The moment the violent wind roared past his ears, Roy finally caught sight of Zephyr's left fist coming in from the side out of the corner of his eye.
At the same time, Smoker—standing off to the side—rarely showed a look of schadenfreude.
Having gone through Zephyr's training himself, Smoker knew very well that what was happening now was practically a mandatory scene in Zephyr's method of teaching.
After all, anyone selected from among Marine recruits to train under Zephyr was without exception one of the most outstanding geniuses of their generation.
And geniuses inevitably came with pride.
That punch from Zephyr was meant not only to test their physical toughness and reaction speed, but also to shatter that pride.
According to Zephyr himself:
"Those without resolve are not qualified to receive my training. This is the punch of resolve."
In fact, Smoker still remembered the punch he had taken back then. At the time, he had been extremely proud of his Logia Devil Fruit ability—and that punch had indeed—
"hurt like hell."
He held his cigarette expressionlessly, memories surfacing in his mind.
But in the very next instant, those memories were shattered by reality.
Because right now—
"So fast… I can't dodge that Soru."
Roy had already made his judgment—Zephyr's Soru was too fast. He couldn't evade the strike.
Yet there was no panic in his heart.
Because—
"There's Armament Haki on the fist, but it's not particularly strong… a test?"
"If that's all there is…"
His mind stirred.
[Fruit Slot Loading]
[Dragon-Dragon Fruit · Wind God Pterosaur Form LV3 equipped]
[Ox-Ox Fruit · Giant Rhinoceros Form LV2 equipped]
[Paramecia · Power-Power Fruit LV2 equipped]
So Roy did not retreat. Instead, he turned to face Zephyr head-on.
Then—
"If we're speaking with our fists, Admiral Zephyr—let me say something too!"
Beneath his Marine uniform, his skin faintly took on the sheen of dragon scales and tough bovine hide, while his muscles erupted with unimaginable power.
And then, under the stunned gazes of Smoker and Binz alike, he threw his own punch straight at Zephyr!
At the very instant their fists collided—
Even the face of this former Marine Admiral, a man who had weathered countless storms, showed clear surprise.
The next moment—
"BOOM—!"
A thunderous roar exploded throughout the entire training ground.
A visible ring of white shockwaves burst outward from the point where the two figures clashed, spreading instantly.
"White Shield!"
"Grow-Grow Wood: Wall!"
Smoker and Binz reacted without hesitation, activating their Devil Fruit abilities. A shield formed from smoke wrapped around Smoker, while the branch in Binz's hand rapidly grew into a wooden wall, protecting him from behind.
Even so, the white smoke and wooden wall could be seen breaking apart and scattering under the violent impact!
"So—so strong!" Binz stared in horror at the surging shockwaves around them.
"Roy, you bastard…" For the first time, Smoker's perpetually sour face showed outright disbelief.
He had sparred with Roy before—both in the past and recently.
He believed he understood Roy well and acknowledged his potential and strength.
In his judgment, Roy possessed power and talent beyond normal people—but should still have been weaker than himself.
But now—
"What kind of power is this?! You bastard—you've been hiding it way too well!"
Watching the figure in the center of the battlefield, locked in a clash of fists with Zephyr—
Smoker nearly bit his cigar clean through.
And at that very moment—
"No Haki coating at all, yet pure physical strength reaching this level… incredible."
"No—this is downright unbelievable."
At this moment, the astonishment on Zephyr's face had already faded.
In its place was excitement and undisguised admiration—the look of a master instructor encountering an unprecedentedly gifted student.
Such outrageous physical strength almost made him doubt whether the one trading blows with him was even human.
Thinking of that, the smile at the corner of his mouth grew even more bold and hearty.
"Brat, I've heard your resolve loud and clear!"
"But as your instructor—don't you dare underestimate this old man!"
As he spoke, an even more oppressive aura surged up from his body.
"Are you ready?"
Zephyr grinned.
As his words fell, Roy saw the muscles within Zephyr's left forearm begin to bulge and pulse violently.
The Haki on his hand grew denser and stronger, to the point that his left fist was almost black with a purplish sheen.
"Of course, old man—bring it on!"
Roy laughed in response.
"BOOM!"
In the next instant, Roy's body was blasted backward.
Like a cannonball, he smashed heavily into the thick iron wall at the edge of the training ground!
Along with the impact and the billowing cloud of dust came a sharp—
"Crack!"
The crisp sound of something breaking.
Binz, who had been staring in shock, instinctively looked toward the sound.
He saw spiderweb-like cracks spreading rapidly across the surface of the wall.
"Hey—hey, you've got to be kidding me…"
Binz's expression turned downright horrified.
