With the permission of Duke Nekomamushi, Gray announced the final training of the third day.
But the moment the words left the guard's mouth, I knew—
This wasn't training.
This was a death game.
A mink guard stepped forward, voice echoing through the forest clearing.
"Special training: Hunting."
"Captain Gray will hunt Ash until morning."
"The objective: survival."
The air around me felt heavier.
"…Bruhhhh," I muttered, my voice cracking.
"I did NOT ask for this type of traininggggg."
My feet instinctively stepped back.
One step.
Two steps.
I turned—
And ran.
I didn't even make it five meters.
Gray's hand snapped around my collar, lifting me clean off the ground like I weighed nothing. His grip was firm, crushing, possessive—like a predator claiming prey.
"If you try to escape," he said calmly, leaning close enough that I could smell blood and metal on his breath,
"our entire unit will hunt you down."
His smile widened.
"Across the whole world."
I swallowed.
"So don't run," he continued. "Just survive till morning, Ash."
That smile—
It wasn't playful.
It wasn't cruel either.
It was excited.
"…Waittttt," I whispered.
Too late.
The announcer's voice boomed again.
"You have ten seconds to run."
"NINE."
"WAIT WAIT—"
I snatched the pipe from the ground and sprinted straight into the forest.
Branches whipped across my arms.
Thorns sliced my legs open.
Leaves slapped my face.
But none of that mattered.
Because behind me—
"THREE."
"TWO."
"ONE."
"THE GAME HAS BEGUNNNNNNN!"
My heart screamed.
"I HATE THESE MINKSSSSSS."
Then—
A howl.
Not loud.
Not angry.
Deep.
Controlled.
A hunter announcing the chase.
My legs moved before my brain could process it.
I ran.
Harder.
Faster.
Dodging massive tree trunks, vaulting over roots thicker than my body, smashing straight through bushes instead of slowing down.
If Kizaru saw me, he'd swear I copied his damn light speed.
Trees cracked behind me.
Branches exploded.
The forest itself seemed to tear apart as I passed.
My lungs burned.
My vision blurred.
I screamed while running—
"HELPPPPPP MEEEEEEEEEEE!"
Suddenly—
Silence.
I slid to a stop at our old training spot.
My hands shook violently around the pipe.
Sweat dripped down my chin.
I remembered the past three days.
Gray's claws.
The Electro.
The way he never hesitated.
A heat ignited deep inside my chest.
"Why am I running?"
"Why am I scared?"
"…I can beat him too," I whispered.
I turned around.
Waited.
Listened.
"And soon it turned out to be one of the Worst decisions of my entire lifeee."
The bushes behind me exploded outward.
Gray leapt out.
On all fours.
Saliva dripping from his mouth.
Electro crackled violently along his claws, illuminating his face in sharp blue flashes.
In that moment—
He wasn't a captain.
He wasn't a mink's guard.
He was a wolf.
And he charged.
"DEMONNNNN—" I shouted.
I ran.
Again.
Faster than before.
I didn't dodge anymore.
I smashed.
Trees shattered when I slammed into them.
Bushes disintegrated.
Thorns tore my skin open but I didn't feel it.
My body felt light.
Too light.
Like something inside me had unlocked.
"WHAT THE HELL—", Gray said.
He didn't even recognize his own strength.
Behind me—
Gray stopped.
Just for a moment.
He stared at the destruction I left behind.
Then he laughed.
A loud, sharp laugh.
And chased me again.
After what felt like hours, my legs finally gave out.
I stumbled and fell forward, skidding across dirt and leaves.
I turned around.
"…Who did thisss?"
The forest behind me looked like a battlefield.
Broken trees.
Uprooted roots.
Crushed ground.
My gaze dropped to my arms.
Blood flowed freely down my forearms.
"…Did I do that?"
My breath shook.
"If I can do this…"
"…I can handle Gray."
I climbed a tree nearby, ignoring the pain, hiding among thick branches.
Camouflage: maximum.
I waited.
Then—
Footsteps.
Fast.
Too fast.
Gray.
My entire body froze.
Fear crawled up my spine.
I closed my eyes.
A voice echoed in my head.
"Don't you dare give up."
"All you've done is run."
"I'll become the Wizard King."
"..Asta!!"
"Right, I have to see ONE PIECEEE!!"
I opened my eyes.
"COME AT ME, WOLF."
Fire burned behind my gaze.
The tree—
Split in half.
Gray's claw tore straight through the trunk.
I jumped at the last possible second, landing hard on the ground.
"Was that Observation, Gray?!" I shouted.
He laughed.
"So what?"
"Running away again, while calling me demon?"
"No," I said, tightening my grip on the pipe.
"I'm fighting you."
His smile widened.
"Let's see."
Electro erupted.
He moved faster than my eyes could track.
Claws slashed.
I barely raised the pipe in time.
CLANG.
The impact numbed my arms.
"That's unfair!" I shouted. "Using Electro on a newbie!"
I spun the pipe and rushed him, swinging with everything I had.
He dodged effortlessly, jumping backward.
Then upward.
