35. Confident opponent. Unexpected outcome.

│3rd Person POV│

[Grand Line, New World, G5 Marine Base…]

Sure enough, it was this group of people.

Seeing this scene, the corners of Ron's mouth rose.

Although he had been prepared before, after seeing the two of them, he became even more convinced that Commander Marco's inferences and guesses were correct.

When he thought of this, his smirk transformed into a delightful smile.

Although he didn't know who Zephyr would send out to fight him this time, there was no doubt about one thing.

That was, this group of Marine recruits was the one who was obliterated in the Canon World. So, apart from Ain and Binz, there shouldn't be anyone else among them with outstanding strength.

"Teacher, let me fight!"

At this time, a strong man in the crowd stepped forward.

As soon as this person came out, the Marine recruits standing in the area behind Zephyr also nodded in approval.

Everyone looked at this person with eyes full of expectation and confidence to win.

"Iris!"

Seeing who was coming out, Zephyr also showed a smile.

This was undoubtedly a leadership figure among the younger generation of Marines and one of the most outstanding ones.

The most important thing was that this boy was not much older than the fourteen-year-old Ron, and he was also a Devil Fruit user.

Thinking of this, Zephyr suddenly said, "In that case, the matter of fighting with him will be left to you. Iris, you will be Ron's opponent."

"Yes, teacher."

Hearing this, Iris was overjoyed. He was extremely happy with Zephyr's agreement.

The most important thing was that as long as he could defeat Ron, he would definitely be recognized by Marine Headquarters.

He would become a person who had defeated a figure stated to be the future of the Whitebeard Pirates by Whitebeard himself.

Then, the higher-ups from the Marine Headquarters would undoubtedly focus on nurturing him meticulously.

Thinking of this, Iris stepped forward excitedly. Before long, he had approached the area in front of Ron and remarked, "Marine recruit Iris, allow me to learn from this encounter."

As he spoke, he took another step forward, his body emitting an aura stronger than Ron's.

Those with sufficient experience could immediately discern that Iris's strength had reached the level of a Marine Commander, even approaching Captain level.

"Come on, Iris!"

"Iris, defeat him!"

"Iris, let this arrogant pirate have a taste of defeat."

…

For a time, countless shouts echoed from the other Marine recruits present in the area.

Everyone's eyes were shining with strong enthusiasm and fighting spirit.

Although they couldn't take action himself, they were absolutely sure of the Marines' victory in this battle.

"Heh! The Marine brat is certainly confident in himself."

Kaido and others had a panoramic view of this scene.

Although he would not pay much attention to such a weakling normally, he noticed that just in terms of aura and physical strength, Ron was obviously lacking.

On the other hand, the others were also curious about whether Ron, who obviously seemed weaker at first glance, had any hope and possibility of winning.

After all, Ron was recognized as the heir by Whitebeard, and they really wanted to see how Whitebeard would react and behave if Ron lost.

Thinking of this, Kaido, Zephyr, and others also looked at Whitebeard, their eyes full of amusement.

"Pops!"

"Pops!"

The expressions of some Division Commanders also changed slightly at this moment.

After all, Iris' aura was indeed stronger than Ron's, and it didn't seem like he would be able to win this fight.

"No need to worry."

Waving his hand, Whitebeard said extremely calmly, "I believe in Ron! He won't fail."

Hearing this, the worried Commanders quieted down.

Since Whitebeard had already said that it was fine, all they could do for now was to place their faith in Ron and hope that he would.

Even if they wanted to stop the fight, they naturally couldn't do anything at this stage. Discarding useless thoughts, everyone focused their attention on the fighters.

"Let's start, shall we?"

With everyone watching, Ron stepped forward and looked at Iris calmly.

Although the aura exuded by the latter was indeed stronger than his own, it was not enough to crush his own and make him submit.

"You are certainly an arrogant fellow!"

Hearing Ron say such words, Iris was slightly furious. His posture and tone seemed especially condescending to Iris.

How could he accept this?

The latter's strength was not as good as his own, and he was even two or three years younger than him. He thought that the other party was just mocking him despite being weaker.

With this perception of Ron in his mind, he said, "In that case, here I come."

With that said Iris stomped his right leg rapidly on the ground.

"Shave!"

Executing one of the Marine Six Styles, his figure disappeared and in an instant, he arrived right in front of Ron.

Immediately afterward, Iris locked his eyes on Ron and said with a scornful look on his face, "Pirate, be defeated by the unique skills of the Marines."

While he was speaking, his right fist was already moving towards Ron's face. However, he didn't put much power into the punch as this move was just to humiliate his opponent.

'Too slow!'

Ron was extremely indifferent to this speed.

He leisurely glanced at the fist that was coming and didn't even bother to use the stronger technique Flash Steps.

He just turned slightly sideways to avoid Iris's fist, not even moving his lower body while doing so.

In the next moment, Ron raised his right hand while wearing an expressionless face, 'Is this a Marine recruit? One who is being trained by THE Black Arm Zephyr. He is a disappointment.'

The next second, Ron's right fist met Iris' left shoulder.

Thump—

Crack—

With a resounding impact, Iris was sent flying about seven to eight meters away. Additionally, the sound of Iris' left shoulder being cracked echoed through the air.

"ARGHH~~"

Feeling the pain, Iris couldn't help but let out a miserable scream while clutching his left shoulder with his right hand.

Although he was not rolling on the ground, he was still kneeling on one knee at the moment, staring at Ron, who was standing there with a calm expression and said with red eyes, "This is impossible! You- How could you avoid my attack? How were you able to react to my speed!?"

It was not just him.

Marine recruits, including recruit Ain and Binz, were also in a shock state at the moment.

They stared blankly at the scene in front of them, feeling incredulous from the bottom of their hearts.

After all, they all knew very well how strong Iris was, and he was definitely one of the best in their group.

But now?

Not only did Iris, who used his full speed to approach Ron, not succeed in the surprise attack, but he even took Ron's counterattack without any resistance.

The gap was so big that it made these recruits wonder if they were dreaming.

"Unbelievable!"

"How could Iris get defeated so easily!?"

"This is absolutely not happening!"

"..."

Some recruits even screamed out loud, they were not able to handle such a humiliating loss.

The ones with the ugliest expressions were the local Marines stationed at the G5 Base.

Iris was so arrogant and confident before, but his current state was such a slap in the face.

For a moment, many of them looked at Zephyr with some blame and helplessness.

If it weren't for Zephyr's special identity, they would even want to ask, can such a person become the leading figure of the elite Marine recruits in the future?

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A/N: GIVE ME POWER STONES!!!! RAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH————!!!

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