The heavily made-up man let out a low chuckle. "Accelerator... have you ever heard of that person?"
"Huh? Accelerator? Who's that?"
"A man with a terrible physical build, yet he caught Fujitora's slash with his bare hands."
A sharp glint flashed in the flamboyant man's eyes.
"This conscription at Headquarters is going to be very interesting. And what's more... I heard that to intimidate the pirates, the Marines decided to broadcast the whole event live! Ya-hahaha!"
The large fat man sighed helplessly, patted his belly, and said to the crew nearby, "Don't disturb the Captain for the next half-hour. His madness is acting up again."
---
Meanwhile, far from the Gates of Justice...
Vladimir followed Momousagi through the town of Marineford.
Home to the families of hundreds of thousands of Marines, it was a massive settlement.
In a compound toward the northern edge, where the population was sparser, over a hundred civilian experts had gathered in a training ground.
As Vladimir and Momousagi arrived, every head turned toward them.
"Another kid? Do they think joining the military is some kind of hero game for children?"
"I bet he won't last ten minutes before crying and running home to his mama!"
"Hahaha! I'll raise it to fifteen minutes — 100,000 Berries says he's gone by then!"
A wave of mockery and jeers rose from the so-called experts.
Vladimir raised an eyebrow, a playful smirk forming on his face. "Vice Admiral Momousagi... what do you think would happen if I just wiped them all out right now?"
"What do you think would happen if I just wiped them all out right now?" Vladimir repeated, his tone light and teasing.
Momousagi arched a delicate eyebrow. "You would be arrested on the spot for sabotaging the World Conscription."
Arrest was the last thing Vladimir cared about. He simply wanted to see exactly what kind of people were eager to join the Marines.
Looking around, he saw the candidates were a mixed bag — the gap between the strong and weak was enormous.
The weakest weren't even as powerful as pirates worth a few tens of millions.
However, among the top tier, there were a few who had nearly reached the level of an Admiral.
As he was observing, a figure walked over.
The newcomer was thin and wore a cap. He approached Vladimir and Momousagi, speaking as he came. "Tsk. Another new recruit?"
Momousagi nodded, then turned to Vladimir. "He will handle your assessment from here."
With that, she turned and left.
"Stop looking around, new kid. I'm Nero, the examiner here. We're going to run your basic tests now."
The young examiner grinned. "You look frail as a twig, so I'll go easy on you. All you have to do is endure my attacks for ten minutes, and you pass the basics."
Vladimir's face remained impassive. He said nothing at all. To Nero, this silence felt like pure arrogance — as if the newcomer was ignoring him completely.
"It seems you have no idea who I am, or what situation you're in!" Nero's eyes turned cold.
"Let me explain briefly. We in the Marines practice a special martial art known as the Six Powers. Those who master it are considered 'superhumans' — the elite among the elite. As for me? I have already mastered four of the six..."
"Annoying."
Vladimir scoffed, and suddenly snapped a sharp kick upward.
Nero's face twisted with rage at the sudden attack. But he was confident in his own physical strength and deemed it beneath him to dodge.
However, the next moment — BAM!
A massive force slammed directly into Nero's jaw. His brain instantly went blank, his vision turning white.
"Wh—!"
He barely managed to utter a single syllable before his body flew backward rigidly.
With a deafening crash, he shot clear across the training ground and smashed into a tall building at the far end, knocking him instantly unconscious.
Silence fell over the crowd. But in the next second, a dark shape shot out from the building.
It was an extremely fat man, round as a ball. He leaped from a second-floor balcony and landed right in front of Vladimir.
"Chababa! What a powerful strike! You took out Nero in one hit!"
The green-haired fat man spoke in a tone that sounded almost complimentary.
"That guy may only be a rookie in CP9, but his Doriki value is decent — about thirty times that of an average soldier."
CP9? Vladimir realized. The World Government's secret intelligence agency.
No wonder this Nero character had seemed vaguely familiar.
As he thought this, swish, swish, swish — several more figures leaped down from the balcony.
Six in total: five men and one woman. They stood lined up along the railing, looking down at the candidates below.
"Fukurou, hurry and begin," said the leader. He wore a heavy coat and a tall black top hat, with a dove perched on his shoulder. As he spoke, the dove opened its beak — yet a human voice came out.
Another man with a very long nose spoke seriously. "Indeed. The purpose of this conscription is to form a special operations unit. They must possess a certain level of combat skill. First, measure the Doriki of this lot."
"Chababa! Leave it to me!"
Fukurou patted his enormous belly, then looked straight at Vladimir.
"You! New guy! You go first. Kick me — with all your strength. Based on the power you release, I will calculate your Doriki value."
"Oh?" Vladimir raised an eyebrow. It was the first time he'd heard such a request. "Are you sure? Don't blame me if you end up dead."
"Relax! I am a master of all Six Powers. My Doriki is 800. Unless your power exceeds 4,000, you are well within my testing range!"
Fukurou paused, then added quickly, "Ah, right — I forgot to explain. A trained soldier armed with a rifle has a threat level — or combat power — of 10 Doriki. At 800 Doriki, you are a superhuman. Strong enough to slaughter an entire army of a thousand men single-handedly. So don't hold back! Come at me!"
He slapped his chest, puffing himself up until he was perfectly round.
Vladimir rotated his shoulders, his expression one of amused interest. "Very well. Here it comes. Brace yourself."
The moment the words left his mouth, he threw a punch with explosive speed.
This time, he used no special abilities at all. It was a strike born purely from his physical strength and body refinement.
____________________
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