoosh!

The ground exploded as Vergo vanished instantly, causing Onigumo's expression to change drastically. Yet with only rudimentary Observation Haki, he could perceive nothing more than a shadow.

Wind whistled beside his ear. Without thinking, Onigumo crouched down and thrust the longsword in his hand straight at Vergo.

A piercing screech rang out. Bold and highly skilled, Vergo coated his hand in Armament Haki and actually reached out to grab Onigumo's sword.

He gripped it tightly. Even with Armament Haki covering his hand, Vergo felt pain and something sticky. He had clearly been injured.

Vergo's barehanded blade-grabbing, seemingly desperate posture made Onigumo's eyes widen. He actually lost focus.

And in that instant of distraction, Vergo kicked out with all his strength, striking Onigumo in the chest. Accompanied by a crack, Onigumo spat blood and flew away.

Standing where he was, Vergo held his blood-covered hand, his gaze calm.

Vergo appeared formidable, defeating Hōshō so quickly and severely injuring Onigumo, but that was not truly the case. The gap in strength between them could not possibly have been so great. Hōshō and Onigumo had simply underestimated him. If it came to a real life-and-death battle, no one could say for certain who would win.

After all, Onigumo was an ability user.