"Could this guy's strength… already be approaching Drake's?"
Another recruit ranked in the top ten of the entire camp stared at Roya in the arena, a trace of gravity on his face. After taking a deep breath, he still chose to step forward.
The battle began, and after a dozen exchanges, that recruit was defeated and forced off the stage.
Seventh in the entire camp…
Sixth in the entire camp…
Most of the recruits at this level were proud and arrogant. Even though they knew Roya was extremely strong and had little confidence of winning, they still stepped onto the stage one after another to fight him. Whether they could win was one matter; whether they dared to fight was another.
The result was predictable.
Without exception, every one of them was crushed by Roya.
Even those who revealed Devil Fruit abilities were still defeated beneath Roya's sword.
What shocked countless recruits was that from beginning to end, Roya never chose to rest. As if he did not know fatigue, he continuously accepted every challenge, sweeping through them all with overwhelming dominance.
Strong!
Far too strong!
So this is Roya's true strength?!
---
"Anyone else?"
After defeating another recruit, Roya stood in the center of the arena with his sword in hand.
It was clearly an extremely arrogant statement, yet spoken at this moment, it felt entirely natural—almost as if this was exactly what should be said.
The entire venue fell silent.
At this moment, Roya seemed to radiate an invisible pressure. When the recruits outside the arena met his gaze, they could not help but lower their heads, unwilling to meet his eyes.
No one questioned Roya's strength anymore. Every gaze directed at him now carried a hint of reverence. In a world where the strong are revered, once Roya displayed the power of a true powerhouse, reverence from the weak followed naturally.
However, not all eyes filled with awe were fixed on Roya.
A portion of them drifted toward a spot within the crowd.
That was where Drake stood.
The last person Roya had defeated was the recruit ranked fourth in the entire camp. Beyond that, disregarding Hina, only Drake remained.
Gradually, almost all recruits turned their attention toward Drake.
Not just the recruits—even the Marine rear admirals focused their gazes on him.
At this moment—
Drake and Roya had become the two focal points of everyone's attention.
Under the gaze of the recruits and instructors, Drake showed no intention of avoiding the confrontation. Calmly holding his weapons, he walked forward as the crowd instinctively parted, stepping into the arena.
The recruits watching could not help but hold their breath.
"I never imagined that the one qualified to challenge Drake in the end would be Roya."
The recruits from Fifth Squad, where both Roya and Drake belonged, stared blankly at the scene. No matter how they thought about it, they could not believe that Roya had reached this point.
There was no doubt that Roya—who had forcefully swept through the entire recruit camp—was now the only one truly qualified to challenge Drake.
At this point, a frightening thought suddenly surfaced in some minds.
Could Drake… lose?
The thought was quickly suppressed.
Although Roya had demonstrated strength capable of crushing the entire regular camp, compared to Drake—who could defeat the strongest of other squads in a single move—there was likely still a gap.
Even so, despite repeatedly telling themselves that Roya could not possibly defeat Drake, the thought continued to resurface.
Roya's overwhelming advance, his dominant and crushing presence, had already taken root deep in everyone's mind.
"You are very strong."
Standing before Roya, Drake spoke in a steady voice. "Your rate of improvement is the fastest I've ever seen. If you keep this up, you'll surpass me within a few months."
"Oh?" Roya smiled faintly. "So what are you saying?"
Drake shook his head. "Words are useless. Let's fight."
Roya had swept through the recruit camp today with unstoppable momentum. Drake knew that a few words would never make him concede—and even if Roya did concede, it would bring Drake no benefit.
The true purpose of this combat assessment was not ranking victory or defeat, but observing the recruits' performance—especially those about to enter the elite camp. Drake understood this clearly.
Now, Roya had already stolen the spotlight, while Drake had yet to make a move. To him, Roya was the perfect opponent.
Seeing this, Roya's expression settled into calm.
He raised Engetsu horizontally before him, standing three meters away from Drake, and suddenly slashed forward.
Slash!
A silver-white sword energy burst forth, crossing the three-meter distance in an instant and crashing toward Drake.
Opposite him, Drake wielded dual weapons—one hand holding a sword, the other a four-bladed cross-shaped axe.
Zzzzt!
Facing Roya's strike, Drake calmly crossed his axe and sword in front of him, blocking the sword energy. As it scraped across his weapons, it produced a sound like metal being cut before dispersing.
"No wonder they couldn't block that."
Drake's expression remained unchanged. Observing from the sidelines earlier only allowed him to estimate the power of Roya's slashes. Only now, facing him directly, could he feel it so clearly.
Still—
Though fierce, if this was all there was…
Drake silently shook his head. Lowering his stance slightly, tightening his grip, he charged straight at Roya. The three-meter distance vanished in an instant as his sword slashed down toward him.
"So he blocked my slash…"
Seeing Drake effortlessly stop his full-powered attack and immediately counterattack, Roya's expression remained calm—as if he had already anticipated it.
Clang! Clang!
Drake's dual-wielding style allowed relentless offense. After one sword strike came the four-bladed axe, attack after attack chaining together without giving Roya any breathing room.
Roya held his sword with both hands, blocking Drake's assault. Suddenly, he stepped back and swung his blade, sending another silver-white sword energy flying toward Drake.
Whoosh!
This time, Drake did not block it head-on. He sidestepped, evading the slash, and continued pressing his attack.
Clang clang clang!
The sound of metal colliding rang without pause. From time to time, silver-white sword energy streaked across the ground, carving long, straight fissures into the arena floor.
The battle seemed to enter its fiercest phase in an instant—like a violent storm—leaving the watching recruits dazzled.
"I didn't expect Roya to be able to fight Drake head-on."
"But judging by this… it looks like Roya is falling into the disadvantage."
The higher-ranked recruits watched the clash with amazement, tinged with regret.
They now genuinely admired Roya's strength, but it was unfortunate that he had encountered Drake. Had this been a different class, the title of top recruit would very likely have belonged to Roya.
One could only say—such was fate.