Chapter 444

"What a sorry sight."

"We had only just begun to clash, and I've already lost."

"So that's how it is…"

"I'm this weak."

Smoker hung his head in defeat, utterly crestfallen.

He had thought,

that after a year of training, he would already be able to catch up to that monster, Lu En.

Little did he expect,

at this very moment,

his exchange with Mo Lisen was what finally brought Smoker to that realization.

(Got it) He was still far, far behind Lu En!

Far, far too far behind!

There was simply no comparison!

"Although this is only because his ability counters mine that I lost so quickly and so miserably."

"But, in the end, it's still because I'm too weak."

"Against a true strong one…"

"there is no such thing as ability counters!"

Smoker did not look for excuses from the outside, but began to reflect on himself.

At this moment,

the mud swirling through the air had already gradually begun to wrap Smoker up completely, looking as if it would drag his whole body down into the swamp beneath the ground and devour him.

"A Logia Smoke-Smoke Fruit? Nothing impressive."

"This is what you call a Marine elite?"

"Doesn't look like much, does it."

Mo Lisen laughed wildly and arrogantly.

It was plain for all to see.

In this battle, Smoker suffered a crushing defeat!

At the same time.

On the other side,

upon seeing the miserable scene of Smoker's swift defeat, Lu En could not help but shake his head.

Immediately after,

he slowly took a step, walking step by step into the battlefield ahead.

"In the end…"

"I still have to step in and clean up your mess."

"Still, this graduation trial has indeed seriously exceeded the scope."

Clearly,

with Smoker's crushing defeat…

to prevent the other side from being killed, Lu En had no choice but to act!

Just as,

Smoker was about to be completely devoured by the mud,

one could clearly see,

just before his body was wrapped by the mud, Smoker also, for once, revealed a panicked and flustered expression.

After all…

Smoker was, in the end, only a twenty-year-old young Marine.

He did not yet have sufficient, seasoned combat experience.

Nor did he possess a belief that did not fear death.

The him of now was, after all, still far too green.

If the Smoke-Smoke Fruit were developed to reach a higher level, even if countered by the opponent's Devil Fruit, Smoker absolutely could not have lost so miserably.

To be shattered and instantly killed in a single exchange!

Just as every trainee present felt a deep chill and unease in their hearts,

a faint voice slowly rose beside their ears.

"Soru!"

It was Lu En!

With that single word dropped,

the figure of Lu En stepping toward the battlefield vanished from the spot in an instant.

Leaving behind only an afterimage, scattered by the wind.

In a flash,

just before Smoker's body was about to be completely devoured by the mud, a figure appeared out of thin air beside him, dressed all in white, immaculate and unstained.

Looking closely,

this was clearly a boy of only five years old!

"Reflect well on the reason for your defeat."

GLOSSARY:

【Lu En, Mo Lisen, Smoker, Soru, Smoke-Smoke Fruit, Logia】

"From now on…"

"You absolutely must not be so careless."

Lu En cast a faint glance at Smoker.

At this moment,

The smoker, who was in despair, suddenly saw Lu En appear before his eyes as if he had spotted his only lifeline, causing an incomparably intense emotion to shine in his eyes.

Seeing Lu En,

he saw hope!

Smoker had never felt it before.

Just how towering Lu En's seemingly young figure truly was!

Only at this moment,

seeing Lu En come to the rescue, did Smoker realize that Lu En's figure was incomparably towering, bringing him an unparalleled, intense sense of security.

As long as Lu En was there, every problem would be solved easily.

This was Smoker's current state of mind.

"Don't be so dejected."

"If you can't win, try harder next time."

"The opponent before you is indeed one you cannot handle at this moment. Carefully summarize the reasons for your defeat and reflect on how to grow stronger..."

"That is what you should be doing."

Lu En, who had appeared in this region out of thin air, wore an expressionless face.

In an instant,

before the mud could fall, his right hand swiftly shot toward Smoker's collar, and with the speed of lightning, violently flung the man off to the side.

Whoosh!

Accompanied by a sharp sound cutting through the air.

It could be seen,

Smoker, who had originally been completely trapped, had already been flung by Lu En single-handedly over a hundred meters away, tumbling through the air the entire way, his figure looking especially wretched.

At the same time,

some of the mud staining his body also scattered down from the air along his trajectory.

Finally…