The short blade in his hand chopped toward Creed.
Creed, of course, didn't flinch. A sharp light flashed in his eyes as Samsara left its sheath, cold light bursting forth.
Clang~!
Their weapons collided with a crisp ring.
The two bodies crashed, and an invisible shockwave surged out in all directions.
Next, their figures flickered nonstop across the platform.
Screech~!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The continuous clash of steel rang out.
They collided again at the center of the ring. A gale swept out, and dust filled the air.
Screech~!
After one exchange, they split apart in an instant.
Lokav tossed aside his broken short blade, a grave look crossing his face.
Down below, the crowd stared blankly at the snapped sword on the ground.
Damn—what kind of monster is that?!
Not only did he block a Major's attack—
He's trading blows evenly!
We could stomach that, but he actually sliced a Major's weapon clean in two.
Is he even human?!!!
Plenty of people were questioning reality.
"You're… impressive. No wonder you're this year's strongest," Lokav said as he looked at Creed. As expected of a student who shattered Admiral Zephyr's aura—his strength was terrifying. And that sword of his… its grade was extremely high!!
Otherwise, it couldn't have chopped his short blade in half.
"Is that so?" Creed smiled. "I think I'm very strong—and ridiculously handsome, too."
Lokav: "…"
Never seen someone so shameless.
He drew a deep breath. "But this is as far as you go. Warm‑up's over. I'm about to…"
The next second—
"Go all out!"
Lokav vanished. The second half of his sentence exploded right beside Creed's ear.
Creed's face changed; he felt a powerful fist wind at his back.
Bang!
A tremendous force slammed into him.
He had no time to dodge—one punch sent him flying.
Lokav's figure disappeared again.
Before Creed could hit the ground, another punch smashed him away.
Then he vanished once more, trying to repeat the tactic.
"Back off!"
Creed snarled, and an overbearing sword intent poured out. Samsara flared with light as he slashed toward Lokav.
Seeing Samsara coming, Lokav showed no fear. A faint smile tugged at his lips.
Sss~!
Samsara cut through him—straight through—as if it had sliced empty air.
But with that slash, Creed seized a moment to breathe.
He clenched his left fist and threw a punch forward.
Their fists met.
Using the rebound, Creed adjusted in midair and landed steadily.
Lokav, however, burst into a swirl of dust, skidding back, then re‑condensed into human form.
"Elementalization? A Logia‑type Devil Fruit user?"
Creed narrowed his eyes at Lokav and probed him.
[Abilities]: A‑rank Dust‑Dust Fruit (conditions unmet, cannot extract), B‑rank Rokushiki (extractable), B‑rank Fist Technique (extractable), C‑rank Observation Haki (extractable)…
[Overall Power]: A
A Logia Dust‑Dust Fruit user…
Creed's eyes narrowed further.
He glanced at the platform—at some point, a thick layer of dust had built up across the ground.
No wonder his speed was ghost‑like just now; you couldn't even see how he moved.
He had turned himself into dust, merged into the thick grime on the floor, and used that to zip around.
Below the ring, the students' eyes widened.
Though it takes long to describe, everything had happened within a few seconds.
So this is a Major's true strength!!
Creed, who'd just been trading blows evenly, was suddenly beaten without a chance to fight back.
And… this Major was a Devil Fruit user—a Logia, the strongest class of Fruits!
At the mention of Logia—
Many students couldn't help but glance at Smoker.
They understood all too well how broken Logia users were.
In daily training bouts, Smoker was untouchable. Time and again, no one could even brush the hem of his coat; all attacks were ineffective.
The only one who could hurt Smoker was Instructor Gust.
And rumor had it that it was a special art only high‑ranking Marine officers could learn; otherwise, you could only learn it in the Elite Training Camp.
"Looks like Creed's going to lose."
"Yeah. Logia Fruits are too busted—you can't even hit them."
"Unless Creed has a seastone weapon."
Whispers rippled through the crowd.
…
On the platform…
Lokav looked at Creed. "That's right. A Logia—Dust‑Dust Fruit."
"Unless you've got a seastone weapon, your attacks won't work on me."
Creed smiled. "Only seastone? I'm not so sure. What about water—fluids and the like?"
Lokav's eyes tightened. "How do you know that?"
"I guessed."
Seeing his reaction, Creed knew he'd hit the mark.
Dust‑Dust Fruit—by the name alone, it had to be a subordinate variant of the Sand‑Sand Fruit used by Crocodile; the weakness would be the same.
"Hmph!" Lokav snorted, stomped, and charged. A thick sheath of dust wrapped his fists, making them look massively reinforced.
As Lokav barreled in—
"What restrains you isn't just seastone and liquids."
Creed said,
"You said you're going all out. Then now, I… will go all out too!"
(End of Chapter)
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