Chapter 28

Zephyr wasn't one for handholding. Apart from the dojo that charged an arm and a leg, he wasn't keen on wasting energy on recruits. The elite camp's teaching style was more his cup of sea king tea.

But since the Navy couldn't find anyone else to run the recruit battalion - not even a lieutenant general - Zephyr had been pulling double duty as the elite battalion's boss through his recruit battalion gig. In Navy circles, everyone and their den den mushi knew these were two different beasts.

During recruit training, elite battalion members were considered recruits. No ranks, no titles. So why weren't they ever in the mix before?

Turns out, Zephyr was playing word games faster than Buggy could dodge a punch. "Oh, you're taking the recruit battalion assessment? Well, obviously that includes the elite battalion! But hey, I did you a solid and didn't bring the whole gang."

After the major general's explanation, Loya got a crash course in old sea dog politics. But he just grinned like he'd found the One Piece.

"You think throwing Aludo and Brother Jerome at me is gonna scare me? Maybe a week ago, but now? You're gonna need a bigger sea king, Mr. Zephyr!"

"Oh, come on! You're not exactly a pushover. Just try not to mop the floor with us too hard!" Aludo, subtle as a Buster Call, came up to rib Loya. He was just itching for a good scrap, not bothering with the political chess match going on.

Loya's response? An ice spear, naturally.

...

"Alright, everything's set. Let the battle royale begin!"

As soon as the countdown hit zero, Loya leapt back, dodging Aludo's fists like they were Luffy's stretchy arms.

Still airborne, Loya clapped his hands together. The air around him got colder than Aokiji's morning bath.

"Ice Make Wolves!"

With the place packed tighter than Sanji's suit, Loya had to play it smart. Ice bombs could turn this into a bloodbath faster than you could say "Gomu Gomu no". So, ice wolves it was - perfect for crowd control.

The recruits? They were about as happy as Nami when someone touches her treasure.

Ice wolves materialized mid-air, snarling and diving at the recruits.

"Slice 'em up!" "Watch it! They bite!" "Ow! My rear end! You're dead meat, ice boy!"

The recruits yelled, waving their weapons like they were swatting flies. Lucky for them, the arena was big enough to give them some breathing room. Otherwise, they'd be packed in tighter than barrels in Zoro's favorite bar.

"Eyes on the prize, ice boy!"

A voice dripping with bloodlust came from behind Loya. Still in mid-air, Loya didn't bother turning. Instead, he made the ice on his body dance, shooting spikes back faster than Sanji kicking away perverts.

Ding!

The sound of steel meeting ice rang out like a demented xylophone. Tony Mil's sneak attack backfired spectacularly - Loya's ice was tougher than Garp's abs. Not only did it not break, but it left Tony's arm feeling like jelly.

Loya used the rebound like a springboard, landing and immediately launching into a spin that would make Sanji proud.

"Have a taste of my 720° roundhouse kick!"

It was clearly just one rotation, but who's counting?

Tony, caught with his guard down, found himself playing 'How fast can my face meet the floor?' The slate cracked under the impact, probably feeling sorry it got involved.

Loya, apparently moonlighting as a geometry teacher, explained: "Hey, you spun a bit too, right? It all adds up to 720°."

"Extreme Blast!"

Just as Loya was channeling his inner Usopp, a shout from above caught his attention. Something heavy was coming down fast, aiming for his noggin.

But Loya wasn't about to do the dodge dance. Instead, he reinforced the ice armor on his hand and flicked out a finger.

"I'll give your Yongquan Point a little hello!"

Loya's finger, backed by ice tougher than Zoro's resolve, punched right through Laurent Minnie's fancy sea king leather shoes and hit the sole of her foot. Her attack crumbled faster than Buggy's crew's loyalty, and she went flying with a screech, rolling around clutching her foot after landing.

Loya flashbacked to a time when a old Chinese doctor had worked on his Yongquan point during a hospital stay. The memory alone made him wince. Minnie's current state was living (and rolling) proof of its effectiveness.

Seeing the top two recruits go down faster than Luffy's attention span, the other recruits suddenly found themselves very interested in maintaining a safe distance.

Simon, dressed like he was ready for a tea party with the Celestial Dragons, took charge: "It's a madhouse in here! Elite battalion, keep him busy. Our top [-] folks, be ready to jump in. The rest of you, deal with those ice wolves and don't get in the way! If Loya breaks free, swarm him - don't let him catch his breath!"

