Chapter 36

"If you want to fight, then fight!" That was Loya's answer.

As Loya emerged, Aludo tossed aside the iron tower he was holding and rushed over excitedly. "Loya! You're out! What did Teacher Zephyr teach you?"

You see, newbies usually have brief first sessions. They've just joined the elite squad and don't have much to learn, so Zephyr typically sends them off after a few encouraging words. But Loya? He was in there for two whole hours – that's rare even for the veterans.

Loya glanced at Simon and Minnie, who were supporting Tony, then turned back to Aludo. "Rokushiki, and Haki," he replied simply.

The air seemed to freeze. All eyes locked onto Loya in disbelief.

Aludo, thick-headed as ever, recovered first. He clapped Loya on the shoulder with a laugh. "Ha! You're something else, Loya! First lesson and Zephyr's already teaching you the Six Powers and Haki? It took me half a year to learn the Six Powers, and a whole year before I started on Haki!"

"That's 'cause your brain's all muscle," the Jerome brothers chimed in, eyeing Loya with newfound respect.

Teaching the Six Powers and Haki right off the bat? That meant Loya's physique was already up to scratch. Big news indeed! Even in the elite camp, few could learn Haki. There had only been a handful in recent years.

Armament Haki, especially, demanded an incredibly powerful physique – even more so than the Navy's Six Powers. Aludo might be dense, but when it came to physical strength, he was top-tier. The guy had torn Sea Kings apart with his bare hands, for crying out loud. It was that monstrous strength that convinced Zephyr to teach him Haki.

After saying goodbye to his campmates, Loya headed to the small square, crushing ice beneath his feet as he prepared to train.

"Shave... Iron Body... Paper Art," Loya muttered, recalling Zephyr's words. "Shave, Tempest Kick, Moonwalk are movement techniques based on Shave, and Finger Pistol is kind of a precursor to Iron Body."

Remembering all the times Mole and Kuzan had pushed him around over the past month, Loya's eyes blazed with determination.

"Alright, let's start with Shave!"

Mastering the Six Powers would help Loya understand his own strength better and lay the groundwork for his future Haki training. Once he reached the level of "returning to life," his power would skyrocket.

Up until now, Loya had always felt awkward using his body in combat. It was like having a sniper rifle but only being able to use it as a pistol. The Six Powers were physical techniques that would let him realize his full potential.

Learning Shave wasn't easy, but it wasn't impossible either. Besides the superhuman physical fitness required, the real challenge was body coordination.

"This is gonna be the toughest part," Loya thought, steeling himself for the grueling training ahead.

Loya took a deep breath, trying to stay relaxed.

Suddenly, he kicked off. The ground shattered with a bang, leaving a spiderweb of cracks. In a blink, Loya became a blur, shooting forward.

CRASH!

The opposite wall crumbled, and Loya vanished into a cloud of dust.

Outside the training yard, a patrolling Marine gulped and pulled out his Den Den Mushi. "Uh, Logistics? Yeah, we're gonna need repairs in the small square tomorrow. No, not the floor this time. It's the wall..."

"What? The wall's gone again."

Loya groaned, pushing rubble off himself and crawling up with a scowl.

"Damn it! Too much power? I'm fast, but that's not Shave!"

"Once more!"

WHOOSH!

Loya disappeared. The rubble at his feet exploded, pelting the nearby patrol with gravel. They yelped, ducking for cover.

A split second later, Loya reappeared. He skidded to a stop, his nose a finger's width from freshly painted bricks. He grinned.

"Ha! Didn't hit the wall this time!"

Training takes time. Loya wasn't some prodigy who'd master this in three days. He kept at it, adjusting, trying again and again. The small square echoed with explosions. The floor cracked, walls collapsed, dust hung in the air. It looked more like a demolition site than a training ground.

Just mastering Shave showed how tough the Six Powers really were. Zephyr had undersold it. These techniques didn't just need superhuman strength – they demanded precise control of speed, stamina, and muscle coordination.

