"Good morning, Instructor Zephyr."
Raleigh, wearing casual clothes, greeted Zephyr.
Since he had come at Zephyr's request today, he wasn't wearing his Marine uniform.
He was simply wearing a sleek black training suit.
"Raleigh, you've finally arrived. I've been waiting for you."
Upon hearing Raleigh's voice, Zephyr quickly turned around to greet him.
His gaze was fixed solely on Raleigh, completely overlooking Smoker who stood beside him.
"Bwahahaha! Raleigh, you finally made it!"
A hearty laugh emerged from the side as Garp, dressed in his Marine Vice Admiral uniform, stepped out.
His sleeves were rolled halfway up, revealing forearms that appeared forged from steel.
"Vice Admiral Garp, good morning," Raleigh turned to greet the hero.
"Ahem. Raleigh, the main reason I asked you here today is to see the difference between Garp's Rokushiki and your modified version."
Zephyr's expression showed slight discomfort—setting his sights on something belonging to his own former student made him genuinely uneasy.
"Ah, Zephyr-sensei. Didn't Momonga tell you about that? That technique doesn't belong to me—someone just asked me to find disciples for him." Raleigh spread his hands, his tone filled with feigned helplessness.
Garp burst into roaring laughter.
"Bwahahaha! You fool Zephyr, you didn't expect Raleigh would pull this move, did you?"
After hearing Garp's words, Zephyr's face flushed red with annoyance.
He glared fiercely at Garp and growled, "Of course I considered that Raleigh might come up with some excuse, but I have my own ways too."
"Raleigh, I hope you can fight Garp using the Rokushiki. This will help the students understand practical variations in real combat. Do you have any problems with fighting Garp?"
Raleigh thought for a moment, then shook his head and said quietly, "It's no problem, Zephyr-sensei. Having the opportunity to spar with Vice Admiral Garp is an honor."
"I've also been wondering for a long time just how terrifying the strength of the world's top-tier fighters really is."
After Raleigh agreed, the surrounding students automatically spread backward, forming a large circle around the arena as they sat down.
Truthfully, Raleigh had always wanted to spar with the world's top-tier fighters.
However, outside the Marines, most top-tier fighters were pirates—fighting them usually meant putting his life on the line, not learning.
Soon, the school staff had organized the large arena.
Raleigh and Garp stood facing each other.
Raleigh assumed a starting stance, while Garp wore an expression of complete nonchalance, standing less than thirty meters away with his arms crossed over his chest, laughing heartily.
"Kid, if you can't show some real skill, you won't get past me. Come on, Raleigh, let me see the strength you cultivated back in East Blue!"
Hearing Garp's challenging words, Raleigh's mindset suddenly shifted.
Originally he was just doing this as a favor, but now his competitive spirit was ignited!
"Don't look down on me, Vice Admiral Garp."
Raleigh forcefully stomped his feet on the ground, utilizing the explosive footwork principle.
Immediately after, his figure suddenly vanished from sight.
"My god, Vice Admiral Raleigh's speed is absolutely terrifying!"
"How can this possibly be just Soru ? We've been practicing for so long, but it feels completely different from Vice Admiral Raleigh's version."
Before the military academy students could process their shock, Raleigh's figure had already appeared right in front of Garp.
His speed was even slightly faster than Garp's standard Soru.
"Take this, Vice Admiral Garp."
Raleigh raised his right fist high and slammed it forcefully toward Garp.
Yet Garp seemed to have anticipated it, as his left hand clenched into a fist and struck directly to meet the attack.
BOOM!
Their fists collided without any obstruction.
The impact force continuously radiated outward from where Raleigh and Garp clashed, carrying the oppressive wind pressure emanating from both of them.
The cadets had to raise their hands to shield their eyes, blocking the fierce shockwaves blowing toward them.
Garp, however, laughed heartily as if he had encountered something amusing.
"Bwahahaha, kid! You're quite skilled. Again!"
Boom! Boom!! BOOM!!!
Only the rapidly shifting figures of the two remained on the military academy's training ground.
The cadets who had initially intended to observe and learn had long since retreated a considerable distance under Zephyr's command.
With each successive exchange of blows, both grew increasingly exhilarated.
Raleigh, who had originally intended to merely pass the time, found himself secretly enhancing his condition.
