In the blink of an eye, Lucci transformed into a bipedal leopard, his tail flicking lightly behind him.
The next instant, his figure vanished. When he reappeared, he was already deep within the crowd of candidates.
Seeing this, Vladimir wondered if he should join the fray and teach that fellow a little lesson.
But just as he was about to move, another man with a very long nose jumped down from the second floor.
"I am Kaku," he said. "In his human form, Lucci possesses 4,000 Doriki. But once he transforms, his power rises to over 5,500."
"Hmm?"
"So," Kaku continued with a laugh, "to pass this selection, one must reach at least 6,000 Doriki. You are the first to qualify — congratulations."
"Wasn't the requirement 1,000?" Vladimir raised an eyebrow.
"1,000 Doriki is only the threshold for the first stage. That level allows one to join the Marines as an elite soldier. But to enter the Special Operations Unit, the standard is strictly above 6,000."
Kaku seemed to have plenty of time and made a point of chatting with Vladimir.
"This unit is being formed specifically to deal with the Phantom Pirates. You look to be only sixteen or seventeen — you've probably never heard of them. Back when Phantom shook the world, you would have been only seven or eight years old."
How could I not have heard of them? I am the Phantom you speak of!
Vladimir couldn't help but smile. "Is that so? But I have heard of them. Not only heard, but I know them very well. I don't mean to look down on you, but with this ragtag bunch you've gathered, you really think you can fight Phantom? Any one of their Dominant Commanders could wipe out this entire group single-handedly."
Kaku's expression stiffened. He forced a dry laugh. "These are only the first batch. Many more candidates will arrive later."
"I see."
Vladimir nodded, thinking to himself: It seems disrupting this conscription won't be so easy. Even if I killed everyone here right now, the Marines wouldn't stop.
Of course, that wasn't a major issue. Sabotaging the recruitment was only a side task; his main goal was to ask Sengoku about the mystery of the Devil Fruits.
Still, Vladimir wasn't in a rush. He stood by and watched Rob Lucci's assessment.
As a user of the Cat-Cat Fruit, Model: Leopard, Lucci fought against over a hundred candidates, but his goal was only to measure their strength, not to kill.
He struck and withdrew quickly. Half an hour later, the assessment came to an end.
In the end, only six candidates passed. Including Vladimir, the total was seven.
"It is finished."
Rob Lucci retreated. His dove flew over and dropped his coat, which settled perfectly onto his shoulders.
"Kaku, take them to meet Vice Admiral Garp. Kalifa, take the rest of the failed candidates to Vice Admiral Momonga."
"Understood."
Immediately, the group split into two, each led away by a CP9 agent.
While following the long-nosed man, Vladimir observed the other six qualified candidates.
First and foremost, their strength was clearly above 6,000 Doriki.
Furthermore, several of them were undoubtedly Devil Fruit users, and two in particular possessed combat power close to that of an Admiral.
During the earlier tests, everyone had been probing each other; no one had used their full strength.
"Their power is certainly impressive," Vladimir mused, "but thinking they can fight Phantom? That's just a fantasy."
As they walked, the group soon arrived at a small forest.
There, Vice Admiral Garp was in the middle of teaching a group of soldiers how to use Haki.
Seeing Vladimir and the others arrive, he spoke slowly. "The first batch of qualified candidates?"
"Yes. I leave them in your hands. Here are their detailed records."
Kaku nodded and handed over a file.
Garp took it, glanced through it, then looked straight at Vladimir. "The files on the other six are very clear. But yours… is a complete mystery. Who exactly are you?"
"Hahaha…" Vladimir chuckled softly. "Does that really matter?"
"Of course it does. I may be old, but my eyesight is still sharp enough — I won't let spies from other forces slip in." Garp laughed heartily.
"In our Marine Science Unit, there is a lie detector invented by Dr. Vegapunk. Your identity is far too suspicious. You must pass the test."
Hearing this, Vladimir realized his little game of pretending to be a recruit was probably over.
"You really are cautious. I was planning to play along with you for a while, but never mind. Besides, these are only the first arrivals… even if I disrupted things here, it wouldn't really matter."
Vladimir spoke with unhurried ease. "Since you insist on knowing, I'll tell you straight. I am a Special Envoy of Phantom. My name is Accelerator."
"Phantom!?"
The other six candidates were shocked. One of them, in particular, flashed a look of pure astonishment.
But Garp's expression only hardened. In the next moment, he threw a punch straight at Vladimir.
"I knew you were trouble from the start!"
It was a powerful, unreserved strike. He had clearly been wary and waiting, holding back until the exact moment Vladimir admitted his identity, then striking without hesitation.
Vladimir didn't dodge or evade. He looked back with a mocking smirk. "I knew it. Ever since the assessment began, you've been guarding against me. You even deliberately led me to this place… I'm guessing you've already set a trap all around us. Why not just come out and fight me all at once?"
BOOM!!
Garp's fist slammed directly into Vladimir's face.
But what happened next made everyone's blood run cold.
There was a sharp crack. Garp's face twisted in agony as his right wrist was instantly dislocated.
Every ounce of power contained in that punch had been completely reflected back at him.
"What?!" Garp leaped back in shock, twisting his arm to snap the joint back into place. "It really is Phantom… such a bizarre ability!"
"Hahaha… as expected of Garp. Even in your old age, a casual punch carries nearly 8,000 Doriki of power."
Vladimir clapped his hands, strolling casually into the center of the clearing.
"Stop hiding. Come out, all of you. I've already admitted I'm a member of Phantom… don't tell me you still don't believe me?"
As his voice faded, figures appeared one after another in a flash, surrounding him completely.
Sengoku, Fujitora, Akainu, thirteen Vice Admirals, and all seven Warlords of the Sea — every single major player was present.
Even the CP9 agents who had left earlier had returned.
"So you really are with Phantom!" Sengoku's face was livid. He spoke through gritted teeth. "What is the meaning of this?! What do you intend to do here?!"
"What do I intend?"
Vladimir looked sideways at him and grinned. "It's been nine years since we left. Now that we're back, naturally we have to announce our return to the world. Sengoku… your Headquarters building looks pretty old and worn down. Why don't I help you tear it down?"
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