For a long second, the world went quiet.
"Three of them together and they still look this battered?"
"Where did this guy come from? He's on Whitebeard's level!"
"Terrifying. He's terrifying!"
Marines stared, slack-jawed and pale. Even Borsalino and Sakazuki, monsters among the Marines, had failed alongside Instructor Zephyr in a three-on-one. Not a single advantage gained.
"How strong is he, really?"
"A monster. A real monster."
No one doubted Rakuya anymore. Now they understood why Fleet Admiral Steel Bone Kong treated him like a walking calamity and forbade anyone to provoke him. That order hadn't been protection. It had been fear.
Hands shook on rifle stocks. Backs soaked through with cold sweat.
Sakazuki, breathing hard, and a pallid Borsalino blinked in beside Zephyr.
"Instructor, you're hurt?"
"It's nothing. A scratch," Zephyr said evenly, though his ripped uniform and the blood at the seams told another story.
Borsalino and Sakazuki looked from their teacher back to Rakuya. Their pride burned. To lose face in front of the Marines, in front of their own instructor, to that man.
They had worn halos since they joined the Marines. Prodigies. Monsters. The center of every room.
Rakuya had ground that halo into dust.
"Borsalino, you already had your turn," Sakazuki said, voice low. "Now I'll test him myself."
"No. His ability is strange. I got stuffed. You can't handle him alone."
"You couldn't," Sakazuki snapped. "That doesn't mean I can't."
He stepped forward. Each footfall left a glowing red print. Grass crisped into ash. Heat shimmered.
Breaths hitched all around.
"Sakazuki's going all out."
"I want to see just how frightening the Magma-Magma Fruit really is."
"They say he's a monster. How monstrous?"
"We'll win. Rakuya won't escape."
"Don't kid yourself. Even with Instructor Zephyr they couldn't take him."
Sakazuki stopped. Both fists had melted into roiling magma. Smoke billowed. The temperature spiked.
"Beat him, Sakazuki!""Your magma is unbeatable!"
Sakazuki's jaw worked. He stared at Rakuya like a mortal enemy. Fire looked ready to pour from his teeth.
Rakuya, by contrast, looked faintly bored.
The calm only fed Sakazuki's rage.
"You are strong," Sakazuki ground out. "Stronger than I expected. You outplayed Borsalino. That proves your power. But I, Sakazuki, am stronger still. This time I'm holding nothing back. I will defeat you."
"Oh."
The single syllable landed like a slap to empty air. All that blood-pumping bravado, swallowed without a ripple.
Sakazuki felt his fury spike.
"Rakuya, a real enemy stands before you and you can't even take this seriously. I will use everything the Magma-Magma Fruit can give. Keep underestimating me and you will lose."
"Yes, yes, I'll lose," Rakuya said, nodding lazily. "Can we start? I'm getting hungry."
"You"
Humiliation flushed to murder.
"Hellhound!"
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