Chapter 141: Crushing

Kake frowned slightly at this, but in his heart, he didn't dare to underestimate Karl in the slightest.

After all, this person was famous; he had records of battles with Whitebeard, Big Mom, Red-Haired, and Kaido. Except for the very beginning, which was quite miserable, even the Four Emperors couldn't do anything to him in subsequent battles.

A great reputation is never without substance!

Kake wouldn't underestimate Karl just because he was young. Besides, the three Admirals weren't much older than him, but they had been Admirals for over a decade, while he had been an Admiral Candidate for over a decade. That was the difference.

Zephyr stood between the two and, after emphasizing the order of battle again, said in a deep voice: "3, 2, 1, START!!!"

Zephyr immediately stepped back to avoid being caught in the aftermath of the battle; he was old and couldn't handle the tossing.

Kake's expression was serious, no longer the usual playful smile. He even took off his Justice cloak to avoid affecting his movements.

"Take this! Tempest Kick: Wind Cutter!!!"

Kake did a backflip and kicked out, a white slashing wave rushing forward, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Clang!

Conqueror's Haki erupted with a roar, and a terrifying pressure radiated from Karl's body. Although none of the watching new recruits fainted, many felt difficulty breathing and broke out in cold sweat, their eyes filled with fear as they looked at Karl.

"That, that kind of aura, could it be the legendary Conqueror's Haki?"

"It must be! Aside from Fleet Admiral Sengoku, only Vice Admiral White Crow possesses such spirit!"

The new recruits around didn't feel much because Karl controlled the range of his Conqueror's Haki intimidation very well. The only one feeling the immense pressure was Kake.

"Damn it! I won't be afraid of you!"

Kake gritted his teeth and rushed toward Karl, enduring the suffocating pressure. His fists had already turned black, his entire arm Move Move Like a compressed spring, waiting for the moment of explosion.

Seeing Kake rush over, Karl was not afraid in the slightest. He gripped Raiu with his right hand and drew it with a hissing sound.

"Elbaf Spear: Hegemony!!!"

A giant flying slash nearly 30 meters long tore through the air. The sky seemed to darken, and one could only see the crimson flying slash rushing straight toward Kake.

"What!"

Kake was shocked. The speed was too fast; there was no time to dodge, so he could only take it head-on.

He crossed his arms and emitted his Armament Haki, attempting to block Karl's flying slash, but it wasn't that easy.

Under the push of the flying slash, Kake's feet began to plow the ground, constantly retreating, carving two shallow black trenches into the earth.

Kake was drenched in sweat, veins bulging all over his body, his face flushed red as he shouted: "Get out of my way!!!"

With a roar, Kake deflected Karl's Hegemony sword energy into the sky. He stood stunned in place, panting, looking at Karl with disbelief.

How could Karl be this strong! This swordsmanship, this power! Even the Admirals were probably just Move Move Like this, right?

The new recruits watching from the side covered their mouths in surprise: "Too strong. As expected of Vice Admiral White Crow. With just one move, Vice Admiral Chaton looks Move Move Like he's about to collapse."

Tashigi, in the crowd, held her chin, looking at Karl with excitement. She couldn't help but think, this is Vice Admiral White Crow, who can contend with the world's greatest swordsman!

Right, that move just now was a secret technique of the Giants, right? Vice Admiral White Crow used it so easily. Could it be that his physique is comparable to the Giants?

Thinking of this, Tashigi's gaze toward Karl became full of longing. If she could follow Vice Admiral White Crow after graduation, that would be great. Not only could she ask him for advice on swordsmanship, but she could also personally observe Vice Admiral White Crow's three famous swords.

However, Vice Admiral White Crow is so strong, it's impossible for him to take a liking to me. I'm still too weak...

Zephyr, watching from close range, revealed a smile. Karl truly hadn't disappointed his expectations, or rather, Karl was his most satisfying student to date, bar none.

At the very least, Karl's existence made him feel that there was still hope for the Marines.

"Vice Admiral Chaton, what's wrong? It's only just begun, surely you aren't tired already?"

Kake looked at Karl unwillingly, took a deep breath, and said: "How could that be? That was just a warm-up! Come again!"

Kake quickly rushed up, and Karl had no choice but to engage.

Overall, Kake's strength was indeed much stronger than the average Vice Admiral, but there was still a gap from the Admirals.

No wonder that after Akainu became Fleet Admiral, Kake and Gion, these two legitimate Admiral Candidates, neither managed to become Admirals. They truly didn't have that strength.

Soon, the battle between Karl and Kake neared its end. It took about 2 hours, and Kake was already struggling to hold on.

"Vice Admiral Kake, do you still want to fight?"

"Hoo, hoo, hoo~ No more, no more, I surrender!" Kake waved his hands quickly. He couldn't take it anymore; this guy was a pure monster!

He had used almost all his strength, yet it was hard to even get close to Karl. When he finally managed to land a hit, the guy took it with his body and was fine. How could he fight this?

And there was that extremely shameless Holy Light Fruit; the more they fought, the more despairing it became.

Whoever wanted to fight could fight; he was done.

Karl shrugged at Zephyr and then condensed a ball of golden holy light, merging it into Kake's body.

"Hahaha, Vice Admiral Chaton, it seems I'm still a cut above! And Sister Gion, since there's still plenty of time, do you want to continue?"

Gion's beautiful eyes widened. She pointed at herself and waved her hands quickly: "No, no, Karl. Don't I know how much you're worth? No need to fight. Sister recognizes your strength!"

"Then, this..."

Master Zephyr laughed and patted Karl's shoulder hard: "Well done. I truly didn't misjudge you! It seems you haven't been slacking off these years!"

Karl smiled and didn't speak. Ain curled her lips. Slacking off? If he hadn't been slacking off, she hadn't seen Karl actively train once, except for developing his abilities.

Moreover, he only developed his abilities to recover stamina after "that" was finished, calling it "nurturing energy for a rainy day."

"Master Zephyr, there's something I want to tell you."

Zephyr nodded: "Speak, what is it? If I can help, I will."

Karl quickly pulled Ain over and said with a smile: "Ain is already a Rear Admiral and is about to go out on missions alone. Since you're training students, could you give us a recommendation?"

Zephyr frowned slightly and looked at Ain, saying in a low voice: "Ain, it's not that I won't help you, it's just that the current students are getting worse with each passing year."

"To be honest, there isn't a single student in this batch that makes my eyes light up. I really don't know how to recommend anyone to you."

Ain covered her mouth in surprise: "Not even one?"

Zephyr nodded. Even in Karl's batch, only Ain and Karl had made it out; the others were, well... mediocre.

This batch didn't even have anyone at the level of Binz, which showed how withered the new generation of Marine talent was.