When the instructor once again demonstrated, the moment that white air blade tore through the air, Luffy clearly felt that Zangetsu's slumbering blade seemed to tremble ever so slightly!
As if this form of tearing and cutting power… had triggered some kind of instinctive resonance?
Now it was Luffy's turn to try.
He took a deep breath, lowered his center of gravity slightly, and pulled his right leg back like a spring full of compressed power.
Unlike the others, he didn't blindly chase speed or strength. Instead, he sank his spirit deep into Zangetsu's cold core of will, attempting to simulate, to guide, that sharp sensation of cutting through all things!
Raise the leg!
High-speed side kick!
The motion was as quick as lightning!
But the expected air blade didn't appear.
Only a gust of air stronger than an average recruit's roared out, blowing a few fallen leaves several meters away.
"Hmph, putting on a show!"
Helmeppo immediately found a target to vent on, sneering in a low voice, "Thought you were special? In the end you're just like us! A poser!"
Luffy ignored him. He slowly retracted his leg, frowning slightly.
In that instant, he had definitely felt Zangetsu's power stir—but it seemed… there was no "outlet"?
Or rather, it lacked a medium to transform that heavy, sharp "will" into tangible cutting force?
He raised his leg again. This time, he didn't pursue raw physical speed. Instead, he poured his will into the motion!
He imagined his leg not as flesh and blood, but as the massive, unmatched blade of Zangetsu itself! He condensed that cold, all-tearing will at his toes!
Vmm!
Deep within his soul, Zangetsu seemed to respond to his call!
A faint yet incredibly dense stream of black reiryoku (spiritual pressure) surged forth like an awakened serpent, instantly coiling around his lifted right leg!
That blackness wasn't solid—it was more like a distortion of vision, like heat waves shimmering in high temperatures, yet carrying a bone-chilling cold!
Raise the leg! Tear through the air!
Shhhhraaa—!!!
This time! A visible, far denser-than-recruit-level, fan-shaped air blade burst forth from Luffy's foot! Its edge faintly traced with a threadlike black aura, like lines of ink etched into the air!
The blade shot forward at incredible speed, slicing with the sound of tearing cloth!
Though only half a meter long—not nearly as grand as the instructor's—the density and that eerie black outline gave the impression that the air itself had been split open!
The air blade slammed into a hardwood dummy wrapped in thick cowhide five meters away!
Pshhhht!
A dull slicing sound!
At the dummy's waist, a clean cut an inch deep appeared in an instant!
The edges of the cut were scorched pitch black, as if seared by extreme heat! Thin wisps of smoke rose from the wound like burnt wood!
The entire field fell into silence once again.
Even the instructor halted mid-motion, his eyes fixed on that charred cut with suspicion and shock.
That was not something a normal Rankyaku (Storm Leg) could create!
Helmeppo's mocking expression froze solid, plastered onto his face like drying plaster. His mouth hung open, staring at the blackened cut, then at Luffy's slowly lowered leg, still faintly wrapped in a black shimmer. A chill raced up his spine into his skull.
What… what the hell was that?!
Koby clamped a hand over his mouth, eyes wide as saucers, heart hammering as if it would burst out of his chest. That black-edged air blade, to him, was like a thunderbolt ripping through darkness!
From the platform, Instructor Shuzo suddenly stepped forward!
His body leaned in, sharp eyes locked onto Luffy! The edges of his clipboard cracked under the unconscious grip of his fingers!
He stared at the charred cut, then back at Luffy, his gaze filled with disbelief, shock, and… a greedy hunger to understand!
"A fusion technique…" Shuzo's voice was low and hoarse, tinged with a faint tremor, as though confirming a world-shattering guess. "Not just imitation… but a resonance born of talent! Perfectly grafting that strange power… onto the foundation of Rokushiki (Six Styles)?!"
A silver-haired figure flashed in his mind—back then, a boy in boot camp who could already stir the power of a Logia fruit, raising white storms… Smoker. But this one before him… even stranger. Even more incomprehensible!
"A flexible fusion talent… comparable to Smoker's early awakening…"
Shuzo muttered, then shook his head sharply. His eyes grew razor sharp.
"No… this feels… more bizarre. More… dangerous!"
Team Battle Segment. Recruits were randomly grouped into squads for simulated combat inside a bounded zone.
The rules were simple: knock down opponents or force them out of the boundary.
Helmeppo's eyes glinted with malice. Using his father Captain Morgan's lingering authority and some petty favors, he quickly gathered a few recruits who were both jealous and afraid of Luffy's monstrous strength.
They formed a squad with one clear target—Luffy's three-man team.
The match began. Helmeppo limped forward with three burly recruits like hungry wolves, charging straight at Luffy!
Koby turned pale and instinctively tried to step in front, but Luffy gently pushed him back. Yoichi (Marine Recruit) went straight to hiding in a corner.
"Country bumpkin! Let's see you dodge this time!"
Helmeppo sneered, commanding his three cronies to encircle Luffy from all sides. His face twisted with revenge and sick excitement.
Luffy stood still, brows furrowing slightly. Such crude ambushes looked like child's play in his eyes. He didn't even bother to draw his sword.
"Pathetic." He muttered softly.
As Helmeppo and his men lunged, fists and wooden swords about to connect—
Luffy suddenly dropped low, center of gravity pressing down!
His right leg coiled back like the sting of a scorpion, ignited fully with Zangetsu's cold will! Black reiryoku surged like boiling ink into his leg!
Raise the leg! Side kick! Split the air!
Faster than lightning! Without naming the move!
Shhhhraaa—!!!
A massive, denser-than-before fan-shaped air blade erupted! Its edges ringed with a burning black glow, like dark flames licking reality!
The air screeched as it tore! The concrete floor beneath scorched with a shallow blackened scar!
The blade didn't aim for Helmeppo directly, but at a hardwood training dummy near their feet, standing half a man tall.
BOOOM!!!
A gut-shaking impact!
The blade cleaved the dummy cleanly in two, like a hot knife through butter!
The top half slammed to the ground in dust, the cut blackened, charred, still steaming faint wisps of smoke.
Time froze.
Helmeppo and his cronies stood petrified, just meters from the wreckage.
The cut's terrifying sharpness, the blackened surface, the curling smoke—like venomous snakes coiling around their necks, choking their breath!
Helmeppo's twisted grin collapsed into sheer terror. His legs trembled uncontrollably, and hot urine streamed down his pants, spreading a dark stain on the concrete floor.
He gasped like a broken bellows, unable to form a single word.
Overwhelmed by fear, his body gave way, collapsing into his own filth, eyes hollow, like a puppet whose soul had been stripped away.
The three recruits with him turned pale as death, their wooden swords clattering to the ground, legs trembling like leaves, stumbling back in desperation to escape.
Behind Luffy, Koby looked between the smoking stump of the dummy, the collapsed Helmeppo, and finally at Luffy's calm profile. His lips trembled, eyes wide with awe.
This wasn't fear. It was witnessing a miracle. A power capable of shattering injustice and crushing bullies. True power.
At the edge of the arena, Shuzo slowly lowered his clipboard.
He no longer spared Helmeppo a glance. His eyes, like hot iron brands, nailed themselves to Luffy's leg, still faintly glowing with black afterlight.
His facial muscles twitched once before he muttered to himself, almost like a sigh, yet laced with burning obsession:
"A crescent… Rankyaku? No… something more twisted. The embryonic form of… Zangeki (Blade Severing)?"
(End of Chapter)
[50 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter]
[Thanks for your support!]