"Then I'll personally put your 'mettle' to the test!"
Boom!!!
Terrifying wind pressure slammed into Yas's face. The ground beneath his feet instantly caved in, and web-like cracks spread wildly outward!
The recruits around him were sent tumbling by the blast, their faces filled with utter terror!
"Head Instructor Zephyr... he's actually attacking in person!"
"This is insane! Completely insane! Is he trying to kill Yas?"
"That's 'Black Arm' Zephyr! The legendary monster who could fight Roger and Whitebeard head-on! That punch will turn Yas straight into pulp!"
Everyone thought Yas was doomed!
Against a Marine head instructor's full-force strike, how could a recruit possibly survive?
Even Moore, who had been seething with hatred for Yas moments earlier, now stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
He had only wanted Head Instructor Zephyr to punish Yas, not kill him outright!
Yet just as that fist capable of pulverizing a warship was about to land, Yas moved!
There was not a trace of fear in his eyes. Instead, an unprecedented fighting spirit blazed within them!
An ordinary instructor? That was just an appetizer!
The Marines' head instructor? Now that was an opponent worth giving everything he had!
Bring it on!
Yas roared inwardly as the chakra within his body surged wildly under the system's guidance!
"Lightning Release Chakra Mode, activate!"
Bzzzzzt!!!
Blue lightning, even brighter and more violent than before, erupted from Yas's body once again!
This time, it was no longer a thin layer, but a solid suit of lightning armor with electricity coursing across it!
Terrifying blue arcs danced wildly around him, bathing his hair in azure light. Within his pupils, lightning dragons seemed to roar!
An utterly domineering aura that looked down upon the world shot skyward, even faintly holding its own against Zephyr's imposing presence!
"What is this...?!"
Zephyr's pupils abruptly contracted, and utter shock flashed through the eyes behind his sunglasses!
This power!
Such pure lightning power! And... this power wasn't coming from a Devil Fruit, but from this boy's own body?!
How was that possible?!
But he had no time to think further!
Boom!!!
"Black Arm" collided squarely with the top of Yas's head-no, with the layer of flowing lightning armor above it!
The expected scene of brains bursting and flesh flying never appeared!
Instead, a deafening metallic crash rang out, like a god beating a drum!
Clang!!!
A terrifying shock wave spread wildly outward in a ring around the two of them!
An entire layer was scraped clean off the training ground! Countless fragments of stone were swept into the sky, only to be instantly ground to dust by the rampaging energy!
Every recruit within a hundred-meter radius was blown away by the storm, tumbling across the ground and screaming!
Dust filled the air, obscuring everything.
"Is... is it over?"
"Yas... he must be dead by now..."
"Obviously! That was Head Instructor Zephyr's attack!"
The recruits struggled to their feet, covered in dirt, and stared toward the center of the dust cloud with lingering fear.
Gradually, the dust cleared.
The sight before them made everyone's breath stop!
Head Instructor Zephyr was still holding his punching stance.
And beneath his fist, that boy-Yas-was actually still standing!
His knees were slightly bent, and the ground beneath him had completely collapsed into a deep crater. Yet his back remained straight, one hand raised, his palm covered in blue lightning as it steadily held up Zephyr's "Black Arm"!
He... he had actually... blocked it?!
He had blocked a full-force strike from the Marines' head instructor, "Black Arm" Zephyr, with one hand?!
"Holy... holy shit!!!"
One recruit could no longer hold back and blurted out the curse on everyone's mind.
The entire training ground fell deathly silent!
A pin drop could have been heard!
Everyone felt as though their entire understanding of the world had been overturned and crushed to pieces!
This was no longer a genius!
This was a monster! A myth!
"You..."
For the first time, Zephyr's expression shifted.
He could clearly feel that what traveled through his arm was not merely an enormous rebounding force. A violent current of lightning was also frantically eating away at his Armament Haki, even traveling up his arm and numbing half his body!
What overpowering lightning! What formidable defense!
Though he had used only half his strength in that punch, it was enough to sink a large warship with ease!
Yet this boy had withstood it head-on! Without a scratch!
"Interesting... very interesting!"
Rather than growing angry, Zephyr burst into laughter filled with appreciation and excitement!
