Deep within the dense forest.
Roya was carrying Engetsu as he continued deeper into the forest.
This was one of the small islands within the archipelago.
However, even though it was a small island, it was still enormous compared to the number of recruits from the Fifth Squad of the Regular Camp—roughly one-tenth of the entire recruit camp.
After entering the forest in scattered groups, Roya had yet to encounter another recruit.
It seemed that aside from those who had formed teams from the beginning, the recruits who had entered the island had already become completely dispersed.
As for the so-called surveillance system, Roya had tried looking for it but hadn’t found anything.
He had initially assumed they were Transponder Snails transmitting visual footage, but apparently that wasn’t the case.
Perhaps the Marines were using some kind of specialized equipment.
“This archipelago probably wasn’t chosen at random.
It must have undergone extensive development over a long period of time, with considerable resources invested into turning it into a dedicated training ground for the recruit camp’s practical combat assessments.”
As Roya walked through the forest, he noticed numerous traces of artificial modification.
Many of the plants growing throughout the forest appeared to have been deliberately transplanted.
If that was the case…
Then the ferocious creatures inhabiting this island might also have been deliberately selected and placed here, where they were allowed to develop for a certain period of time until they reached their current state.
Just as Roya was surveying the forest and quietly pondering this—
Silently and without warning—
A pair of chilling eyes suddenly appeared among the bushes behind him.
The owner of those eyes possessed two enormous tusks that curved upward.
It was a gigantic wild boar standing nearly as tall as a person!
Whoosh!!
In the next instant, the giant boar’s eyes filled with bloodlust as it suddenly burst from the bushes and charged straight at Roya.
Its two sharp tusks seemed poised to impale him on the spot.
But almost at that exact moment, Roya seemed to have eyes in the back of his head.
The instant the wild boar emerged from the bushes, he suddenly leapt into the air, twisted his body, and fiercely planted one foot on the giant boar’s head.
Bam!
The giant boar had been charging forward with tremendous momentum, but under the force of Roya’s kick, its enormous body suddenly shuddered.
It couldn’t withstand Roya’s strength.
It was actually forced several steps backward!
The giant boar was clearly stunned.
It had never expected such a seemingly slender creature to possess such tremendous strength.
Seeing that the giant boar had been knocked backward by a single kick yet had suffered no substantial injury, the corners of Roya’s mouth curled upward slightly.
“My first prey coming straight to me.
Perfect for testing myself.
Looks like my luck isn’t bad.”
The giant boar let out a furious snort.
After being knocked backward by Roya’s kick, it had no intention of retreating.
It shook its head, its eyes filled with savage bloodlust, and once again charged madly toward Roya.
This time, Roya faced the charging giant boar directly.
One hand slowly closed around Engetsu’s hilt.
Then—
He suddenly drew his sword!
It was the most basic sword slash, one Roya had practiced countless times over the past several days.
Combined with his speed, the movement was like a crimson streak flashing through the air.
Slash!
In the next instant, Engetsu’s crimson blade was already in Roya’s hand.
The giant boar standing before him had stopped moving.
Silently—
A thin line of blood appeared between its brows.
Then, as blood gushed forth, the giant boar’s body split cleanly in two and collapsed to either side.
Its enormous eyes still seemed to contain a trace of terror.
Even until the moment of its death, the giant boar could not understand how such a tiny human could possess such terrifying strength.
“Just as expected of one of the 21 Great Grade Blades.
Its sharpness really is extraordinary.”
Looking at the giant boar he had cleaved in half with a single strike, Roya showed a trace of surprise.
His gaze fell upon Engetsu, whose blade seemed to radiate a faint crimson glow, and a trace of appreciation flashed through his eyes.
This was the first time Roya had used Engetsu to cut down a living creature.
He hadn’t expected the giant boar, which had barely suffered any injury from his full-strength kick, to be cleaved in half so easily by a single sweep of Engetsu’s blade.
Roya had only just begun training in swordsmanship.
That slash had merely been an ordinary sword strike.
Although its speed was fast and its power was considerable, it contained neither a Flying Slash nor any special sword aura.
It relied solely on the sharpness of Engetsu.
He hadn’t expected that such a simple strike would already possess this much power.
At the moment Roya killed the giant boar, aboard the Marine warship, in the room filled with surveillance footage, one of the Marine officers monitoring this particular area quickly recorded Roya’s achievement.
