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Chapter 62 - Chapter 62: A Total Mess, But You Did Well to Advance!

Silence pressed down on the training grounds.

The weight of Renn Hawk's Conqueror's Haki spread like a crushing tide. For the six people standing before him, the pressure wasn't shared equally. Hibari and Kujaku received the lightest burden, yet even so, their bodies trembled violently under the overwhelming aura.

"Ugh !"

A strangled cry escaped Hibari's lips. Her face went completely pale, all color draining as though the blood had been sucked away. She bit her lower lip hard, refusing to collapse, her mind consumed by a single desperate thought.

I can't fall! I absolutely cannot bring shame to Brother Hawk!

She forced her eyes wide, trying to hold onto his towering figure at the front, but her vision blurred, swaying uncontrollably under the strain.

"This… this is…"

Kujaku seemed outwardly calmer, but it was only surface-deep. She planted her feet firmly into the ground, back straight, and inhaled sharply. Yet behind her back, her nails had dug so deep into her palms that beads of blood welled up.

This… this is Hawk's Conqueror's Haki?!

The only times she had ever felt something like this were from a distance, when her grandmother, Vice Admiral Tsuru, had once accompanied her to a strategy session with Fleet Admiral Sengoku. The pressure then had been daunting, but it was nothing compared to this.

She had heard the rumors that even Vice Admiral Garp possessed the kingly aura, though she had never witnessed it herself. And now, a man of her own generation stood before her, unleashing a torrent of Haki so fearsome it eclipsed anything she had imagined.

No wonder…

No wonder Grandma said he is the future of the Navy.

Across the field, Tashigi and Smoker faced something on an entirely different level. Hawk's pressure on them was several times stronger, like a mountain pressing down upon their souls.

"Nggh… Tashigi…"

Tashigi groaned through clenched teeth. The weight crushed her chest, suffocating her lungs. She instinctively tried to activate the power of her Shack-Shack Fruit, but it was useless against the invisible force grinding her into the dirt. She could only rely on raw willpower, straining every muscle in her body not to collapse.

"Hawk… you bastard…"

Smoker's cigar snapped between his teeth, tobacco spilling mixed with blood at the corner of his lips. His temples bulged, veins protruding, legs quaking uncontrollably as his knees buckled lower and lower.

Don't kneel! Stand, damn it!

He screamed at himself internally. Missing dinner was one thing, but collapsing before his subordinates? Falling to his knees in front of Hawk? If Kuzan ever heard of this, the man would never let him live it down.

No! It won't happen! Not now, not ever!

Just when his will was about to shatter, something stirred within him. Smoker felt a strange, iron-hard strength pressing outward from deep inside his flesh. On his trembling arm, faint black specks surfaced beneath the skin. Like ink dropped into water, they spread in tiny bursts, yet carried an undeniable sense of indestructibility.

This… is Armament Haki?!

The battlefield trembled again. Hawk focused most of his willpower on the two with the greatest potential Sanji and Zoro.

"Damn it…"

Sanji's leg had already buckled. His knee hovered less than an inch above the ground. Sweat drenched his shirt, golden hair plastered to his forehead. His mind went blank, panic gnawing at him.

What is this? Why can't I move? Why does it feel like I'll pass out just from standing here?!

Damn bastard! There's no way I'll collapse before that moss-headed idiot!

But the pressure deepened, like the abyss of the ocean swallowing him whole. Sanji's consciousness blurred. At that moment, Hawk's cold voice pierced his mind.

"Is this how you intend to end it? Passing out like a worthless mess?"

Sanji's eyes flew wide.

Pass out? Never!

"No… I won't… I can't lose here!"

He roared with every ounce of willpower. His trembling knee halted its descent, straining upward. Underneath his skin, dark spots of Armament Haki surfaced, spreading rapidly.

"This is…"

Sanji gasped, staring at his own leg in shock as new strength coursed through his veins, raw and overwhelming.

Right beside him, Zoro's struggle raged. Hawk had pressed even more weight onto him than onto Sanji. His bones creaked under the burden, threatening to snap. Yet Zoro didn't feel fear.

Instead, a wild grin threatened to break across his lips.

Perfect. Absolutely perfect.

This was exactly what he craved. His body screamed, every cell straining, yet the resistance stoked the fire in his soul. He could feel it: a dormant force being violently awakened by Hawk's oppression.

Hawk's eyes narrowed at Zoro's steady, almost eager gaze.

As expected of you.

Very well.

The aura doubled again, an invisible mountain pressing down.

"Haahhh!"

Zoro roared, dragging strength from the depths of his being. His arm inched toward the hilt at his side, moving so slowly it seemed motionless to the naked eye. Yet for him, that distance was as vast as the entire world.

Finally 

Clink.

His fingers wrapped around the hilt of Wado Ichimonji.

Now!

A torrent of will surged from his soul. Memories flashed training as a boy, his vow with Kuina, his choice to join the Marines, every battle fought since. He didn't resist the pressure anymore. He gathered his entire spirit into one strike.

"Draw Sword Style… One Blade… Across the World!"

With a deafening ring, Wado Ichimonji cleared its sheath. A crescent of pure, white sword energy erupted, sharp enough to tear open the suffocating darkness.

It was not just an attack. It was a cry of defiance, the voice of a swordsman's unbreakable will.

The slash streaked toward Hawk. Zoro's vision dimmed, his body finally collapsing only for Sanji, gasping, to catch him across his shoulders.

And just like that, Hawk's overwhelming pressure vanished, receding like the tide.

Standing motionless, Hawk extended two fingers and caught the gleaming slash as though plucking a drifting petal. With a light pinch, the sword aura shattered into motes of fading light.

"Zoro…" Hawk said calmly, his eyes glinting with approval. "That attack is already close to the level of a Headquarters Rear Admiral."

He turned away, his voice carrying across the field. "Tonight, we feast. Everyone is to eat their fill. Sanji, cook something grand."

"???"

Sanji nearly dropped Zoro in shock. "Wait what did you call me? A total mess?!"

Hawk chuckled, nodding. "You advanced. Not bad."

Sanji blinked, then broke into a grin, puffing out his chest. "Dinner's on me! Everyone will love it!"

Finally, finally, he had matched that damned mosshead.

But Hawk wasn't finished. He looked back once more.

"Zoro… very well done."

Sanji's grin froze. His face twitched, the words stinging like a blade.

"Damn it!!!"

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