Inside the luxurious and solemn royal palace.
Teams of guards were responsible for patrolling.
The leader of the Sixth Combat Team, Mike, entered here with Urouge, Wapol, and Jester.
"This is my first time entering here since the royal palace was built!" Jester couldn't help but exclaim, scanning his surroundings, his eyes filled with a hard-to-hide surprise.
This was a calm young man, but the architectural styles of Sky Island and the Blue Sea differed too greatly, so it was naturally hard for him not to feel a bit curious.
"Hey, Instructor Mike, I wonder what King-sama wants with the three of us?" Urouge, with his exaggerated physique and bulging muscles, asked with an arrogant expression.
Unlike Jester, who actively joined the military, this guy was actually a pirate from Sky Island. Later, because he plundered Germa's merchant ship, he was ruthlessly crushed by Bartholomew Kuma without any reason. Seeing that this guy had decent potential, it would be too regrettable to kill him directly, so he was recruited into Germa.
"No matter what it is, I'm sure it won't be anything bad!" Wapol said calmly.
Over a year of development, because Germa had not intentionally suppressed the Sky Island residents, and had even avoided collecting heavy taxes, coupled with Germa's vast lands, many Sky Island residents had basically willingly integrated into this massive Sky Kingdom.
Having witnessed the process of Sky Kingdom being built from scratch, they all felt a sense of belonging to some extent.
"King-sama is up there!"
On the three-story high palace ahead.
Ivankov was standing there, looking down at the three people walking into the palace under Mike's leadership.
There were also two other figures, standing one on each side of him.
They were Bartholomew Kuma and Fujitora.
"Your Highness, are these the three?"
Fujitora asked with a faint smile, sizing up the figures below.
"Indeed, all are promising prospects. Jester is calm, courageous, and strategic. That guy Urouge, whose muscles are surprisingly delicate in thought, was coerced into joining Germa at first..." The burly Bartholomew Kuma stood with his arms crossed, nodding directly and saying, "And Wapol, although his temper is a bit volatile, his willpower is incredibly stubborn!"
He was quite appreciative of the very stubborn Urouge back then.
If it weren't for the condition of releasing his companions, this guy would certainly not have joined Germa.
Moreover, both Wapol and the student named Jester showed impressive potential.
"This time, while we're at it, let's take all three of them to Mango Beast Island to train. We can better excavate their potential..."
Adding the Castle-Castle Fruit snatched from Capone Bege earlier, Ivankov still had two decent Devil Fruits in his hand, which he had specially collected during his previous hunts of ability users. They were perfect for these three.
"Three Devil Fruits, perfect!"
There were also several more ordinary Devil Fruits, which he had specifically left for other students in the military academy. He had already given them to Bartholomew Kuma, who wore the title of Chief Instructor of the military academy.
"Your Majesty!"
Not long after, Mike brought Urouge and Jester to the upper floor, bowing respectfully to Ivankov.
Aside from Wapol, who had already met Ivankov, Urouge and Jester were both filled with curiosity as they sized up Ivankov.
"You three, your performance in the military academy, I am very satisfied!" Without the expected long speech, Ivankov stood there with his hands behind his back.
His profound gaze scrutinized Urouge and Jester. Although he didn't intentionally release his aura, the aura of a superior still made the three feel an immense increase in pressure.
"Lord Ivankov..."
Urouge scratched his head, suppressing the nervousness in his heart. He smiled somewhat awkwardly and said, "Purely in terms of performance, are the three of us not the best?"
"Those students who were originally undergoing training in the training camp, some of them have even already mastered Haki." Jester, beside him, nodded.
Although he didn't feel inferior to those students, from these aspects, their performance, though excellent, was not truly the best.
"They have undergone several years of rigorous training, mastering Haki or more than half of the Six Powers. This is very normal. Moreover, the Six Powers are merely physical techniques. Achievement ultimately depends on the individual;
it's not that speaking more means you're destined to be stronger..." Ivankov shook his head and spoke bluntly, "In contrast, the potential you three have displayed far surpasses theirs!"
A guard beside him came up holding a box of Devil Fruits, delivering it to Ivankov.
"Devil Fruits?"
Urouge, Jester, and Wapol's pupils all constricted.
The three had been studying at the military academy for over a year, so they had naturally heard of Devil Fruits.
They had even witnessed the immense power that Devil Fruits brought.
Undoubtedly, Ivankov intended to bestow these Devil Fruits upon the three of them, though they didn't know what type of Devil Fruits they were.
"Of course, these are quite rare items!"
Urouge laughed loudly, directly taking the Devil Fruit handed to him. Without hesitation, he bit into it. "I heard that even the worst ones are worth over 100 million Berries in the Blue Sea, huh!"
His face turned green, and he convulsed.
"Phew..." It took him a while to recover, and he couldn't help but let out a long sigh: "Just like the academy instructor said, it really tastes bad!"
"The taste isn't particularly good, but one bite is enough. No need to keep eating it..." Fujitora, beside him, chuckled softly.
Wapol and Jester hesitated for a moment, then each ate the Devil Fruit in front of them.
This King of Germa clearly intended to vigorously cultivate them. If they missed this opportunity, they might not have another in the future.
The drawbacks of Devil Fruits existed, but their power was equally terrifying.
"Ability is only an aid, after all. Don't neglect your physical cultivation just because you have Devil Fruit abilities."
"How far you can go in the future depends on yourselves!"
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