Both start in hell: but their talents are multiplied a hundredfold.

"Brother Shen Jue! You will see him!" Drake gritted his teeth, letting the pain in his arms subside briefly.

Drake swung his long and short swords again, the latter humming as he did so.

Drake was met with a solid punch filled with Armament Haki!

Shen Jue threw a punch! Shattering the long and short swords in Drake's hand!

Shards of the twin blades slashed deeply into Drake's chest and limbs!

Blood flowed down the wound.

Drake's eyes were somewhat unfocused, then instantly refocused.

Shen Jue took a step back, giving Drake some breathing room, and waited with a smile for Drake to make a choice.

If it was to show off, then the courage he showed in fighting Shen Jue was enough. Drake's expression became more and more determined. He thought to himself: But what I'm seeking is not the approval of others!

I stand here in pursuit of the people's happiness and the ideal of justice!

"Brother Shen Jue!" Drake roared, "I haven't lost yet!"

"Six Styles: Finger Pistol!"

Drake discarded the hilts of his twin swords and used his bleeding hands to unleash Finger Pistol, one of the Six Powers of the Navy!

Shen Jue's smile widened. Faced with Drake's attack, his choice was to throw a punch!

Intense Armament Haki enveloped Drake's entire body! Shen Jue threw a punch! It struck Drake in the chest!

"Bang!"

Drake's eyes rolled back, and his hands, which were wielding finger guns, froze on Shen Jue's abdomen. At the tips of his fingers, the most basic form of Armament Haki was clearly visible.

Shen Jue withdrew, leaving the unconscious Drake to be carried away by the arriving naval paramedics.

The crowd cheered with joy.

"What did I just see? That lucky guy Drake actually used Armament Haki at the last minute?"

"Getting beaten up by Brother Shen Jue and you can learn Armament Haki? There's no such thing as a free lunch!"

Many new recruits had already come to Shen Jue's side, and some of them, who were Zoan-type Devil Fruit users, even excitedly grabbed Shen Jue and shouted, "Brother Shen Jue! Please, take a look at my justice!"

"I won't let you down!"

Shen Jue remained silent.

Drake was able to use Armament Haki at the end not only because his physique was already up to par, but also because he lacked the necessary mental stimulation.

Shen Jue made up for Drake's last weakness, which allowed Drake to successfully use Armament Haki.

After all, Shen Jue isn't the supreme teacher or the strongest creature, Kaido, from the One Piece world.

Thinking back to when Kaido fought Luffy, he knocked Luffy into Ryuo with one hit, into Hakuryuu with two hits, and into Nikka the Sun God with three hits.

The maniacal laughter that echoed throughout the heavens and earth became the final, massive boulder weighing billions of tons that crushed Kaido.

Shen Jue merely punched Drake, who had mastered Armament Haki.

"No need to rush, everyone will get a share," Shen Jue replied to the new recruits with a smile.

Zefa, who was watching from the sidelines, let out a deep breath. Shen Jue was young, but he already had the combat strength of a general.

This overwhelming Armament Haki actually made Zephyr feel a little ashamed.

He had diligently cultivated his physical skills and domineering aura for so many years, yet he was still inferior to a child.

Is the difference between humans and monsters really that big?

For a moment, Zefa seemed a bit dejected.

The training camp days passed quickly, and after the recruits who had been beaten by Shen Jue also mastered Armament Haki, Shen Jue's reputation at the Navy Headquarters grew even stronger.

Some naval officers even approached Shen Jue privately, hoping to be punched a few times by him in order to learn advanced techniques such as Armament Haki.

Shen Jue reluctantly refused them one by one, until Zefa came to her door again.

"Shen Jue," Zefa said with a complicated expression, "As a new recruit, I can't offer you much guidance in terms of combat skills."

"I hope you can stay true to your sense of justice."

"Chief Instructor Zephyr," Shen Jue said slowly in front of the Naval Headquarters plaza, "Protecting the happiness of the people is one of my ideals, so you can rest assured."

I will personally make up for any regrets you may have in the future. Shen Jue added in her heart.

Zephyr will lose his right arm in the coming years after Whitebeard II attacks a naval warship full of naval academy cadets.

This event will drive Black Arm Zephyr, who adheres to the principle of not killing, down the extreme path of hunting down all pirates, and will also foreshadow Zephyr's future attempt to detonate a giant volcano to destroy the New World.

Zephyr's life was marked by the loss of his wife and children in his early years, the loss of his beloved students in middle age, and the betrayal by the World Government in his later years, which listed the pirate who killed his students as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

A complete tragedy.

"The training camp is over, Shen Jue. You've earned the chance to choose the treasure of the sea, a Devil Fruit," Zephyr continued. "To secure your qualification, Garp has been torturing Fleet Admiral Sengoku's ears with donuts every day."

"I can tell that you are not a strong person who only focuses on physical skills and Haki, which is good."

"Your domineering aura is already strong enough."

"That's far from enough," Shen Jue said with a shake of his head and a smile.

Zephyr handed Shen Jue the list of Devil Fruits stored at Marine Headquarters and said, "Of course, my suggestion is that you choose a Logia-type Devil Fruit, as Headquarters generally doesn't store Logia-type Devil Fruit abilities."

"But this time, there just happens to be a lower-level Ice-Ice Fruit, the Hail-Hail Fruit."

Shen Jue frowned. Logia-type Devil Fruits are very powerful, but due to the influence of Shen Jue's memories, the Hail-Hail Fruit sounds like the ability of a low-level soldier.

He's not fashionable enough; he won't choose this Logia-type Devil Fruit.

Should we head to Skypiea to find the Rumble-Rumble Fruit? Or perhaps we should go find the Flame-Flame Fruit that our younger brother Ace hasn't yet eaten?

Shen Jue scanned the list of Devil Fruits in his hand; the list of Paramecia and Zoan Devil Fruits was already quite long.

Zoan-type Devil Fruits shouldn't provide much of a boost to Shen Jue's physique, unless it's a special Zoan-type Mythical Zoan. Otherwise, Shen Jue wouldn't consider it.

However, the Paramecia-type Devil Fruits that Shen Jue hoped to obtain did not include the extremely overpowered type, such as the Door-Door Fruit that allows free movement.

If Shen Jue can obtain the Door-to-Door Fruit, his strategic depth will be greatly enhanced.

But in an instant, Shen Jue had other ideas.

"Chief Instructor Zephyr, do you know of any Devil Fruits that are unidentifiable, not listed in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, and are held in the Navy's collection?"

Shen Jue suddenly had a strong premonition, as if something was waiting for him somewhere.

"This..." Zephyr wasn't quite sure what Shen Jue was thinking, but he still nodded and said, "Headquarters naturally has fruits that don't exist in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, but the abilities of those fruits are uncertain."

"No navy would choose those fruits unless absolutely necessary."

"Then please show me the fruits on the list. I am not satisfied with them. Please let me choose freely," Shen Jue replied with a smile.