The next day, the number of spectators was even greater than before. The training ground was packed with onlookers, and numerous reporters had also arrived early, eager to witness the match.
Most of them had come for a single reason.
They wanted to see how much the three Logia type Devil Fruit users, who had caused such a stir upon joining the Navy, had grown after three full years of brutal training.
Naturally, the so-called final match between the two Supernovas, Lucia and Kuma, also drew tremendous attention.
A cold, strikingly beautiful woman stood opposite a towering man who was nearly seven meters tall. Even without moving, the contrast between them alone created overwhelming visual pressure.
Kuma was never one for words. Lucia, aside from Lloyd, was rarely seen exchanging more than a few sentences with anyone else.
As a result, when the two stepped onto the field, the atmosphere became eerily quiet. Even after the referee announced the start of the match, neither of them moved. It was as if both were waiting for the other to act first.
At last, a calm voice broke the silence from the high platform.
"Lucia, you go first."
Lloyd's tone was flat, carrying no emotion.
The moment his words fell, Lucia drew her sword without hesitation. A sharp wave of sword energy shot forward, and her figure followed immediately after, moving like a streak of black light as she charged toward Kuma.
Kuma, who had stood like an unmoving statue until now, finally reacted. He raised his arm and casually swatted the incoming sword energy aside. The instant the attack dispersed, Lucia closed in, her blade slashing downward with deadly precision.
Kuma extended his palm again, blocking the strike directly with the soft pad of his paw.
Lucia stared at the blade embedded in the paw pad, her eyes narrowing slightly. The Paw Paw Fruit was every bit as troublesome as she remembered. Even a famous sword could not deal meaningful damage to that surface.
If she wanted to defeat Kuma, she would need to avoid those paws entirely and find an opening elsewhere.
Kuma lifted his other hand and brought it crashing down toward her.
Watching from the sidelines, Dalmatian felt a chill crawl up his spine. He had nearly been defeated by that exact move in the past.
However, Lucia was far superior to Dalmatian in both Devil Fruit mastery and physical strength. She lightly tapped the ground with her toe, and her figure vanished in an instant.
Reappearing to the side, Lucia immediately entered her hybrid form. Black wings burst from her back as she soared into the sky, her gaze fixed on Kuma below. A faint purple flame flickered within her eyes.
"Fallen Eye."
Kuma looked up at her.
For a brief moment, his expression dulled, but he quickly returned to normal.
Lucia's brows furrowed in surprise. She was certain she had stirred his inner desire, yet the effect had faded almost instantly.
"Did he use Haki to dispel my ability?" she wondered. "Is his Haki really that powerful?"
On the high platform, Lloyd spoke calmly.
"Kuma's desires are extremely low."
He knew the truth. Kuma's Haki alone was not strong enough to completely negate Lucia's ability so easily. The real reason lay within Kuma himself. He simply did not harbor strong personal desires.
Kuma shook his head slightly, puzzled.
"What was that warm feeling just now?"
When Lucia's power had taken hold, the images that surfaced in his mind were not of conquest or ambition, but of living quietly with Lloyd and Ginny in the church of the Sorbet Kingdom. He had even thought about how wonderful it would be if such days could last forever.
The Flame of Desire, which tormented others with unbearable suffering, had only ignited Kuma's longing for a peaceful, gentle life.
In a way, it was the perfect counter.
Lucia, unaware of this, still believed Kuma had relied on exceptionally strong Haki.
Regardless, her purple flames possessed terrifying heat on their own. Against those with intense desires, they only became more destructive.
As the flames surged higher around her, Lucia fully entered her Fallen Angel form. Her long purple hair flowed freely as she raised Doom high above her head.
Then she brought it down with overwhelming force.
"Judgment Day!"
Boom.
A massive pillar of purple fire descended from the sky, detonating upon the ground and spreading into a raging sea of flames that swallowed Kuma's figure entirely.
Several generals on the platform clicked their tongues quietly. With a single attack like that, Lucia was undeniably the strongest female cadet of her generation.
Tsuru, the strongest female Marine of the current era, sighed softly. No one understood better than her how difficult it was for a woman to reach such heights.
Gion remained silent. She had to admit that Lucia stood far above her.
Watching the rolling purple flames, she thought to herself, if she had eaten a Devil Fruit, could she have closed the gap between them?
Ginny, however, looked on with concern.
"Lucia is really strong," she murmured. "Is Kuma-chan going to be okay?"
Lucia hovered in the air, wings beating slowly, her eyes never leaving the inferno below.
Suddenly, a massive transparent bear paw rose from the heart of the flames. In the next instant, it exploded outward. The shockwave blasted the purple fire apart, clearing a wide area at the center of the field and revealing Kuma.
He was crouched low, one paw pressed against the ground, a matching paw-shaped imprint beneath it.
Several holes had been burned through his upper clothing, and the exposed skin was charred black. Lucia's attack had clearly injured him.
Still, for someone with Kuma's physical endurance, this level of damage was well within tolerance. He could even repel the pain and send it elsewhere if he wished.
He simply refused to use such a technique on his comrades.
Kuma gently rubbed his palms together, then spread them apart. The surrounding air rapidly compressed between his hands, forming a large paw-shaped bubble.
He pressed inward with both palms, shrinking the bubble continuously until it became a miniature version of itself.
Several cadets who had trained alongside Kuma subconsciously stepped back. They knew exactly how terrifying that technique was.
Lucia's pupils contracted sharply. She had seen this move before, during the battle against the Whitebeard Pirates.
She immediately raised Doom vertically in front of her chest. Her entire body erupted once more in violent purple flames. Like a blazing meteor, she dove straight down from the sky.
"Fallen Angel Hammer!"
At the same moment, Kuma thrust the compressed paw-shaped bubble forward.
"Paw Shock."
Boom.
A deafening explosion tore through the air. Violent shockwaves rippled outward, and countless black feathers drifted down.
Lucia landed unsteadily on the ground. Blood trickled from her left arm.
She glanced at the wound, then spoke calmly.
"I lost."
Without another word, she turned and walked off the field.
Kuma looked down at himself. A diagonal slash stretched from his shoulder to his waist, left behind by the descending sword energy moments earlier.
Both fighters were injured, yet both had clearly held back.
Lucia had conceded because she understood the reality. In a prolonged battle, Kuma's stamina would surpass hers. More importantly, he could use his Devil Fruit to repel fatigue and pain entirely.
There was no reason to continue.
On the high platform, Lloyd's seat was empty.
Lucia walked forward with her head lowered. Suddenly, a dark vortex appeared before her. She stopped, eyes widening slightly.
"…Brother," she murmured.
_____
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