Volume 1 Chapter 26

As the sun gradually faded into the horizon, officers of the Red team were still under alert, waiting for the enemies to arrive or the 10-man squad to return. A gunfight had happened in the afternoon, gunshots were heard by the defence team as they protected the base. No news had been received from the 10-man team sent out on reconnaissance.

"Everyone stand down!

I doubt they will perform a night raid. From my understanding of Poseidon, he is very calculative. He would not fight a battle he could not win. Raiding our base would put them at a disadvantage, I'm sure he must be aware of that. Double up on the night watch, the rest of you should get some rest." Hothead announced as he made his way into his room.

An officer who could no longer hold back his feelings, spoke out loud "Captain should we not find out what happened to the rest of the team? a rescue party should be arranged at least."

"If they are not back by now, it only means they have been killed in action. This might be a game but it simulates real-life scenarios," with that, he locked his door.

On the other side of the forest, outside of the dense trees. Ten bodies were tied up securely with vines, laying on the floor. Ezra who was camouflaging on a tree said to the captives "It seems the bait plan only half worked, I was expecting a rescue party or reinforcements to come for you. You all can stand up slowly, you are already out of the game. We will lead you to the harbour for extraction."

The officers were curious about where the snipers were. Where were the members of the Blue team? The surrounding area was dead silent but only they knew that barrels were pointing at them from the shadows, should they try anything underhanded.

No. 2, No. 4 and No. 5 who were on the flag extraction team met up with Ezra as they led the captives to the harbour.

"Instructor, here are 9 killed officers and 1 Prisoner of War from the Red team, we will be back when there are more to deliver to you."

The instructor was amazed, it had officially been one day since the start of the competition, but in front of him was almost half of the Red team members. 'What happened in one day?' He wanted to know badly.

Watching the captives and instructor leaving.

Ezra instructed the officers present with him, "Tell everyone to return to the base tonight for a good rest. Hothead has lost some officers, he will not be raiding us tonight. We should prepare for tomorrow as he will be coming at us with force. No. 5 inform No. 18 to gather all the snipers, I want new platforms installed closer to the base. There are too many dry trees in the forest, it is perfect for Hotheads power."

While the night was peaceful for others, the night guards of both teams were glued at their positions on the lookout for a night raid.

The sun poured through the window. Another day had dawned, bringing with it a debt that had to be repaid in full. It was time to retaliate.

Hothead who was standing in front of the Red villa with his fist turned into flames as he punched out, launching a dense column of fire in the direction of the south.

"Flame Fist"

All the trees in the direction of the attack for 10m were set ablaze as forest fire broke out.

Not minding the heat, Hothead proceeded. Every 10m he shot out a "Flame Fist" until he made a clearing leading to the south border.

At the border he gathered all the flames from burning trees into his palm compressing it into a fireball, the more the flames were compressed the more the temperature increased, a noticeable colour change was taking place also as the flame changed from orange to blue. After forming the blue coloured fireball, he tossed it into the south area without care.

"Blue Flame"

This was no longer a competition, all the moves Hothead had used so far were deadly, All fatal to a normal person. The Red team officers could only cower in fear as they thought of how much bad luck the Blue team officers must have to go against their Captain.

Just as the fireball was about to explode.

"Water Hand" an enormous amount of water shot out from amongst the trees, taking the shape of an enormous hand made of water as it clenched the blue fireball within its palm. Sizzling could be heard as the hot flame and water met, causing steam to rise into the sky.

Hothead looked around, but Ezra could not be seen.

"Poseidon you made it here on time as I expected. I am sure me burning the forest was not part of your calculations. Did you stop my attack because your men are hiding here at the borders? I guessed as much since all the officers I sent out never returned yesterday." Hothead said as he looked at his team, "I will engage their captain, Use the commotion to head to their base. Use the trees for cover."

At the same time, Ezra gave the signal to No. 2, No. 4, and No. 5 to wait until the battle had reached its peak before heading to the enemy's base. This was an all or nothing move by the Red team and he was going to make them pay for it. Luckily, he had withdrawn all his officers from the borders yesterday, hence he didn't have to worry about Hotheads misunderstanding. He was also confident with the defence force waiting at the base.

It was time for the showdown between the Umi Umi no Mi and the Mera Mera no Mi.

Hothead was not as athletic as Ezra, besides, their combat sense was world apart. He had a strong reliance on his devil fruit powers, without it he would be at the same physical level as the Officers on his team.

Ezra ran in between the trees disappearing from Hotheads line of sight. "Poseidon, my power affects a large area, I don't need to chase you. If you don't come out to fight me all your subordinates in this area will die." Hothead said as he prepared to launch another attack.

"Flame Fist"

Ezra ran towards a barrel not far from his location, he was still holding back some of his cards like his ability to teleport. He took control of the seawater inside it to form another water hand that was slammed into the fire attack. Ezra went round the area barrel after barrel, neutralising every attack that Hothead made. As the fight progressed the position of the fight shifted from the edge of the borders further into the south island.

