Pirate: I'm an admiral now, what's wrong with taking a little extra money?

“Kane…” Sakazuki’s voice was hoarse, “Tomorrow’s test…I will defeat you fair and square.”

"Oh?" Kane walked to the door, turned back, and gave a meaningful smile. "Defeat me?"

Do you know what the reward will be for the top three in tomorrow's assessment?

Sakazuki looked up.

Kane held up three fingers.

"Three top-tier Logia-type Devil Fruits, specially approved by the World Government and treasured by the Marine Headquarters."

"Magma, ice, sparkle."

boom!

These words stunned not only Sakazuki, but also Kuzan and Borsalino outside the door.

That's... the ticket to the most powerful force on the high seas!

"Three fruits, three spots."

Kane looked at these three future generals, his smile growing increasingly smug, like the excitement of a hunter spotting his prey.

"Want that fruit called 'Strongest'? Then climb up it with all your might!"

"Because, I've also got my eye on one."

After saying that, Kane laughed and left, leaving behind three monsters whose eyes gradually became more fervent and whose fighting spirit began to boil.

[Ding! Spoiler alert! This will trigger a vicious competition among the three future generals!]

[Extremely disruptive! Disciplinary violation score +1000!]

[Discipline Value Balance: 3000 points.]

In the corridor, Kane listened to the constant notifications from the system, feeling secretly pleased.

"Heh, I'm not interested in the Magma Fruit," Kane thought to himself. "But, if I were to steal the fruit that should rightfully belong to you... hehe."

Thinking of this, Kane couldn't help but hum Hakimi.

Tomorrow's big exam is destined to be very exciting.

It's time to let all of Marineford see what justice is!

Chapter 16: Your pain is my pain!

Marineford's largest open-air arena.

A hot and oppressive atmosphere filled the air.

The circular stands were already packed. Apart from the 320 new recruits of this year, the entire area was filled with naval officers and captains who came to watch the spectacle, and even some vice admirals who were retired from their posts.

After all, this generation is known as a "monster-filled" generation, and everyone wants to see how good they really are.

In the very center of the platform, there were three treasure chests made of Phoebe zhennan wood. The lids were wide open, and three strangely shaped fruits covered with spiral patterns lay quietly on the velvet.

Logia-type Magma Fruit, Logia-type Ice Fruit, Logia-type Glitter Fruit.

Three natural systems standing at the pinnacle!

"Gudong."

The sound of swallowing saliva rose and fell among the crowd, and the flames of desire and ambition burned fiercely in the eyes of the young naval officers.

On the main stand, General Sengoku held his teacup, glancing at Zephyr beside him out of the corner of his eye.

"The World Government has been arguing about these three fruits for three whole days. Zephyr, are you sure you want to throw them out now?"

"Hmph, good steel should be used where it's needed most." Zephyr crossed his arms, snorted coldly, and glanced down at the arena below:

"Warring States, you and I both know how bad the situation at sea has become; the balance has begun to tip."

Sengoku paused for a moment, nodded slightly, and put down his teacup.

Zephyr continued, his voice deep and powerful, "Headquarters is currently facing a severe shortage of high-level combat personnel. Relying on just a few of us to hold things up isn't a solution. If we don't cultivate true monsters, who will bear the burden of justice in the future?"

He turned to look at the outstanding figures below the stands: "Most importantly, this year's recruits include Sakazuki, Kuzan, Borsalino, and Kane. Since the seed is already so excellent, I will not allow them to become mediocre due to insufficient resources. Only true strongmen deserve this kind of power."

Beside him, Garp, while showing off his senbei (rice crackers), laughed loudly: "Pfft, hahaha! I'm quite optimistic about that kid named Kane! I heard he made you so angry you had to take blood pressure medication? He's got potential! He's got the style of my old self!"

Zefa's lips twitched slightly: "That bastard may have a terrible personality, but his talent is undeniable. Just watch, he might surprise everyone today."

Sengoku took a sip of tea and calmly said, "As long as the training camp isn't dismantled, it's fine."

Before he could finish speaking...

Zefa stood up, his booming voice instantly drowning out the noise of the entire room:

"There's only one rule—free-for-all!"

"Only the last ten people standing will be qualified to choose the fruits! Now, the assessment begins..."

"Um, just a moment."

A lazy voice abruptly interrupted Zefa's words.

The entire room fell silent.

In the center of the arena, Kane stood alone, holding a megaphone in one hand and his other hand in his pocket, his posture unrestrained and flamboyant.

Under the watchful eyes of more than 300 people, he slowly blew into the microphone.

"Hello? Can you hear me? Great."

Kane looked around at the more than three hundred pairs of hostile eyes and sighed.

"Everyone is very busy. The cafeteria will have a limited supply of pudding later, so it will be gone if you go too late."

"So, in order to save time, and to avoid letting everyone get along over a few spots..."

Kane took a deep breath and shouted into the loudspeaker:

"Apart from those three monsters over there, the others..."

"You can all come at me together."

The wind stopped.

Sengoku froze in mid-air as he picked up his teacup, and Garp dropped the senbei from his mouth.

Only Zefa covered his face in anguish.

He knows it!

The arena erupted in chaos the next second.

"Damn it! That's too arrogant!"

"How dare you underestimate us! Let's all attack together and eliminate him first!"

"Blow him!"

More than 300 new recruits were thoroughly enraged by this sentence and surged toward Kane from all directions like a tidal wave.

"Tsk, young people have such a temper."

Kane shook his head, but a glint of fanatical excitement flashed in his eyes.

Seeing the overwhelming crowd rushing towards him, he did not retreat even a step.

Instead, he raised the corners of his mouth slightly, pushed off the ground with his long legs, and soared into the air.

"Lan Jiao·Lan Wu!"

Kane's body spun rapidly in mid-air. His legs moved like windmills, unleashing dozens of vacuum slashing waves in a single second!

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!"

The blue slashing wave, like a violent storm, indiscriminately covered a fifty-meter radius around him.

Each strike precisely avoided vital points, yet it incapacitated the opponent just in time.

"Ah! My leg!"

"What's going on with this wind pressure? I can't stand up at all!"

"A monster...a monster!"

The hundred-odd people at the front were as if they had crashed into an invisible wall of blades. Accompanied by screams of agony, rows of new recruits were sent flying backward like wheat being harvested.

Just one move!

A large section of the arena is now empty!

On the stands, the officers who had initially come with a detached, spectator mentality suddenly stood up.

"This is... a more advanced application of the Tempest Kick?"

"Not only is the range enormous, but the control is absolutely exquisite! He didn't sever the bones, he only injured the muscles, rendering the muscles incapable of fighting... How long did this kid train to reach this level?"

In just five minutes.

Kane landed and gracefully dusted off the non-existent dust from the corner of his clothes.

The arena was littered with groans of new recruits. Standing, apart from the "three monsters" who hadn't yet made a move in the corner, was only the blond boy who was still neatly dressed and had his hair in perfect shape.

Kane clapped his hands, looked at the "corpses" scattered on the ground, and gave the stands an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, I hit a little too hard. But I was just trying to test everyone's resilience."

[Ding! Group fight has occurred, causing psychological trauma to the group!]

[Disciplinary Value +2000!]

Cool!

Kane turned around and looked at the three remaining players on the sidelines.

Borsalino, hands raised in surrender, said, "How terrifying! Kane is as strong as a monster! I guess I'll just give up!"

On the other side, Kuzan scratched his head: "Ugh, this is really troublesome... but since we've come this far..."

"Humph!"

A cold snort interrupted Kuzan's nonsense.