Everyone in the Elite Camp had more or less guessed what Tony was thinking, but no one stopped him.
After he left, West Simon spoke softly. "Loa has made it all look easy so far."
"But starting with the seventh match, officers from Headquarters will be his opponents. They're no pushovers."
As a member of an old Marine family, West Simon knew plenty that others did not.
"Headquarters officers! My god, who besides Loa could take them on?"
Arudo's eyes widened, and he drew a sharp breath.
The Marines had countless officers, but everyone assigned to Headquarters was the best of the best.
They knew everything taught in the Elite Camp. Whether it was Haki, swordsmanship, or hand-to-hand combat, they had mastered it all. They were powerful, well-rounded fighters.
How could a mere recruit hope to beat them?
Even Arudo, who rarely worried about anything, felt a chill at those four words.
"Yeah. It's incredibly hard," West Simon said with a bitter smile. "That's why the Prison Deathmatch rules say you can graduate after passing the fourth match. After that, the opponents get exponentially stronger with every match."
"Loa's fourth opponent was just an ordinary Pirates with a bounty of ten million Beli. But the fifth opponent, the one he killed ahead of time, was a criminal worth a hundred million. The sixth is worth three hundred million Beli—someone who could make waves even in the New World."
"And that's not even the end." West Simon recalled the files he had seen at home, his voice full of emotion. "Do you know how the last four matches are set up?"
"Uh... how?" For some reason, Arudo suddenly felt as though he was about to learn something momentous.
The others pricked up their ears, waiting for West Simon's answer.
Under their