"Die, brat!!"
After charging up to Roya, Dilos threw a savage punch straight at him. Armament Haki wrapped around his fist and condensed further, forming a solid layer of Armament Hardening!
The tremendous force stirred up a violent gust of wind, causing Smoker and the others to change expression.
If Smoker had been the one facing Dilos just now—against an opponent who could use Haki and possessed such terrifying strength—he might not have had any chance of winning at all!
But now, the one standing before Dilos… was Roya.
Buzz!!
Roya held his sword horizontally in front of him. In an instant, Armament Haki surged across the blade, likewise forming jet-black Armament Hardening.
Boom!
Dilos's fist smashed directly into Roya's blade, producing a terrifying sonic boom. A visible shockwave rippled through the air and blasted outward in all directions.
Amid the shockwave, Roya stood firmly in place, unmoving. Only after the air pressure dissipated did he take a single step back. His arm and sword, however, did not tremble in the slightest—they remained perfectly steady.
"A Zoan-type Devil Fruit user… your strength really isn't small."
Roya looked at Dilos with an indifferent gaze.
All of his previous opponents had been Marines, and their attitudes had been fairly proper, so Roya's demeanor toward them had been calm as well. This pirate, however, had been overflowing with killing intent from the very start, clearly in a deranged, murderous state. Naturally, Roya's attitude toward him was cold.
"Impossible—he only took one step back?!"
Shock spread across Dilos's face. He had not held back at all with that punch. He had fully intended to smash Roya's sword apart and transmit the force straight through, shattering Roya's organs and killing him on the spot.
Yet he never imagined that his all-out punch would only force Roya to retreat a single step!
Compared to him, Roya's build looked so slim, and his appearance so young. It was utterly unbelievable that such a body could contain such terrifying power!
"Now it's my turn."
Roya stared at Dilos coldly, suddenly gripping his sword with both hands and swinging it down in a single decisive strike.
Buzz!!
As the blade fell, the air itself seemed to be cleaved apart. Engetsu's crimson blade tore through space like a red thread, tracing a perfect arc as it descended from above Dilos's head.
There was no visible sword energy at all. All of the sword pressure was fully restrained upon the blade's edge, forming a gleam that seemed capable of cutting through anything. Combined with the jet-black Armament Haki, it shimmered with a glossy sheen.
"Not good!"
Seeing the power of Roya's strike, Dilos wanted to dodge, but the distance was too close—there was no time. Gritting his teeth, he crossed his arms and instantly hardened them with Armament Haki, raising them to block.
Slash!!
Roya's blade struck Dilos's crossed arms. A clear, ringing sword cry resounded as the blade forcibly cut through Dilos's Armament Haki and sank straight into his arms.
Blood sprayed everywhere!
Dilos let out a howl of pain, terror flooding his eyes. In his panic, he even forgot where he was, instinctively trying to turn and flee.
But almost in the very next instant, Roya stepped forward. His figure flickered and vanished, reappearing behind Dilos in a flash.
Clang!
That was the sound of Engetsu being sheathed.
At the same time, a clean bloodline appeared across Dilos's body. His eyes were still filled with shock and disbelief as his massive frame crashed heavily to the ground, blood splattering everywhere.
"The seventh match—cleared."
Roya's clean and decisive defeat of the seventh opponent finally began to truly shock the vice admirals present. In those brief instants, what Roya had displayed—whether it was strength, speed, Haki, or swordsmanship—was all overwhelmingly powerful!
Strength. Speed. Haki. Swordsmanship.
For most people, possessing even one or two of these would already make them formidable. Roya, however, possessed all four—and this was far more than a simple sum of parts!
The overall combat power Roya revealed had clearly surpassed that of everyone before him by a wide margin.
Vice Admiral Yamakaji took a deep breath, then looked toward Roya's eighth opponent. A hint of complexity appeared on his face as he spoke in a deep voice:
"The eighth match. Your opponent is… a gigantic ferocious beast—the Silverback Ape King!"
This opponent was entirely different from Smoker's eighth match. Smoker had faced a Marine Headquarters rear admiral, whereas Roya's opponent was a massive ferocious beast.
"The Silverback Ape King?"
Roya also showed a trace of surprise. He could not help recalling the brown-backed giant ape he had encountered during a previous practical assessment. This so-called Silverback Ape King was clearly a higher-tier beast.
"This Silverback Ape King was discovered within the territory of the G-2 branch in the New World. Three rear admirals failed to subdue it. In the end, a branch vice admiral had to step in to knock it unconscious and transport it to Marine Headquarters."
"Be careful, Roya. This big fellow is not easy to deal with."
Yamakaji offered a reminder, then turned to look into the distance.
Following his gaze, one could see a gigantic silver-furred ape—standing at least four times as tall as Roya—being forcibly restrained by two Headquarters vice admirals and escorted onto the arena.
Its enormous size and explosive musculature unmistakably testified to the terrifying power it possessed—power that even an ordinary Marine rear admiral would struggle to withstand!
"The Silverback Ape King…"
Shu and the others from the elite camp could not help but draw in sharp breaths at the sight of the massive silverback ape.
They were all elites among the Marines. Ordinary pirates, no matter how vicious, rarely inspired fear in them. Yet merely looking at this Silverback Ape King from afar gave them an overwhelming sense of pressure.
"I've read about it in the records. Its skin is as hard as steel, its speed extremely fast, its strength immense, and its temperament brutally savage. It's absolutely not easy to fight!"
"I didn't expect Roya's eighth stage to be this difficult—harder than Smoker's eighth stage. Even for Roya, this should be quite a challenge."
Shu spoke with grave seriousness. If someone like Smoker—a Logia user—were to fight this Silverback Ape King, he would actually have a certain advantage. While Smoker might not be able to deal with the beast, the beast likewise would have no way to deal with a Logia-type smoke user.
But Roya was not a Logia user!
Facing such a massive monster head-on was definitely not a good situation.
"Are you ready, Roya?"
Because Roya's eighth-stage opponent was a ferocious beast, Yamakaji's expression was extremely serious as well. Watching the Silverback Ape King struggle violently under the restraint of two Headquarters vice admirals, he turned to Roya and asked in a deep voice.