With Zephyr's command, over a hundred elite Marine Recruits surged forward.
"For justice!"
The rallying cry shook the sky, brimming with youthful vigor and passion.
The heavy footsteps caused the ground to tremble faintly.
Leading the pack were three monstrous figures.
Sakazuki was at the very front. Even while carrying a massive iron block, his steps remained as steady as a mountain.
Borsalino, hands in his pockets, looked deceptively slow yet maintained a bizarre pace right beside Sakazuki, his face wearing a weird, punchable expression.
Kuzan followed silently behind the two, his gaze focused, his breathing steady.
About fifty meters behind them was Tatsuki, gritting his teeth.
'Damn it... these guys are real monsters.'
His newly enhanced Physique allowed Tatsuki to barely keep up with the trio ahead. But the thousand-kilogram load was frantically draining every ounce of his stamina. The muscles in his calves were already cramping.
He could clearly feel that sharp gaze from the high platform, locked onto him the entire time. Zephyr was observing him, scrutinizing him, perhaps even waiting to see when he would collapse.
'No way... I absolutely cannot fall here.'
Tatsuki bit his tongue until it bled, using the pain to stimulate his fading nerves.
He stared fixedly at Sakazuki's straight back ahead, squeezing out the last shred of strength from his body.
One lap... two laps...
By the time the group entered the fourth lap, Tatsuki's speed noticeably slowed. He slipped back through the ranks, overtaken by more and more people.
His steps became unsteady and his consciousness began to blur, each step feeling like he was about to kneel and collapse.
'Reaching my limit... Is this high-stakes game going to end with me being carried off right from the start?'
Just as he teetered on the edge of his limit, a dull thud sounded from ahead and to the side.
Thud!
A trainee, eyes rolled back and foaming at the mouth, collapsed straight to the ground under the heavy load.
The surrounding trainees merely glanced at him before immediately looking away, gritting their teeth and continuing to run forward.
"Don't mind him! This is the Elite Camp's selection!"
"Stop and you'll be eliminated!"
Marine training was brutal, survival of the fittest was the only law here.
On the high platform, Zephyr watched it all coldly from behind his sunglasses.
This was the Marines. This was the Grand Line. The cruel reality would weed out all the unqualified.
If they couldn't even endure this level of hardship, they'd just be going to their deaths in the New World.
However...
One figure slammed on the brakes, kicking up a cloud of dust.
It was Tatsuki.
Looking at the fallen recruit, his eyes instantly lit up.
Under the gaze of hundreds of eyes, he stopped beside the unconscious trainee, crouched down, unfastened the trainee's weighted vest, and then pinched the trainee's philtrum.
"Hey! Wake up!"
Tatsuki's voice was loud and clear, filled with urgency and concern.
"Think of your family! Think of your oath when you joined the Marines! Are you really going to fall here like a coward?!"
His voice echoed across the training ground, causing many trainees who were burying their heads and running to instinctively slow their pace, casting complicated glances his way.
At the very front of the pack, Sakazuki's footsteps hitched imperceptibly. He glanced back, his brow furrowing even deeper.
"Idiot."
Borsalino adjusted his sunglasses, the playful curve of his lips widening. "This is truly an incredible rookie."
Kuzan's brow was tightly knit, a flicker of struggle and pity flashing in his eyes, but in the end, he clenched his fists and chose to keep moving forward.
On the high platform, Zephyr's face had turned incredibly dark.
"Tatsuki!!!"
He gripped the railing, roaring in anger, "What are you doing! Who gave you permission to stop! Do you want to be eliminated along with him?!"
Tatsuki seemed not to hear Zephyr's roar. Seeing the trainee slowly regain consciousness, he immediately shoved his own canteen into the other party's hands.
"Drink! Then get up!"
The trainee was bewildered by Tatsuki's actions, but looking into Tatsuki's sincere and blazing eyes, a surge of passion rushed to his head. He grabbed the canteen, took several desperate gulps, and with a hoarse roar, struggled to his feet.
At this very moment, a system prompt sounded in Tatsuki's mind.
[Ding! Host's rule-breaking behavior detected!]
[Openly defying the training camp's ironclad rules, disrupting test order. Points +120]
[Triggered 'Witness Multiplier'!]
[Witness: Zephyr (Marine Admiral level), Points x5!]
[Witnesses: Sakazuki, Borsalino, Kuzan (Future Admiral-level potential), Points x3!]
[Witnesses: Numerous officer-level Marines, elite New Recruits, Points x1.5!]
[Final Calculation: Congratulations to the host for obtaining 2700 Violation points!]
Jackpot!
Tatsuki was ecstatic inside, but on the surface, he wore a righteous and heroic expression.
He helped the trainee up, then suddenly turned, saluted the high platform where Zephyr stood with an impeccably standard military salute.
