Inside Devil Forest…
Koby looked at Raifeng beside him, his eyes filled with shock.
His emotions churned like a storm-tossed sea, waves crashing one after another without end.
"This talent… this adaptability…"
"It's way too absurd."
"So this is Vice Admiral Garp's grandson…"
Koby had watched Raifeng's growth with his own eyes.
From the initial clumsy struggle—
To gradually syncing with him and Helmeppo—
And finally, walking alongside them as an equal, his movements smooth, his actions clean, with not a trace of awkwardness left.
Koby couldn't comprehend it.
How could half an hour change someone this much?
It was unbelievable.
Half an hour—to go from raw rookie to experienced hunter.
And it happened…
…to a seven-year-old.
It was enough to shake common sense.
"Seven years old, and already this terrifying…"
"What kind of monster will he become in the future?"
Koby swallowed hard, mind turning into a mess.
He couldn't even begin to imagine how strong Raifeng would be one day.
Looking at Raifeng, Koby felt as if he was staring up at a mountain—towering, oppressive, unreachable.
A mountain he could never climb.
Even though Raifeng was only seven, he was already giving Koby crushing pressure.
"Is this really his first time doing Vice Admiral Garp's hell training?"
"If it is… then his adaptability is horrifying."
Koby couldn't find a reason.
So in the end, he could only blame one thing:
Talent.
Raifeng's talent was simply too terrifying.
So the sea really did have monsters like this—
Geniuses beyond human understanding.
"Half an hour of training… and the gains are comparable to what we got in half a month."
Koby's heart shook violently.
He'd always believed that if he worked hard enough, he could catch up to Luffy and become a Marine Admiral someday.
That belief was why he poured himself into Garp's hell training—chasing Luffy, chasing the distance between himself and the top of Marine Headquarters.
But after seeing Raifeng…
Koby's confidence took a blow like he'd never experienced before.
"We fought like hell for half a month… and our results might not even match what Raifeng gets in half a day."
The gap.
For the first time, Koby felt it in his bones:
There really was a massive gap between people.
And that gap was decided at birth.
Almost impossible to change.
In Koby's eyes, Raifeng's talent spilled out of him like light through cracks—impossible to hide, impossible to stop.
Raifeng was—
A genius so frightening it was hard to even describe.
"Koby… this…" Helmeppo muttered, his mood nearly identical.
He was stunned too.
Raifeng's performance was simply too good.
He couldn't accept it.
They'd suffered for half a month… and Raifeng caught up in half an hour.
By comparison…
What had they been doing for two weeks?
Wasting time?
The two stared at Raifeng, shocked into silence.
The blow was too heavy.
Their confidence—something they'd built up over two weeks of brutal training—was shattered on the spot the moment Raifeng appeared.
Before this, Koby didn't believe much in "natural talent."
But after seeing Raifeng…
He slowly began to believe.
Some people really are born different.
And in Koby's eyes—
Raifeng was exactly that kind of person.
At that moment, Raifeng finally noticed their mood shift.
"What's wrong?"
"N-nothing!" Koby shook his head quickly, then asked cautiously, voice weaker than usual.
"Raifeng… um, Sir… I just want to ask—this really is your first time doing this kind of training?"
Helmeppo looked over immediately too.
Under their gaze, Raifeng smiled.
"Yeah. Why? Don't tell me that's too hard for you to accept."
Once they got his answer—
Koby and Helmeppo felt so stunned they were practically numb.
Too hard to accept?
This wasn't "hard."
This was "question your entire life."
Koby took a deep breath.
It took real effort to force down the chaos in his heart.
"Alright. Enough thinking—keep training."
Raifeng's eyes glinted as he looked deeper into the forest.
Half an hour of hardship had practically taught him everything he needed about surviving here.
Setting traps and counter-killing beasts while being hunted.
Fighting them head-on.
All of it made one thing painfully clear:
He was getting stronger—at a terrifying speed.
And the feeling of becoming stronger…
…it was intoxicating.
"Vice Admiral Garp…"
"Why are both your grandsons monsters?"
"And… if even Luffy is a monster…"
"Then Raifeng might be on an entirely different level."
Koby felt his scalp tingle.
Was he supposed to survive in a world like this?
He trained like his life depended on it for two weeks—
…and someone else surpassed him in thirty minutes.
It made him look utterly useless.
Today, after seeing Raifeng, Koby finally understood:
This world really did have geniuses who broke all logic.
"Let's go."
Koby and Helmeppo forced themselves to calm down.
The three continued their survival trial through the dangerous forest.
But unlike the beginning—
Raifeng could now fully match their pace.
More than that, as time passed…
Raifeng handled everything more and more easily, moving with calm confidence.
Koby and Helmeppo watched, their hearts full of mixed emotions.
When they first entered the forest, they'd sworn to themselves:
They would act like "senior trainees," fulfill their duty, and protect Raifeng—no matter what.
But who could've imagined…
Half an hour later…
They were the ones starting to look like dead weight.
The slap in the face came fast.
And as the thought rose—
Both of them silently screamed inside.
We hate geniuses.
Even more…
We hate a genius who's less than half our age!
Vice Admiral Garp—why didn't you warn us?
Your grandson isn't normal.
This "hell training" doesn't look like we're protecting him at all.
It looks more like—
he's protecting us.
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