At the highest point of the Central Hotel.
Zephyr stood there quietly, overlooking the entire island. Most of his gaze rested on Roya, watching him kill Rhodes and then, almost instantaneously, consecutively crush several officers. Wherever he went, no one could stop him.
"I didn't expect that on your very first live-combat mission, your performance would already be the most outstanding."
If this were the old Zephyr, he might not have fully approved of Roya's killing. But ever since his family was murdered, Zephyr was no longer the Marine admiral who believed in "not killing."
Watching Roya's performance, a look of appreciation appeared on Zephyr's face.
Suddenly, Zephyr's expression shifted slightly. He lowered his head and looked toward the Central Hotel below—or rather, toward a person who had emerged from it at some unknown point.
"So, you're finally making a move?"
Seeing that this person was about to act, Zephyr prepared to intervene and suppress him directly, because this person's strength was not something the elite trainees could handle yet.
However—
When Zephyr saw the direction and route this person was taking, his movement paused slightly. A strange glint flashed through his eyes. He suddenly decided not to act, and instead showed a look of interest.
"If it's them… then it's worth watching a bit longer."
---
On the island.
Although there were many pirates here, under the split-up suppression by the elite trainees, very few pirates remained. It was clearly already the stage of cleaning up the aftermath.
The elite trainees were not all unscathed. Quite a few were injured, though most were only lightly wounded, and the rest had expended a lot of stamina.
The two most relaxed people on the entire battlefield were, first, Smoker, and second, Roya.
If Roya had not encountered Rhodes, fought a battle, used Getsuga Tenshō twice, and unleashed who knew how many flame attacks, he might have been even more relaxed than Smoker.
At this moment, Roya and Smoker met on the same street.
"It's you."
Seeing Roya at the other end of the street, Smoker slowed his steps slightly and said, "Rhodes… was he taken out by you?"
Roya had caused such a huge commotion that the strongest enemy would certainly have gone straight for him. In addition, Smoker had only encountered small fry and a regular officer of the Black Horn Pirates earlier, so he was fairly certain.
Now that he saw Roya here, a trace of surprise flashed across Smoker's face, because Roya looked extremely relaxed. This made him wonder whether Roya had even run into Captain Rhodes.
"If there wasn't a second Rhodes," Roya replied casually.
Today's live-combat mission had not put much pressure on him. Perhaps because of that, the enhancement energy he gained was even less than during the full-camp combat assessment, which left Roya somewhat dissatisfied.
Hearing Roya's words, Smoker nodded slightly. He wasn't surprised, only mildly astonished that Roya had taken down Captain Rhodes and still looked so relaxed. It seemed Roya's strength was even greater than expected.
However—
Smoker was a Smoke-Smoke Fruit user, a Logia-type. He could become smoke and had no solid body. Unless Roya could use Armament Haki or wield a Seastone weapon, Smoker would have an overwhelming advantage against him.
"You came from that side, and I cleared out quite a few on my end too. Looks like the enemies are mostly dealt with," Smoker said, cigars clenched between his teeth, as he walked up beside Roya.
And right at this moment—
Roya's and Smoker's expressions both stiffened slightly. They turned their heads and simultaneously saw a figure that had appeared at some point from one side of the street.
Looking at this figure, Roya's eyes flickered slightly. He felt a sense of familiarity, and memories quickly surfaced in his mind.
"This guy is… a Donquixote Family officer, Lao G?"
Lao G!
One of the Donquixote Family's officers, a pure physical combatant who uses Jio-Ken. As his age increases, he feels greater pain, and his power increases accordingly. Even though Lao G was not as strong as he would be in the original storyline, as a Donquixote Family officer, he at least possessed strength on par with a Marine Rear Admiral.
Doflamingo's Donquixote Family, while far inferior to the Four Emperors, was still a major pirate force that gave Marines a serious headache.
At the same time, Lao G also noticed Roya and Smoker, his gaze cold.
"Rhodes really is trash. Exposing this place would've been bad enough, but he couldn't even clean up afterward. I have to do it myself…"
At this point, Lao G paused, took a deep breath, and said coldly to Roya and Smoker, "In that case, I'll start with the two of you."
His tone was icy, filled with killing intent, and also carried an air of arrogance. He clearly did not take these two young men seriously.
Feeling the invisible pressure emanating from Lao G, Smoker—though he didn't recognize him—instinctively sensed that this pirate was different from the ones before, and likely very strong. His expression grew solemn as he said to Roya beside him:
"I'll handle this guy. You step back."
"You know," Roya glanced at Smoker, "I could interpret that as a provocation."
Telling him to step back—what kind of nonsense was that?
Smoker frowned, about to speak again, when Lao G in the distance had already charged at them, launching the first attack.
Whether in terms of stance or situation, there was no need for words.
For Lao G, all he needed to do was wipe out all the Marines on the island, then quickly transfer or destroy what was there.
And almost at the instant Lao G rushed over, Roya moved first.
Soru!
In an instant, Roya's body turned into an afterimage. He flashed forward and appeared directly in front of Lao G, slashing down with his sword.
"Ittōryū: Kasō!"
Roya hadn't expected to encounter a Donquixote Family officer here. Facing this officer, there was only one thought in his mind—
Fight!
Fight! Fight! Fight!!
No matter who the enemy was, with a sword in hand, all that remained was to cut!
Boom!!
Before the sword even fell, flames erupted violently and surged toward Lao G. At the same time, as Roya's blade descended, a silver-white sword arc followed.
Lao G clearly hadn't expected Roya to be this fast. Coupled with the massive, sweeping flames, he had no time to dodge.
Boom—!!
A thunderous roar echoed as towering flames exploded, instantly engulfing Lao G. Immediately afterward, the silver-white sword arc, along with the blade of Engetsu, came crashing down as well.
When Lao G charged, Smoker had also been preparing to engage. He hadn't expected Roya to be even faster, already charging out to launch a fierce attack.
Even more unexpectedly, Roya's attack seemed to work directly. Under the sweep of the towering flames, Lao G was completely swallowed, making Smoker doubt himself.
Had he misjudged? Was this pirate actually not that strong?
Clang!!
In the very next instant, as Roya's blade and sword energy came crashing down, a crisp metallic ring suddenly sounded.
Within the flames, Roya's blade was forcibly blocked—by Lao G's bare fist!