"Drake is actually a Devil Fruit user—and this form isn't an ordinary Zoan!"
"Of course not. This should be one of the extremely rare Ancient Zoans. After half-beast transformation, the boost in strength is absolutely massive."
Countless recruits stared at Drake in shock. No one had expected Roya to possess the power to cleave out flames with his sword—nor that Drake had been hiding a Devil Fruit ability as well.
Drake had already been terrifyingly strong without using his Devil Fruit. Now that he had activated it, just how powerful had he become?!
"So Drake was hiding his true strength all along!"
Hina looked on in astonishment, her face filled with shock.
She had thought the battle was already about to end in Roya's victory, yet Drake's Devil Fruit ability had reversed the situation once again.
On the other side, when Drake activated his Devil Fruit, the Marine rear admiral instructors and the chief instructor, Zephyr, showed no surprise at all, as if they had known this all along.
The Marine Headquarters' training camp was not a place anyone could enter casually. For every recruit, there existed a detailed report on their background and origins.
"He finally used it."
"As expected of a rare Ancient Zoan. Even Roya can no longer contend with him now. In his current state, Drake can even rely on brute force to unleash slashes comparable to Roya's swordsmanship."
The rear admirals commented one after another, their tones carrying both admiration and a hint of regret.
If only this combat assessment could have been postponed by another month.
Roya's current slashing power was insufficient to break through Drake's defense. While his flame sword aura could injure Drake, the wounds were minor. If this continued, Roya would undoubtedly be the first to fall.
"It seems the outcome is already decided."
"In terms of potential, Roya is stronger. But in terms of current strength, Drake is the number one of this regular training camp."
The rear admirals nodded in agreement. Standing at the front, Zephyr also nodded slightly, feeling that this was more or less the conclusion.
On the battlefield.
After entering half-beast form, Drake's massive increase in strength allowed the wind pressure from his weapon swings to forcibly tear apart the flames. Using his thickened hide to endure the residual heat, he launched ferocious attacks at Roya.
The battlefield, which had originally spanned just over twenty meters, had now expanded to forty or fifty meters. Zephyr and the others remained unmoved, but the recruits were forced to retreat continuously under the shockwaves of the clash.
"Do you still want to persist? If this were a real combat assessment in a forest environment, you might still have a chance to beat me. But here, the result is already set."
Drake swung his weapon viciously, forcibly releasing a formless sword energy through brute strength and colliding with Roya's slash, as he spoke coldly.
Continuing the fight had no meaning. Roya would most likely be seriously injured, while Drake himself would suffer heavy burns from the flames. This was only a combat assessment, not a fight to the death—there was no need to push it this far.
A battle that was clearly already decided did not need to be dragged on.
No one could understand what Roya was thinking at this moment. Some felt his refusal to give up was admirable; others thought he should concede gracefully, since there was no reason to continue.
But in reality—
The reason Roya had fought Drake until now was because… fighting Drake caused his enhancement energy to rise incredibly fast!
In just this short period of time, the enhancement energy had increased by nearly ten points. All of his previous battles combined had not yielded as much growth as this single fight with Drake!
"An Ancient Zoan's strength boost after half-beast transformation really is terrifying. Even though I've redirected and dispersed the force with every exchange, my arms are still going numb."
"Well, then."
"There will be better battles in the future—ones that can raise enhancement energy even faster."
With that thought, Roya shook his slightly numb arms, let out a breath, and the expression on his face relaxed. He looked at Drake and spoke calmly.
"You're right. It's about time to end this."
As his words fell, Roya gripped Engetsu with both hands and assumed the most common, most ordinary sword-swinging stance.
A final strike?
Seeing this, Drake shook his head slightly. Though he felt it unnecessary—Roya could not possibly contend with his strength—he said nothing. Instead, he brought his sword and four-bladed axe together in front of him, then burst forward, charging straight at Roya.
His speed was astonishing. In almost an instant, he was already in front of Roya.
As Drake rushed toward him, Roya did not move. He merely lifted his sword gently and executed the simplest, most ordinary swinging motion.
There was nothing unusual about the movement.
But—
At the instant Roya's sword came down, a profound and silent power—seemingly originating from the level of the soul itself—suddenly converged and gathered on the edge of his blade, erupting explosively along with the swing.
"Getsuga… Tenshō!!"
Hummm!!!
At the moment the sword fell, a massive white crescent-shaped slash burst forth—vast and overwhelming—reaching Drake in an instant.
This slash was more than twice the size of Roya's previous attacks!
Moreover, its speed was terrifying—nearly lightning-fast. At such close range, Drake had no chance to evade.
"What?!"
The moment he saw the crescent slash, Drake's heart leapt violently. Shock flooded his eyes. The terror of this strike far exceeded anything Roya had unleashed before!
With no time to consider how Roya could release such a devastating attack, and unable to dodge, Drake could only grit his teeth and stack both weapons in front of him, swinging them with all his might in an attempt to block it head-on.
But the power of Getsuga Tenshō far surpassed Drake's imagination!
It was not only vastly larger than Roya's previous slashes—the density and sharpness of the sword energy were also on an entirely different level, utterly surpassing all prior attacks!
With a single strike, it crushed everything in its path—unstoppable and overwhelming!
Even with the immense strength granted by his half-beast form, Drake could not withstand it. His four-bladed axe and sword were cut apart as if they were rotten wood!
After severing both weapons, the Getsuga Tenshō did not dissipate. Though its light dimmed slightly, it continued to sweep forward, slashing toward Drake.
At this moment, Drake's mind was filled with sheer terror—but there was no time left to react. He could only watch helplessly as the crescent-shaped slash struck his body head-on!