Though he spoke lightly, Loya remained appropriately vigilant regarding Hansa, the Chief of the Elite Camp.
The burst of speed Hansa had displayed while blocking Minde's attack gave Loya the illusion of facing Kuzan—though Loya knew that was likely because Kuzan had never fought him with serious intent. Still, that mont was enough to demonstrate Hansa's mastery of Soru (Shave). Furthermore, according to Aldo, Minde's spiked club had been coated in an invisible film of Qi (energy) that boosted its power well beyond the blow that had sent Tony flying. That Hansa could stop it dead with a single hand proved his strength was no joke.
Speed, power, high-level Haki, and the lethal offense of a master swordsman—the intel was more than enough to warrant Loya's respect.
Minde, seeing Hansa intervene, knew his "fun" was over. He released the tension in his arm, moved the club away from the blade, and walked back a few steps before turning to glare down at the bloodied Tony.
"Now, you know what to do, right? Though, honestly, even if you refuse, you're in no shape to stay here anyway. Just get your worthless self to the infirmary and lie down! Hahahaha!"
"Dammit!" Laurent Minnie gritted her teeth, eyes blazing with fury. She knew the difference between bravery and recklessness; rushing in now wouldn't avenge Tony, it would just land her in the infirmary alongside him. She could only stare, her beautiful eyes clouded with rage.
Simon sighed helplessly, patting Minnie's shoulder. "Let it go. We're just too weak compared to them right now… Just believe in ourselves! We've got a long road ahead; we'll get our payback eventually." As a third-generation Marine raised in Marineford, he knew the fortress layout by heart. He braced Tony's arm over his shoulder. "Let's go, Minnie. I know where the infirmary is."
"Yo, Minde, done already? This batch of rookies is pretty pathetic, huh?"
The speaker was Kiron, the guy who had tossed the club to Minde earlier. He had been enjoying the show, and now he sauntered over with a weird, mocking tone.
Hearing Kiron's words, Minde suddenly paled.
"Shut up, Kiron!" Minde hissed, his face twisting in frustration. "Can't you feel it? That guy over there is staring at us!" Minde didn't dare look back. Kiron's casual use of the phrase "this batch of rookies" was a death sentence—it included the monster standing over there.
That ice spear from earlier had whistled through the air like a bolt of lightning. Minde had no doubt that even with Aldo's Tekkai (Iron Body) combined with his own Qi armor, he would have been skewered. In that instant, Minde had been reminded of his first live-combat mission; the proximity to death had sent his heart rate soaring, making it nearly impossible to breathe.
"h… what's the big deal? So he killed a Silverback Great Ape! Strength is one thing, but that's just a brainless beast; use your head and you can kill it. You're really losing your nerve as you get older," Kiron scoffed, turning around with a look of pure contempt—directly into Loya's gaze. "Besides, do you really think these rookie weaklings can beat ? What a joke!"
Loya blinked, then a look of disdain curled his lip. Well, that's a spectacular way to court death.
Because Zephyr had discovered Loya's ability to "freeze ti" with his dragon powers, he had issued a gag order to everyone who knew about the true nature of that fight. Consequently, the footage of Loya's battle with the ape had never circulated. Kiron had been away on a mission for the last month and only returned today; he knew nothing of Loya's true capabilities, dismissing the rumors of his power as re hype.
He assud Loya had used clever traps to kill the ape. The "top rookie," the "disciple of Admiral Kuzan"—it was all just hot air. Kiron figured he could challenge Loya. If he could defeat this supposedly "strongest" rookie, his own status in the Elite Camp would soar, he'd get more attention from Zephyr, and who knows? Maybe one day he could even challenge Hansa!
Seeing the naked contempt on Loya's face, Kiron exploded. "Hey! What are you looking at, kid? Want a beating?"
Aldo fell silent. Hansa fell silent. The Jero brothers broke out so gummy candies, sharing them as they prepared to watch the show. They were the ones in the Elite Camp who understood Loya best; his raw, unmatchable power had been on full display during his casual morning spar. Kiron was strong—stronger than Minde—but fighting this monster…
Hansa didn't step in to diate. Though the "veteran hazing" was a tacitly approved custom by Zephyr to teach rookies humility, when you hazed soone stronger than yourself… the outco was predictable.
Hearing Kiron's provocation, Loya brushed the dust off his pants and leaned on Aldo to stand up, his legs numb from kneeling. Aldo flinched, looking miserable. "Loya, can you… take your hand off ?"
"Hm?" Loya realized, "Oh! My bad! Forgot!"
He pulled his hand away. On Aldo's clothes, a handprint of solid ice remained, with bone-chilling air drifting from it.
It was a new technique Loya had been working on. Against opponents with mole-like speed, his ice armor sotis didn't achieve perfect coverage in ti, leaving him vulnerable. So, Loya was trying to develop a "permanent" ice armor. It didn't matter if it was weaker; it just needed to absorb the first wave of a sneak attack. The only problem was the durability of the process—it was more about building a habit than just developing a spell. He'd forgotten his hand was still coated in a layer of ice when he'd grabbed Aldo.
Ignoring Aldo's resentful glare, Loya looked at Kiron with amusent. "Are you sure you want to fight ? I'm telling you, it's going to be very embarrassing. Trust ."
"You little punk…" Kiron felt insulted. Who was he? A mber of the Elite Camp. For a rookie to be this arrogant was simply intolerable!
Kiron sneered, lunged forward with blinding speed, and threw a punch at Loya's face.
He intended to show Loya that in the Elite Camp, dragons had to coil and tigers had to crouch. In reality, the veteran hazing had beco a necessary tradition. Every recruit who ca here had been the pride of their previous camp, brimming with arrogant pride. That pride was a double-edged sword—it kept them driven, but in real combat, that sa arrogance and belief that they were the "best in the world" would get them killed quickly.
Outside of Zephyr being attacked, the Elite Camp actually lost mbers in the field every few years, and nine tis out of ten, it was due to carelessness and underestimating their opponents. Pirates, unlike Luffy and his crew, were rarely "honorable." They were insidious, cruel scum who loved ambushes, poison, hostage-taking, and false surrenders.
This habit of carelessness had to be eradicated. That was why Zephyr set the instruction order—to give the veterans an excuse to give the rookies a healthy, necessary shake-up.
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