Night fell before Loya finally stopped. He collapsed spread-eagle among the rubble, sweat pouring off him in rivers.

Loya hadn't felt this kind of exhaustion in ages. Back in boot camp, he could do squats from sunup to sundown or carry the heaviest weights on his back. But practicing the Six Powers for just half a day had pushed him to his limit.

"What a rush!" Loya grinned up at the stars, feeling oddly satisfied.

A month flew by in the blink of an eye.

In the Navy HQ's special alloy training room, Loya bounced on his toes like a boxer warming up. Then, in an instant, he vanished. All that remained was a deep footprint in the alloy floor.

Almost simultaneously, Loya reappeared across the room. He faced a three-inch thick iron plate, his hand pulled back, fingers curved like claws.

"Finger Pistol - Octopus!"

His steel-hard fingers tore into the iron plate in a frenzy. Though he only had two hands, they seemed to multiply into a storm of claw-like shadows covering the entire plate. The air crackled with explosions, and the iron groaned and twisted under the assault.

As the momentum in his hands began to fade, Loya pivoted. His left foot swept upward.

"Tempest Ki-"

Before he could finish, Loya appeared diagonally above the plate, leaving an afterimage to complete his previous move.

In a heartbeat, Loya used Tempest Kick again, reappearing directly in front of the plate.

"Tempest Kick - Three Moons!"

Three crescent-shaped air blades shot out, slamming into the iron plate simultaneously.

BOOM!

Finally, the tortured iron plate exploded, showering the room with shrapnel.

Loya leapt back, instinctively shielding himself from the storm of razor-sharp fragments.

The specially designed Navy training room had no soil to kick up dust, which made Zephyr's shock all the more apparent.

"In just a month, you've mastered Finger Pistol, Shave, Moonwalk, and Tempest Kick? And you've even developed new techniques?"

Ever since Sengoku had responded to complaints by moving Loya from the small square to this room a month ago, Zephyr had been closely monitoring his training.

It took Loya just one month to master four of the Six Powers! These techniques are incredibly difficult to learn - they're the Navy's most powerful physical skills. Usually, only Vice Admiral-level fighters can use them proficiently.

Rob Lucci was considered the strongest CP9 agent in 800 years! That timespan alone shows how rare true mastery is. We're not talking one-in-a-million talent here - Loya's a once-in-a-lifetime prodigy.

It took Zephyr and Garp nearly six months to reach Loya's current level. That speed caught the eye of Kong, then a Vice Admiral, who called them "monsters" and fast-tracked their careers.

But Loya? He's not just breaking records - he's creating legends!

Loya approached Zephyr, trying to play it cool. "So... Teacher Zephyr, how's my progress? Decent enough?"

Zephyr, snapping out of his daze, narrowed his eyes. Loya stood there casually, towel over his shoulders, grinning. Zephyr's face darkened, and he threw a punch.

"You're in the Navy! Stand up straight, damn it!"

Whoosh!

Loya dodged like a piece of paper in the wind. "Whoa, I actually used Paper Art! Looks like I'll master all six styles soon..."

He leaned in, still grinning. "Aw, why so angry, Teacher? Shouldn't you be thrilled to have such an amazing student?"

Thanks to his draconic physique, Loya's progress this past month has been unbelievable - like he was possessed by some mythical beast.

The main challenge of the Six Powers - physical strength - was a non-issue for Loya with his dragon's body. As long as he could grasp the techniques and maintain coordination, everything else fell into place.

Loya even developed advanced versions of some techniques, like "Finger Pistol: Octopus" and "Tempest Kick: Three Moons."

He realized Finger Pistol's weakness against large-scale attacks and developed "Octopus" to compensate. It combined the technique's piercing power with wind pressure from multiple strikes, creating a wide-area assault that could tear through enemy defenses.