Morrison was dead.
Blown apart in two punches.
A pirate with a bounty of one hundred million berries had been smashed so hard that his head exploded on the spot. He was dead beyond any doubt, reduced to nothing more than a cold, headless corpse sprawled on the ground.
Abandoned.
Miserable.
That infamous Logia user of the Swamp-Swamp Fruit had still failed to withstand a Haki-coated fist. One punch had destroyed him so completely that there was barely anything left to speak of. His head had burst like a watermelon.
Blood covered the ground.
Chunks of flesh lay everywhere.
Savage.
Horrific.
Every last detail of that scene was etched clearly into the eyes of everyone present.
Silence.
Utter silence.
Countless stunned, shaken gazes froze on the battlefield.
Among them was Kurrin, captain of the Cerberus Pirates. His Zoan transformation had already faded, and he had returned to human form. His face was pale, his eyes full of terror, and his whole body trembled uncontrollably.
"H-he's dead…"
"Morrison, a Logia user, couldn't even survive two punches!"
"He was beaten to death with just two punches!"
"What kind of monster… is that?!"
Kurrin's lips trembled as he swallowed hard.
He looked at Morrison's corpse lying on the ground.
Then he turned toward the tiny figure standing not far away.
The fear in his heart swelled to a terrifying degree.
"If even Morrison was killed in one punch…"
"Then what would happen to me?"
The thought alone sent a chill from the soles of his feet straight to his scalp.
His whole body went cold.
"With my strength, I probably couldn't even survive a single hit."
"I'd be blown apart on the spot."
Kurrin trembled violently.
His legs gave out beneath him, and he collapsed to the ground on the spot.
He had lost all courage.
He no longer dared to show even the slightest hostility.
He didn't even dare think about running.
The example was right there in front of him.
Was Morrison strong?
Of course he was.
A Logia user was considered nearly invincible on these seas, a top-tier powerhouse.
And yet a man like that had been blown apart after only two punches.
What did that mean?
"Th-that was a pirate with a bounty of one hundred million…"
"Fist Demon Kai…"
"Is he really that terrifying?"
No rumor, no story heard from others, had ever shaken Kurrin as badly as witnessing this with his own eyes.
Hearing about something was one thing.
Seeing it happen in front of you was another.
"It's over!"
"The Swamp Pirates are finished."
"And the Cerberus Pirates are finished too."
Kurrin's mind went blank.
His face was full of despair.
At the same time, the Marines led by Trull were no less shocked.
"He's too strong!"
"A supposedly untouchable Logia user couldn't even block one punch!"
"Was Morrison really that weak? He had a bounty over a hundred million!"
"No, that's not it. Morrison wasn't too weak. Kai was simply too strong. To someone like him, a pirate worth a hundred million is nothing."
"Fist Demon Kai really is the greatest talent the Navy has produced in centuries!"
"He's an unprecedented monster!"
The Marines buzzed with excitement, awe, and disbelief.
It was obvious what this meant.
Today, two notorious pirate crews had met their end.
The Cerberus Pirates had been wiped out, save for their captain Kurrin, who was now too frightened to even stand.
As for the Swamp Pirates, none of their crew had actually been killed; they had merely been knocked unconscious by Kai's Conqueror's Haki. But their leader, Morrison—the Logia user and backbone of the crew—had been blown apart in a single punch.
With their captain dead, the Swamp Pirates might as well have already ceased to exist.
And so, both pirate crews had fallen.
"It's over," Trull said quietly.
With Morrison's death, the battle was finally finished.
His eyes were full of reverence as he looked at Kai's back. Even from this distance, the Ghost Back beneath his torn shirt radiated crushing pressure.
"A terrifying being at only five years old…"
"The pride of the Navy…"
"The future banner-holder of the Marines…"
That was what Trull thought to himself.
With the battle over, Zephyr no longer had any reason to remain hidden. He stepped out of the shadows and walked onto the battlefield.
The moment the cadets saw him, they snapped out of their daze and greeted him at once.
"Instructor Zephyr!"
Zephyr looked off into the distance.
His gaze landed on Morrison's headless corpse, and he let out a low sigh.
If it had been him, he probably would not have killed the man outright.
At most, he would have beaten Morrison into a crippled state and then had him thrown into Impel Down.
Still…
Zephyr did not think Kai's actions were wrong.
Everyone had their own way of doing things.
He had no intention of forcing his own beliefs onto someone else.
"This graduation trial…"
"ends here."
"Unexpected outside interference raised the difficulty far beyond what was originally intended. I won't count that part toward your final evaluation."
"Fortunately, Kai dealt with those external factors for you."
As Zephyr spoke, the cadets listened closely.
At this point, the trial was truly over.
And in Zephyr's eyes, Smoker and the others had done well.
Yes, many of them had fumbled badly in the beginning. Some had been so shaken that they could barely use a tenth of their strength.
But later, they had adapted.
Little by little, they had grown used to the reality of battle.
Zephyr had seen all of it.
And he was satisfied.
His students had not disappointed him.
"You did well."
"You didn't let me down."
"I'm satisfied with this graduation trial."
"Of course, there were still plenty of flaws. I'll go over them with you in detail after we return to Marineford."
"For now, go help the other Marines clean up what's left."
"Yes, Instructor Zephyr!"
The cadets hurried off.
Together with Trull and the four hundred Marines under his command, they began capturing and restraining the remaining pirates.
Handcuffs were fitted.
Chains were fastened.
Every pirate's freedom of movement was tightly restricted in case anyone tried anything desperate.
As for Kurrin, captain of the Cerberus Pirates, Zephyr was not about to take chances. Although the man looked utterly broken, Smoker, Tina, and several of the strongest cadets still personally moved in to fit him with Seastone handcuffs and leg irons.
Only after the restraints were locked in place did they finally let out a breath of relief.
Kurrin was no weakling.
Even Smoker could only barely suppress him head-on, and that was under normal circumstances.
Now, however, Kurrin had lost all will to fight, which made capturing him far easier than expected.
And as for why he had lost all will to resist?
Everyone there knew the answer.
"Kai's punch that killed the Logia user scared him out of his mind."
"Seriously… Kai is insane."
"A pirate with a bounty of sixty million got frightened into surrendering by one punch from Kai."
The cadets looked at Kurrin, who had not resisted even once, and couldn't help talking among themselves in amazement.
There was no doubt about it.
The reason Kurrin had given up was Kai's overwhelming presence.
Without that pressure, a vicious pirate like him would never have submitted so easily.
"Kai, are you alright?"
Zephyr walked over and asked.
"I'm fine."
Kai shook his head.
This battle had not injured him in the slightest.
In fact, he had barely spent any stamina at all.
How could there have been any meaningful exhaustion when it had only taken two punches to blow Morrison apart?
Even now, Kai remained at the peak of his condition.
"The graduation trial is over."
"Next…"
"We should prepare to return to Marineford once the cleanup here is complete."
"Understood."
Kai nodded.
With Morrison dead, the Swamp Pirates were leaderless and effectively destroyed.
And the Cerberus Pirates?
Only their broken, terrified captain remained.
There was no way he could revive that flag.
With both pirate crews crushed, the graduation trial had naturally reached its conclusion.
With a thought, the black Armament Haki covering Kai's right arm slowly receded.
A moment later, he looked completely normal again.
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