A slender finger with distinct knuckles approached the spiked club with a seemingly slow yet swift motion.
The two are not even in the same league in terms of size and presence.
But this collision, which should have been a foregone conclusion, took an unexpected turn.
"Boom!"
The moment the two made contact, a powerful aftershock erupted and spread outwards.
Even though a finger is much smaller than that enormous spiked club, no matter how hard the owner of the club tried, the club couldn't budge an inch.
At that moment, a faint male voice came from behind.
"Both speed and strength are much greater than a month ago."
"Not bad! Kaido! You've improved a lot!"
"Unfortunately, I'm still not even as good as one of your fingers, Boss Xia Chen!"
Kaido said helplessly, then slowly put away his spiked club.
Looking at Xia Chen, who appeared calm and collected, Kaido couldn't help but shake his head.
Xia Chen's power was beyond his comprehension, and he felt incredibly embarrassed about his earlier words to Xia Chen, when he had said he would surpass Xia Chen in the future.
He was certain that he would never have the chance to surpass Xia Chen in his entire life!
Because Xia Chen is really only seventeen years old, and even by the standard of Xia Chen's current strength at seventeen, he doesn't think he can reach that level in the future.
A month ago, he couldn't even get past Xia Chen's finger.
A month later, his skills had improved significantly, and he was full of confidence.
But the result remained unchanged; he still couldn't even break through Xia Chen's finger.
What could he do? He was desperate!
Xia Chen looked at Kaido and asked, "We're about to set off for God Valley. How are you feeling?"
"Excited! Thrilled!"
Kaido smiled, his eyes filled with fighting spirit.
He's improved so much in the past month and has been wanting to get some practice.
Fighting Xia Chen was really not a good experience; he needed to go and beat up those weaklings from the World Government.
"Um!"
Xia Chen nodded and continued, "You probably already know that the Celestial Dragons are holding a massacre tournament at the God Valley!"
"The prize for the competition is six Devil Fruit that can be considered God Level, and one of them is perfect for you!"
What kind of Devil Fruit is it?
Upon hearing this, Kaido's eyes flashed with a sharp light; he had actually wanted to eat a Devil Fruit for a long time.
But unfortunately, I haven't found anyone I like yet, so it's been dragging on until now.
For him, Devil Fruit abilities are something that will accompany him for life, so he definitely has to choose carefully, better to have none than to have something of bad quality!
" Zoan, Mythical Zoan, Fish-Fish Fruit, Azure Dragon Form!"
Xia Chen said, word by word.
Mythical Zoan?
Kaido more excited, knowing that Mythical Zoan Fruits are even rarer than Logia Fruits!
Furthermore, he had never heard of any Mythical Zoan Fruit being weak; they were all ridiculously strong!
However, the excitement in Kaido's eyes quickly faded, replaced by a look of worry.
"But... I'm not sure I'll get this fruit!"
"Countless pirates around the world are eyeing this place, and the World Government and the Navy will likely be there as well. My chances of getting this Devil Fruit are extremely slim!"
Kaido is quite clear about his own strength. Although he has improved a lot recently, he is still far from being a top-tier powerhouse.
With his strength, he wouldn't even qualify to join the core battlefield of God Valley!
"What you said is true. With your strength, it would indeed be difficult for you to stand out among so many powerful individuals and obtain the Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon!"
Xia Chen spoke up, and Kaido's expression grew increasingly grim.
"But..."
Suddenly, Xia Chen changed the subject, a smile appearing on his lips.
"Your skills may be lacking, but your boss is!"
"You've been calling me 'boss' for so many days, I should at least help you get some reward!"
"!!!"
Kaido's face lit up with joy at a visible speed, and he looked at Xia Chen excitedly, asking:
"Boss Xia Chen, are you telling the truth?"
"Will you help me get the Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon back?"
"Would I lie to you?" Xia Chen glanced at him.
"No, no, I'm just too excited! Hehe!"
Kaido scratched his head and chuckled sheepishly.
Xia Chen shook his head, ignoring Kaido, and turned to look at the distant sea. He murmured to himself:
"I wonder if you'd show up if I wiped out all those guys from the World Government?"
" Imu!"
--
Marine Headquarters, on the back island of Marineford, at an open-air training ground.
Four figures flashed continuously in the training field, and a series of tremors occasionally came from the void.
The four figures had no fixed opponents and basically fought wherever they went, creating a chaotic melee.
After an unknown amount of time, the commotion in the training field gradually subsided.
Kong looked at the three people in front of him and a smile appeared on his face.
"You three are doing very well! You've all reached the level of Admiral. This past month of hellish training has paid off!"
"Especially Garp, although you're a bit of a chatterbox, your strength is truly remarkable, even among the Admiral you're among the strongest!"
"The Navy has finally recovered some of its strength!"
At this point Kong couldn't help but sigh.
The deaths of all Three Admirals in the Vatali Kingdom a month ago were a huge blow to the Navy, and equally so to him.
Someone had to take responsibility for the deaths of the three Admiral, and he was the obvious choice to make that decision.
If it weren't for the countless things he has done for the Navy and the World Government over the years, he might not have even been able to keep his position as Fleet Admiral this time.
In order to fill the gap in the Navy's top combat power as soon as possible, he even dragged Garp, Sengoku, Zephyr to the back island for a month of hellish training.
Finally, perseverance pays off!
Their training has yielded great results, and all three have steadily improved their skills.
However, this kind of hellish training also has its drawbacks, namely, it can render people somewhat useless!
The three of them looked exhausted, a sign that their energy and spirit had been completely depleted.
They felt they couldn't hold on any longer if they persisted for just a few more days.
Seeing the three of them like this, Kong sighed almost imperceptibly and looked at them, saying:
"You all go back and get some rest now! Try to recover your energy and spirits by the day after tomorrow!"
"Because the Celestial Dragons' tournament is the day after tomorrow, I've received word that countless pirates are itching to make their move, including the Rocks Pirates!"
"There's no doubt there will be a fierce battle. If you're not in good shape, you could lose your lives!"
"Tch! Let me make this clear first: I'm only going to God Valley to deal with the Rocks Pirates. As for those disgusting Celestial Dragons, I absolutely will not protect them!"
"So what if you're dead? Living in this world is just a waste of resources anyway!"
"A slaughter contest, huh! They really know how to play!"
"Garp said dismissively."
" Garp! Watch your words!"
Kong roared loudly.
"Snort!"
Garp snorted, glanced at Kong, and then turned and walked towards Marine Headquarters.
Watching Garp's absurdly retreating figure, Kong rubbed his temples helplessly, feeling a bit of a headache.
He was well aware that what Garp said was true, but the problem was that their navy was too constrained by the World Government.
Therefore, he could only obey orders, not oppose them.
Thinking of this, Kong couldn't help but sigh again, muttering to himself:
Hopefully, not too many people will be killed in the end!