Loa's shock came as no surprise. Haisoken smiled.
"Years ago, the Fleet Admiral and the others decided the tenth match would be broadcast live. They wanted every pirate to see the strength of the Marines' new generation."
"But you know how that went. Even the current Three Marine Admirals, top-tier Logia Devil Fruit Powers users, never made it past the Ninth Match back then. None got to see what the final match held."
Haisoken seemed to realize he had said too much. They were Admirals, after all, and talking about people behind their backs was hardly proper.
So he quickly changed the subject. "By now, everyone treats the last match as a joke. Nobody ever expected anyone to reach it."
"But"—Haisoken clapped Loa hard on the shoulder—"thank goodness you're here, Loa! You'd better give it everything you've got!"
So I'm a test subject too, here to find out whether Zephyr and Sengoku have lost their minds?
Loa had a nose for a sales pitch. Before Haisoken could finish, he had already worked it out.
And that was exactly what had happened.
When Vice Admiral Tsuru heard about the plan, she rejected it outright, then gave Sengoku and Zephyr a furious dressing-down.
Tsuru had fought alongside them since their early days and was the only woman of their generation still alive. Even though she was a Vice Admiral, Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Chief Instructor Zephyr took her scolding like chastened schoolboys.
Back then, though, each Elite Camp class wasn't weaker than the last. Each was stronger—and more impressive!
That trend gave Sengoku and Zephyr plenty of confidence, and they stuck to their original plan.
And then...
Well, there was no need to dwell on what followed.
Until Loa appeared, even Sengoku and Zephyr—the two men who had bet everything on a