“Here it comes…”
Seeing Elliot throw a punch at him, Hound’s expression turned ferocious.
But just as he was about to roar!
His ferocious expression suddenly turned into sheer terror!
And in that very instant!
*I can’t block it!*
*There’s no way to stop it!*
*I’m going to die!*
These three thoughts instantly flashed through Hound’s mind.
And in the split second those three thoughts appeared, by the time Hound snapped back to reality, that fist was already right in front of his face!
Furthermore, Hound saw it…
A massive phantom loomed behind the fist, the phantom of an expressionless man throwing a punch at him!
If those were just thoughts a moment ago!
In this instant!
*I’m going to die.*
An incredibly firm conviction surfaced in his heart.
*Whoosh!*
A violent gale erupted, starting from Elliot’s fist…
or more accurately, starting from Hound!
*Boom!*
In an instant!
Dust and mist blotted out the sky!
Wherever the fierce wind swept past, a visible fan-shaped clearing appeared!
Whether it was the cadets in the distance or the instructors, all of them clearly saw the fan shape appear.
One by one, they swallowed hard for no apparent reason, looking toward where Elliot and Hound stood.
“This should mean I passed the evaluation, right, Mr.
Vice Admiral?”
Elliot’s fist stopped right in front of Hound’s eyes.
As for Hound…
He looked as if he had been scared out of his wits.
At this moment, he had already reverted to his human form.
The sunglasses on his face were askew, and the pupils beneath them were trembling and vacant.
And his hair, which had previously looked messy, was now blown completely slicked back.
Beads of sweat densely covered his forehead, slowly trickling down his cheeks.
Subconsciously…
This Vice Admiral, who had been surging with imposing momentum just moments ago, blankly replied, “Yeah.”
Having received his answer, Elliot retracted his fist.
With his usual poker face, he still gave Hound a salute and said, “I’m going to eat breakfast first.
I’ll be back right on time at eight o’clock.”
With that said, he simply turned and walked away.
This time, Elliot’s pace was a bit faster, mainly because time was getting a little tight.
*Gulp~~~*
Watching Elliot’s retreating back, Hound swallowed hard.
Subconsciously, he looked down at his trembling hands.
Then, his pupils shifted back to the back of that Marine.
He…
Was afraid!
Yes!
Completely and utterly terrified!
The last time he had felt such fear was when he was young, following Mr.
Garp and the others to face Whitebeard directly…
But…
What was the deal with that Marine?!
Just what…
Was the deal with him?!
He absolutely would have died from that strike just now, and he would have died instantly!
But!
*Pat!*
Suddenly!
Hound felt someone pat his shoulder.
Hound immediately turned his head as a conditioned reflex.
Zephyr saw the look of terror on Hound’s face and the dense layer of fine sweat.
Seeing Zephyr clearly, Hound immediately spoke up, “Z-Zephyr-sensei.”
As he spoke, he hastily wiped the sweat from his face, but his hands still trembled involuntarily.
Because of this, Hound used one hand to forcefully hold down the other.
“It’s nothing,” Zephyr said with a smile, looking at his former student.
Hound looked at Zephyr, but still frowned and asked, “Just what is he…”
Before he could finish, Zephyr said, “There are many monsters that we simply cannot understand.
Even I faced a few back in the day, and…
in the past, there was even an Admiral who was nothing more than…
in front of that monster.”
Stopping there, Zephyr gave a self-deprecating smile and looked at Hound.
“Simply put, with this kid’s appearance, even you guys are going to have to work hard.
The taste of being surpassed by a subordinate isn’t pleasant.”
Hound swallowed hard once again and turned his head toward the direction Elliot had left, though Elliot’s figure was already out of sight.
But…
Just a single punch had made him completely unable to gauge the gap between himself and that Marine.
The most terrifying part was…
He was still so young!
Hound pursed his lips and furrowed his brows.
Surpassed by a subordinate…
“That kid has already passed his evaluation, but you still need to evaluate the other kids,” Zephyr said, seeing Hound gradually recovering his composure, and didn’t say anything more.
To become a Vice Admiral of Marine Headquarters, aside from needing sufficient strength, one’s state of mind also had to be tempered countless times.
Therefore, Zephyr wasn’t worried in the slightest that Hound would be unable to recover from this setback.
Hearing Zephyr’s words, Hound immediately took a deep breath and straightened his sunglasses.
“Yes, sir!”
Following that, he turned and walked toward the cadets.
An indescribable feeling lingered in his heart.
But…
That was an extraordinary *monster!*
“Hey, Grus, can we really catch up to Elliot’s footsteps?”
The shock on the cadets’ faces hadn’t diminished in the slightest; some even had despair in their eyes.
Among them, a blonde-haired girl spoke up in a low voice.
“I don’t know.” The young man wearing a cap with a long brim shook his head and spoke in a deep voice, but his eyes were resolute.
“But we have to try!”
…
Elliot had asked Ain about the location of the academy’s cafeteria last night, so he found it very quickly.
The academy’s cafeteria basically served food twenty-four hours a day, so there was no need to worry about not being able to get anything to eat upon arriving.
When Elliot walked into the cafeteria, he saw a scattering of officers sitting inside, eating their meals.
Perhaps noticing Elliot, looks of astonishment appeared on their faces.
It wasn’t because they were seeing a cadet in the cafeteria at this hour, but because they had also been present yesterday.
However, the cafeteria staff looked at Elliot curiously, asking if he shouldn’t be training right now.
Elliot immediately replied very seriously that this was the time to eat breakfast.
The staff immediately showed weird expressions, but they still brought out breakfast for Elliot.
But rather than saying they brought it out, it was more like a self-service buffet.
However, just as Elliot sat down, took a bite, and thought it tasted pretty good…
Zephyr sat down directly in the seat opposite Elliot.
“You’re the first cadet to come eat breakfast at this time.”
As he spoke, Zephyr waved his hand at the officers who were saluting him, gesturing for them to continue eating.
Zephyr took out a cloth and began wiping his glasses, then said, “Hound briefly told you about what just happened.”
Elliot nodded.
“Yeah, he said it was a selection evaluation for personnel going on a business trip.”
After saying that, Elliot noticed that Zephyr had only brought a glass of water, so he pushed his plate of bread toward Zephyr and said, “I should have passed.”
Zephyr glanced at the bread, gave a faint smile, and picked it up without standing on ceremony.
Then he said, “Yes, there’s no need to say much more to you regarding the evaluation.
As for this excursion, the place you all will be heading to is an island in the [New World].
There are many highly formidable beasts on the island.
Because it’s a new trade route, an anchorage needs to be built there, but those beasts on the island naturally need to be cleared out.
So I…”
“Mr.
Zephyr.”
Before Zephyr could finish, Elliot looked at him.
Zephyr took a sip of water and looked at Elliot in confusion.
Elliot spoke up, “Mr.
Zephyr, I haven’t clocked in yet.
Please save these work-related matters for when I’m actually on the clock.
Right now, I just want to comfortably eat my breakfast, and I’m running a bit short on time.”