Chapter 50: One Against Three! The Climax of the Final Evaluation

Chapter 50: One Against Three! The Climax of the Final Examination

"Hey! Zeer! Even if you've already mastered Busoshoku Haki, wanting to challenge the three of us all at once is going a bit too far—"

The rebellious-natured Smoker stepped forward, his expression filled with intense dissatisfaction.

He acknowledged Zeer's strength, which had surpassed his own, and he was well aware of how Busoshoku Haki counteracted the Smoke-Smoke Fruit.

However, this did not mean that the proud Smoker was willing to team up with other marines to deal with Zeer.

Nor did it mean Smoker believed that Zeer, who had only just mastered Busoshoku Haki, could defeat three opponents single-handedly!

He must remember that he, Vergo, and Sentomaru were the absolute cream of the crop in the Elite Training Camp!

Their overall strength was not far behind Zeer's!

Yet, Zeer had no intention of letting Smoker finish speaking, nor did he intend to give these three any time or room to refuse.

Swish!

With a push of his toes, Zeer's figure shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, heading straight toward the most conspicuous target: Sentomaru.

Having long prepared to meet the challenge, Sentomaru did not harbor a single shred of carelessness at this moment.

He clenched his fists tightly, assumed a defensive posture, and let out a resounding roar.

"Tekkai!"

Under the control of his sheer willpower, the muscles throughout Sentomaru's body instantly tightened to the maximum, transforming into a protective barrier as hard as steel.

As one of the students in the advanced martial arts training hall, Sentomaru's study and mastery of Tekkai far surpassed almost all other soldiers in the Elite Training Camp.

Knowing full well that he could never outpace Zeer in terms of speed, Sentomaru's plan was to first use Tekkai to weather Zeer's initial wave of attacks, and then seize an opportunity to counterattack.

This was the habitual strategy he had cultivated over the past few months in response to Zeer's challenges!

"Take this!"

In the blink of an eye, Zeer flashed right in front of Sentomaru. His raised right fist was already covered by a layer of pitch-black Busoshoku Haki.

Thud—

Zeer delivered a straightforward, unadorned direct punch.

The fist, coated in Busoshoku Haki, collided directly with Sentomaru's tightly tensed abdomen. The impact produced a dull, heavy thud, resembling two giant boulders crashing into each other, sending invisible shockwaves rippling outward in all directions.

A look of agony flashed across Sentomaru's face. He felt as though his stomach had been pierced by a scorching hot steel drill, with wave after wave of intense, unceasing pain radiating from the exact spot where Zeer's fist had landed.

The defense of his Tekkai barely lasted for two whole seconds before being shattered head-on by the Busoshoku Haki-infused straight punch.

"Puff—"

Sentomaru spat a mouthful of blood, his massive frame sent flying backward straight through the air, snapping countless gourmet trees in the Temptation Forest along his trajectory.

"Sentomaru!" Smoker's eyes widened in shock.

"How could he be defeated so quickly..." Vergo, too, struggled to maintain his usual poker face.

Long periods of sparring had given both Smoker and Vergo a rough estimate of Zeer's strength range.

They knew they were no match for Zeer, but the gap in strength between them had never seemed as insurmountable as they now realized.

Take Sentomaru, for instance.

Having specialized in perfecting Tekkai, Sentomaru's defensive capabilities were exceptionally prominent within the Elite Training Camp.

In past battles against Zeer, Sentomaru had never once been defeated because his Tekkai was shattered by sheer force.

Usually, Sentomaru's defeats came about because Zeer managed to catch a fleeting opening during a lull in their combat.

Moreover, fights between Sentomaru and Zeer typically lasted for at least ten to twenty minutes!

Yet today, a mere single exchange was all it took for Zeer to defeat Sentomaru...

And what was worse, his Tekkai had been broken straight through in a head-on collision...

In the memories of both Smoker and Vergo, such a scenario had never occurred before!

The two experienced elite marine soldiers made a rapid assessment of the situation.

Zeer's power had increased drastically!

To be precise, Busoshoku Haki had provided an overwhelming boost to Zeer's overall strength!

Smoker reined in the wild arrogance in his heart, looking toward Zeer with a grave expression as he called out to Vergo beside him.

"I'll take the left, you take the right! Attack together! Be careful not to inhale my smoke!"

As the words fell, the lower half of Smoker's body abruptly transformed into a plume of dense smoke, and his entire form shot toward Zeer at high speed.

Two thick, grayish-white smoke tendrils lashed out ahead of the rest, attempting to preemptively trap Zeer in place.

Faced with Smoker's smoke containment strategy,

Zeer simply leaped upward, silently employing the momentum-redirection technique of Saru-Buki (Monkey Dance). His figure moved like a swallow dancing gracefully in the wind, swiftly and unpredictably dodging the barrier of smoke tendrils to collide head-on with the oncoming Smoker.

"White Blow!"

A spark of stubborn, unyielding defiance flashed in Smoker's eyes. Clenching his right fist, he unleashed the power of the Smoke-Smoke Fruit, causing his fist to expand instantly in size as he delivered a ferocious punch toward Zeer.

Moving with a speed that outpaced the initiative, Zeer countered with another utterly ordinary, Busoshoku Haki-coated straight punch.

Bang!

One black fist and one white fist collided in mid-air, only to bounce apart the instant they touched, sending turbulent shockwaves rolling outward.

Looking closely, Zeer's expression was as steadfast and unshakable as a reef in the ocean.

Smoker, however, felt a sharp, agonizing pain shoot through his knuckles, his fingers trembling so violently that he could barely maintain his fist form.

Seizing this minor flaw—barely even an opening—with acute sharpness, Zeer retracted his right fist for a fraction of a second before thrusting it forward once more, his pitch-black fist landing squarely on Smoker's left cheek.

Bright red blood, mixed with two pristine white teeth, flew out into the air.

Smoker was sent hurtling backward at several times the speed he had used to charge in.

Ignoring the Smoke-Smoke Man who had been sent flying with a single punch, Zeer turned his gaze toward the last remaining opponent—Vergo, who was attempting a stealthy sneak attack from the left. A faint smile graced Zeer's lips.

"Vergo, my good brother, it's your turn."

Vergo: "..."

Boom!

[You have defeated an elite marine with an overall rating of D!] x3

Having finished his work, Zeer withdrew his stance as three consecutive system prompts popped up on the light screen, indicating that he had successfully reaped three more D-rank fishing baits.

"There's not a single one among you who can actually fight!"

...

Ever since being cleanly swept three-on-one by Zeer,

Smoker, Vergo, and Sentomaru completely extinguished any lingering thoughts of competing with Zeer for the top spot in the Elite Training Camp.

It wasn't that their side lacked effort; it was simply that Zeer was far too brutal!

Over the next few days, whenever Zeer attempted to initiate a "solo" sparring session with the three of them, all three guys would find bizarre, far-fetched excuses to dodge him.

Battling someone of roughly equal skill was called "training";

Challenging someone whose strength was vastly superior was simply called "getting beaten up"!

Smoker, Sentomaru, and Vergo certainly did not possess any masochistic tendencies.

Thus, Zeer's plan to squeeze out a final wave of D-rank baits during the remaining days of survival training was declared a failure.

With no other choice, Zeer had to spend every day running off into the Bandit Forest to satisfy his appetite.

The number of [Pastry Tree Seeds] grew higher with each passing day.

The boundaries of the Temptation Forest shrank day by day, while both the quantity and quality of the gourmet food within the forest declined to varying degrees.

On the thirtieth day of landing on Boin Archipelago,

the final survival examination of the Elite Training Camp finally reached its conclusion.