The Elite Camp's real combat missions were not training exercises, but genuine deployments at sea to suppress pirates—no different from what regular Marines did.
The only difference was that Zephyr personally led the team.
Even so, unless a true life-and-death crisis arose, Zephyr generally would not intervene.
After all, an eaglet raised under protection could never become an eagle that soars freely across the heavens.
"Half a month. I have to make the most of it."
Roya took a deep breath and murmured to himself. After a brief rest, he once again began training to fully master Soru.
"Soru!"
The ground beneath his feet instantly cracked as Roya's figure shot forward.
"The precision is still slightly lacking. Again."
Whoosh!!
Soil and debris scattered as Roya's figure flashed once more.
"The accuracy is good enough now, but the speed isn't fast enough. Still imperfect. Continue."
Sweat dripped down one side of Roya's face, yet he made no move to wipe it away. His gaze remained fixed on the targets he had set up at both ends of the courtyard—the designated landing points after using Soru.
Nearly all of his focus was concentrated on his body: on his legs, on the burst of power, analyzing every flaw that prevented perfection.
Ten times…
Dozens of times…
Hundreds of times…
The ground was completely crushed beneath Roya's feet—pitted and uneven—then gradually tamped flat again. Through Roya's relentless training, the ground on both sides of the courtyard was forcibly pressed down by nearly half a foot!
Roya trained without fatigue. When his legs went numb and lost all sensation, he practiced sword fusion. When his arms became completely numb, he switched to high-weight sit-ups to strengthen his core.
In the blink of an eye, another half month passed.
---
In the courtyard.
Roya stood quietly on one side. His eyes were calm and unremarkable, yet carried a sharpness within them. His gaze was fixed straight ahead on a predetermined landing point.
"Soru!"
The ground on both sides of the courtyard had already been crushed and leveled countless times by Roya.
In the next instant, his figure flickered, turning into an afterimage. He shot forward and landed with extreme precision—right at the exact center of his designated landing point!
Roya glanced down at his feet and nodded in satisfaction.
"The deviation is now controllable within a very small margin. If a perfect score is one hundred, this attempt should be worth about ninety."
After briefly evaluating his Soru, Roya suddenly raised his head and looked up at the sky. Then he stomped forcefully.
"Geppo!"
Whoosh!!
Roya's body shot upward, then he stepped in midair. The air seemed to turn into a solid platform, producing a dull bang as his figure continued to rise.
After repeating this several times, Roya descended back into the courtyard.
"Geppo is essentially continuous use of Soru. The difficulty is a bit higher, and the stamina consumption is also significant. Right now, if a perfect score is one hundred, my Geppo would probably only score around sixty. Still, it's sufficient for short-term aerial movement."
After landing, Roya stretched his body. A trace of satisfaction appeared on his face. Originally, his goal had been for Soru to reach eighty points, and for Geppo to simply be usable. Judging by the results, his progress had exceeded expectations.
At the same time, in terms of swordsmanship, five-sword fusion had been fully mastered. Six-sword fusion, though still rough and forced, had barely reached an acceptable standard.
Six-sword fusion appeared to be a major threshold. Despite only barely completing it, Roya's sword energy was nearly fifty percent stronger than when using five-sword fusion.
In addition, over the course of this half month, Roya's Soul Sword enhancement energy had filled up once again. Naturally, he did not hesitate and chose to strengthen it immediately.
[Third Stage: Agile Sword Soul +2
Attributes: Attack +165, Strength +50, Agility +50
Special Attribute: All Things in the Universe, turn to ashes: Sword attacks can freely carry flame damage
(evolution conditions not met)
Special Attribute: Getsuga Tenshō: Sword attacks can release a crescent-shaped sword energy wave
Enhancement Energy: 8 / 140]
Within this single month, the Soul Sword had been strengthened twice. In addition to the significant increase in base attributes, the range of the flame damage had also expanded somewhat.
Looking at the semi-transparent status panel before him, Roya fell into brief contemplation.
"At my current level, my offensive power should be no weaker than that of a Marine Commodore. In some aspects, I may even surpass them. And after mastering Soru and Geppo, my speed and flexibility have greatly increased, partially compensating for my weaker defense."
Roya had long since defined his path of strength. He was not merely a swordsman; he also possessed the ability to attach flame damage to his attacks. Under such circumstances, there was almost no need for him to deliberately focus on defense.
The best defense was offense.
As long as his attacks were powerful enough to sweep everything away with a single strike, defense became unnecessary.
A month ago, Roya's strength was above the standard of a Marine Captain. Now, he had already touched the threshold of a Marine Commodore—and in certain areas, even exceeded it.
Once Roya mastered both forms of Haki, his strength would surge once more. This rate of growth was undeniably terrifying.
Yet in truth, in this world, advancing from weakness to ordinary strength was relatively easy. With enough luck, even eating a decent Devil Fruit could suffice.
However—
Once one reached a certain level, further progress became extremely difficult.
Figures such as the Seven Warlords' Doflamingo or Whitebeard Pirates First Division Commander Marco the Phoenix could, in the short term, contend with Marine Admirals.
But to truly stand at the level of a Marine Admiral—or even surpass one—was unimaginably difficult. It was a barrier many would never cross in their entire lives.
Compared to others in this world, Roya's true advantage lay in the existence of the Soul Sword. Because of it, that barrier simply did not exist for him.
When his physical growth eventually slowed to a crawl, the boosts provided by the Soul Sword would only grow greater. In other words, so-called strength bottlenecks did not exist for him at all.
"Tomorrow is the day of my first real combat mission. I suppose today is a good place to stop."
After taking a deep breath, Roya returned to his room, drank a glass of water, and finally allowed himself to relax and rest—for the first time in an entire month.
A full month of nonstop hellish training—collapsing into sleep every night and rising early every morning—was not only a brutal test of the body, but also of the soul and will.
If not for Roya's soul being abnormally strong due to the Soul Sword, it would have been impossible to endure such a month-long ordeal. Even speaking of it would be enough to shock others.
Great increases in strength were proportional to effort.
Those new recruits who endured hellish training for only a day or two a month—at most a few days—could never compare to Roya, who had undergone a full month of continuous, almost mad, hell-level training.