Kuzan's Test, a Late-Night Talk

"Oh! He won!"

"Yeah! Loa won!"

The new recruits cheered excitedly and embraced one another. Although Loa had only been here a short while, he had already earned their respect through his performance. This honor belonged to the entire group of recruits now.

"Who would've thought Zoan Fruits could be used like that?"

"Yeah, Loa's so clever. He actually used that method to burn through food so quickly."

On the way back to the dormitories, the recruits walked in small groups, fooling around and joking with Loa.

He did not dislike this kind of closeness. What was the point of a shut-in office worker putting on airs?

"Well then, see you tomorrow, Loa."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow."

At the dormitory building, Loa saw off the recruits who lived back in town, signed in with the guard, and went upstairs.

Pushing open the door, Loa surveyed the dorm room where he did not know how long he would be staying. It was a very simple recruit dormitory, with only a bed and a chair. The walls bore mottled traces of passing years. It was shabby, but clean.

"Ah... just as expected of recruit treatment. Well, at least I don't have to share a room with a bunch of people. It's not too bad."

Feeling around for the switch on the wall, Loa turned on the light.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a sharp whistle rang by his ear, and bone-piercing cold shot toward his neck. With no time to turn around, Loa swiftly crouched, formed an ice sword in his outstretched left hand, and thrust it backward.

The counterattack was incredibly swift and fast, but just as Loa relaxed slightly, someone viciously kicked him in the stomach. The ice sword slipped from his hand, and his body flew away, slamming into the wall with a thud.

Before he could assess the extent of his injuries, Loa, still pressed against the wall, suddenly clenched his right fist and slammed it into his left palm. That killing intent was bearing straight down on him, raising goosebumps all over his body.

Ice Coffin!

Crack! Crack!

As if floodgates had opened, endless frigid air surged from his palm, rapidly forming a massive block of ice that froze the intruder inside. That icy killing intent vanished as well.

"Whew..."

Seeing that, Loa finally relaxed. He staggered, sucking in a breath as he clutched his ribs.

"Damn it! This is Marine Headquarters, isn't it? Even assassins are coming here to kill people?"

He raised his head to stare at the ice block before him, then suddenly widened his eyes. There was absolutely nothing inside it!

"Are you looking for me?"

A deep male voice rang out. Loa whipped around, then froze.

"Admiral Aokiji? Why are you here?"

The man wore a white suit, a green sleep mask on his forehead, and an explosive mop of hair. He was Aokiji, one of the current three Marine Admirals!

The moment he saw Aokiji, Loa's tension finally faded. No matter what, unless he had a necessary reason, this admiral who believed in Lazy Justice would not try to kill him.

And what had he done? Nothing, right?

Seeing Loa relax, Kuzan could not help feeling curious. "Hey, kid, you're letting your guard down just like that? If I sneak-attacked you right now, you'd die."

Hearing that, Loa rolled his eyes. Sitting on the floor, he lowered his head and pulled open his shirt to inspect his injuries. "You're a Marine Admiral. Even if you don't sneak-attack me, I'd still die. Since I'm dead either way, why not relax a little?"

"You brat..." Kuzan choked for words for a moment, but that lazy, unambitious attitude rather suited his tastes.

Kuzan pulled out a jar of medicine from his pocket and tossed it to Loa.

"Take it. I held back just now. With your physique, you should only have suffered minor injuries."

Smack!

Loa caught the jar and shook it with a smile. "Thanks!"

After Loa applied the medicine, Kuzan leaned over the back of the chair and looked down at him. "Hey, aren't you curious why I sneak-attacked you?"

"I was at first, but then I remembered that former Admiral Zephyr came to the recruit camp this morning, so I stopped being curious." Loa took out bandages, wrapped himself up, and sat cross-legged on the floor.

"Oh? Let's hear your reasoning."

"First, former Admiral Zephyr is an instructor at the Elite Camp. Our own instructor should have informed us about combat training, but he came personally. You have to know that many recruits had never even seen him before. Isn't that unusual? If there had to be a reason, it must have been because of me joining."

After pausing and seeing Kuzan's expressionless face, Loa continued explaining. "Then there's the fact that my Ice Dragon form uses freezing abilities, just like your Ice Fruit, Admiral Aokiji."

"So when you appeared, I understood. Admiral Zephyr thinks highly of me and wants to bring me into the Elite Camp, and you came to test me. After all, the combat assessment begins in just one month. You need to know exactly what level my actual combat strength is at."

"Eh~ What a wonderful deduction." Kuzan clapped lazily. "But you missed one thing. I didn't just come to test you. You'll also be learning how to develop your Fruit abilities from me. After all, when it comes to freezing, I'm the most familiar with it."

Hearing that, Loa stared at Kuzan in shock.

"With your personality, you actually accepted such a troublesome assignment!"

"Kid, do you know that's a very punchable thing to say?"

At that point, Kuzan lost interest in continuing the conversation. Since Loa understood everything clearly, they would have plenty of time to interact in the future.

"Well then, that's it. Starting tomorrow, wait for me in the cafeteria after your evening training ends. If I'm busy, I'll have someone notify you beforehand."

"Yes, I'll be in your care, Teacher Kuzan!"

Kuzan, who had pulled open the door, looked back. "Don't call me teacher. Your only teacher is Teacher Zephyr. I'm only responsible for helping you develop your Fruit abilities."

"Got it, Teacher Kuzan. Take care, Teacher Kuzan!"

A cross-shaped vein bulged on Kuzan's forehead as he flicked a finger.

Ice Time!

Then he shut the door and left, leaving Loa frozen stiffly in place as an ice sculpture.

After going downstairs, Kuzan spotted a burly figure standing at the corner of the wall.

Kuzan paused, then walked over with his hands in his pockets.

"Ah la la, Teacher Zephyr, I'll deliver the report to you tomorrow. Why stay up so late instead of going to sleep?"

Zephyr crossed his arms and glanced at the dormitory building behind him. "If someone threw ice blocks onto your roof in the middle of the night, could you sleep?"

"Well~ that's because you passed by and didn't stop that boring duel between him and Ms. S. Otherwise, he wouldn't have needed to use his Fruit ability to speed up his digestion."

Kuzan regretted saying it the moment he finished. Sure enough, Zephyr was staring at him with an annoyed expression.

The two remained silent for quite some time. Kuzan cleared his throat, breaking the quiet. "Since you're here, I'll tell you the test results."

"Your guess was right, Teacher. This kid's reaction speed and physique are both quite good, but he has no combat experience at all. There's not the slightest bit of structure to his responses. He fights more like a beast relying on instinct."

"Hmph. His footsteps are unsteady and there's no light in his eyes. Anyone can tell that at a glance." Zephyr snorted, indicating that he already knew. "So, how are his Fruit abilities?"

At that, Kuzan turned serious and nodded solemnly. "Very strong! That chill can no longer be explained by mere coldness. There's another special power within it. I suspect it's the power of a dragon. If I hadn't used Soru to evade that final freezing move, I probably would have needed to expend considerable effort to break free. Still, like his hand-to-hand combat, his control is crude. Even his rapid casting speed can't conceal that fact."

"I see..." Zephyr lowered his head in thought. After a long while, he said to Kuzan, "Pay more attention to the Fruit side of things. I'll discuss reducing your outside missions with Sengoku. I have a feeling this sea will soon fall into chaos. Before that happens, the more top-tier combat power the Marines have, the better."

"Ah la la, that really is wonderful. Should I say thank you, Teacher Zephyr?"