Sengoku came today not only because of Rosinante.
After having Rosinante sit on the sofa, Sengoku spoke in a calm, measured tone.
"Lloyd, the Navy School graduation assessment will take place in three months. Fleet Admiral Kong wants you to be responsible for the final evaluation."
Lloyd raised an eyebrow slightly, his expression unreadable as he replied after a moment of thought.
"The final assessment? Like the one Zephyr Senpai conducted for my class? Then the ones being evaluated should be Dragon, Aramaki, and Kuzan, correct?"
"That's right," Sengoku nodded. "Those three far surpass the rest of their peers. There aren't many people qualified to properly assess them."
"Did Zephyr Sensei refuse?"
"Not exactly," Sengoku said with a wry smile. "Zephyr believes they're strong, but still not comparable to your generation. He's lost interest in taking on the task. More importantly, many of the younger Marines see you as their role model. Your presence alone will motivate these graduating rookies."
"I understand," Lloyd replied evenly. "Very well. I'll take the job."
As he clenched his fist, a faint, dangerous smile appeared at the corner of Lloyd's lips.
Dragon had become far more obedient since being defeated twice. Three years had passed, and this assessment would serve as a timely reminder of his place.
Three months later, the graduation assessment arrived as scheduled.
Just like the previous batch, the assessment lasted two days. On the first day, after Dragon and the other students entered the venue, their gazes immediately turned toward the high platform.
Beneath Fleet Admiral Kong's seat, three chairs had been prepared. These were the seats reserved for the Admirals.
Under countless reverent stares, Sengoku, Zephyr, and Lloyd stepped onto the platform, Navy cloaks draped over their shoulders.
Sengoku took the central seat, Zephyr sat to his left, and Lloyd to his right.
Compared to the two veteran Admirals, the students' attention was clearly focused on Lloyd.
The moment Lloyd sat down, shouts of "Lloyd-senpai!" echoed from below. Zephyr chuckled softly.
"Looks like your juniors are quite enthusiastic."
Lloyd gave a slight smile and raised his hand in acknowledgment. The cheers immediately grew louder, only settling down when Kong stood up and officially announced the start of the assessment.
The first day held little excitement for Lloyd. The matches were limited to battles between ordinary students, though he still observed them patiently.
In truth, the quality of this batch was not poor. They only appeared mediocre because Lloyd's generation had been overwhelmingly brilliant.
That class had produced seven Marine Supernovas. Even without counting those seven, there were still elites like Momonga.
If Momonga from the previous batch were placed among these students, he would undoubtedly take first place.
That was, of course, assuming Dragon, Aramaki, and Kuzan were excluded.
By the end of the first day, the assessments for the other students were complete. The real focus was about to begin.
Early on the second day, Dragon, Aramaki, and Kuzan stood at the center of the arena, waiting in silence.
This time, Marine Headquarters made no attempt to conceal the assessment details. It had already been announced that their evaluator would be Admiral Lloyd.
Among the three, Kuzan was the most excited.
He could not help recalling the day he first joined the Navy. Back then, he had fought Lloyd alongside Aramaki and Dragon. In that battle, Kuzan had been the first to fall, a humiliation he never forgot.
Now, he finally had a chance to make up for it.
At the very least, he was determined not to be defeated before Aramaki.
With that thought, Kuzan shot a provocative glance at Aramaki. Aramaki responded with a look of disdain and muttered quietly.
"What's this idiot getting so excited about?"
Dragon, standing apart, kept his head lowered. Air currents spiraled faintly around his body as he focused on bringing himself to peak condition for the coming battle.
On the high platform, Kong repeated the rules of the assessment. Once he finished, Lloyd rose slowly from his seat. In the next instant, his figure blurred, and he appeared directly in front of the three candidates.
After a brief moment of shock, Aramaki and Kuzan eagerly greeted him. Lloyd responded with a nod to each before turning his gaze to Dragon, a half smile playing on his face.
"Dragon, Vice Admiral Garp mentioned that you've been sailing with him these past years. It seems you took my advice seriously. I'm curious how much you've improved."
Dragon lifted his head, eyes sharp.
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Admiral Lloyd, to personally test it."
Aramaki curled his lips, thinking to himself that Dragon was getting ahead of himself again.
Lloyd chuckled softly before his expression cooled.
"I'm looking forward to it."
He turned slightly and signaled to the referee at the edge of the arena. After saluting, the referee immediately announced the start of the match.
In the very next second, Dragon moved.
Without waiting for Aramaki or Kuzan, his body transformed into a raging whirlwind, tearing up the ground as he charged forward in a violent display.
Within the roaring cyan hurricane, a blackened Dragon Claw shot outward, aimed straight at Lloyd's left chest.
Lloyd kept one hand in his pocket and raised the other calmly. With a crisp snap of his fingers, he caught the incoming claw effortlessly.
"What!?"
Dragon's face emerged within the storm, filled with disbelief. Before he could exert more force, Lloyd pulled sharply, dragging Dragon out of the hurricane and slamming an elbow into his back.
Boom!
The ground collapsed beneath them, forming a deep crater. Wisps of cyan wind still lingered above it.
On the platform, Garp's expression darkened.
"The gap is still this big," he muttered.
Suddenly, a fierce gust erupted from the pit. A tornado surged upward, causing Lloyd's Navy cloak to whip violently in the wind.
The tornado lasted only a moment before reversing direction and crashing down between Kuzan and Aramaki.
The wind twisted around Dragon's body as he landed, bent forward slightly, his face pale.
Aramaki burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Dragon, how did you turn into a boiled lobster so fast?"
Dragon ignored him completely and spoke toward Kuzan instead.
"Kuzan, help me."
Kuzan nodded and spread his hands, releasing a wave of icy white frost.
Dragon immediately condensed a miniature tornado above his palm. The vortex detached, rapidly expanding in size.
At that moment, Kuzan thrust both arms forward, forcing all of his cold air into the growing storm.
Under the horrified gazes of the spectators, an ice blue tempest formed at the center of the arena. Dragon roared as he directed the frozen storm toward Lloyd.
"Extreme Cold Storm!"
____
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