"If you fail this task, none of you get dinner tonight! Begin!"
At Zephyr's command, over a hundred noisy trainees immediately stopped bickering and turned their unfriendly gazes toward Ren.
Facing that many hostile stares, Ren showed no fear. In fact, he returned their looks with a taunting smirk.
What are you looking at? If glares worked, who would need the Marines?
His provocation succeeded—every "little monster" charged toward him.
But Ren wasn't just anyone; he'd endured Garp's brutal training, the kind that could break lesser men.
Ten minutes later, as the last trainee hit the ground, Ren, panting heavily, walked toward Garp and Zephyr and gestured that he was done.
Taking on a hundred at once had been no joke.
"Kid, you think that's it?"
Zephyr's expression curved into a faint, unreadable smile that immediately set off Ren's instincts.
He turned around slowly—and froze.
There were now roughly three hundred older cadets, all in Marine Academy uniforms, surrounding him.
"What the…"
A terrible realization flashed through his mind.
"Brat, did you really think the academy only had fresh recruits?"
Zephyr crossed one leg over the other, grinning smugly.
Even Garp's grin was wide—he'd been waiting for this moment.
There were still over two hundred upperclassmen here—enough to make Ren suffer.
"Not bad, kid. You managed to take down every rookie. But your little show ends here."
A young man wearing a Marine cap glared coldly at him.
"To think a new recruit could be this arrogant."
A towering hulk, over three meters tall, sneered down at Ren's comparatively small 1.85-meter frame.
"Hehehe, don't be so harsh, boys. You'll scare the newbie. Freshmen need the love of their seniors… but a cocky one like you? This senior sister will personally teach you some manners."
A tall woman with a fiery figure, dual blades in hand and a teasing smile on her face, licked her lips.
"Damn it… those two old geezers set me up!"
Ren cursed internally.
Still, he wasn't the type to back down. After all, he'd just awakened Armament Haki.
Fine—let's go big.
"Get him!"
"Show this kid what happens when he mouths off!"
"Heh, come let your senior take care of you!"
"Charge!"
"You two old bastards, I curse you both to get hemorrhoids!"
Ren shouted furiously and charged head-on without hesitation.
"Come on then! I'll take you all!"
Zephyr chuckled as he watched the chaos unfold.
"Hahaha, Garp, I'm taking this disciple of yours. One day he'll become an admiral even stronger than you!"
Garp didn't answer—he simply pulled out a bag of donuts and started eating, as if the spectacle before him were the most enjoyable thing in the world.
"Ren, you think the Marine Academy is just a place for training? It's far more than that," Zephyr muttered as he watched.
"This academy gathers the world's entire knowledge system—not just combat, but also meteorology, technology, strategy, navigation, and more than ten other disciplines. Even if you already have the strength of a vice admiral, you'll need years to graduate."
The old instructor spoke more to himself, his eyes glowing with pride. "This place is my life's work, haha!"
While the two old men observed the battle with amusement, Ren was having the time of his life.
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for defeating one Marine student. You have obtained one Glint-Glint Fruit fragment."
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for defeating one Marine student. You have obtained one Glint-Glint Fruit fragment."
The continuous chime of the system filled Ren with excitement.
That was the sweetest sound he'd ever heard.
What a powerful system—another huge surprise!
Of all Devil Fruits, the Glint-Glint Fruit was one of his favorites.
Not because of its destructive power, but for its sheer speed. Move like light, strike like light—no one could keep up.
Fight when he wanted, vanish when he didn't. The ultimate ability for any brawler.
But trouble was only beginning.
These Marine cadets weren't elite division, but they'd been through plenty of training. Their strength was leagues above the rookies.
Soon enough, Ren was bleeding from multiple cuts and bruises.
Still, his enhanced body and Armament Haki gave him an edge. His fists slammed into opponents one after another, sending them flying.
"This feels amazing! No wonder the old man loves punching people. I love it too!"
Ren grinned wildly, adrenaline coursing through him.
With every fallen opponent, his system rewarded him with more Glint-Glint Fruit fragments.
Before long, the hundred-fragment goal was easily achieved.
--------------
Access 30 chapters in advance on my P@treon: [email protected]/Ashborn60