After Kizaru finished speaking with an unusually serious expression, everyone’s faces changed dramatically.
He learned it?
Learned, huh?
Not only did he awaken his Devil Fruit powers…
Now he’s already speed-ran swordsmanship?
What the hell—is this guy cheating!?
No kidding.
At this moment… everyone present was completely shaken.
Vir’s terrifying level of talent made their skin crawl the more they thought about it.
Thirty seconds to awaken Devil Fruit ability was already insane—
But now, in just one day, he had grasped high-level swordsmanship?
A slash that injured Kizaru!
How strong did his swordsmanship have to be?
A Grandmaster!
Do you even know how hard it is for a normal person to reach that level?
Even the world’s greatest swordsman, Dracule Mihawk, absolutely does not have talent as monstrous as this.
No.
Wait.
Is this even about talent anymore?
Can we still call this “talent”?
This is straight-up cheating!
If Vir showed up right now and said, “Wanna buy some cheats?”
Everyone here would be fighting to be first in line.
They were convinced now.
Vir wasn’t playing fair.
To reach Grandmaster level in just a day?
Every swordsman present looked down at their own blades…
And all they could do was shake their heads in defeat.
They couldn’t compare.
Not even a little.
But just swordsmanship isn’t enough to injure an Admiral.
Had that guy already reached Admiral-level strength?
If that’s the case, then the Marines are in serious trouble.
“That guy’s overall combat ability—how strong is he? With the war approaching, this wildcard is giving me a headache.” Sengoku’s face was as dark as a burnt pot as he asked.
Vir’s strength had now completely exceeded all expectations.
Worse still, he had some kind of relationship with Ace.
If he had truly reached Admiral level…
Then even this war might not be a guaranteed victory.
They were on the defensive.
They couldn’t afford to lose.
If Vir showed up on the battlefield…
He could change everything.
But that was only if he had the strength to survive in a warzone.
Kizaru, uncharacteristically serious, replied, “His power is… considerable. But—it’s just his abilities that are powerful. His physical combat skills are actually average.”
He continued, “His body’s durability is at best Admiral candidate level. But the powers he uses take a heavy toll on his stamina.”
“To put it simply—he lacks endurance. The attack that left this wound on me cost him most of his stamina.”
Before anyone could respond, a deep voice came from the doorway:
“Then he’s nothing to fear.”
Everyone turned.
A large, muscular man with purple hair stepped into the room.
“Zephyr!”
“Zephyr-sensei?!”
“Instructor Zephyr!”
Voices of surprise echoed as that man sat down calmly.
It was Zephyr.
Most of the Marines present were once his students.
Sengoku’s tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed. “Zephyr… You’re here? Don’t tell me—!”
Zephyr gave a calm nod. “Yeah. I’ll be stretching my muscles in the war next week. That Vir guy you were talking about… if he dares to show up, I’ll handle him.”
Truthfully, he’d been standing outside the door for a while.
But when he heard about Vir’s monstrous talent, he was stunned.
His instincts as a teacher immediately made him want to take Vir as his disciple!
But that was just a passing thought.
The kid was a pirate, after all.
Yet when he heard that Vir’s physical combat was weak—
For some reason, he got pissed.
Such a freakish talent, and yet he neglected hand-to-hand combat?
A waste of potential!
In his heart, Zephyr had already labeled Vir as foolish.
“Physical strength is the foundation. All those flashy abilities will eventually fall before a real punch.”
He said this and—possibly on purpose—glanced at Kizaru.
But this time, Kizaru didn’t sneer like usual.
Instead, he nodded solemnly.
“Yeah… Physical power is fundamental.”
Zephyr’s face didn’t change, but inside, he was shocked.
This brat… figured it out?
Was it because of Vir?
He’d heard the boy was a doctor.
Seemed like despite his skewed priorities in training, his medical skills were no joke—if he could make even Kizaru come around!
A true miracle doctor!
Sengoku laughed heartily, “HAHAHAHA! Good! With you here, I can finally rest easy! Took you long enough—I thought you’d retired for good!”
His joy was palpable.
Now that Zephyr had joined the war effort—there was no way Vir could stir up trouble during the war.
Even if Zephyr’s strength had declined with age, he was still just one step below an Admiral.
And based on Kizaru’s assessment, Vir hadn’t reached Admiral-level strength yet.
Zephyr handling him would be more than enough.
With that, the room began to discuss personnel allocation for the war once again.
Truth be told, Zephyr wanted to teach Vir a lesson.
When he saw a young man going down the wrong path, he just couldn’t help but fall back into old habits.
What he didn’t know was—
Vir wasn’t walking a “wrong” path.
He was walking the path of the system.
—
The Marines were the first to receive the news.
But when the newspapers reached the rest of the world, the reactions were far more varied.
Though most followed a similar theme—shock at Vir’s ability to injure an Admiral.
Of course, some people were just staring at Vir’s face.
But those who truly understood strength…
Knew what this meant.
“Damn it! How did he get strong so fast?! I was planning to force him into submission! At this rate—there won’t be a chance!”
On Whole Cake Island, Big Mom was fuming, her expression growing darker as she stared at Vir’s photo in the newspaper.
“An attack that even Akainu couldn’t dodge?! What kind of speed is that?! Damn it! DAMN IT!!”
She flew into a rage, chomping down on nearby Homies without restraint.
It was clear she was really angry.
Meanwhile, on the Red Force, Shanks looked mildly impressed.
“How long has it been… and he’s already injured Akainu?”
In such a short time, he’d gone from nearly dying to Akainu—to wounding him and escaping unscathed.
This kid might actually carve out a place for himself in the world…
And then there was Kaido.
“How the hell did this guy get stronger again?! And now he’s at the Sabaody Archipelago? That means my kid missed him.”
He muttered to himself while reading the paper.
“Whatever, whatever. Doesn’t matter if we didn’t rope him in. She should be back soon anyway.”
Suddenly, his eyes widened.
“Wait a minute! This move—why does it look so much like my Thunder Bagua?!”
“Sure, he used a kick, but the torque, the angle—it’s a beginner-level Thunder Bagua!”
Kaido was baffled.
How had this kid learned his signature technique?
Unless…
Had he already met Yamato?!
If he hadn’t taught it, then the only one who could’ve was his daughter!
Dammit!
No more delays—he had to find her now!
That explosive cuff didn’t have much time left!
If that brat dared lay a finger on his daughter…
HE WAS DEAD!
*ROAR—!*
A dragon’s roar echoed through the sky.
Everyone on Onigashima looked up as a massive azure dragon soared into the clouds, vanishing beyond the horizon…