"Oh! We won!"
"Yeah! Loya won!"
The recruits cheered, hugging each other. Although Loya had only been there for a day, his performance throughout the day had earned him their collective respect. This honor now belonged to the entire recruit unit.
"Unbelievable. I never knew a Zoan fruit could be used like that."
"Right? Loya is so smart to use such a thod to rapidly process the food."
Walking back to the dorms, the recruits joked and teased Loya. He didn't mind the familiarity; he wasn't about to put on airs like so high-and-mighty protagonist.
"See you tomorrow, Loya."
"See you."
After seeing off the recruits who lived in town and signing in at the guard desk, Loya headed upstairs. He opened the door to his room—a modest space with only a bed and a chair. The walls were weathered and stained with ti, but it was clean.
"Well, this is the recruit life. At least it's not a barracks full of people. Not bad."
He reached for the light switch. Snap!
Suddenly, a whistle sounded right by his ear. A bone-chilling cold aid directly for his throat. Too fast to turn, Loya dropped into a crouch, his left hand spreading out to manifest an ice longsword, which he thrust backward.
The counterattack was lightning-fast. But just as Loya felt a flicker of relief, a boot slamd into his gut. His ice sword shattered, and his body was sent flying, crashing into the wall with a heavy thud.
Before he could even assess the damage, Loya, still plastered against the wall, slamd his right fist into his left palm. The killing intent radiating toward him had turned his skin to goosebumps.
"Ice Coffin!"
Crackle!
Like a floodgate opening, endless freezing air surged from his palm, instantly forming a massive, square block of ice that encased his attacker. The chilling intent vanished instantly.
"Huff..."
Loya finally relaxed, though his leg buckled as he winced, clutching his ribs. "Damn it! Is this really Marine Headquarters? Assassins running around the dorms now?!"
He looked up at the ice block—and his eyes widened. It was completely empty inside.
"Are you looking for ?"
A deep, baritone voice spoke from behind him. Loya spun around and froze.
"Admiral Aokiji... why are you here?"
Standing there was a man in a white suit, a green eye mask on his forehead, and a signature Afro-style explosion of hair: one of the three current Admirals, Aokiji!
Loya's tension evaporated. Regardless of anything else, this Admiral, who preached "Lazy Justice," wouldn't kill him without a reason. And what had Loya done? Nothing.
Seeing Loya relax, Kuzan looked curious. "Hey, kid, you're just going to let your guard down like that? I could kill you if I wanted to right now."
Loya rolled his eyes and sat on the floor, pulling up his shirt to check his injuries. "You're a Marine Admiral. If you wanted to kill , you wouldn't need a sneak attack... and since I'd be dead either way, why not stay relaxed?"
"You..." Kuzan was speechless. He didn't know what to say, but this lazy, "it is what it is" attitude actually suited his tastes. He tossed a jar of ointnt from his pocket to Loya.
"Take it. I pulled my punches. With your constitution, it's just a light bruise."
Clap!
Loya caught the jar and grinned, shaking it. "Thanks!"
Once Loya finished applying the dicine, Kuzan leaned against the back of a chair, looking down at him. "Aren't you curious why I attacked you?"
"I was at first, but then I rembered that forr Admiral Zephyr stopped by the Recruit Camp this morning. I'm not curious anymore." Loya bandaged his side, sitting cross-legged on the floor.
"Oh? Tell your thoughts."
"First, Zephyr-sensei is the instructor for the Elite Camp. Practical training notifications usually co from our regular instructors. His arrival was abnormal. The reason? My arrival."
Loya paused. Seeing Kuzan's expressionless face, he continued, "Second, the ice power I used for my Ice Dragon form is exactly like your Chill-Chill Fruit (Hie Hie no Mi). So when you showed up, I figured it out: Zephyr-sensei thinks I have potential and wants in the Elite Camp... and you're here to test . With the practical assessnt only a month away, you needed to know my actual combat level."
"Heh. A brilliant deduction." Kuzan clapped lazily. "But you missed one thing. I'm not just here to test you. You're going to follow to learn how to develop your fruit ability. After all, when it cos to ice, I'm the expert."
Loya stared at him in shock. "Given your personality, you'd actually take on such a troubleso mission?!"
"...Kid, you know you're very punchable, right?"
With that, Kuzan lost interest in chatting. Since Loya already knew what was going on, there would be plenty of ti for contact later.
"That's it for now. Starting tomorrow, wait for in the ss hall after training. If I'm busy, soone will let you know."
"Understood! Sorry for the trouble, Kuzan-sensei!"
Kuzan reached for the door, then looked back. "Don't call sensei. Your only teacher is Zephyr. I'm just here to help with your fruit."
"Yes, Kuzan-sensei! Take care, Kuzan-sensei!"
A vein popped on Kuzan's forehead. He flicked a finger. "Ice Ti!"
He walked out and closed the door, leaving Loya frozen solid on the floor.
Downstairs, a sturdy figure waited in the shadows of the corner. Kuzan sighed and walked over with his hands in his pockets.
"Ara ara, Zephyr-sensei. I'll send you the report tomorrow. Why are you still up?"
Zephyr crossed his arms and looked back at the dorm building. "If so punk was throwing ice off your roof in the middle of the night, would you be sleeping?"
"Well, that's because you didn't stop his boring duel with Ms. S earlier. Otherwise, he wouldn't have had to use his ability to speed up his digestion."
Kuzan imdiately regretted saying that. Zephyr was glaring at him with annoyance. They stood in silence for a long while before Kuzan cleared his throat.
"Since you're here, I'll tell you the results of the test."
"Your hunch was right. While the kid has great reaction speed and physique, he has zero experience. There's no form to his movents. He fights more like a wild beast relying on instinct."
"Hmph. Light footsteps, unfocused eyes—I could see that at a glance," Zephyr grunted. "And his fruit ability?"
Kuzan turned serious. "Strong. Very strong. The cold he radiates isn't just simple frost—it has another, peculiar power mixed in. I suspect it's the power of the Dragon. That final 'Ice Coffin' move? If I hadn't used Soru to dodge, it would have been quite a struggle to break out. But just like his combat, his application is unrefined."
"I see..." Zephyr bowed his head in thought. After a long mont, he said to Kuzan, "Put more effort into his fruit developnt. I'll talk to Sengoku about reducing your field missions. I have a feeling this sea is about to descend into chaos, and before that happens, the more high-end combat power the Marines have, the better."
"Ara ara, that sounds great. Should I say thank you, Zephyr-sensei?"
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