"What a joke..."
"He wants to use my graduation exam as an excuse to grind me into the dirt and see how much progress I've made this past month while he's at it?"
"Old man... you're way too easy to read."
He hesitated no longer, turning and sprinting toward the Elite Camp, his figure blurring into an afterimage through repeated bursts of Soru.
He had to ask Instructor Zephyr what on earth was going on!
Zephyr had just left Sengoku's office and had barely taken a few steps when a gale swept toward him from the far end of the corridor.
"Instructor!"
Lorne appeared before him in an instant, his rapid breaths stirring a wave of heat.
"That old... Vice Admiral Garp said he's going to be my opponent for the graduation exam. Is that true?"
Zephyr looked into Lorne's golden beast eyes, burning with fighting spirit, and a trace of complicated emotion flashed through his own.
He knew there was no hiding this.
"It's true." Zephyr nodded, his voice steady. "Fleet Admiral Sengoku has already given his tacit approval."
"Why?" Lorne's brows knotted together. "Who makes a Marine hero a recruit's opponent for a graduation exam? He's using his position to settle a personal score!"
"No, this is entirely within the rules," Zephyr interrupted sternly. "For a monster like you, it's the most appropriate arrangement."
Looking at the bewildered Lorne, he explained, "You covered in just over a month what takes others three years. That in itself broke every rule. An ordinary exam would be meaningless for you. It would only make the other soldiers feel it was unfair, that you were just someone who got special treatment through your connection to Garp."
"So the Marines need a grand spectacle, a public performance impressive enough to silence everyone."
"You need an opponent of sufficient standing, and a resounding victory to prove that your strength comes from your fists, not your connections."
Zephyr's voice was resolute.
"Defeating a Headquarters Vice Admiral is the best proof. And Garp... volunteered."
Zephyr looked at Lorne, his gaze sharpening.
"But this is also your opportunity, Lorne. A chance to truly make all of Marine Headquarters, and even the whole world, know who you are."
"I understand."
Lorne drew a deep breath. The anger and confusion in his heart gradually subsided, replaced by an even fiercer fighting spirit.
So that was it.
This was a coronation ceremony tailor-made for him.
He bowed deeply to Zephyr.
"Thank you for clearing that up, Instructor!"
With that, he turned without looking back, once again becoming an afterimage as he rushed toward the underground training ground.
Zephyr watched his retreating figure disappear, a trace of worry in his eyes, but even more anticipation.
"Don't let me down, kid..."
Bang!
Inside the underground training ground, he locked the heavy alloy doors behind him with a deafening crash, shutting out Zephyr's worried gaze as well.
Bare-chested, Lorne faced an alloy post built with Headquarters' most advanced technology, specifically designed to test Haki penetration.
"Haymaker!"
He punched, his accumulated grit turning into pure white energy that slammed into the alloy post.
Humm-
The alloy post gave a dull hum, with only a shallow fist mark left on its surface.
"Not enough!"
Lorne panted heavily, his eyes bloodshot.
His Haymaker was, in essence, true damage that ignored defenses. But against Armament Haki on Garp's level, most of that degree of "true damage" would be forcibly canceled out by his opponent's will and Haki.
He needed even greater penetration.
"Armament Haki..."
Recalling Zephyr's teachings, he concentrated his will in his right fist, and a pitch-black sheen instantly covered his entire arm.
"Again! Haymaker!"
Boom!!
This time, the force was completely different.
The raging grit and condensed Armament Haki clashed violently inside his fist, utterly unable to merge.
An enormous surge of energy flowed backward. His entire right arm felt as though a bomb had been stuffed inside it. His muscles tore apart inch by inch, his bones groaned under the unbearable strain, and blood erupted like a fountain!
"Aaaaaargh!"
Agonizing pain struck, but Lorne seemed unable to feel it. Instead, he burst into crazed laughter.
"Yes! That's the feeling! Not enough! Still not enough!"
Battlefield Valor's passive effect kicked into overdrive, his torn muscles writhing and healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
He closed his eyes, his beast ears standing straight up as he pushed his Voice of All Things ability to its limit.
This time, he wasn't listening to the wind or the sea.
He was listening to his own body!
Listening to the cries of muscle fibers tearing and rebuilding! Listening to the roar of blood surging through his veins! Listening to the melody of the golden energy of grit and the black will of Armament Haki repelling and colliding with one another!
"Force the Armament Haki... inside... not coating, but fusion!"
"Use will as a drill bit. Twist the true damage power of grit into a single strand and drill through everything!"
Through countless cycles of tearing and healing, through frenzied self-torture that left his flesh a bloody mess.
He finally grasped the slightest hint of the knack for perfectly combining "true damage" and "Haki."
That evening, a piece of news swept through all of Marineford like a hurricane.
[Special graduation exam announcement: Recruit Lorne VS Headquarters Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp]
The noticeboard was packed with dumbstruck Marine soldiers.
"Am I seeing things? That guy with connections is going to fight Vice Admiral Garp?"
"Hahaha! That's hilarious! This has to be Fleet Admiral Sengoku's punishment, right? He got so sick of seeing that guy get special treatment that he's simply having Vice Admiral Garp cripple him personally, then kick him out of the Marines!"
"I bet he won't last ten seconds! No, five!"
"Five seconds? You give him way too much credit! One sneeze from Vice Admiral Garp might finish him! I bet one second!"
In the recruit camp, the elites Lorne had once defeated in a single move made no attempt to hide their glee at his misfortune.
"That arrogant bastard is finally going to pay."
"Just watch. Tomorrow they'll carry him out like a dead dog."
Mockery and jeers rose one after another.
In everyone's eyes, this was no longer an exam, but a ridiculous farce with an outcome already set in stone.
On the day of the exam.
Marineford's central plaza was a sea of people.
Tens of thousands of Marine soldiers crowded around it, leaving no room to pass. Even the rooftops of the surrounding buildings were packed.
And on the highest viewing platform, three figures drew everyone's attention.
"Ohh~ How frightening. It's this lively so early in the morning."
Marine Admiral Kizaru looked as languid as ever, his hands in his pockets and his mouth twisted into an odd shape.
"..."
Marine Admiral Akainu stood with his arms folded, his expression grim, like a volcano about to erupt.
"Arara... you've really given an old man a difficult problem, Mr. Garp..."
Marine Admiral Aokiji yawned, looking as though he might fall asleep at any moment.
All Three Admirals of the Marines had actually come to watch a single recruit's graduation exam!
Elsewhere, Fleet Admiral Sengoku wore a dark expression, squeezing the Den Den Mushi in his hand so hard it was nearly deformed. Zephyr stood behind him, his expression grave, his lone eye filled with lingering worry.
Just then, a stir ran through the crowd.
Bare-chested, Lorne walked slowly into the arena amid a tidal wave of boos.
Ignoring every gaze, he walked straight to the center of the plaza. His golden beast eyes calmly swept across the crowd before finally settling on the mountain-like figure opposite him.
"Wahahahaha!"
At the sight of him, Garp let out his trademark hearty laugh, yanking the Justice coat off his back and casually tossing it to his adjutant.
"You actually dared to come, kid! Good! You've got guts!"
Lorne grinned and rolled his neck, producing a series of crisp cracks.
"I was worried those old bones of yours would throw your back out, so I came specially to see you to your grave."
"You little brat!" Garp cursed with a laugh, but the smile on his face only grew brighter.
Up on the platform, Sengoku slammed his hand on the table and roared into the Amplifying Den Den Mushi, "Begin the exam!"
He couldn't bear to watch these two bastards display their "grandfather-grandson affection" in front of the entire Marine force any longer.
Before you continue