The Match Begins: Roya vs. Akainu

The next day.

Countless soldiers gathered at the training grounds.

Sengoku and Garp had both come in person.

Everyone was excitedly waiting for the match to begin.

But as time passed, Roya was nowhere to be seen.

Sengoku glanced at his watch.

There were only five minutes left until the match officially began.

If Roya did not show up soon, it would count as an automatic forfeit.

Akainu stood in the training grounds with his arms crossed, looking incomparably arrogant.

The surrounding soldiers were also somewhat unsure of what was happening.

"Could it be that Roya was scared and didn't dare come?"

"No way. Roya is very strong. He should be able to put up a fight against Akainu!"

"He looked strong at first, sure, but no matter how you look at it, Roya's fruit is a powerful support-type fruit. It barely improves his strength!"

"So you're saying Roya really didn't dare come?"

The surrounding soldiers whispered among themselves.

Hearing their words, Akainu grew even more disdainful of Roya. Just a clown. He joined halfway through and still dares to covet the position of admiral? How utterly ridiculous!

Just then, a commotion rippled through the crowd.

"Look! Look! Roya's here!"

"Roya really came!"

"Roya, what a man!"

Roya and Kalifa passed through the crowd and entered the training grounds.

He did not look at Akainu first. Instead, he looked toward Sengoku.

This was the first time Roya and Sengoku had met.

With a smile on his face, Roya nodded at Sengoku.

Sengoku could only feel that Roya's ability to influence emotions was truly far too strong.

Akainu frowned, turned to Sengoku beside him, and said, "Fleet Admiral, can the match begin now?"

The more famous Roya became, the more unhappy Akainu was.

Because it made Akainu feel as though the Navy's justice had been humiliated.

How could the Navy allow Roya to casually join such a grand event?

This was something Akainu could never understand.

Although Akainu was extremely dissatisfied with Sengoku's decision, because of their ranks, he could not say anything.

He could only vent his anger on Roya.

Akainu looked at Roya as though he were looking at a dead man.

Faced with Akainu's overwhelming hostility, a trace of displeasure flashed through Sengoku's eyes.

However, that displeasure vanished in an instant, and only Roya noticed it.

Sengoku looked at Roya and said, "Roya, are you ready?"

"Yeah, I'm ready."

The corners of Roya's lips curled upward, and his eyes narrowed slightly as sunlight fell across his face.

Kalifa's heart stirred at the sight.

"Then, let the match begin!"

As Sengoku's words fell, cheers erupted across the entire training grounds.

At the same time, Akainu stepped forward. Magma surged over his right arm. "Meigō!"

Akainu's arm shot toward Roya at tremendous speed. Not only was the attack incredibly fast, its power was extraordinary as well!

Seeing this, Roya coated his arm in Armament Haki and threw a punch as well!

With a deafening bang!

Before everyone's eyes, Roya's arm was directly devoured by Akainu's Meigō.

Then it slammed heavily into his chest.

Bang!

The illusion vanished.

Seeing this scene, Kalifa immediately let out a breath of relief.

Akainu's expression did not change. He merely said in a deep voice, "You're too weak. You keep repeating the same few transformations. There's really nothing new about them."

As soon as he finished speaking, Akainu suddenly turned around and smashed his magma-covered arm behind him.

Bang!

Another illusion shattered!

Akainu grinned. "There are three illusions left, aren't there?"

Sure enough, as Akainu's words fell, three illusions suddenly appeared before him and attacked him!

"Great Eruption!"

Facing the three illusions' attack, Akainu first turned his arm into a massive lava fist, then launched it with the impact of a volcanic eruption. Its power was enough to instantly shatter and vaporize a gigantic iceberg dozens of times larger than a member of the Giant Tribe.

Such an attack easily shattered Roya's illusions.

Five-Turn Illusion completely dispersed.

Roya's true figure was revealed as well.

The onlookers around them were completely dumbfounded.

Everything had happened far too quickly.

It had nearly ended before they could even react.

"Akainu... Akainu is way too strong!"

"As expected of one of the Navy's three monsters. With strength like that, only Garp, Sengoku, and the other two admirals could suppress him!"

"In the end, Roya still doesn't have admiral-level strength!"

"No wonder Akainu looked down on Roya. His strength really can't keep up!"

Hearing the words around him, Akainu looked at Roya with utter contempt. "The weak cannot survive on the seas, much less carry out justice! You are too weak!"

"Oh, really? Is that truly what you think?"

Roya's expression remained unchanged. Even after Akainu had scattered all of his Five-Turn Illusions, Roya was not nervous in the slightest.

A broad smile still hung on his face.

Seeing Roya's expression, the anger in Akainu's heart flared up with a whoosh.

"You only know how to talk! Die for me—Dog Bite Crimson Lotus!!!"

Akainu threw a punch, and his magma-transformed arm immediately took the shape of a dog's head, scorching the air around it.

In an instant, the air became searing hot, as though every drop of moisture had been evaporated by Akainu's fist.

Carrying an unstoppable force, it smashed toward Roya!

The surrounding soldiers instinctively retreated several steps in succession, afraid of being caught up in it.

"Could Roya have been scared stupid?"

"Why isn't he moving?"

"He can't really have been scared stupid, right?"

"If that hits him, he'll probably be seriously injured, or..."

"Or die outright!"

Sengoku and Garp, who stood not far away, also sensed that something was wrong.

Garp even said from beside him, "Sengoku, should this old man stop the match? I rather like this kid Roya. If he's properly trained, with his talent, he'll reach admiral-level strength sooner or later! It would be a pity if he died now!"

"Roya hasn't been seriously injured, nor has he surrendered. We only need to keep watching!"

At some point, a thin layer of cold sweat had appeared on Sengoku's forehead.

It was clear that Sengoku was worried about Roya as well.

The dog head formed from rolling magma continued to grow larger in Roya's eyes.

At the critical moment, Roya smiled. Then...