Lokav gritted his teeth, already at his limit. With a roar, he shouted, "Go!"
The massive dragon body surged forward, roaring toward Creed like a landslide and tsunami. Its might was overwhelming—its terrifying aura could be felt even from fifty meters away.
The wind howled; the dragon's body whipped up a massive air current that made Creed's robes billow.
Facing the terrifying Dust Dragon, Creed drew a deep breath. "One move to decide it, huh? Then I'll accompany you!"
Since it was like this, he might as well try his new technique.
He closed his eyes, steadying his breathing.
It wasn't surrender.
It was—
Gathering his "momentum"!
His aura surged higher and higher, sword intent flooding out.
When it peaked—
He suddenly opened his eyes; his gaze was like a blade, dazzling and piercing.
All his sword intent poured into Samsara; the blade's dark light flared.
"En… Zan (Flame Slash)!!"
A single point of cold light burst in the heavens and earth, a blade arc slashing out—at that instant, it became the focal point of the entire world.
Brilliant, radiant!
As the arc crossed midair, its speed suddenly spiked; around the dark edge, red flames ignited. Carrying an invisible shockwave, it plowed the dust along the ground like a bulldozer.
Blade light gleamed.
The dragon roared.
Carrying terrifying force, the two met in the center.
Boom!!!!
The collision was deafening; an invisible shockwave erupted, gales howled, sand and stone flew, the scene utterly spectacular.
The sandstorm made it impossible for anyone to open their eyes.
The arena was drowned in smoke and dust; no one could see what was happening inside.
"Who won?!"
Down below, the spectators felt like cats were scratching at their hearts, desperate to know the result.
After a long moment…
The dust slowly dispersed.
A figure emerged.
The ground was split in a spider-web pattern, pitted and scarred.
At the spot where the blade arc and Dust Dragon collided was a several-meter crater, wisps of smoke curling up.
Seeing the wrecked battlefield, the crowd swallowed hard.
Terrifying destructive power.
Finally, the figures became clear.
It was Creed.
His back straight like a sword, standing tall.
Lokav, meanwhile, lay on the ground—unconscious.
The scene was utterly silent.
The result shocked everyone.
He'd won—defeated a Headquarters Major.
And a Logia-type Devil Fruit user, at that.
Creed sheathed Samsara and walked down.
"Creed wins!" Zephyr announced.
In the distance…
"Hahahaha! He won! Sengoku, you old rascal—miscalculated, didn't you?" Garp roared with laughter.
Sengoku nodded, gazing at Creed. "That brat of yours really is a monster. But it's good Lokav lost—he relies too much on his Fruit. His Haki is far from polished. Now he'll understand a Devil Fruit isn't everything."
The other matches continued fiercely.
But after Creed and Lokav's overwhelming spectacle, the later fights seemed childish, ordinary.
Some won against their drawn opponents.
Some lost.
Smoker fought a Captain and, with his Logia powers, won.
The selection went on; Creed grew a bit bored.
He suddenly remembered he'd never checked Zephyr's stats, so he used the system to probe.
[Abilities]: SS (SSS)-rank Busoshoku Haki (not extractable), SS-rank Kenbunshoku Haki (not extractable), SS (SSS)-rank Rokushiki, SS-rank Martial Arts…
[Overall Power]: SS-rank
…
This surprised Creed.
Compared to Sengoku and Garp, Zephyr's power seemed lacking.
But thinking about his history, Creed quickly understood.
Zephyr had left the front lines at 42 to become the Navy's Chief Instructor.
That was over twenty years ago—meaning he hadn't fought seriously in two decades. Coupled with the loss of his family and having no goal to drive him, his body's capabilities had begun to decline.
Naturally, his strength dropped—unable to match Garp or Sengoku, who still fought on the front lines.
It's like a track athlete—not to mention twenty years—even taking a year off running, your performance would be unrecognizable.
Near dusk…
"Creed, Smoker, Ain, Tashigi, Kuzi…"
Zephyr read out fifteen names in a row. "These fifteen will enter the Elite Training Camp."
Those called were ecstatic; those not named were lost, some even bursting into tears.
But that's the way this world is—
It's a world of the strong.
If you don't want to be weak, you must keep getting stronger!
…
(End of Chapter)
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