Chapter 2: Watch Your Step Next Life
Gion held the paperwork in hand as she led Xiao Feng ahead.
When they stepped out of the building, the sky had begun to brighten faintly.
"Worororororo…"
A wild, booming laugh suddenly echoed from above.
Xiao Feng and Gion instinctively looked up.
After a closer look, they realized a person was plummeting straight down from the sky.
"Let's go. That's Kaido, one of the Four Emperors from the New World. He shows up every year to cause trouble a few times. Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Vice Admiral Garp, and the three admirals will handle him."
Gion spoke calmly, completely unfazed.
She continued leading the way without missing a beat.
She was used to Kaido's antics by now—he crashed Marineford every few months, got beaten senseless by Sengoku and the others, and then escaped en route to Impel Down. It was practically routine.
Xiao Feng withdrew his gaze expressionlessly. As the sky grew lighter, revealing a deep blue expanse, the sun's power surged silently through his body once more.
His originally short, frail 1.6-meter frame transformed without a sound into a towering, muscular 2.5-meter figure.
Expression unchanged, he walked naturally up beside Gion, matching her stride shoulder-to-shoulder.
"You… what just happened…?"
Gion's eyes widened in delighted surprise at the sudden change. She couldn't help asking.
"Girl, lead the way."
Xiao Feng tilted his head back slightly, looking down his nose at her with commanding arrogance.
Gion clearly felt his aura growing even more terrifying. She tensed instinctively, going on alert.
She had no idea what had happened to him, but right now, his presence rivaled Admiral Akainu's—no, it was growing stronger still.
The sheer visual impact left her momentarily entranced. Who wouldn't be captivated by a man this handsome and overwhelmingly powerful?
While Gion was lost in thought, Xiao Feng didn't wait. He headed straight for the dorm building.
Passing the training grounds, he spotted a pink-haired youth sprinting at high speed, occasionally bursting forward dozens of meters in an instant.
"Hey, are you a new recruit? Your physique looks solid! Have you trained in the Six Powers yet?"
Koby, ever the helpful one, approached the muscular young man in the loose white shirt and black suit shorts. Clearly not in uniform and unfamiliar, he assumed Xiao Feng was fresh meat.
Koby's eyes shone with envy at the perfectly sculpted muscles.
"What's the Six Powers?"
Xiao Feng's face filled with disdain, as if it were beneath him.
"The Six Powers are the Navy's secret techniques! They're incredible—let me explain: there's Soru, Tekkai, Kami-e, Geppo, Rankyaku, and Shigan."
Koby, seeing the contempt, doubled down earnestly, detailing their power and how hard they were to master.
"Soru requires rapid stomps on the ground in an instant, building explosive reactive force for high-speed movement."
"Tekkai hardens the body by accelerating blood flow and muscle tension for defense."
"Kami-e relaxes the body completely to dodge…"
"Geppo lets you 'walk' through the air…"
"Rankyaku sends cutting air blades from kicks…"
"Shigan turns fingers into piercing bullets…"
"Kid, you talk too much. And those Six Powers of yours? Total garbage."
Xiao Feng cut him off impatiently.
Koby's face flushed with anger at the insult to something he revered.
"Don't you dare badmouth the Six Powers!"
He leaped in front of Xiao Feng, blocking his path.
Xiao Feng didn't slow. He kept walking straight toward Koby.
Gion watched, eyes widening as collision seemed imminent.
Boom! The ground beneath Xiao Feng cracked and sank into a crater.
Just before impact, his figure vanished.
When he reappeared, he was a hundred meters behind Koby.
Whoosh.
A translucent air slash over ten meters wide erupted from him, slicing through trees at the edge of the field like butter.
As the unstoppable blade hurtled toward the dorm building, a burly middle-aged man shattered it with a single punch.
"That was Soru… and Rankyaku?!"
Gion stared in shock. He'd mastered them after one casual explanation?
She refused to believe a former bounty hunter like Xiao Feng had secretly learned the Six Powers beforehand.
"You're a new recruit?!"
Zephyr stepped in front of Xiao Feng, eyeing him seriously.
"You're in my way. Move."