The officers on the Red team used the disturbance caused by the battle to conceal their entry into the south part of the island. Their mission was to locate the Blue team's villa in time while the Officers were caught in between the captain's fights.

After watching the 10 officers scramble their way through the trees, crawling like ants, crouching in the shades. No. 5 led the others into the clearing Hothead had previously made by burning all the trees from the Red team's villa to the edge of the border.

Back at the Blue team's base.

"No. 20 it looks like the fight between the Captain and Hothead had begun, it is not fair that we can't be there to witness such an epic battle." No. 18 said jokingly.

"Everyone, get to your post! Since both captains are out of the show, the rest of the battle will be determined by us. No. 5 and the others must have made their way behind enemy lines to secure the flag. That means we have to hold out until the competition is over. There are 17 of us left in this base, I want eyes on every corner of the villa and a few on the platforms between the trees. Your orders are to simply snipe anyone that comes close to the base." No. 20 said as he took command of the defence force as the Vice-captain.

"Spread out! don't stand together. They might have snipers focusing on the gates. I suggest we will split into 3 groups. Four officers including me will head to the gates, three officers will head to the left side and the remaining officers to the right side. We need to overwhelm the defence force quickly before the remaining officers return from the border." The officer whose plan has led them this far said confidently. "Move out!"

"Four Intruders spotted on the South gate" No. 7 reported

"Three Intruder spotted on the west side" No. 12 reported

"Three Intruders spotted on the east side" No. 19 reported

Take Aim! Don't fire! let's draw them in, we will clean them all out in one move.

"Poseidon why don't you stand and fight, are you just going to keep running around the forest. It looks like you made your preparations, how many barrels of seawater do you still have at your disposal" Hothead said with a laugh as he ran in pursuit of Ezra through the trees.

'Damn, it is getting troublesome. Although I am doing all I can to neutralise his power, the limitation of my power on land is becoming rather apparent. I can feel it, there are only 6 barrels left and that is including the one on my back. I can't show off the seastone effect of my power yet, I have no idea who is watching this competition.' Ezra thought as he travelled swiftly between the trees.

"Heat Haze" a stream of fire was ejected from Hothead's palm, this was a channelled attack that remained active until it was neutralized or cancelled by the user.

'One barrel will not be enough to stop this' Ezra thought. Ezra launched a "Water Hand" attack into the air, "Collapse" "Transfer" "Reform" as he reappeared 10m away at the position of the next barrel, launching another "Water Hand" into the air.

"Sea Giant Clap" controlling the two hand of water, Ezra used an improvised attack as both hands struck each other causing a downpour similar to rain. Even though the attack was not directly aimed at Hothead, the change to the environment greatly reduced the effect of the Mera Mera no Mi, hence suppressing Hothead as the flames in the surrounding areas died out.

At the same time at the Red team's base.

No. 5 and the others slowly made their way into the courtyard unhindered as they lowered the flag securing the Blue team's victory.

"Let's head back, it won't be a complete victory if this flag is not displayed in our base." No. 5 said.

"No. 20, it looks like the 3 intruders on my side are planning to scale the walls" No. 19 reported.

"That's the same for my side," No. 12 added.

"The intruders at the front gate have not made any moves from now, they are all within range." No. 7 reported

"Fire at will" No. 20 gave the command to initiate the battle.

Gunshots sounded out one after the other in different directions.

At the harbour, all the members of the Red Team were making their way into an extraction transport ship.

The Red team's instructor was already waiting for the team on the boat. "Although you were all outclassed by your opponent's tactics and planning, you all still showed signs of improvement. There are a lot of learning points for each of you to take home from this exercise. Like when the captain made all the plans, no one of the officers gave their opinions on the captain's plans. The officers relied too much on the captain's power. These are just some of the problems noticed, I am sure that when you properly reflect on the battle, you will notice a lot more areas to improve on. My hope is in future, if you find yourself in a similar situation the outcome will be different.

The Red team will be disbanded, all of you can head back to the academy and await your graduation ceremony."

At the Blue team training ground.

"Another perfect performance! You all are transforming your teamwork into an art. Ezra, your leadership is very commendable, At first, we were worried about the rumours amongst the officers, you handled it by nominating a Vice-Captain and using sparring to develop the group's teamwork. Then you elected shooting trainers giving the group a sort of speciality as a sniping squad.

In your first mission to capture Greybeard No. 20 played a big role in commanding the attack. Your second mission at Fontwell town No. 5 showed his wits and now a few others stood out to take responsibility for various tasks.

The captain was almost downgraded to an errand boy. Your job as the oil keeping all the parts of the team together was very important. It's an honour to be the instructor assigned to your team, I feel like I'm being taught various lessons each time I witness your missions. Such an experience is better than spending time behind theories."

Everyone could see the joy in the instructor's eyes as he spoke, 'we just did what we trained to do' they thought.