As one of the only two survivors from four years ago and Zephyr's right-hand man, he knew this training ground all too well.
"That's Z-Alloy, specially prepared by the Science Unit for Instructor Zephyr—to test his new arm, and yet…"
He couldn't help swallowing hard.
"Instructor Zephyr's punch just now…"
He had realized it.
That punch had clearly gone far beyond any previous "test" he knew of.
This was a serious punch.
"Lieutenant Commander Roy?! He's not dead, is he?!"
Panicking, Binz hurriedly moved to step forward.
But before he could act—
"Haa…"
He heard a massive exhalation coming from within the smoke.
Then—
As the dust cleared, Roy's figure emerged once more.
"Now that's something… as expected of Admiral Zephyr. Terrifyingly strong."
He twisted his neck, his body covered in scrapes, and his fist bruised and swollen.
Behind him, the specially made Z-Alloy wall had been smashed into a human-shaped dent!
"…"
Binz was left speechless.
Even more shocking was what he could now clearly see about Roy's condition.
The bruising on his fist and the abrasions on his body were fading at a rate visible to the naked eye.
By the time he walked back in front of Zephyr, his injuries were already clearly no longer serious.
"Not just raw physical strength—your regeneration and toughness are just as outrageous? You're the scary one here, kid."
Seeing this, even the battle-hardened Zephyr couldn't help but marvel.
The admiration in his eyes grew even clearer.
He had already heard from Vice Admiral Bilos that this kid was strong, but he had never imagined he would be strong to this extent.
At this very moment, a bold thought had already begun to form in Zephyr's mind.
"Kid… I've heard you're also proficient in a special kind of fist technique."
So Zephyr continued.
"…"
Hearing this, Roy immediately glanced at Smoker—you sure have a fast mouth, don't you?
Smoker, meanwhile, silently turned his head away, refusing to meet Roy's gaze.
That's right.
The matter of the "Shockwave Fist" had naturally been told to Zephyr by Smoker after hearing about Roy.
His intentions had been good—he wanted Roy to display even greater strength, so that Zephyr wouldn't underestimate him.
At this moment, however, Zephyr clearly had no interest in the "personal grudges" between Roy and Smoker.
He simply looked at Roy.
"Kid, if you want me to train you, then I need to fully understand your strength."
"Come—don't hold back. Let this old man see your power!"
With things said to this point, Roy naturally had no more hesitation.
[Fruit Load: Ox-Ox Fruit · Giant Rhinoceros Form → Human-Human Fruit · Moldile : Daibutsu]
"Whoosh!"
In the next instant, Roy's figure appeared in front of Zephyr, accompanied by the signature burst of wind from Soru.
And Roy's fist was already flying forward.
"Your use of Soru is quite refined, but your speed still isn't fast enough…"
Zephyr instinctively twisted his body to evade—after all, even if this was only a test, he wasn't about to stand there like a wooden post and take hits; that would have no real combat value.
But just as the former admiral was praising Roy's proficient use of Soru—
"Hmm?"
A trace of surprise flashed through his voice.
"Buzz!"
Because in the very next moment—
From the fist he had dodged, a surging shockwave erupted and swept across his entire body.
"Boom!"
The ground caved in almost instantly, forming a massive crater, as the powerful shockwave sent both Roy's and Zephyr's marine coats whipping violently in the air.
"Shockwave Fist · Circular Seal."
Roy softly spoke the name of his technique and then withdrew his fist.
And both Smoker and Binz could clearly see the faint red marks that had appeared on Zephyr's body.
Yes—this legendary close-combat master known as "Black Arm," the former admiral…
Had actually been injured.
Though the wounds were extremely minor compared to his physique.
Even so, it was enough to nearly make Binz's jaw drop.
As for Zephyr himself, he was staring wide-eyed at Roy.
He didn't care about the slight injuries at all—what truly shocked him was this:
"I dodged the fist, yet I was still damaged directly from the inside by the shockwave… It's almost exactly like Sengoku's ability."
At that moment, the thought flashed through Zephyr's mind almost instinctively.
As the most senior veteran who had joined the navy at the same time as Fleet Admiral Sengoku,
Zephyr had fought side by side with Sengoku countless times and knew his abilities inside out.
And without a doubt, the shockwave produced by Roy's punch felt very similar to Sengoku's power—its only difference being that it was far weaker.
If Sengoku, transformed into the Great Buddha, were to strike with full force, the shock would be enough to pulverize an entire island from the inside.
But still—
"Kid… are you really not a Devil Fruit user?"
Thus, even though Zephyr had already heard about Roy from Vice Admiral Bilos, he couldn't help but ask the question.