"How many years has it been... how many years since that bastard Roger set sail have I gone without seeing a newcomer as interesting as you!"
He abruptly withdrew his arm, stepped back twice, and studied Yas with keen interest.
"Boy, that ability of yours isn't from a Devil Fruit, is it?"
The lightning around Yas slowly subsided as well. He took a heavy breath, feeling every muscle in his body ache.
Taking an Admiral's strike head-on was still too much of a strain for his current body.
"Reporting, Head Instructor Zephyr. This isn't a Devil Fruit ability," Yas answered solemnly. He knew there was no point lying to someone this powerful.
"Oh? Then what is it?" Zephyr pressed, his eyes practically overflowing with curiosity.
"It's a constitution I was born with. I call it 'Lightning Release Armor,'" Yas explained, mixing truth with lies.
After all, this world was full of strange things, with all sorts of bloodlines and racial talents. The label of a "special constitution" was enough to explain plenty.
"Lightning Release Armor... what a Lightning Release Armor!" Zephyr clapped his hands in admiration. "What an imposing name, and what an overpowering ability!"
He looked at Yas as though he were a peerless piece of uncut jade!
His defense was already this astonishing, so what about his attack power? His speed?
This boy was simply born for battle!
"Boy, what's your name?"
"Reporting, Recruit Yas!"
"Yas... good. I'll remember you." Zephyr nodded, undisguised appreciation filling his eyes.
A worthless instructor like Moore was simply squandering a treasure!
A promising talent like this had to be guided by the very best and tempered through the harshest battles to shine his brightest!
"Starting today, you won't need to take part in this child's play you call basic training." Zephyr's words brought looks of envy, jealousy, and resentment to every recruit around them.
"Huh?" Yas froze.
Zephyr continued in an unquestionable tone, "Your strength is already far beyond that of a recruit. Staying here would only waste your time."
"In three days, Marine Headquarters will hold a special combat assessment for this class's very best recruits."
Zephyr's voice suddenly rose, filled with a murderous severity!
"The assessment will consist of actual combat against genuine Marine Headquarters Vice Admirals!"
What?!
Actual combat against Vice Admirals?!
Every recruit present, Yas included, sucked in a sharp breath!
Marine Headquarters Vice Admirals!
They were the backbone of the Marines, true powerhouses who stood among the upper ranks of the seas and could hold their own! Every one of them was a monster proficient in the Six Powers and two types of Haki!
Making a group of recruits fight Vice Admirals? That was no longer an assessment. It was a one-sided slaughter!
Seemingly pleased with their reaction, Zephyr spread his lips to reveal a mouthful of white teeth, his smile looking somewhat ferocious.
"What? Scared? If you don't even have that much courage, how can you talk about upholding justice on the seas?"
"This assessment is the ultimate test of your strength, courage, and potential! Only those who perform best will qualify to enter the Elite Training Camp under my personal instruction!"
The Elite Training Camp!
Everyone's eyes went red at those words!
That was the Marines' sacred ground! Those who graduated were at least field-grade officers, and it had even produced more than one Admiral!
Getting in meant soaring straight to the top!
For a moment, every recruit's breathing grew heavy, their eyes filled with longing and ambition.
Zephyr's gaze returned to Yas, carrying a hint of amusement and anticipation.
"Yas, your talent is unlike anything I've seen in my life. An ordinary assessment would be too easy for you, and far too dull."
"So I requested a 'special' opponent for you."
"An opponent... who will let you hold nothing back and unleash that 'Lightning Release Armor' of yours to your heart's content."
An ominous premonition rose within Yas.
Then Zephyr slowly announced, word by word, the name that made the entire sea tremble-
"The opponent in charge of your final assessment is..."
"Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral-"
"Monkey D. Garp!"
Boom!!!
The name "Garp" exploded like billions of tons of explosives in Yas's mind and across the entire training ground!
Everyone turned to stone!
Monkey D. Garp?!
That Garp the Hero of the Marines?!
The man who had driven Pirate King Roger into desperate straits time and again?!
The legendary figure known as "Iron Fist"?!
Making a recruit fight Garp?!
Head Instructor Zephyr, are you fucking serious?! This wasn't a test anymore. You were trying to get Yas killed!!!
Before you continue