"Is it finally Roya's turn?"
As Smoker's third-stage assessment came to an end, the others in the elite camp all turned their heads, watching Roya as he walked toward the arena, their expressions tense with anticipation.
Smoker had passed the seventh stage and fallen at the eighth. Would Roya be able to clear the eighth stage—or even the ninth?!
Not only them, but Garp, Zephyr, Aokiji, Kizaru, and even Sengoku all steadied themselves and focused their attention on the arena.
Even Akainu slightly lifted the brim of the Marine cap he was wearing.
All eyes were on him!
In the arena.
Under the gaze of countless eyes—some curious, some nervous—Roya stepped onto the field.
Looking toward the spectator stands where Aokiji, Kizaru, Garp, Sengoku, and the others were seated, Roya could not help but feel a sense of emotion. It felt as though he had stepped into the Summit War from the original story, as if he were suddenly facing the entirety of Marine Headquarters head-on, much like Whitebeard once had.
Vice Admiral Yamakaji stood there, watching Roya enter the arena. He took a deep breath, a hint of expectation appearing in his eyes, and spoke with a smile.
"Monkey D. Roya, third-stage graduation assessment, first match—begin!"
As Yamakaji's words fell, Roya's first opponent stepped onto the field.
Facing his first opponent, Roya did not even draw his sword. With a casual punch, he sent the man flying straight out of the arena.
For five consecutive matches, Roya never drew his sword. Only in the fifth match did he briefly use Armament Haki, which caused several Marine vice admirals to reveal looks of surprise. Roya's strength was clearly beyond their expectations.
"The fifth match is over. Roya, do you need to rest?"
After seeing Roya use Armament Haki to send his fifth opponent flying with a single punch, Yamakaji nodded and spoke to him in a deep voice.
The third-stage assessment consisted of ten consecutive matches, but there was a ten-minute rest period between each one. A participant could choose to rest or continue immediately.
"No need."
Roya shook his head. The first five opponents were simply too weak for him—he could knock them out with a casual blow. After watching Smoker's battles, Roya was now slightly interested in the opponents from the seventh match onward.
"It's finally the sixth match. As long as he clears this one, the graduation assessment is complete."
The elite camp recruits all watched the arena with flickering eyes. Having trained under Zephyr in the elite camp for nearly two years, all of them had passed the sixth match.
"Very well. Next is the sixth match. Your opponent is… Marine Captain, Gemo."
Under Yamakaji's announcement, Roya's sixth opponent stepped onto the arena, staring at Roya from afar, cracking his knuckles with a look of battle intent.
Gemo truly wanted to win.
Being selected as an opponent in the elite camp's graduation assessment already earned him merits equivalent to capturing a pirate with a bounty in the tens of millions. If he could defeat a recruit undergoing the graduation assessment, he would earn several times that merit!
Whoosh!!
Almost the instant Yamakaji announced the start, Gemo launched the first attack. Using Soru from the Rokushiki, he closed the distance in a flash and swung his axe down violently.
The axe strike was powerful and heavy—and more importantly, it was wrapped in Armament Haki!
"Gemo can already use Haki?"
"Not bad, but it seems he can only coat it, not harden it."
That display of Armament Haki caused some of the Marine vice admirals who knew Gemo to narrow their eyes slightly.
"So you can use Haki?"
Watching the Haki-coated axe fall toward him, Roya did not try to block it barehanded. Instead, he flicked his wrist and swung.
Clang!!!
Engetsu was drawn in an instant, flashing like lightning.
Gemo's axe was cleanly severed in two at the midpoint. Half of the axe spun into the air and crashed onto the distant ground.
Gemo's body froze three steps in front of Roya. Cold sweat dripped down his forehead, his heart turning icy.
From watching Roya's previous five matches, he had already known that he was probably no match—but he had not expected Roya, once drawing his sword, to be this terrifying.
Too strong!
The gap was like heaven and earth!
"I… I concede…"
Coming back to his senses, Gemo forced a bitter smile and directly admitted defeat.
Seeing Gemo concede, Roya nodded slightly toward him. He did not sheath Engetsu, instead lightly resting the tip of the sword on the ground as he turned to look at Yamakaji.
"Let's go straight to the next match."
Roya drawing his sword and defeating Gemo in a single move did not surprise the vice admirals present. Even if Gemo could use a bit of Haki, he could not compare to Roya, whose Haki training was sufficient to form full hardening.
Vice Admiral Yamakaji nodded and announced the start of the seventh match.
"The seventh match—your opponent is… the pirate Dilos, imprisoned on the fifth level of Impel Down!"
"Captured two years ago in the latter half of the Grand Line by the G-6 branch. Captain of the Dildo Pirates, with a bounty of 193 million Beli!"
As Yamakaji's steady, solemn voice echoed out, a pirate wearing shackles—his clothes in tatters and his body covered in scars—was escorted onto the arena by a Marine vice admiral, who then removed the shackles.
Though ragged and scarred, the pirate was powerfully built, roughly comparable to Garp in stature. He lacked any overtly ferocious aura, but deep within his eyes lurked a profound, venomous hatred.
"If I kill this brat, you'll let me go?"
After surveying the surroundings and realizing escape was impossible, Dilos spoke hoarsely to the vice admiral who had released him.
"Yes."
The vice admiral answered coldly.
In truth, everyone present knew that releasing him was impossible. This was merely said to give Dilos some fighting spirit—to make him willing to fight Roya with everything he had.
"Heh… heh heh… I know you're lying. There's no way you'll let me leave, right? But after being locked up for two years, finally getting a chance to stretch my limbs—even if it's just playing with this brat, that's fine."
Dilos laughed hoarsely. Bloodshot veins surfaced in his eyes, and the hatred once hidden deep within them now spread openly across his face.
Since escape was impossible and the outcome couldn't get any worse, he might as well enjoy himself. If he could snap this brat's neck and kill him before the Marines could react, that would be even better.
Whoosh!!
There was no need to announce the start of the match. The instant a vicious glint appeared in Dilos's eyes, his entire body surged forward, charging straight at Roya.
Before he even reached Roya, his body suddenly swelled, strange patterns appearing across his skin.
It was a Zoan-type Devil Fruit—
The Cat-Cat Fruit, Model: Tiger!