"Reporting, Chief Instructor! I cannot turn a blind eye to a comrade about to fall behind!"
"Because we are the Marines! Behind us are hundreds of millions of civilians who need protection!"
"If we can easily abandon the comrades by our side, how can we talk about protecting this world!"
"This is my justice!"
This impassioned "declaration of justice" completely changed the way the surrounding trainees looked at Tatsuki.
From initial confusion and mockery, it gradually shifted to shock and even a sliver of admiration.
On the high platform, Zephyr was left speechless by Tatsuki's words for a long moment, his chest heaving violently.
Abandon comrades?
That was indeed not something the Marines should do.
But... this is a selection test! You bastard!!!
Zephyr felt his fists clench rock-hard, a vein throbbing at his temple.
Meanwhile, the instigator Tatsuki, after shouting those words, maintained that tragic expression of "for justice," but inside, he was roaring frantically.
'System. Use the points. All into Physique.'
[Command received... Initiating Physique enhancement...]
[Consumed 100 Violatiom points, Physique +1]
[Physique: 50]
[Consumed 200 Violation points, Physique +1]
[Physique: 51]
...
'Wait!'
Tatsuki was startled inwardly. 'System, what's going on? The point cost increased?'
[The higher the attribute, the greater the energy required for improvement, increasing exponentially.]
So that's how it was.
Tatsuki instantly understood.
It made sense. Otherwise, wouldn't he be able to speedrun the One Piece World?
'Keep adding points to Physique.'
[Enhancing Physique...]
[...Consumed 600 Violation points, Physique +1]
[Physique: 55]
[Violation points: 630]
A surge of warmth, dozens of times more powerful than before, instantly swept through his entire body. If the previous enhancement was a trickling stream, this time, it was a raging tidal wave.
He even had the illusion that he could now kill a Sea King with a single punch.
Tatsuki turned his head and flashed a blindingly bright, sunny smile at the trainee who was still in a dazed state.
"Keep up. Don't fall behind."
With that, under the astonished gazes of everyone, Tatsuki's legs powerfully pushed off the ground.
BANG!
The hard rock ground beneath Tatsuki's feet instantly shattered, exploding into a spiderweb-like crater two meters in diameter.
The next second, his figure instantly transformed into a golden bolt of lightning, dragging a long afterimage as he shot forward.
He was so fast that he even whipped up a gust of wind, causing the surrounding Recruits to stumble and sway.
"What?!"
On the high platform, Zephyr's sunglasses nearly slipped off.
This explosive power... how could a New Recruit possibly possess this?
This brat... has he been hiding his strength all along?
All the New Recruits stood with their mouths agape, staring dumbfounded at that golden afterimage.
"So... so fast!"
"You've got to be kidding. Wasn't he about to hit his limit?"
"He's still carrying a thousand-kilogram load!"
Accelerate! Accelerate! Accelerate again!
Under the hundreds of gobsmacked gazes, Tatsuki continuously overtook one New Recruit after another.
In just half a lap, he had already closed in on the first group.
"Hmm?"
Kuzan, maintaining his rhythm, suddenly felt a gale force brush past him. He whipped his head around, only catching a glimpse of a golden back, flashing past and instantly leaving him behind by over ten meters.
"Ara ara... this astonishing explosive power... is it Soru? No. This is purely raw physical power."
Borsalino's eyes behind his sunglasses snapped wide open. He shed his lazy demeanor, replaced by unprecedented seriousness.
"Truly remarkable. This level of speed is already on par with a Headquarters Officer, isn't it?"
At the very front, Sakazuki, feeling the hurricane gust sweep past his side, let the cigar in his mouth fall to the ground with a "clatter."
He stared at that golden figure charging ahead, leaving him far behind in the dust, his eyes filled with disbelief and shock.
That guy he had labeled an idiot, possessed physical prowess more terrifying than his own?
Impossible!
Under the watchful eyes of the entire field, Tatsuki crossed the finish line.
He stopped in front of Zephyr's high platform and slowly set down his weight.
THUD!
The thunderous crash of a thousand kilograms of steel hitting the ground resonated, striking hard in everyone's hearts.
Tatsuki's breathing was slightly rapid, steam rising from his body, but his back remained ramrod straight.
He looked up at Zephyr, whose expression was fluctuating wildly, straightened his still-messy collar, snapped to attention, and delivered a flawless Marine salute.
Then, he revealed an incredibly sunny, sincere, and radiant smile.
"Reporting, Chief Instructor! Trainee Tatsuki, mission accomplished, test completed!"
"All for the sake of justice!"
The entire field fell silent.
Zephyr looked at the blond youth standing in the sunlight, his face practically screaming "praise me," and the corner of his lips twitched uncontrollably.
He had a premonition.
This session of the Elite Training Camp was probably going to be turned upside down.