The moment the smoke cleared, Tokikake's narrow eyes snapped fully open, a sharp gleam flashing within them. He shot forward like a rabbit, closing in on Ortoren in an instant.
Right then, Ortoren had just released Momonga and Yamakaji, leaving his chest completely exposed.
Tokikake wasn't about to waste such a perfect opening. Forming one hand into a claw, he drove it hard toward Ortoren's left flank.
He called this move "Grabbing Steak"—a targeted strike to the so-called "soft spot," meant to pierce the thinnest part of Ortoren's abdomen and clamp down on his ribs. The pain, in theory, would be excruciating.
In theory.
In reality, the moment his claw hit, the Haki-coated fingers nearly cracked from the impact, and a sharp pain shot up Tokikake's hand.
One look told him why. His "soft spot" grab hadn't penetrated at all. Ortoren's abs were rock-solid, muscles taut as steel cables—and on top of that, he'd inherited Charlotte Linlin's steel-hard body. Tokikake hadn't so much as scratched him.
"No way, Ortoren… you really have a steel body?" Tokikake blurted in shock.
If you've got this kind of defense, why bother dodging my ambush earlier?
Ortoren didn't bother answering. His bloodshot eyes locked on Tokikake, and in the instant Tokikake's mind wandered, Ortoren's hand shot up, gripping him by the throat and hauling him into the air. Then he smashed his forehead straight into Tokikake's nose.
Tokikake reacted fast—Armament Haki flooded his head, turning it pitch-black like an iron can.
Ortoren hadn't used Haki at all.
By all logic, that should've put him at a disadvantage. But, again—he really did have a steel body.
The crack of skull meeting skull rang out across the field, making the spectators' scalps prickle and their teeth ache. Tokikake fared far worse—his Armament Haki shattered under the blow, his nose collapsed inward, blood spraying as his eyes rolled back. His consciousness was clearly slipping.
Seeing Tokikake limp and unresponsive, Ortoren seemed to lose all interest. He tossed him to the ground as casually as throwing away trash.
…
But then, voices rang out from behind him—Momonga and Yamakaji.
The two who'd been planted headfirst in the dirt moments ago now stood once more at his flanks, swords drawn and ready.
"Looks like without showing some real skill, we can't even scratch you," Momonga said, eyes narrowing. "So don't blame us for drawing steel."
As his words fell, he and Yamakaji crossed paths in a flash, their blades slicing across Ortoren's lower back from opposite sides.
They were elite Marine Commodores, both well-versed in Haki. Even without Ortoren using his own Haki, they shouldn't have had trouble cutting him.
Yet when the clash ended, both men stared in disbelief. They'd already accounted for Ortoren's formidable defense in their strike, and still—their blades had done nothing more than break the skin.
Indeed, the black vest on his back was sliced open, revealing two shallow bloody lines beneath. They hadn't even cut deep enough to reach the muscle.
Ortoren, "gravely injured" from behind, didn't spare them a glance. Instead, he bent down, tore the Seastone chain from his ankles, and tossed it aside.
The moment the restraints were gone, power surged back into his body. Silver lightning coiled over him like a living dragon, crackling and swirling in an ever-tightening dance around his frame.
"How are we supposed to fight this?" Momonga was completely stunned.
He'd always known Ortoren was strong—after all, Garp-san wouldn't have personally recruited him straight into the Marines' officer training camp otherwise—but he'd never actually crossed fists with him before.
Now he had, and it wasn't just that Ortoren's strength was overwhelming. Strong opponents he'd faced before; with enough skill, they could still be beaten. The problem was that even working together with Yamakaji, they couldn't land an attack that actually pierced Ortoren's defenses. And that could only mean one thing—they had almost no chance of beating him.
If you can't deal any real damage, what's the point of even running the raid? What boss are you going to take down?
…
Outside the ring, the look of delight in Admiral Zephyr's eyes only grew.
"Sengoku, you see it now, right?!" he said excitedly.
"It seems he really has inherited that one's talent…" Admiral Sengoku clicked his tongue with a trace of awe.
As a Marine Admiral, Sengoku had clashed with Charlotte Linlin before, and he knew exactly how troublesome she was. Even a monster like Whitebeard had been injured in large-scale battles, cut down by Marine officers.
But Charlotte Linlin? She'd never suffered that kind of loss. Attacks from anyone without enough raw power simply didn't affect her.
