"I can say this with certainty…"
After being forced back, Colonel Bogard took a deep breath and fixed his gaze on Raifeng.
"With the strength Raifeng has right now… he's already at Marine Headquarters colonel level."
And not just barely.
Among HQ colonels, Raifeng would rank near the top.
After all—he could fight Bogard to a standstill.
That kind of strength was rare even in Marine Headquarters.
The terrifying part was…
Raifeng was seven.
Seven years old, and he'd already stepped into the "HQ colonel" tier.
What did that even mean?
Bogard honestly couldn't have imagined it before today.
A seven-year-old monster with a Marine HQ colonel's strength.
Without thinking, Bogard recalled what he'd said two days ago—
"Half a year…"
"You'll surpass me…"
Bogard's eye twitched.
"Like hell it takes half a year!"
"It's only been two days!"
He couldn't help complaining in his head.
Two days—just two days—and Raifeng had already reached this point.
Even with the truth right in front of him, Bogard still couldn't stop the disbelief rising in his chest.
A seven-and-a-half-year-old "colonel-level" monster would already be outrageous.
Now it was worse.
A seven-year-old "colonel-level" monster.
What kind of freak was this?!
How was anyone supposed to live?
For a moment, Bogard felt utterly crushed—like simply existing in the same world as Raifeng was humiliating by default.
Compared to him…
Bogard had lived his whole life for nothing.
"Alright, that's enough. The fight ends here."
At that moment, Garp stepped in and officially called the match.
If they kept going, the outcome wouldn't change much.
Raifeng and Bogard's strength were already extremely close.
In the short term, neither could decisively win.
"It's… over…"
Hundreds—no, over a thousand marines—stared at Raifeng as he sheathed his sword, their expressions complicated and stunned.
Even now, the shock still hadn't cooled.
This battle had opened their eyes.
No—more than that.
It shattered their understanding of reality.
A seven-year-old kid… fighting a Marine HQ colonel to a draw?
Who would ever believe that?
"Mr. Raifeng… he's terrifying."
Helmeppo's lips trembled.
"Yeah…"
Koby nodded unconsciously, eyes unfocused, voice full of awe.
"This duel… ended in a draw."
Seven-year-old Raifeng versus Marine Headquarters Colonel Bogard—
a draw.
No one could have predicted this result.
Not even Garp.
No one expected Raifeng to change this drastically in only two days.
"A… draw!"
"This is insane!"
"Doesn't this mean…"
"Mr. Raifeng—at seven—already has the strength of a Marine Headquarters colonel?!"
"God…"
The deck erupted into stunned disbelief.
It felt like a heavy hammer had smashed down on everyone's skull.
Seven years old—and already at colonel level?
What concept was that?
Give this monster time…
how far would he grow?
No one could even guess.
The scarier part was—
two days ago, Raifeng looked like he was struggling hard against Bogard.
Two days later, they were evenly matched.
The contrast was brutal.
How could the gap change this much in forty-eight hours?!
Forget the spectators.
Even Bogard, the one actually fighting, felt like his brain was still blank.
He couldn't understand what Raifeng had experienced in those two days.
How could anyone grow like that?
"A draw, huh…"
Raifeng smiled and slowly put away his katana.
He was satisfied with this result.
He wasn't expecting to completely surpass Bogard in two days.
But being able to fight Bogard to a standstill after two days?
That was more than enough.
And if they were already even…
then how far away was surpassing him, really?
In Raifeng's eyes, it was only a matter of time.
Surpassing Bogard would be easy.
He just needed to wait for the next sign-in.
"Colonel Bogard…"
"Do you remember what you said last time?"
"You said it'd take me half a year to surpass you."
Raifeng's smile turned playful, his tone almost amused.
Half a year?
Colonel, you really think highly of me.
Do you still believe that now?
Two days—and we're already even.
So how long until I surpass you?
A day?
Two?
Raifeng's grin widened.
Bogard seemed to sense what was coming.
He shot Raifeng a suspicious look, then quickly looked away, face reddening—his pride taking a direct hit.
Of course he remembered.
Two days ago, he'd said—based on years of experience—
Raifeng would need half a year to surpass him.
At the time, it wasn't unreasonable.
If anything, it had been generous.
But now?
Now it was the definition of getting slapped in the face.
Bogard felt like his cheeks were burning.
The turnaround had come too fast.
So fast he couldn't even react.
Two days—and his own words had been demolished.
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