Hiss—
Trull drew in a sharp breath.
His eyes widened as he stared at Kai's back.
The possibility forming in his head was so shocking that it almost made him doubt his own sanity.
"This can't be…"
"Could it really be him?"
Trull's eyes lost focus for a moment as he muttered to himself.
As for Kai knocking Morrison flying with one punch—
that outcome hadn't surprised Smoker, Tina, or the other cadets all that much.
They had already expected something like this.
After all—
Kai was the monster who had personally defeated and captured Whitebeard's so-called son.
And who was that man?
A pirate whose combat power was comparable to someone worth three hundred million berries.
With that in mind—
Kai taking down a mere hundred-million-berry pirate should have been easy.
Even so, seeing Morrison nearly get one-shotted still dealt a heavy blow to everyone watching.
Especially Smoker.
After all—
he was the one person present who had actually fought Morrison.
He knew better than anyone how dangerous the Swamp Fruit pirate really was.
He himself had nearly been instantly crushed.
If Kai had not intervened, he might already be dead.
That was exactly why Smoker had feared Morrison so much.
And now—
watching that same enemy almost get obliterated by one punch from Kai—
Smoker felt a crushing sense of defeat.
"A terrifying opponent in my eyes…"
"…looks this fragile in front of Kai?"
Compared to that, Smoker felt utterly unbalanced.
He was supposed to be one of the best recruits of this generation in the Marines.
And yet the gap between him and Kai was still this huge?
"That man nearly killed me in one exchange…"
"And Kai nearly killed him with one punch."
"That's the difference."
"The difference between me and Kai is just that absurd."
Smoker let out a bitter laugh.
At last, he had fully accepted reality.
Kai was simply a monster.
He could not be judged by common sense.
And he definitely could not be compared to others.
Because doing that would only destroy a person's pride.
"Don't take it so hard, Smoker."
"After all…"
"Kai is already known as the greatest genius in Marine history."
"It's only natural you can't compare to that kind of monster."
"In all these hundreds of years, no one in the Marines has ever produced another case like his."
"He's just too abnormal."
The other cadets began trying to comfort him.
That helped ease Smoker's mood slightly.
"Nearly one-shotting a pirate worth over a hundred million with a single punch…"
"That's terrifying."
"But then again, it makes sense."
"Don't forget—Kai already defeated Whitebeard's so-called son."
"So someone at the hundred-million level should be no big deal for him."
The cadets couldn't stop marveling.
"So strong…"
Tina's beautiful eyes shone as she stared at Kai's back.
He was still just a child—
but his figure looked unbelievably dependable.
Strong enough to make everyone around him feel safe.
That little man of hers…
was simply too reliable.
Hidden in the shadows, Zephyr let out a helpless sigh.
"Kai really is terrifyingly strong."
"A pirate worth over a hundred million…"
"And a Logia user at that."
"And yet just now…"
"he almost got one-shotted."
On the battlefield, Morrison stared at Kai with lingering fear.
The pain tearing through his body had turned his face white and left cold sweat dripping from his brow.
Kai's strength had truly frightened him now.
So much so that he no longer dared act rashly.
And, for the first time, he actually wanted to retreat.
"What kind of monster…"
"…are you?!"
Morrison's throat was dry as he asked the question in horror.
In response, Kai slowly raised one finger.
Then he smiled.
"That was the first punch."
"I already told you I'd blow you apart in three."
"If I said three, then I won't go over that number."
"So…"
"you'd better get ready."
Morrison's scalp went numb.
That was only the first punch?!
There were still two more?
Could he survive the next two?
The moment he recalled the pain from that Haki-coated punch, Morrison felt pure dread spread through him.
If two more like that landed—
he had no confidence at all that he would survive.
"You damn monster!"
His lips trembled.
"Oh, right."
"There's something I forgot to mention."
"That last punch…"
"was only a warm-up."
"From here on…"
"I'm going to get serious."
Kai's smile carried a faintly playful edge.
Then, in front of everyone, he slowly raised his hand to his shirt collar.
And with one sharp motion—
RIP!
The cloth tore apart.
Kai ripped off his own shirt in one motion.
It shredded into countless fragments that fluttered through the air before slowly falling to the ground around his feet.
Golden sunlight poured down from the sky.
Under that light, Kai's body was fully revealed—
a near-perfect set of muscles, each one raised and defined.
Veins spread across his frame like living cords, making his physique look both powerful and frightening.
Every muscle on his body seemed to contain explosive force.
Like a volcano waiting to erupt.
And then—
there was his back.
The Ghost Back.
Like the mark of a demon carved into flesh.
Savage.
Oppressive.
Terrifying.
Its presence alone carried overwhelming pressure.
Kai rolled one shoulder, and his bones cracked loudly.
Then he smiled faintly at Morrison.
"Well?"
"Are you ready for the second punch?"
The atmosphere turned suffocating.
Silent.
Still.
No one made a sound.
A terrifying pressure, like that of some prehistoric beast, radiated out from Kai's body and blanketed the entire battlefield.
That pressure made cold sweat burst from Morrison's forehead.
His body even began trembling uncontrollably.
"That punch just now…"
"…and he still wasn't serious?!"
"That punch nearly killed me…"
"And now he's saying it was only a warm-up?!"
Gulp.
Morrison swallowed hard, trembling.
He was panicking now.
A casual warm-up punch had nearly crippled him.
If Kai really got serious—
then what kind of terrifying force would the next punch contain?
Morrison couldn't even imagine it.
Even as a pirate worth over a hundred million, he did not dare think too deeply about it.
It was too terrifying.
"This five-year-old brat…"
"Who the hell is he?"
"How can someone this strong exist?"
"When did the Marines produce a freak like this?"
Morrison had completely lost his composure.
And then, suddenly—
his eyes narrowed.
"Wait…"
"This monster…"
"Why does he feel familiar?"
At that moment, Morrison's heart jolted.
The feeling wasn't a mistake.
The more he looked at Kai's body—
at those sharp muscles under the sunlight—
the stronger that sense of familiarity became.
Then his gaze shifted—
and landed on Kai's back.
On that moment—
it felt as if thunder exploded inside his mind.
A horrifying answer surfaced.
Morrison's face turned ghostly pale.
"G-Ghost Back?!"
"That back…"
"That demonic mark…"
"N-no…"
"There's no mistake."
"On this sea, there's only one person known for a Ghost Back like that."
"That five-year-old…"
His voice shook as the answer finally escaped him:
"He—he's Fist Demon Kai?!"
At that moment—
Kai's identity was completely exposed.
As a pirate worth over one hundred million berries, Morrison naturally knew of the name that had spread across the sea just days ago.
Fist Demon Kai.
The name had already become famous across these waters.
What Morrison had never imagined—
was that the person standing in front of him today was the real one.
"F-Fist Demon Kai…"
"It's really him!"
"No wonder…"
"No wonder he felt so familiar."
"I kept thinking there was no way a five-year-old this strong could still be unknown."
"So it's him…"
"The one whose name has been shaking the sea these past few days."
"The monster who, at only five years old, defeated and captured a great pirate with combat power worth several hundred million berries!"
Morrison's eyes went wide.
His entire body and mind were now completely consumed by fear.
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