The area of the island near the sea was in ruins, with various deep pits, as if it had just been subjected to a bombardment, but the actual situation was much more severe than a bombardment.
The island's original coastline had collapsed in the previous battle, and fragmented landmasses were swallowed by the sea.
The current coastline was actually a deeper part of the island.
At this moment, Kenji arrived in front of a small mountain near the coast, ascended the rocky peak, and stopped at the summit.
"Charlotte Linlin's special physique is not just about powerful defense." Kenji raised his hand and looked down at his palm.
He couldn't yet determine whether the Steel Balloon trait, evolved from Iron Body, was equivalent to Charlotte Linlin's special physique.
It should be noted that Charlotte Linlin's special physique, in addition to defense, also possessed strength stronger than a Giant, and other extremely special powers, such as the monstrous sound shockwave imbued with Conqueror's Haki. Even a powerful commander like Katakuri found it difficult to resist.
"Hmm, whether it is or not, one punch will tell." Kenji clenched his right hand into a fist.
Then, he did not use any Haki or traits, including Sea Beast Power, and only relied on his own strength to punch the ground beneath him.
Boom!
The mountain rock was hard and sharp, but it could not cause damage to Kenji's fist, not even his skin was damaged after punching it.
And the rock beneath Kenji's feet immediately cracked into a spiderweb-like pattern under the impact of this punch.
The cracks rapidly spread, continuously expanding, eventually affecting the entire mountain peak.
Rumble!
Not long after, the entire rocky mountain peak began to collapse, shattering into pieces and falling into the sea below.
Whoosh!
Kenji leaped up, easily returning to the ground.
He turned to look at the continuously collapsing rocky mountain peak not far away, and nodded with a joyful expression.
"It seems to be Charlotte Linlin's special physique after all."
"Hmm, as for the defensive power, I won't test it for now. I'll wait until I have a chance later… It must have been strengthened, though."
Kenji casually threw a punch, and just by his own strength, he could make the air explode.
After confirming that it was Charlotte Linlin's special physique, Kenji was done for now. As for other special abilities, such as the monstrous sound impact, Kenji did not intend to test them for now. If he wanted to test that, he could only use his subordinates or those underage cadets as guinea pigs.
Confirming the ability was enough, going that far… it wasn't necessary.
In fact, Marie and a group of Marine officers and soldiers were standing not far behind Kenji.
At this moment, the sight of the distant rocky mountain peak collapsing like building blocks with a 'whoosh' sound shocked the group of people.
"Kenji-san… punched the mountain into pieces?"
"Ah, I saw it too, it was indeed one punch."
"It's unbelievable! Such a hard mountain peak was as fragile as tofu under his fist."
"Hmph! What's so unbelievable about that? Vice Admiral Garp can smash mountains with his fists, let alone Kenji-san, who is an Admiral!"
The officers and soldiers present began to argue.
Only Marie noticed that when Kenji threw his punch just now, he did not use Haki's power.
"To achieve this level with just his punching power, Kenji, he…" Marie's mouth was agape, speechless for a moment.
She had followed Kenji for several years, and what she saw at this moment completely overturned her impression of Kenji in her heart.
Of course, having recently seen Kenji continuously display powerful strength, Marie's impression of him had already been overturned many times.
"Alright, the Steel Balloon test is complete. So next…"
The distant rocky mountain peak was still collapsing, but Kenji had already withdrawn his gaze and returned his attention to the system interface.
He remembered that the system rewards were doubled this time, so there should be another chance to evolve a trait.
He scanned his gaze around and found that the system prompt had already appeared.
[Your Physique (Super Gold) begins to evolve...]
[The Giant Bloodline within you begins to awaken!]
[Giant Bloodline: Originating from the ancient giants, physical size, strength, lifespan, etc far exceed ordinary humans!]
[Current Giant Bloodline (Light White)!]
[Name: Kenji]
[Traits: Armament Haki (Super Gold), Observation Haki (Super Gold), Conqueror's Haki (Super Gold), Physique - Human (Super Gold), Hand-to-Hand Combat (Light Gold), Swordsmanship (Light Purple), Sea Beast Power (Dark Purple), Superspeed Regeneration (Super Blue), Steel Balloon (Light White), Future Vision (Blue), Berserk (Dark Blue), Pressure of All Things (Light Blue), Giant Bloodline (Light White)]
"Giant bloodline? Evolving into the Giant race?"
"Hmm, speaking of which, it seems there might actually be some residual Giant bloodline among ordinary humans in this world."
Figures of some top powerhouses appeared in Kenji's mind.
For example, Whitebeard, in his youth, looked like a robust and tall person. When his strength grew to the top level, becoming a Legendary Pirate and one of the Four Emperors, his stature had already far exceeded ordinary humans, at least three times taller.
Similar to Whitebeard's situation were Kaido and Blackbeard, whose height also reached 3.5 meters.
However, the most obvious example still had to be Charlotte Linlin. She was born with an unusual physique, and in her childhood, she was almost comparable to an actual giant.
For a long time, Kenji even thought that Whitebeard and Charlotte Linlin belonged to the Giant race, but according to subsequent information, these two were still considered humans, just with unusually tall physiques.
Some Giants in the Giant race would experience an atavistic phenomenon, becoming taller than average Giants, but still not comparable to true ancient Giants.
Kenji speculated that situations like Whitebeard and Charlotte's might also be considered atavism among humans, where a special bloodline in their blood partially awakened.
"Hmm, but it seems that my Giant bloodline is only in its initial awakening stage."
"It's basically impossible for ordinary humans to awaken that bit of Giant bloodline within them and grow into true Giant."
"Whitebeard and Charlotte, and other human powerhouses… they should have all failed."
Kenji carefully recalled the lives of these powerhouses and had already made a judgment in his heart.
The method to determine whether an ordinary human has successfully evolved into a Giant is simple.
The lifespan of a Giant is more than three times that of a human, at least capable of living over three hundred years.
Just see how long those powerhouses can live.
Height, strength, and other factors might 'deceive' people, but lifespan won't. When the age comes, they will still die.
"My Giant bloodline is a trait that can continue to upgrade and evolve… I wonder if it can evolve into a true Giant in the future."
Kenji felt a sense of anticipation in his heart, but then suddenly realized that he seemed to be facing a very serious problem.