And now, this brat named Benn Ortoren was starting to show the same kind of ability.
Momonga and Yamakaji were among the elite of the Commodores, and Sengoku could tell they still had plenty of room to grow—otherwise Zephyr wouldn't have brought them into the officer training camp in the first place. In time, they might be able to give Ortoren trouble. But right now, the average strength of anyone below Commodore level in Marine Headquarters wasn't enough to threaten him at all.
…
While Sengoku was still thinking this over, Zephyr clapped Strawberry on the shoulder, his eyes alight.
"Stainless, Cancer—you two, get in there as well!"
The three Captains stared at him in surprise, and Cancer, ever the handsome one, said bluntly,
"Sensei, if even Commodore Momonga and the others couldn't manage, we Captains… honestly, I don't think I can even break through his defense."
"That's exactly why you need to go," Zephyr said firmly. "This isn't just a trial for Ortoren—it's training for you. Go and feel for yourselves the kind of despair the great monsters of the sea inspired when they were young. Remember that despair. Savor it. Carry it with you—and use it to become stronger!"
With words like that, Cancer, Stainless, Strawberry, and the others couldn't back down. Steeling themselves, they roared to boost their fighting spirit and charged straight into the arena.
Zephyr, still unsatisfied, turned to Gion.
"Gion, you're stronger than all of them. You go too!"
Gion didn't refuse. Resting her hand on the hilt of the sword Konpira at her waist, she sighed faintly.
"I'm only a little stronger than Tokikake, sensei. Don't expect too much from me."
Even as she spoke—barely two minutes later—Captain Stainless had already rushed in and slashed at Ortoren's shoulder. Sure enough, it did nothing. Not even a drop of blood.
Then Ortoren's fist lashed out, slamming into Stainless's gut with violent force. The blow bent him over like a cooked red prawn, and the shockwave burst out through his back, tearing open the seams of his suit as cleanly as if someone had pulled a shrimp vein.
Stainless spat out a mouthful of dark blood, his eyes rolling back as he lost consciousness. His legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground.
The next second, Captain Cancer leapt high from behind Ortoren, his elbow coated in dense Armament Haki, and drove it down hard toward Ortoren's temple!
Since blades couldn't pierce his defense, maybe blunt force could hurt him?
The answer was no. Ortoren didn't even try to dodge, simply letting the blow land. His head tilted slightly from the impact, but that was it—no pain, no reaction. It felt no different than being bumped into on the street.
Ortoren responded with an uppercut that smashed squarely into Captain Cancer's chin. He shot into the air like a startled crow, soared dozens of meters, then crashed heavily into the ground far away, lying still.
"Moon Rabbit: Eagle Stomp!"
A sharp cry rang out nearby.
Voice and figure arrived together—it was Gion!
Ortoren turned toward the sound just as Gion burst forward like a released arrow, her Meito gleaming with lethal sharpness as she slashed across his chest.
Maybe she was simply stronger than Momonga and Yamakaji, maybe it was her mastery of swordsmanship, or maybe it was because she wielded the famed Meito "Konpira." Whatever the reason, this strike broke through his defense!
A bloody gash stretched from his left shoulder to his right abdomen, skin split open and muscle slightly exposed, though no bones were damaged. It was the most serious injury Ortoren had suffered in this entire academy brawl.
Seeing her attack land, Gion slid past him like a rabbit evading an eagle, then spun to slash at his back.
But before her blade could fall, lightning flashed across Ortoren's body, and he vanished—her strike cutting only air.
With her Observation Haki active, Gion immediately sensed the danger behind her—it was Ortoren!
She twisted and slid back, swinging Konpira in a swift arc... but it was useless. Lightning flared in her vision as Ortoren closed in, driving a fist straight into her chest.
The left side of her chest nearly burst from the blow, and the justice cloak on her back was blasted through by the force. Pain twisted her delicate features as she coughed up blood, her body flung like a cannonball, slamming into the ground and throwing up a thick cloud of dust.
"Ara ara, sensei, what are your thoughts on the Marines' future, considering an entire force was wiped out by a schoolyard brawl—and tomorrow, Ortoren might be the only student left to attend class?" Kuzan stood outside the arena, smiling as he called to Zephyr.
Zephyr shot him a glare. "What are you laughing at? You're up next!"
"Huh?" Kuzan stared back, bewildered.