As he barked orders, Simon whipped out a handful of iron sand and flung it at Loya.

"Magnetic sand arrow rain!"

The iron sand hung in the air for a split second, like it was posing for a photo, then shot at Loya like a swarm of very tiny, very angry bullets.

Simon's Devil Fruit was the Point-Point Fruit, letting him guide inanimate objects he touched to a target, as long as it was in sight. With this power, even if he didn't make the elite cut this time, Zephyr would definitely keep an eye on him. After all, where else are you gonna find a human GPS?

For this assessment, guns were a no-no (safety first!), so Simon got creative with his iron sand ammo.

The attack was no joke, and Loya wasn't exactly made of rubber like a certain Straw Hat captain. Faced with this DIY shotgun blast, he instinctively went on the defensive. But that split second was all the elite battalion needed to close in.

Aludo, predictable as ever, came in swinging for a head-on collision.

Boom!

Loya wasn't ready for it this time. His ice armor made a sickening creak, and suddenly he was flying through the air like a rag doll.

Before he could even blink, the Jerome brothers were on him, their swords - Zhanyu and Duanquan - moving in perfect sync.

"One Sword, Two Cuts!" they shouted in unison.

"Hey, that's plagiarism!" Loya yelled, trying to block with his ice like he'd seen Tony do. But these guys weren't Tony - they were faster, more skilled, and there were two of them.

The swords hit his ice shield and split apart, aiming for his neck and thighs. Loya barely had time to think, "Crap, they can do that?!" before reinforcing his armor.

CLANG!

The ice held, barely. The Jerome brothers bounced off, cursing, "Damn, it's like hitting a turtle shell!"

They leapt back, narrowly avoiding Loya's counterattack.

From the sidelines, Sengoku nodded approvingly. "Not bad. Those Jerome brothers work well together."

Garp, picking his nose, snorted. "So what? Aludo's too dumb to even crack the brat's defense."

He flicked a booger, and Sengoku's face darkened. "Garp! Act your age, for heaven's sake!"

"Yeah, yeah, I hear ya," Garp mumbled, digging in his ear now.

Sengoku was about to lose it when Zephyr cut in: "Knock it off, you two! You're here to watch the fight, not be the entertainment. If you want to brawl, do it somewhere else. You're embarrassing me."

Sengoku backed down, grumbling, and tried to look interested in the sloppy battle below. But his eyes kept darting to Garp, itching to teach the old man a lesson.

Loya hit the ground hard, right where Aludo was waiting, his gloves practically glowing with pent-up energy.

"Cannon Fist: Hundred Cannons!" Aludo roared.

Simple name for a simple guy, Loya thought. He didn't fancy testing if Aludo could actually punch a hundred times, so he made a quick diamond shape with his fingers, aiming at his opponent.

"Sorry buddy, gotta shut you down for a sec! Ice Make: Endless Chains!"

In the blink of an eye, ice chains materialized around Aludo, locking him in place. Loya grinned - his training was paying off.

He spun and kicked the immobilized Aludo, sending him flying. "Ice Dragon's Claw!"

Aludo bounced off the ground like a rubber ball, smashing through a wall. Loya dusted off his hands, turning to Simon with a smirk.

"Nice plan, but you miscalculated. Did you really think these guys could hold me?"

Simon tried to keep his cool. "Yeah... well..."

WHAM! Loya's roundhouse kick sent him flying before he could finish.

But the Jerome brothers appeared out of nowhere, catching Simon mid-air.

"Jerome!" Simon gasped.

The twins moved in perfect sync, speaking in an eerie, alternating pattern: "Je-ro Je-ro, you're dead, Lo-ya! We'll take you down!"

They rushed Loya, their swordsmanship and speed keeping him on his toes. He was stronger, sure, but they were fast.

Meanwhile, Simon shook off his dizziness and ran to dig Tony out of the rubble. "Come on, wake up!" he hissed. "We're gonna lose if this keeps up!"

Loya was holding back, not wanting to seriously hurt the other recruits. The Jerome brothers seized on this, waiting for him to dodge a sneak attack before lunging for his neck with their blades.

The training ground was chaos, with recruits swarming Loya and the Jerome brothers pressing their advantage. It was anyone's guess how this would end.