"You'll only have these few days to relax. It's unseemly for an Admiral to be idle all day; Sengoku won't tolerate it forever!"
Zephyr snorted and turned his gaze away. The other officers at the conference table acted as if they hadn't heard a thing, all staring intensely at the ceiling in unison. It was a habit they'd picked up from Loya—a lazy, infuriatingly smug expression that he'd worn while defeating Aldo on the plaza.
"Yes, yes. I know... honestly, Teacher, you've started lecturing again."
Kuzan pulled down his eye mask and rested his hands behind his head. "Anyway, I'm heading to the East Blue tomorrow for a mission. It just happens to be on your way."
"The East Blue? Is there anything there that requires an Admiral to act?"
"Not really. I just don't like the look of things over there; I want to find sothing to do..."
Zephyr: "..."
I must be seeing a fake Kuzan. This lazy bum is actively looking for work? Has the sun started rising in the west?
Deep within the prival forest, towering, twisted trees lood on all sides, with arm-thick aerial roots plunging into the mud. The thickets of vines and tangled undergrowth made travel for Loya's group grueling. The forest was stifling, and before long, everyone was drenched in sweat.
After entering the forest, a few recruits chose to split from the group. They reasoned that even if they didn't make the Elite Camp, the experience was valuable; sticking to Loya was safe, but it wouldn't help them learn to survive on their own. Loya could only praise their ambition and wish them good luck.
Reaching a valley, Loya suddenly stopped. A small stream bubbled over rugged rocks, forming ripples on the surface. The recruits behind him stopped in perfect synchronization, nervously gripping their rifles and scanning the periter.
"What's wrong, Loya?"
Loya looked around with a grave expression.
"How is it?"
"The scenery is quite nice! Let's have a leak to commorate this spot!"
Clang!
The recruits were caught so off-guard they nearly tripped over their own feet. They scrambled up, baring their teeth. "Are you kidding ?! You scared the life out of us!"
As it turned out, they had overthought it. Loya just really had to pee—he'd been holding it since last night. Ignoring his disgruntled companions, he trotted over to a two-ter-tall boulder, unzipped his pants, and went to work.
"Oooooh... that's the stuff. The longer you hold it, the better it feels."
"What the hell kind of 'feels good' is that?!" the recruits muttered, standing in a line to do the sa.
Suddenly, one recruit whispered, "Hey... do you guys think this rock is moving?"
"Stop joking around, it's a rock—holy crap! Retreat! The rock is actually moving!"
Just as Loya was about to tease them, he looked back and realized, to his shock, that the boulder was moving. The group scrambled back, pulling up their pants and reaching for their rifles.
Moooooo!
A deafening roar echoed through the valley. The "boulder" flipped over, glaring at the group with blood-red eyes.
An academically minded recruit shouted, "It's a 50-point Stone-Drum Cow! Low points, but its lethality is top-ten on this island! Watch out for its horns—they're harder than standard steel!"
"50 points, huh?" Loya faced the aggressive cow, clenching his right hand as a chilling frost gathered around him. "You guys step back. I'll handle this!"
Moooooo!
The cow seed provoked by Loya's stance. It lowered its head and charged, its horns slicing through the air with a whistling wind. It crushed the gravel underfoot into powder, moving with the montum of a full-throttle tank.
"Watch out! Dodge!" The recruits fired their muskets, but the lead pellets barely scratched the beast's thick hide.
"Dodge, Loya! The Stone-Drum Cow has to stop to turn—it can't catch you!" the scholar recruit yelled in a panic. The beast was almost upon Loya, looking ready to skewer him—the very move that had kept it safe even from the island's apex predators.
"Dodge? No, no need for that."
Hummm!
Magic power vibrated, blowing the grass and pebbles away from his feet. Loya casually raised his left hand and... stroked the charging horn.
Yes, stroked. The onlookers couldn't think of any other way to describe it.
"It's over! Loya couldn't dodge!"
Just as the recruits turned away, unable to bear the sight, Loya's voice pierced the noise: "Ice-Make: Heavy Armored Lancer!"
Pfft.
A tearing sound filled their ears. The next second, a blood-curdling scream echoed across the valley. The recruits looked up and were stunned. The cow was thrashing on the ground in a pool of blood that stained the grass and stream crimson. An ice pillar, a fist in diater, had pierced through its forehead and erupted out its backside.
Loya dusted off his hands, dispelling the ice armor. Without even glancing at the dying beast, he pointed at the scholar recruit. "Hey, brother—can you eat this thing?"
He hadn't eaten since yesterday. He was starving.
In the monitoring center, a Marine gulped, looked away from the screen, and recorded the tally: "Christopher Loya, one Stone-Drum Cow." Because the others had fired shots, the points were split among them. Seeing Loya take down the notoriously thick-skinned beast in one hit, the generals shot Kuzan curious glances.
"This Loya... he really can use Ice magic! And he's already this strong? Is it raw talent, or did Admiral Aokiji teach him well?"
Kuzan felt their eyes on him and pushed up his eye mask. "Huh? Did sothing happen?"
The Vice Admirals imdiately looked at the ceiling. "The weather today is truly excellent."
Zephyr, however, focused on Loya's movent. He noted that Loya waited until the cow stopped to charge before piercing it with the lance. He nodded in satisfaction. "That's more like it. No matter how strong the Devil Fruit is, you need a powerful body to unleash its true potential!"
Down in the valley, Loya was having a crisis. He grabbed the scholar by the collar: "What?! You an to tell this thing isn't edible? Then why the hell did I work so hard?!"
The scholar was near tears. "It's true! The Stone-Drum Cow is covered in stone, and its muscles and organs are highly toxic!"
Loya let him go, frustrated. Grrrrumble. His stomach let out a thunderous roar. "I'm starving! I need food!"
"Let... let's keep looking. A big island like this must have edible animals."
Loya had a realization. Why am I looking on the ground? He jumped into the sky to scout. A mont later, he dropped back down and grabbed the scholar again: "Hey! Is there a gorilla-like thing, about five ters tall, red belly, silver-white hair? Can you eat that?"
The scholar thought for a mont. "That sounds like a Silverback Great Ape. It's edible. I rember a restaurant in Sabaody Archipelago that sells them—one plate costs 20,000 Berries."
"That's the one!" Loya launched himself back into the air, skating on ice.
The scholar suddenly turned pale. "Wait... did Loya just find a Silverback Great Ape?"
He gulped. "Loya! Co back! That's a monster even the Vice Admirals don't want to ss with!"
The Silverback Great Ape was a land-based terror, a monster on par with Sea Kings. While it was considered a delicacy, it wasn't easy prey. Every ti one was successfully hunted, it made front-page news.
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