The audience stands had long since emptied.
All the Marine Headquarters vice admirals had gathered in one area, staring at the battlefield in near disbelief, their minds blank, unsure what to even say.
The 10th Match… had been cleared!
The 10th Match, guarded by the vice admirals and long considered impossible to pass, had finally been broken!
"Someone actually passed the Tenth Match."
"This is… incredible."
Even Kizaru's expression grew serious at this point. Aokiji was equally shaken.
Even Akainu slightly narrowed his eyes, disturbed as he looked at Roya standing amidst the flames like a Fire King, surveying everything with an imposing presence. For some reason, he was reminded of Monkey D. Dragon. His gaze turned cold.
Akainu, a strict enforcer of absolute justice, hated to the core the fact that Garp's son Dragon had become a revolutionary and one of the most dangerous criminals in the world.
In the original story, during the Summit War, when Akainu pursued Luffy, he never referred to him as "Garp's grandson," only as "Dragon's son."
Two titles, two very different meanings: one representing the grandson of a Marine hero, the other the son of the most dangerous revolutionary.
"With such talent and strength… if he ever did something like Dragon…"
Akainu's gaze hardened as he breathed deeply and muttered coldly, "That kind of thing… I will never allow it!"
---
"Monkey D. Roya has passed the 10th Match of the third stage of the graduation exam!"
Even Yamakaji took a long moment to recover from his shock. His voice trembled slightly. He had seen Roya's records—Roya was still under twenty years old.
At this age, to possess such strength and talent was truly astounding!
No one in history had reached Roya's level before the age of twenty—not Aokiji, not Kizaru, not even Garp or Sengoku.
Everyone could see that there had been no holding back in this battle. Momonga had fought at full strength but was still defeated by Roya. The outcome, no matter how incredible, was undeniable.
Passing the 10th Match of the third stage meant Roya's third-stage performance was also rated "perfect."
The third stage consisted of ten matches: six passes equaled "qualified," seven "good," eight "excellent," nine also "excellent," but only the Tenth Match could earn a "perfect" rating.
Stage 1: perfect
Stage 2: perfect
Stage 3: perfect
This was the first time in the history of the elite camp graduation system that someone had earned perfect ratings across all three stages.
"Good… excellent!"
Even Sengoku could not completely restrain his emotions. He turned to Garp and said,
"Garp, you truly have a remarkable nephew!"
Bwahahaha.
Garp stood amidst the shattered earth, silent but beaming with pride and joy.
As Roya sheathed his sword, the flames gradually died down.
At the same time, the drifting dust settled, revealing the battlefield's ruined surface—countless intersecting sword marks and cracks.
"Passed… the 10th Match…"
"Even a Marine Headquarters vice admiral… Roya's strength has reached this level?"
Smoker, Shu, and the others were dazed, feeling the scene before them was almost dreamlike, unreal.
Yamakaji, responsible for overseeing the exam, added the words "perfect rating" to Roya's third-stage record, struggling for words to express his astonishment.
He then gathered the full records of all participants, including Roya, and handed them to Fleet Admiral Sengoku. After the third-stage exams, Sengoku would determine the graduates' ranks based on their performance.
Sengoku took the records, inhaled deeply, and calmly began reviewing them right there instead of returning to his office.
"Shu: Stage 1 good, Stage 2 qualified, Stage 3 qualified… graduation exam passed. Rank: Lieutenant Commander."
As Sengoku read, Yamakaji recorded the ranks. One by one, the participants' ranks were finalized for uniform presentation and awards.
When it came to Smoker, Sengoku paused slightly, seemingly considering promoting him to Captain, but ultimately assigned Commander.
One by one, the other participants were given appropriate ranks and left the arena to receive their uniforms and banners of justice.
Finally, it was Roya's turn.
Looking at his records, he had three perfect ratings marked in bright red at the bottom. Sengoku hesitated.
Graduates of the elite camp normally received ranks from Lieutenant Commander to Captain. The highest possible rank was Captain. Historically, a few exceptional cases—Aokiji, Kizaru, and Akainu—received an extraordinary promotion to Rear Admiral for perfect ratings in two stages and a ninth-stage pass in the third stage.
Roya, with three perfect ratings, clearly qualified for an exceptional promotion.
Yet deciding his rank was difficult.
Having defeated a Marine Headquarters vice admiral like Momonga, Roya clearly had the strength of a vice admiral. In terms of raw ability, he could hold the position.
But he was so young that directly promoting him to vice admiral seemed premature.
"Yamakaji, what rank do you think we should assign Roya?"
Sengoku asked after a moment of thought.
Yamakaji hesitated as well. Roya's situation was unprecedented since the elite camp system began.
After a brief pause, he replied, "Roya defeated Momonga. His strength is beyond question. Perhaps a direct exceptional promotion to Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral would be appropriate."