First Move, Still Enduring

Vergo's battle was swift and highly visual, making many of the trainees feel pressured. After all, Hōshō's strength was no joke.

The eleventh match was Sakazuki's. The moment he stepped onto the stage, his opponent surrendered. There was no need to fight at all.

The twelfth match was Kuzan's, with the same result. As soon as he took the stage, his opponent conceded, making the atmosphere throughout the arena somewhat strange.

Finally, the thirteenth match was Ye Chen's turn.

Yet this time, Ye Chen's opponent was actually Gion, one of the academy's only beautiful girls.

So the moment he stepped onstage, Ye Chen found himself in the same predicament as Momonga. Whether he won or lost, he would be condemned.

Before the match even began, people below the stage started cursing.

Ignoring the clowns below, Ye Chen kept a cold expression as he calmly looked at Gion's stunning face without saying a word.

"Gion."

As soon as she stepped up, Gion politely greeted him. Although they knew each other, this was a formal occasion, so she was very serious.

Gion knew the icy man before her. Up to now, they seemed never to have properly spoken, which felt somewhat ironic to her.

"Ye Chen."

Without any emotion, Ye Chen had looked at Gion coldly from the very beginning.

"You should surrender."

Frowning, Gion felt a faint surge of anger for some reason. She simply drew the longsword at her waist, using her actions to tell Ye Chen her choice.

The two merely stared at each other.

In the seats atop the platform, Tsuru looked somewhat worried. She knew that with Gion's strength, she was no match for that guy.

But Gion was also someone who refused to admit defeat—perhaps simply stubborn.

Whoosh!

After facing off for a while, Gion was the first to lose patience. She unleashed a dazzling slash that swept toward Ye Chen.

Ye Chen vanished in an instant, slipping past the edge of the slash and appearing before Gion. He threw a fist directly at her.

"That brat." In the seats, Tsuru raised a brow, anger appearing on her face.

Bang! The tremendous force could shatter metal and stone. Gion raised her longsword before her chest, but the massive impact made her spit blood as she shot away like a cannonball.

Thud!

Gion landed outside the arena and lay on the ground, her face somewhat pale.

The battle had ended in an instant. It was practically a one-hit defeat. Ye Chen had thrown only one punch, and Gion had fallen out of the ring.

"If that brat hadn't held back, I'd have taught him a good lesson."

Tsuru narrowed her eyes, watching Gion with concern as she muttered fiercely to herself.

Beside her, Sengoku and the others said nothing, though the corners of their mouths twitched.

"Ye Chen wins."

A commotion erupted below the stage. Many trainees cursed loudly and threw all sorts of things at Ye Chen. Momonga, whose face had been dark all along, suddenly came to a realization: he was not alone after all.

Onstage, Ye Chen expressionlessly watched the objects flying toward him without reacting. Just as he prepared to leave the stage, an insult made him stop, and his gaze instantly turned vicious.

"You orphan who was never raised by parents! Is your whole family dead? How dare you hit Gion so hard?"

The one who hurled that insult at his family was a trainee named Dalmatian. More importantly, he was a Zoan user of the Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Dalmatian.

He was one of Gion's admirers.

Among these trainees, after all, Gion and Hina had plenty of suitors.

To Ye Chen, the father and mother in his memories were everything he had now. He missed them every moment, and Dalmatian's insult made the rage in his heart impossible to suppress.

His indifference toward everything depended on whether it concerned him. To stay alive safely, Ye Chen kept a low profile and never caused trouble. Yet in some people's eyes, Ye Chen seemed arrogant, which made them dislike him.

With the atmosphere already so heated, Dalmatian had directly started speaking without restraint.

"You. Get up here."

His eyes icy, Ye Chen stared fixedly at Dalmatian, revealing a trace of killing intent.

Ye Chen's challenge gradually silenced the noisy arena. Yet Zephyr and the others on the high platform frowned, because they could sense killing intent from Ye Chen.

"Does this guy actually want to kill someone?" Sengoku raised a brow as he looked at Ye Chen's grim face.

"This guy rarely causes trouble. It seems that trainee said something he shouldn't have!"

Zephyr frowned as he watched Ye Chen, who seemed somewhat different.

"Everyone has something they stand by. We were the same in our day. With us here, this guy can't stir up much trouble." Kong, who sat at the head, had no intention of intervening. To put it plainly, in their eyes, Ye Chen could be suppressed with a casual wave of the hand.

Ye Chen calling him out by name made Dalmatian flush red with fury.

He immediately vanished from where he stood and appeared on the arena stage, staring proudly at Ye Chen.

"Can I kill him?"

Looking at Dalmatian as he stepped onstage, Ye Chen turned his gaze to Kong.

"Hahaha, this brat's got character." Before Kong could speak, Garp burst into laughter.

"No." Kong paused slightly. Wasn't that an obvious question?

"What about crippling him?"

"No!"

Ye Chen asked no more. He knew the answer, yet he had still asked. Right now, he had no qualifications to bargain, so he still had to endure. If he could not kill the other man, then he could only make him suffer.

"Interesting. Very interesting."

Ye Chen's question made Garp laugh again. Even Sengoku and Zephyr revealed faint smiles. Just as Garp had said, Ye Chen was very interesting.

Sure enough, people with potential all had abnormal personalities and crooked tempers. Sakazuki and the others, for example, were arrogant and looked down on others. But Ye Chen's crooked temper gave them a fresh impression.

"You may begin."

Ignoring Dalmatian completely, Ye Chen spoke to the major serving as referee.

Many people were utterly confused, unable to make sense of what was happening.

"Bastard, I'll make you pay! My name is Dal—"

Though he did not know why this guy had singled him out and ignored him the entire time, Dalmatian felt his whole face burning, his anger soaring.

Bang! Aaargh!

Crack!

Before he could finish speaking, Ye Chen appeared before Dalmatian and drove a fist into his stomach. Dalmatian immediately vomited blood without stopping, his body bent like a cooked shrimp, his face twisted in agony.

His eyes cold, Ye Chen grabbed Dalmatian by the hair and lifted him up. "What I hate most is people insulting my family."

Like dragging a dead dog, Ye Chen hauled Dalmatian to the edge of the arena and tossed him out like garbage, kicking up dust everywhere.

Another instant defeat. Ye Chen had thrown only one punch, leaving Dalmatian unable even to use his ability. He had directly lost all fighting strength and was barely clinging to life.

Off to one side, Dalmatian was helped up. Looking at his sunken chest, at least several of his ribs were broken. Without lying in bed for several days, he could forget about getting back on his feet.

The battle had ended too quickly. By the time everyone came to their senses, Ye Chen had already jumped down from the stage.

If possible, he truly wanted to kill the other man. But the current circumstances did not allow it. Before he had enough power, he had to endure. One day, that guy would definitely die out at sea.