"This kid's strength isn't as simple as you said, Garp!"
Zephyr watched the Marine cadets fall one after another, his expression turning serious.
"Of course his potential isn't simple. That's exactly why I wanted you to step in. I hope he can become a true Marine," Garp replied, his tone uncharacteristically solemn.
Ren was someone Garp had rescued from pirates a few years ago. But even Garp hadn't expected the boy's talent to be this extraordinary.
Back in Foosha Village, Ren's physical combat skills had even surpassed those of Ace—the son of the Pirate King himself.
And Ace's combat ability was no joke. He could recover from injuries quickly and grow stronger through battle, his endurance almost like that of a Saiyan from Dragon Ball.
When he first set out to sea, Ace fought Jinbe, the Knight of the Sea, for several days and nights without a clear victor.
Later, the World Government even invited Ace to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea—a feat few could achieve.
That alone proved Ace's incredible strength.
If he hadn't grown overly reliant on the Flame-Flame Fruit after obtaining it, even Blackbeard would've had a much harder time taking him down.
After all, Blackbeard didn't rise to become a Yonko purely by virtue of the Dark-Dark and Tremor-Tremor Fruits.
No Yonko lacked physical prowess. Big Mom and Kaido were outright monsters.
Even if Blackbeard's physical strength didn't quite match theirs, it wasn't far behind.
And Ace being able to fight him evenly in close combat spoke volumes about his raw power.
Ace's capture wasn't due to weakness—it was pure misfortune, being perfectly countered by Blackbeard.
In fact, Ace's physical strength even surpassed that of Garp's own grandson, Luffy.
And yet, Ren's physique still managed to outshine Ace's.
No wonder Garp was overjoyed—he had found a treasure.
He had decided to personally train Ren, which meant that for the past few years, Ren, Ace, and Luffy had lived through days that could only be described as "hellish."
But through that suffering, the three of them forged a deep bond of friendship.
Watching Ren continue to flatten his opponents, Garp couldn't help but smile with pride.
An iron fist should be used like this!
If it's not used for punching people, what good is it?
But there were simply too many opponents. Eventually, Ren began to fall behind.
"Host has collected one hundred Glint-Glint Fruit fragments. Would you like to synthesize now?"
That sweet system voice echoed in his mind.
"Synthesize—now!"
A warm current rushed through his body. Ren suddenly felt light, agile, and sharp—like his entire perception had accelerated.
Everything around him seemed to move in slow motion.
"So this is the power of the Glint-Glint Fruit?"
Ren's eyes widened with joy. Blows that had been impossible to dodge before now felt absurdly slow.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The few Marine students attacking him suddenly froze mid-motion.
They had thrown punches and kicks—but none of them landed.
"What the—?!"
"My fist… went through his body!"
"His body… it's shining!"
Their attacks hit nothing but air, never once connecting.
They panicked, attacking again and again—but it was useless.
"Huh? This… this is light? A Devil Fruit power…"
Zephyr stared blankly at Ren's glowing form.
"Garp, you didn't tell me your student had a Devil Fruit ability."
"Well… uh… I didn't know either. He's never shown it in front of me," Garp said, scratching his head and pretending to be clueless.
In truth, even he had never seen Ren use any ability before.
Who could've guessed that Ren had just now synthesized the Glint-Glint Fruit?
"This ability… it's exactly like Borsalino's," Zephyr muttered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
Normally, no two people in the world could have the same Devil Fruit ability. Yet here stood Ren, shining just like the Marine admiral known as Kizaru.
Borsalino—Kizaru—one of the three Marine admirals, and Zephyr's very first student.
"Hehehe… my turn."
Ren's grin turned feral, his tone cold and dangerous.
"Too slow, far too slow. Can't even touch me? That's all your strength amounts to?"
Having obtained a Logia-type fruit, Ren's body had transformed entirely into light.
Unless these cadets could use Haki, they had no chance of harming him—not even a little.
But clearly, very few among them had awakened Haki.
"Damn it! What's going on?!"
The Marine students were in shock.
To them, hitting Ren felt like trying to punch a ghost—every strike just went straight through him.
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