Pain.
A sharp, searing pain!
In an instant, it surged from Bogard's waist through his entire body. His eyes widened, his face flushing red as if the bones in his lower back were about to come apart.
It wasn't enough to actually break bone—
but the stabbing shock still forced a muffled grunt out of him, and his breathing rhythm faltered for a split second.
That kick was simply impossible to guard against.
He hadn't even realized what was happening—
Bang!
A terrifying force detonated from his waist and rippled through his whole frame.
Bogard's body flew sideways like a kite with its string cut, tumbling more than ten meters through the air.
Boom—crash!!
He slammed into a stack of cargo barrels, smashing them to pieces. Wooden planks and splinters burst everywhere, swirling through the air in the wake of the shockwave like a storm of debris.
Silence.
The atmosphere instantly turned bizarre—unnatural.
Wood shavings rained down, landing on the shoulders of nearby marines.
But none of them reacted.
They were frozen solid, eyes stretched wide, faces locked in disbelief as they stared at what they'd just witnessed.
No one could even speak.
Words failed them.
Unthinkable.
Colonel Bogard…
was kicked away?!
In this duel, Bogard had shown signs of losing ground first?!
How was that possible?!
It made no sense.
It was beyond common sense.
"I… what did I just see…?"
Koby stood at the edge of the crowd, lips trembling, face pale with shock.
"Colonel Bogard… got kicked flying…"
Helmeppo's voice shook. He rubbed his eyes, as if doubting whether he'd hallucinated.
But it wasn't a hallucination.
Everything that happened was real.
The shattered barrels and scattered splinters on the deck proved it—unmistakably.
"M-my god!"
"Do you guys realize what this means?!"
"Colonel Bogard is getting suppressed by Mr. Raifeng!"
"This has to be fake—right?!"
"That's a Marine Headquarters colonel!"
"And he's being pressured by a seven-year-old kid?!"
The marines collectively short-circuited.
They genuinely felt their worldview cracking.
A Marine Headquarters colonel getting pushed around by a seven-year-old?
Who on earth would believe that?
This was horrifying.
Clearly, this battle had developed in a direction no one—not a single person—could have predicted.
They had all assumed Bogard would overwhelm Raifeng with absolute dominance.
Turns out—
they'd been careless.
It wasn't Bogard crushing Raifeng.
It was Raifeng—seven years old—pressing Bogard.
Even Garp was stunned into silence.
"What the hell is going on?!"
"Bogard, you useless idiot—do your job!"
"He's actually getting suppressed by this brat?!"
Garp's eyes bulged as he stared at Raifeng standing there with his sword.
Could somebody please explain this to him?
Because two days ago, it wasn't like this.
Two days ago, Raifeng was basically getting toyed with—even by a Bogard who was holding back.
So why—
why in the span of two days—
had Raifeng become this terrifying?
It wasn't scientific.
It didn't make sense.
Garp felt his head spinning.
This was beyond reason.
It had only been two days!
No matter how talented someone was, they couldn't grow this ridiculously fast!
Two days ago:
Raifeng was getting dominated by a restrained Bogard.
Two days later:
A fully serious Bogard was getting pressured by Raifeng.
Who could imagine that?!
Even with Garp's life experience, he could only feel shocked—and completely at a loss.
What kind of monster was this?!
"It's not just his swordsmanship…"
"His strength, speed, experience, battle instincts—everything has improved."
"But then the question is…"
"What the hell did he go through in two days?!"
"This growth rate is insane!"
If it were only swordsmanship improving, Garp might barely accept it.
But this wasn't partial growth—
Raifeng had leveled up across the board.
That was what made it impossible to swallow.
Even geniuses didn't work like this.
Two days.
What could two days even accomplish?
Yet Raifeng had used those two days to undergo a complete rebirth.
A leap in quality.
A complete transformation.
All around, everyone was stunned.
Countless wide, glassy eyes stared at the battlefield, locked onto that young, slender figure holding a sword.
A monster.
A real monster.
Seven years old—and already capable of suppressing a Marine Headquarters colonel.
Rumble… rumble…
The barrel wreckage shifted.
Bogard emerged from the debris, covered in splinters. His uniform was torn and punctured in places, and he looked undeniably battered.
"Stronger than I ever imagined…"
"Raifeng from two days ago and Raifeng from today…"
"They're completely different people."
Bogard's breathing was ragged now. His eyes stayed glued to Raifeng, heavy with seriousness.
He hadn't been careless.
But Raifeng's strength still exceeded every estimate he'd ever made.
Bogard's mind was in chaos.
He couldn't understand it.
Two days—only two days—
and someone could change this much?
As a Marine Headquarters colonel…
he was actually struggling against a seven-year-old.
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