Chapter 4: Combat Practice

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"Damn bastard..."

Kalifa was fuming, grinding her teeth. *Who needs you to devote your life to me? Self-centered jerk... No, wait, shameless bastard!*

Ryuusaki, grinning ear to ear, sprinted ahead.

Over the past few days, besides keeping an eye on Kalifa, Ryuusaki had been closely watching another person: Blueno.

Ryuusaki knew from the original story that Blueno was the user of the Door-Door Fruit, a Devil Fruit with incredible potential. Unfortunately, Blueno hadn't developed it to its full potential.

When it came to Devil Fruits, Ryuusaki had a few ideal ones in mind, and the Door-Door Fruit was among them. After all, it had spatial capabilities, and in the Paramecia class, any fruit with space-related powers was bound to be formidable.

Ryuusaki didn't know how much talent he had for developing a Devil Fruit, but with his talent reset system, he could transfer his talents from other areas to his Devil Fruit development if needed.

Ryuusaki was confident that if the Door-Door Fruit were in his hands, he could develop it to an extraordinary level—perhaps even unlocking a door to space-time or something equally astonishing.

Moreover, Ryuusaki suspected that Blueno had not yet consumed the Door-Door Fruit, as Ryuusaki had used the system to scan Blueno's talents.

- **Talent: Basic Stamina (72)**

- **Talent: Basic Strength (68)**

- **Talent: Basic Martial Arts (73)**

- **Talent: Basic Boxing (66)**

- **Talent: Basic Kick Techniques (76)**

These talents weren't as strong as Lucci's but were still solid. With enough training, Blueno could likely achieve the combat power of a Rear Admiral.

However, there was no mention of any Devil Fruit-related talent in Blueno's profile. Ryuusaki had figured out over the past few days that if someone hadn't used or been exposed to something, its related talent wouldn't appear.

For example, since Ryuusaki hadn't used a sword before, his swordsmanship-related talents didn't show up.

Likewise, since Blueno didn't have any Devil Fruit-related talents listed, it was likely that he hadn't eaten a Devil Fruit yet.

*I wonder when Blueno will eat the Door-Door Fruit,* Ryuusaki pondered, but he quickly decided to focus on building a rapport with him.

"Hey, big guy, you're as strong as an ox!"

"Huh?"

Blueno's reaction was slow, but when he understood, he said, "Thanks."

Blueno was a bit of a simpleton, with a strong sense of justice as a Marine. Being compared to an ox didn't bother him—he was used to people saying he was ugly as an ox when he was younger. The slight difference in wording, though, made a world of difference to him.

"Big guy, what's your name?"

"My name is Blueno. And you?"

"I'm Ryuusaki, a newbie!"

"A newbie, huh? Just don't die!"

At that moment, two wooden sticks came flying at them, hitting both Ryuusaki and Blueno on the head.

"No talking during training!"

Ryuusaki rubbed his head, feeling frustrated. *Damn it, that's way too strict!*

*Oh well, I'll chat with Blueno later when there's time,* Ryuusaki thought.

Training continued, and that night they feasted on Sea King meat.

It seemed that Commander Buck was quite powerful, as he easily hunted down Sea Kings.

And so, nearly a month of training passed. Ryuusaki's stamina reached Level 14, while his strength, which he trained in his spare time at night, reached Level 6.

He thought things would continue smoothly, but clearly, he was wrong!

Once the newcomers had passed their physical training, a ship arrived at the deserted island. Besides supplies, it carried prisoners—pirates with bounties ranging from 500,000 to 2 million Berries.

Gathering the recruits, Buck announced bluntly, "Your physical training is complete. Next, you'll engage in combat practice. Your opponents will be them."

He pointed towards the pirates disembarking from the ship.

*Combat practice?*

"You must be joking," a child immediately voiced, but a sharp glare from Buck made him shrink back.

After addressing the recruits, Buck turned to the pirates and said, "If you want your freedom, it's simple—kill your opponent."

Hearing this, the pirates were thrilled. Killing a bunch of inexperienced kids? Easy.

Although these pirates were only worth between 500,000 and 2 million Berries, their opponents were just kids!

As for Ryuusaki and the other recruits, they were anything but calm. *This isn't combat practice; it's a death sentence!*

Over the past month, they had only undergone physical and strength training, with no instruction in combat techniques. Now, they were suddenly expected to fight fierce pirates... Many of the recruits were terrified.

But fear or not, they had no choice. They had to fight.

Weapons were provided, but only close-combat ones. Despite being called "combat practice," it was, in fact, a life-or-death battle between the recruits and the pirates.

Ryuusaki, too, had no choice but to face the challenge.

Recruits were allowed to choose their opponents, but Ryuusaki was a step too late. He chose his weapon—a sword—and by the time he turned around, the other recruits had already selected their opponents.

The only pirate left was a swordsman with a bounty of 2 million Berries. Ryuusaki had no choice but to fight him.

The sounds of battle filled the air.

Nearby, recruits were already engaging in combat with the pirates.

Ryuusaki stood with his sword in hand, his eyes fixed on the pirate before him.

The pirate wasn't particularly tall, probably about the same height as Koushirou, with a slender build, a small mustache, and piercing eyes.

"Kid, by the looks of you, you've never learned swordsmanship, have you?"

"So what if I haven't?"

"Hehehe... I've struck gold."

*Damn it.*

Ryuusaki quickly used the system to check out this pirate, whose name was Kikus.

- **Talent: Basic Stamina (31)**

- **Talent: Basic Strength (24)**

- **Talent: Basic Martial Arts (22)**

- **Talent: Basic Boxing (16)**

- **Talent: Basic Kick Techniques (26)**

- **Talent: Basic Swordsmanship (36)**

- **Talent: Kenjutsu Style (31)**

*Kenjutsu Style?*

Kikus's overall talent wasn't particularly high, which matched his status as a small-time pirate. But besides basic swordsmanship, he also had a talent in Kenjutsu Style.

It seemed this pirate had mastered a style of swordsmanship called Kenjutsu.

Ryuusaki was extremely cautious. He had already allocated all his talent points to basic swordsmanship.

Now, it was a matter of life and death!

A blood-curdling scream rang out, but Ryuusaki didn't look. He recognized the voice—it was one of the recruits. It seemed someone had already fallen.

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