Xiao Feng looked down at him with utter contempt, tone cold and haughty.
"See? The Six Powers are strong, right?"
Koby, oblivious, crowded in excitedly.
"Get lost. This is my rest time. Interrupt my mood again, and I'll make you regret it."
Xiao Feng exhaled sharply, irritation peaking. His body swelled further—from 2.5 meters to 2.8 meters tall, muscles bulging even more imposingly.
"Uh…"
Koby shrank under the towering glare and instinctively stepped aside.
Zephyr, however, stood firm.
Xiao Feng's voice turned icy: "Watch your step next life."
With that, he casually raised his right fist and swung a blur too fast to track.
BOOM!
A deafening crash. Zephyr's body rocketed sideways.
He had crossed his arms in Armament Haki the instant the punch came—but the overwhelming force still sent him flying uncontrollably.
Gion watched in stunned awe as Xiao Feng one-shotted a former admiral. Excitement surged through her. This was the Fire God's true power!
Crash, crash, crash—BOOM!
Zephyr smashed through three training stone walls before slamming into the stone fighting platform, reducing it to rubble.
Seeing no immediate movement from the debris, Gion's beautiful eyes filled with worship. So this was his real strength!
It made sense. In her mind, the Fire God was the bounty god who soloed the entire Whitebeard Pirates and Red Hair Pirates and walked away unscathed!
How could someone capable of facing Four Emperors head-on be a scrawny weakling?
Xiao Feng strode straight into the men's dorm building. Gion didn't care about rules—she hurried after him with her long legs.
Koby stood slack-jawed, mouth agape, watching him saunter off.
Only minutes later, after Xiao Feng and Gion disappeared inside, did Koby snap out of it.
"No wonder he called the Six Powers garbage…" He gave a bitter smile, then stopped practicing them. Instead, he started running laps around the field.
He was so lost in thoughts of training that he completely forgot about Zephyr in the rubble.
Boom! The debris exploded outward. Zephyr stared at his twisted, deformed metal prosthetic arm, mouth twitching.
He scanned for Xiao Feng but found him gone.
Instead of chasing, Zephyr decided to report to Sengoku—new prosthetic aside, he needed to know who this monster was.
No Armament Haki, yet he'd delivered an admiral-level charged strike!
In other words, this teenager already had entry-level admiral combat power!
He could sense the kid was barely in his teens. At peak in his forties? Undoubtedly top-tier admiral level!
A talent like this couldn't be anonymous. He had to be nurtured properly!!
A thunderous boom shook Marineford plaza.
"Worororororo! I'm here!"
Kaido didn't slow at all—he crashed dead-center into the plaza, cratering the flat stone tiles.
The moment he landed, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Admiral Akainu (Sakazuki), and Admiral Aokiji (Kuzan) appeared together.
Vice Admirals Garp and Tsuru watched from a high tower window, observing Kaido getting mobbed by the three.
Bored Garp somehow produced a bag of senbei rice crackers and munched happily.
Tsuru was used to his slacking; scenes like this didn't require him anyway.
She'd even suggested he stay on standby—since no other Beasts Pirates showed, conserving power by keeping Garp in reserve was smart.
"Kaido, since you came, don't plan on leaving!"
Sengoku leaped from his office window. Golden light erupted as his body transformed into a massive golden Buddha over two meters tall.
He fired an Impact Wave straight at Kaido's chest. The golden blast connected hard.
Kaido, thick-skinned as ever, took it without guarding, feet digging twin furrows into the stone as he slid back.
At the same time, Akainu and Aokiji attacked.
"Ice Block: Partisan!"
"Great Eruption!"
The moves looked brutal, but they weren't going for the kill.
A full war with one of the Four Emperors was too costly—they couldn't afford it.
While Sengoku and the admirals pummeled Kaido…
Xiao Feng lay on the bed in the private dorm room Gion had guided him to. Gion sat at the edge, diligently massaging him.
"Is the pressure okay here?"
"Are you tickling me? Harder."
Xiao Feng squinted, voice full of disdain.
"Okay…" Gion pressed harder. When that wasn't enough, she channeled Armament Haki into her hands…