In front of Roya, the pirate subconsciously clutched his severed arm, still slow to react. It was not until the searing pain struck that his body began to tremble, cold sweat instantly covering his forehead.
"T-this… this is impossible!"
"My arm was actually…"
Under the agony of losing his arm, terror flooded the pirate's face. He stared at Roya in horror, his eyes filled with boundless fear.
Run! Run! Run!!
That was the only thought left in his mind. Clutching his severed arm, the pirate turned and fled.
This time, however, Roya did not even bother to pursue him with Soru. He casually swung his sword, and a blazing wave of flames swept forward, instantly catching up to the pirate and engulfing him completely.
A scream of agony rang out.
When the screams gradually weakened, Roya sheathed Engetsu, and the flames extinguished at the same moment.
After that, Roya did not even glance back at Very Good. He simply left the street and headed toward the next one.
Behind him—
Very Good stood there blankly, staring at the pirate on the ground who had been burned to the brink of death by Roya. What echoed in his mind was not Roya's swordsmanship or his flames, but the speed Roya had just displayed.
That was… Soru!
And not just any Soru—it was mastered-level Soru. Both speed and precision had reached an extremely high standard!
"One month… Roya mastered Soru in just one month?!"
Very Good's eyes widened, his expression filled with near disbelief.
He was a recruit from the previous squad and had been in the elite camp for a full year. He had only met the requirements to train the Rokushiki three months ago, and even now, he still had not mastered Soru—let alone achieved proficiency.
Roya, as a transmigrator, possessed extraordinary comprehension to begin with. Combined with his "Focus" state, he could easily fine-tune his body's exertion to near perfection. His physical strength was also superior to Very Good's, and when paired with hellish training, it all culminated in mastering Soru within a month.
But—
To Very Good, this was almost inconceivable.
Unless Roya had trained in Soru before, mastering it to such a degree after only one month in the elite camp was something Very Good simply could not believe a human was capable of.
Mastered Soru, apparently limitless flames, swordsmanship and sword energy capable of cutting through steel—
When all these factors were combined, a terrifying thought finally emerged in Very Good's mind:
At this point, who in the elite camp could still defeat Roya?!
Perhaps… only Smoker.
---
On another street.
Ain was fighting rather awkwardly, wielding two pistols against a sword-wielding pirate. She had not yet obtained the Return-Return Fruit and was not a Devil Fruit user.
Her weapons were dual guns, but against a pirate whose reaction speed allowed him to dodge bullets, Ain was completely suppressed. She could only rely on terrain to maneuver, and her ammunition was already running low.
If not for the pirate's lewd intentions—having noticed her delicate features and perfect figure and wanting to capture her alive to sell as a slave—Ain would have already been defeated.
Bang! Bang! Bang!!
Ain seized an opening and fired again, but still failed to hit him. When she attempted to reload, she realized her ammunition had been completely depleted during the prolonged fight.
"This is bad…"
Ain's expression darkened. This was a real combat mission under Zephyr's supervision. Being captured was out of the question, but being rescued by other elite camp members would still be acceptable. However, if Zephyr himself had to intervene, that would be an utter failure.
The island was quite large. Ain and the pirate had fought their way from one end of the street to the other, yet no one else from the elite camp had passed by.
The pirate also noticed that Ain was out of bullets. A wicked grin finally appeared on his face.
"So, you're ready to give up resisting now, right?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the pirate charged at Ain without hesitation.
Almost at the same moment, a voice suddenly came from the end of the street.
"Need a hand?"
Leaning against the wall, Roya spoke with a smile. He had not originally planned to interfere, thinking Ain could handle it herself. But after watching for a while, he realized that Ain was not yet a Devil Fruit user.
Ain finally noticed Roya. However, upon hearing his question, black lines instantly formed on her forehead.
Did he really need to ask?!
The pirate also noticed Roya. His expression changed slightly, and he immediately accelerated, planning to knock Ain unconscious first, rendering her unable to move, before dealing with Roya.
But at that moment, Roya straightened up and gently drew Engetsu.
Since he now understood that Ain was not a Devil Fruit user and could not defeat this pirate, he naturally did not mind putting on a classic "hero saves the beauty" performance.
Whoosh!!
In an instant, Roya turned into a blur and appeared beside Ain. With a single slash, he directly blocked the pirate's sword.
Clang!!
The clash of blades produced a crisp ringing sound. The pirate was clearly a swordsman as well. His sword did not appear to be a famous blade, but it was far from ordinary, remaining completely intact after the collision.
However, before the pirate could assess Roya's swordsmanship or consider how to fight him, flames suddenly erupted from the edge of Roya's blade.
"Damn it!!"
The pirate's eyes widened in shock. It was only at this moment that he remembered—Roya was the one setting fires all over the island. But it was already too late.
The flames swept over him, instantly engulfing his body.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. By the time Ain reacted, the pirate had already turned into a "man of fire," screaming as he rolled and thrashed on the ground.
One strike. Total defeat.
"This is… Soru?!"
Still stunned, Ain's beautiful eyes flashed with disbelief as she subconsciously asked while staring at Roya's back.
Roya turned his head and smiled slightly at her.
"Correct. But there's no prize."
"This guy…"
Looking at Roya, Ain could not help recalling the moment she had seen him muttering to himself while standing by the railing on the deck.
Overlooking the sea?!
Ain did not know whether Roya could truly overlook the entire sea. But she was certain of one thing—Roya, who had mastered Soru and just demonstrated such terrifying flame abilities, could already overlook the elite camp.
It was hard to believe that Roya was merely a recruit who had joined the elite camp just one month ago.
Taking a deep breath, Ain's expression returned to calm. Glancing at the "man of fire" in the distance whose struggles were growing weaker, she said,
"That guy's going to burn to death."
"Not yet."
Roya sheathed Engetsu, and the flames quickly extinguished. He then said,
"I'll leave the rest to you."
With that, Roya turned and walked away.
Seeing this, Ain could not help rolling her eyes at his retreating back. She had actually wanted to thank him, but Roya had already left.
More importantly, she was out of bullets and had planned to leave together with him. But now that he had just walked off like that, chasing after him and asking to go together felt… awkward.
"What a strange guy…"
Recalling Hina's earlier evaluation of Roya during their conversation, Ain nodded in agreement and muttered softly under her breath.