"How much longer can you maintain this state, little Raleigh?" Garp suddenly asked.
Raleigh's expression turned slightly unnatural for just a second before returning to calm composure.
"As expected, I couldn't hide it from you, Vice Admiral Garp. This is a new mode I recently developed—it's called Wind Control Mode."
Wind Control Mode was essentially an advanced application of the Storm Fruit.
In most cases, when Raleigh used the fruit, it didn't provide significant enhancements to his physical body's durability.
But in Wind Control Mode, vast amounts of wind elements saturated both Raleigh's body and the surrounding environment.
The lightness and speed of the wind were imbued into Raleigh—and speed symbolized power.
This was why, during the exchanges just now, Raleigh could keep up with Garp's rhythm.
It was important to note that Garp was gradually testing Raleigh's capabilities; the speed and power of Garp's punches had been constantly changing, each strike 20% stronger than the last.
However, Raleigh found himself in a difficult position.
The Garp before him was like an insurmountable mountain—no matter how much Raleigh improved, Garp always managed to keep up effortlessly.
Moreover, Raleigh's hands were beginning to ache faintly because his Armament Haki wasn't as resilient as Garp's.
Garp's Haki seemed ingrained to his very bones, as if his entire body were forged from black steel.
"Vice Admiral Garp, I surrender."
Seeing Garp launch another punch toward him, Raleigh's figure suddenly became limp and fluid, transforming into a fluttering piece of paper to evade Garp's strike.
"So this is how Kami-e is effectively used..."
"The fight is amazing. It's incredible that Vice Admiral Raleigh, being so young, can hold his own against Garp for a while," the trainees buzzed with excitement.
Raleigh's face was covered in fine beads of sweat.
Breaking out of his Kami-e state, he leaped backward to escape Garp's attack range.
He was almost completely exhausted.
If he continued, there was a good chance that one serious punch from "The Fist" Garp would land him in the hospital for half a year.
"Bwahahaha! It's been a long time since I've had such a satisfying fight," Garp laughed, his clothes perfectly unwrinkled.
"Kid, I acknowledge your strength. Don't bother forming your own fleet—come with me instead. Let's go capture Roger."
"Although I can beat Roger, I lack a strong helper who can defeat Silvers Rayleigh or Douglas Bullet."
"Douglas Bullet..." Raleigh recalled this guy's profile in his mind.
He was an incredibly powerful individual.
Even in his youth, he could hold his own against the Dark King Rayleigh without losing, possessing all three types of Haki and the Gasha Gasha no Mi.
...
Somewhere in the Grand Line.
Several enormous islands floated ten thousand meters high in the sky. As if crafted by the hands of gods, they hovered above the clouds.
On the central island, which resembled the capital of a vast kingdom with palaces in architectural style, countless pirates were endlessly fighting and slaughtering.
The mastermind behind it all was the ruler of these Floating Islands—Golden Lion Shiki.
"Come on, you worthless scum, show me your effort!"
Golden Lion Shiki sat upon his elaborately crafted throne, puffing on a premium cigar.
His eyes were cunning and cruel, completely indifferent to the bloody scene before him.
"Hmm? Daring to disobey my orders."
Shiki's gaze fell upon a group of pirates who had joined forces, attacking others together.
The Golden Lion viewed this as a test of individual capability; collaboration violated his rules.
Suddenly, Golden Lion drew one of his prized swords, Oto.
With a powerful swing, the very ground of the island churned like a tsunami under his control, and an enormous, imposing lion surged forth from the earth.
This was the power of the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi.
Under his cold stare, the earthen lion fiercely pounced, swallowing a full hundred pirates who could only scream in agony before vanishing forever.
Amid countless bloodstains, Golden Lion suddenly soared into the sky, raising his swords Oto and Kogarashi high.
"Congratulations on passing my trial. You are now officially members of the Flying Pirates."
Golden Lion clapped his hands.
Dozens of burly men carried out large chests.
With a casual wave, Shiki levitated the chests and opened them, revealing blinding amounts of gold.
"This is mine!"
"I'll kill you if you don't back off!"
Watching the pirates scramble like wild dogs fighting over scraps, Golden Lion smiled with satisfaction.
To a pirate, comrades were never of great importance, It was all about profits.
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