Inside a dense forest.
Roya was holding Engetsu, steadily walking deeper into the forest.
This place was one of the small islands in an archipelago. Although it was called a "small island," compared to the regular camp—namely, the recruit camp, which was only one-tenth its size—it was still extremely vast.
After dispersing and entering the forest, Roya had yet to encounter any other recruits. It seemed that, aside from those who had formed teams from the very beginning, the recruits who landed on the island had already completely scattered.
As for the so-called surveillance, Roya had tried to look for it, but found nothing. He originally thought it might be a visual Den-Den Mushi, but it did not seem to be the case. It was likely some kind of special equipment.
"This archipelago probably wasn't chosen at random. It must have undergone long-term development, with considerable resources invested, specifically to serve as a practical combat assessment site for the recruit camp."
As Roya walked through the forest, he noticed many traces of artificial modification. Many of the plants here seemed to have been deliberately transplanted.
That meant—
The ferocious creatures on this island were likely also carefully selected, deliberately released here, and trained over a period of time before taking their current form.
And just as Roya was surveying the forest and thinking quietly—
Silently.
A pair of heart-stopping eyes suddenly appeared in a nearby thicket behind him. Their owner had two enormous tusks curving upward—it was clearly a gigantic wild boar, as tall as a man!
Whoosh!!
In the next instant, the boar, its eyes blood-red, burst out of the bushes and charged straight at Roya. Its sharp tusks looked ready to skewer him clean through.
But almost at that same moment, Roya seemed to have eyes on the back of his head. The instant the boar lunged out, he leapt upward, twisted in midair, and slammed his foot down hard on the giant boar's head.
Bang!
The giant boar, which had been charging forward with full momentum, shuddered violently under that kick. Unable to withstand Roya's strength, its massive body was forced back several steps!
The giant boar was clearly stunned. It had never expected that such a small, slender creature could possess such tremendous strength.
Seeing that the boar had been knocked back by a single kick and had not suffered any real injury, the corners of Roya's mouth lifted slightly.
"The first prey to deliver itself right to my door—perfect for warming up. Not bad luck."
Screech!!
After being kicked back, the giant boar showed no intention of retreating. Shaking its head, a savage gleam flashed in its eyes as it charged at Roya once again.
This time, facing the oncoming boar head-on, Roya slowly grasped the hilt of Engetsu with one hand—and then suddenly drew the sword!
This was the most basic slash, one Roya had practiced countless times over the past few days. Combined with his speed, it was like a crimson line flashing past in an instant.
Slash!!
In the next moment, Engetsu—its blade glowing red—was already in Roya's hand, while in front of him the giant boar's body froze in place.
Silently.
A thin line of blood appeared on the boar's forehead. As blood sprayed out violently, the boar's body—split cleanly in two by a single sword strike—fell apart to either side.
Its enormous eyes still carried a trace of terror. Even in death, the boar could not understand how such a tiny human could be so terrifying.
"As expected of one of the 21 Great Grade Blades. The sharpness really speaks for itself."
Looking at the boar he had cut in half with a single strike, Roya showed a hint of surprise. He glanced at Engetsu in his hand, which seemed to emit a faint crimson glow, admiration flashing through his eyes.
This was the first time Roya had used Engetsu to cut a living creature.
He had not expected that the giant boar—barely injured after taking his full-power kick—would be split cleanly in two with a single sweep of Engetsu.
Roya had only just begun his journey in swordsmanship. That strike was nothing more than an ordinary slash. Though it was fast and reasonably powerful, it contained no sword aura or energy. The result relied solely on the sharpness of Engetsu itself.
Yet even so, the power was already this terrifying.
And just as Roya killed the giant boar, aboard a Marine warship, inside a room filled with surveillance screens, a Marine officer watching this sector quickly recorded Roya's achievement.
"Monkey D. Roya. One Level-3 ferocious beast: Giant Wild Boar."
The ferocious beasts on the island were divided into five levels in total. The highest level—Level 1—contained creatures even stronger than recruits from the elite camp, on par with ordinary Marine Headquarters officers.
Naturally, each level of beast carried a different score.
Level 1 was the highest.
Level 5 was the lowest.
Standing in the center of the surveillance room with his hands behind his back, Zephyr had watched the entire process of Roya killing the giant boar. He nodded and spoke.
"Decent strength. He'd rank near the top even in the regular camp. Looks like he really has grown quite a bit this past month. Also… that sword is Engetsu, one of the 21 Great Grade Blades, isn't it, Garp?"
As he said this, Zephyr glanced sideways at Garp. Although the 21 Great Grade Blades were not the absolute pinnacle among famous swords, they were still exceedingly rare. That Roya possessed one made Zephyr's implication obvious.
"Hahahaha, the kid seems to like swordsmanship, so…"
Garp was fairly satisfied with Roya's results after a month of training—splitting a Level-3 ferocious beast in half with one strike.
Zephyr shook his head and said, "His swordsmanship is crude—ordinary at best. He doesn't know how to use sword energy or sword aura at all. He's just swinging the sword with brute arm strength. It's only because Engetsu is a famous blade that it produced such an effect. If he encounters a stronger beast and can't break its defenses or kill it in one strike, he'll probably be dragged into a hard fight."
Although Roya's performance was decent, Zephyr—who had seen countless geniuses and even taught future Marine Admirals like Aokiji, Kizaru, and Akainu—naturally rated him as merely average.
Just as Zephyr felt he had more or less analyzed Roya's strength, his expression suddenly changed slightly in the next instant.
At the same time, Garp's expression also changed.
"This is bad."
Roar!!
Even through the surveillance feed, it felt as if one could hear a soul-shaking roar.
On the screen, just ahead of Roya—who had just killed the giant boar—a black silhouette suddenly appeared, more than twice the size of the boar.
This figure looked like a giant, its body covered in thick fur—
One of the island's few Level 1 ferocious beasts.
The Brown-Backed Giant Ape!
For Zephyr and Garp, this kind of beast was nothing worth noting, so they had not paid it any special attention—until it entered the surveillance area where Roya was.
To them, defeating a Brown-Backed Giant Ape would take only a finger's worth of effort. But for recruits from the regular camp, it was unquestionably one of the most difficult beasts to deal with.
A Level 1 ferocious beast—even elite-camp recruits might not be guaranteed victory in a frontal encounter. And this one was among the most troublesome of all Level 1 beasts: the Brown-Backed Giant Ape.
For a moment,
Both Zephyr and Garp fell silent.
"With his current strength, even facing a Level 2 beast would be a hard fight. If he's been targeted by this Brown-Backed Giant Ape…"
Zephyr looked at the surveillance screen and spoke after a brief pause. He did not finish the sentence, but the meaning was obvious.
As for whether to immediately dispatch a rescue team—Roya was, after all, Garp's nephew. It was better for Garp himself to decide.
At this moment, Garp stared silently at the screen. Though he said nothing, the tension on his face was clear.
Humanoid ape-type creatures were extremely agile and notoriously troublesome. Escaping from one was incredibly difficult. If it were any other Level 1 beast, Roya might still have a chance to retreat safely with the results of his month-long training.
But this one was a Brown-Backed Giant Ape, capable of swift movement throughout the forest!
Why was his luck this bad?!
Garp hesitated, teeth clenched slightly as he watched the ape on the screen. In the end, he decided to wait just a little longer. For him, rushing from the warship to the island—and then to Roya's exact location—would take almost no time at all.
If things truly went wrong, he would head there at maximum speed.