Electro gathered in his claws and fired.
"Dodge Ash !!" he smirked.
A beam of crackling lightning screamed toward me.
I raised the pipe to block—
Then realized.
"PIPE IS METAL."
"I'M GONNA GET COOKED."
Panic exploded inside my head.
At the last moment, I blocked with one hand—electricity surged through my body, pain ripping through every nerve.
But with the other hand, I grabbed torn tree bark and wrapped it around the pipe.
Pain.
Shock.
Smoke.
But—
It worked.
I survived.
Gray landed nearby, staring at me.
"…You're stubborn."
"And now we're equal," I replied, breathing heavily.
Electricity crawled along my pipe.
My skills are working overtime.
Gray glanced at the rising moon.
"You've got a brain," he muttered.
I didn't wait.
I rushed him.
Closed the distance.
And landed a clean hit.
"BOOM."
Gray flew backward, crashing through trees.
For a second—
I thought I won.
Then—
Electro exploded.
Gray stood up, aura blazing, power overflowing his body.
I laughed nervously.
"Lightning looks cool…Hope I could have some powers too"
The system screen appeared in front of my eyes.
[Power: POWERLESS]
"…BRUHHHH, it's not time for a joke boi ,get the HELLL OUTTAA HEREEE."
He vanished.
We clashed.
Electro versus electrified pipe.
The impact threw both of us back.
I skidded across the ground.
Cracks formed on my hands.
My skin—
Breaking.
"Tearing!"
Gray stopped.
"…Your fault."
He disappeared again—
And appeared behind me.
His grip locked around me.
Then—
The world spun.
And I was thrown.
Far.
The world spun.
Air screamed past my ears as my body flew through the night sky like a broken projectile.
Trees blurred below me.
Sky above.
Ground rushing closer.
This demon—
"HE THREW ME THIS FAR?!", I shouted.
I smashed straight through massive branches, snapping them like twigs. Bark tore my skin. My back slammed into something solid—
CRACK.
A massive stone pillar exploded at the corner as my body crashed into it.
Pain detonated everywhere at once.
I hit the ground and rolled, coughing violently as blood spilled from my mouth.
"—KH!"
My vision swam.
Every bone screamed.
I tried to move my right arm.
Nothing.
"…Ah."
I looked down.
My shoulder had dislocated, hanging unnaturally.
"…Bruhhh," I whispered weakly.
"That demon Gray…"
The forest around me was different.
The trees were larger.
Thicker.
Stranger.
Something about this place felt… ancient.
I forced myself to breathe slowly.
"Calm down."
You've handled worse.
Using knowledge from my previous life, I clenched my teeth, braced my arm against a tree—
CRACK.
I screamed.
But the joint slid back into place.
Sweat drenched my body.
I tore a long, broad leaf from a nearby plant and tied it tightly from my shoulder to my waist, stabilizing the arm.
"…I just have to survive till morning," I muttered shakily.
"Minks have doctors… right… probably uhh..?"
I staggered forward.
Then I froze.
Ahead of me—
A massive whale-shaped tree trunk rose from the ground, its form unmistakable.
"…Whale Forest?"
My heart skipped.
I'd heard about this place.
Sacred.
Restricted.
Guarded.
"…Wait," I whispered.
"If this is Whale Forest…"
My eyes widened.
"…Road Poneglyph."
Reality hit me like a punch.
"If a Poneglyph is here, then guards should be here too—"
"BRUHH NOW THE WHOLE ZOU WILL HUNT ME—"
I panicked.
Then—
Nothing.
No footsteps.
No voices.
No presence.
Dead silence.
"…Huh?"
I swallowed.
"…Maybe they're not here."
"…Or maybe my luck finally decided to work."
I took a step forward.
Then another.
And then—
I saw it.
A massive red stone stood before me.
Ancient.
Covered in carvings.
Overwhelming.
My breath stopped.
"…Huh, so this is it …?"
A Road Poneglyph.
Right in front of me.
My legs gave out.
I collapsed to my knees at the entrance of the chamber.
"…I surrender," I muttered weakly.
Silence answered me.
No guards came.
No alarms.
Nothing.
My heart pounded violently as I crawled forward, my injured arm dragging uselessly beside me.
"…Just a look," I whispered.
"Just one look."
I placed my left hand on the cold stone.
The moment my fingers touched it—
The world faded.
The carvings burned into my vision.
Not letters.
Not words.
Meaning.
Information flooded my mind.
My breathing turned shallow.
"…So that's how it is…"
Shock.
Awe.
Fear.
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"…Where exactly are you referring to?!" I whispered to the stone,
"…Bruhh?"
My strength finally gave out.
The pain.
The blood loss.
The exhaustion.
My vision darkened.
My body collapsed forward onto the cold stone floor.
And then—
Footsteps.
Heavy.
Slow.
Familiar.
Gray emerged from the darkness of the forest, breathing hard, Electro flickering faintly around his claws.
"…Damn it," he muttered.
"I shouldn't have thrown him this way…"
"Now I'm going to be in my cell again huh..!!"
"..Bruhhh"