Chapter 315

"This kind of genius…"

"His future achievements are limitless!"

A group of trainees thought to themselves.

Including Tina held similar thoughts.

With the battle over…

The top position in the training camp has changed hands!

Not long after.

Master Zefa walked out slowly, his face expressionless, sternly gazing at all the trainees present.

Wherever his gaze passed…

Not a single trainee dared meet his eyes.

After a long silence,

Master Zefa let out a cold snort and boomed loudly: "Did you all see clearly what just happened? Do you all know the outcome of this battle?"

"This is the person you previously thought would drag you all down!"

"Now, who among you will tell me…"

"Is he, in fact, dragging you all down?"

"Who is really dragging whom down?"

"Is it him?"

"Or is it you?"

"Tell me!"

"Does this four-year-old boy have the qualification to join our training camp?"

As his words fell,

The entire arena fell silent!

The group of trainees bowed their heads in shame, silent and not daring to make a sound.

As Master Zefa's voice faded,

Echoing across all directions.

All trainees in the arena were overwhelmed with shame, unable to respond.

If

Even Lu En, who single-handedly obliterated Smoker, lacks the qualification to join the training camp, then all of you present have even less right to train here.

Therefore,

They had no grounds at all to respond to Master Zefa's words.

"Today, you should have seen it."

"What true genius looks like!"

Master Zefa gazed deeply at the trainees before him and spoke with solemn gravity.

Today,

I allowed Lu En to show a little of his ability not only to establish his status in the training camp and silence these discontented trainees,

But also,

Master Zefa took the opportunity to let the four-year-old Lu En deliver a crushing blow to these arrogant trainees.

Otherwise, these trainees would truly believe their talent and potential were so extraordinary!

But in reality,

They are nothing but frogs at the bottom of a well!

If these trainees set sail with such a mindset, they would likely be killed by pirates within days.

Master Zefa, of course, understood his students' personalities very well.

"Smoker, don't you now understand your greatest flaw?"

Master Zefa looked at the dusty, disheveled Smoker and asked.

"Master Zefa, I shouldn't have relied so heavily on my Devil Fruit ability."

"You once taught us that true strength comes only from within. Devil Fruits are merely external power—they must not be over-relied upon."

"Otherwise, we will never become true powerhouses."

Smoker bowed his head, his face filled with shame.

Master Zefa's teachings still lingered vividly in his memory.

But…

Until now, Smoker had never taken Master Zefa's words seriously, having never suffered a crushing defeat.

Now,

Having been utterly defeated by the four-year-old Lu En, Smoker finally woke up completely.

Over-reliance on Devil Fruit power leads to a grave misconception, pulling one farther and farther from true strength on the seas.

"You've made some progress."

Master Zefa nodded in approval.

Then,

His expression turned stern: "Listen well—Devil Fruits are not omnipotent; they cannot make you a true powerhouse. To become strong, you must rely on your own fists!"

"Just like Smoker today—even if he had mastered the Marine Gears a little better, he wouldn't have been obliterated in a single blow."

As his words ended,

Smoker had no rebuttal.

"Also, Including Tina, remember this."

"Do not rely too heavily on Devil Fruit abilities!"

Zefa looked at Including Tina.

"Yes, Master."

Including Tina nodded quickly in agreement.

All along,

Zefa's teaching to his students had always been to avoid over-reliance on external power.

Even when teaching Sakazuki, Borsalino, Kuzan, and others, Zefa had always said the same thing.

Even though he knew.

Sakazuki and the other three had extremely powerful Devil Fruit abilities, yet Zefa still did not want to see them over-relying on their fruit powers while neglecting the development and cultivation of Haki.

This was an absolutely unacceptable mistake!

"That brat Borsalino…々～…"

"He'll regret it one day!"

Mentioning Borsalino, Zefa couldn't help but grit his teeth.

Among all his students, Borsalino was the hardest to manage—he treated Zefa's teachings as wind passing through his ears, remained lazily self-indulgent, ignored Haki cultivation, and focused solely on developing his Devil Fruit ability.

This made Zefa deeply dislike Borsalino.

"Enough."

"Lu En, take your place."

"Starting today, you will train alongside the entire camp."

After instructing a group of arrogant students, Zefa turned to Lu En.

Next,

Amid the gaze of awe and reverence from the students, Lu En slowly stepped forward and took his position at the very front of the group.

On either side of him stood Smoker and Including Tina.

"Begin today's training!"

Zefa gave the order.

All students entered their daily training.