“Monkey D.
Roya.
Level Three Beast.
One giant wild boar.”
The various beasts on the island had been divided into five levels.
The strongest, Level One Beasts, were even stronger than Elite Camp recruits—in other words, they were comparable to ordinary Marine Headquarters officers.
Each level of beast naturally awarded a different number of points.
Level One was the highest.
Level Five was the lowest.
At the center of the surveillance room, Zephyr stood with his hands behind his back.
He had watched the entire process of Roya killing the giant wild boar.
Now, he nodded.
“Not bad.
His strength is already enough to rank among the stronger recruits in the Regular Camp.
It seems he really has become considerably stronger over the past month.”
He then glanced at the sword in Roya’s hand.
“And that sword…
That’s one of the 21 Great Grade Blades, Engetsu, isn’t it, Garp?”
Although the 21 Great Grade Blades were not the absolute pinnacle of famous swords, they were still extremely rare and prestigious weapons.
The fact that Roya possessed one made the implication behind Zephyr’s words obvious.
“Gyahahaha!
That kid Roya seems to be rather interested in swordsmanship, so…”
Seeing the results of Roya’s month of training—a Level Three Beast cleaved in half with a single strike—Garp was quite satisfied.
Zephyr shook his head.
“His swordsmanship is still crude.
He doesn’t know how to use a Flying Slash or project sword aura.
He’s merely relying on his arm strength to swing the sword.”
“He’s only able to achieve such an effect because Engetsu is a famous sword.
Once he encounters a stronger Level Two Beast and fails to break through its defenses and kill it in one strike, he’ll probably find himself locked in a difficult battle.”
Although Roya’s performance was decent, Zephyr had witnessed countless geniuses and had even personally trained Marine Admirals such as Aokiji, Kizaru, and Akainu.
Naturally, his evaluation of Roya remained fairly ordinary.
Just as Zephyr thought he had more or less figured out Roya’s current strength—
In the next instant, his expression suddenly changed slightly.
At the same time, Garp’s expression changed as well.
“Not good.”
ROAR!!
Even through the surveillance footage, a terrifying roar seemed to reverberate through the room.
On the screen, Roya had just killed the giant wild boar when a massive black shadow suddenly appeared in front of him.
The shadow looked almost like a giant.
Its entire body was covered in thick fur.
It was unmistakably one of the few Level One Beasts inhabiting the island.
A Brown-Backed Giant Ape!
To Zephyr and Garp, a beast like this was naturally nothing to worry about.
That was why neither of them had been paying particular attention to it.
Only when the Brown-Backed Giant Ape entered the surveillance area where Roya was located did the two of them notice it.
For Zephyr and Garp, defeating this beast would be as easy as crushing an insect.
But for an ordinary recruit from the Regular Camp…
It was unquestionably one of the most difficult beasts they could encounter.
A Level One Beast was not something even an Elite Camp recruit could necessarily defeat in a direct confrontation.
And this particular creature was one of the most troublesome Level One Beasts of all—the Brown-Backed Giant Ape.
For a moment, both Zephyr and Garp fell silent.
“With his current strength, even a Level Two Beast would force him into a difficult battle.
If he’s been targeted by that Brown-Backed Giant Ape…”
Zephyr stared at the surveillance footage.
He fell silent for a moment.
He didn’t finish the sentence, but the implication was obvious.
As for whether they should immediately dispatch a rescue team, Roya was Garp’s nephew.
It would be better to leave that decision to Garp himself.
At this moment, Garp stared at the screen without saying a word.
Although he remained silent, a trace of tension could clearly be seen on his face.
Humanoid apes were extremely agile and notoriously difficult to deal with.
Escaping from one was extraordinarily difficult.
If Roya had encountered another Level One Beast, it might not have been such a serious problem.
Given the results of his month of training, he still had a chance of escaping unharmed.
But this one was a Brown-Backed Giant Ape—a creature capable of moving through the forest with astonishing agility.
Why does his luck have to be this bad?!
Garp hesitated.
He watched the Brown-Backed Giant Ape on the screen and gritted his teeth.
In the end, he decided to wait a little longer.
From the warship to the island, and then from the island’s shore to Roya’s current location, Garp could cover the distance almost instantaneously.
If things truly became dangerous, he would rush over at the fastest possible speed.