Prey?

Standing on the deck, he was greeted by a sea breeze that smelled unpleasant yet somehow fresh.

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Randall enjoyed the feel of the sea breeze against his face as he gazed into the distance.

For the past month, he had fought Aequus every day.

But perhaps because Aequus himself had yet to fully master Armament Haki, Randall still couldn't make heads or tails of it.

That left him rather disappointed.

If Aequus had known what he was thinking, his face would have crumpled in despair, and he would have pounded the ground like a heartbroken tough guy.

Hadn't he spent half a year in the Elite Camp, even receiving special instruction from Zephyr, just to barely scratch the surface?

Even that had earned him Zephyr's praise for his outstanding talent!

And now you were telling him you wanted to learn Armament Haki in a month?

You had to be kidding!

Even your dreams shouldn't be that ridiculous!

What?

You said you learned the Six Powers after seeing them once and mastered Life Return in an hour?

Well, never mind, then...

With talent like yours, whatever you said was right...

At that moment, Randall was thinking—or rather, fantasizing.

Since Momonga had said the animals on the island had been modified, was there the slightest chance they could use Armament Haki?

But even Randall laughed at his own idea.

What would Armament Haki mean to the people in their Elite Camp?

It would mean invincibility!

Basically, aside from the top three and Randall, nobody here would even need to bother taking the test.

The Navy wouldn't be that cruel... would it...?

After more than two hours at sea, Randall felt the warship gradually slow down.

He looked into the distance, where the outline of a lush green island had appeared.

Experimental Island No. 003.

In other words, the venue for this test.

The fifty-one candidates wore all kinds of expressions: hesitation, worry, a hint of fear, contemplation, anticipation, or indifference.

Beside them, Momonga quietly took in every expression.

At the same time, he sighed inwardly.

This intake of the Elite Camp already had pitifully few recruits.

To put it bluntly, it really was like sifting through shit for gold.

Fortunately, people like Milers and Aequus had emerged among them.

They kept the Elite Camp from becoming a camp in name only.

At that thought, his gaze settled on one person, and a look of regret crossed his face.

That person was the Devil Fruit User Randall had sensed earlier.

He was also the formidable fighter ranked third, Cotton.

He had also possessed the highest Doriki Value upon entering the Elite Camp.

He was three years younger than Randall, yet his Doriki Value had reached five hundred.

But... everything had changed after he ate his fruit.

The Special Paramecia Cotton-Cotton Fruit.

He could turn himself into cotton and produce cotton, making it a fruit with great potential.

Although Zephyr disliked Devil Fruits, he didn't deny the power of their users.

So he, too, had thought a new star was about to rise.

But after eating the Devil Fruit, this fellow had suddenly become lazy.

His strength had barely improved at all since he ate it.

That had allowed Milers and Aequus to overtake him.

Frustrated by his wasted potential, Zephyr had lectured him several times and beaten him several times, but the fellow was as unresponsive as a dead pig.

Over time, Zephyr had stopped bothering with him.

Yet even so, he still held third place in the Elite Camp.

That said plenty about just how... this intake of the Elite Camp was.

Momonga couldn't help sighing.

A short while later, the warship dropped anchor.

Momonga's figure flashed, and he appeared in the clearing on shore.

His speed drew a wave of astonished cries.

Even Milers, Aequus, and Randall had only vaguely perceived his movement.

And that had been nothing more than a casual move on his part.

For a moment, a hunger for power rose in everyone's eyes.

They disembarked one by one and lined up before Momonga.

Momonga had no intention of wasting words. He checked his watch, then said directly:

"With that, the test officially begins!

I've already explained the rules to you.

Seventy-two hours from now, I'll be waiting for you here!

Good luck to you all!"

His brisk military manner gave them a sense of urgency.

Noticing that some of them were already afraid, Momonga sighed inwardly, then asked:

"Now, I'll ask one last time. Does anyone want to withdraw from this test?"

At his question, several people were visibly tempted.

However, Momonga continued:

"Anyone who withdraws will be expelled from the Elite Camp.

Then you'll start over as an ordinary recruit!"

That instantly extinguished the temptation that had just arisen.

"Then let the test begin!"

Each with their own thoughts, everyone headed into the jungle.

Some went alone; others went in groups.

Those confident in their own strength naturally chose to go alone.

After exchanging glances, Randall, Aequus, and Milers headed in three different directions without a word.

They knew the others would be their greatest rivals in this test.

True, all three top places came with rewards.

But who didn't want to take first place?

As for Cotton...

He might very well find somewhere safe and sleep for three days...

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Yet as Randall walked onward, he failed to notice Pietro suddenly look up at him from behind.

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In the blink of an eye, everyone had vanished into the forest.

Looking at the dense, secluded forest, Momonga's lips curled slightly.

Enjoy yourselves, boys!

I hope you like this test.

And I hope you aren't too surprised when you meet those modified beasts that can use Armament Haki.

The recruits: "Explain it to us. What the fuck do you mean by a fucking surprise?"

Randall: "I'm absolutely delighted!" (Serious face)

Of course, this was only a test, not a murder.

Safety thresholds had already been set for those modified beasts.

If they detected a recruit on the brink of death, the modified beasts would be forced to shut down.

That might not completely prevent deaths.

But they were soldiers.

Within the forest, dense branches and leaves completely blocked out the sky.

Sunlight threaded its way through the gaps.

There was light, but not much.

And most of what they could see was a jumble of different plants.

Stare at it long enough, and your vision would blur.

It kept their nerves constantly stretched taut.

Randall moved swiftly through the forest, but unlike the others, he wasn't nervous. Instead, he was quite relaxed.

That was because his Qi's ability to sense life was even better than Observation Haki.

It was practically like having a map hack.

He could tell at a glance where the enemies were.

There was no need to guard against ambushes.

After moving swiftly for nearly three kilometers, Randall abruptly stopped.

In his sensory view, something like a light bulb sat motionless amid a clump of branches and leaves above and to his right.

It was a long, narrow living creature lying in ambush, waiting to deal a fatal blow to the prey before it.

Little did it know that the prey in its eyes already regarded it as prey.