The Doriki test ended. Nearly thirty people were judged as failures.
Zephyr stood on the high platform again. His sharp eyes swept across the remaining recruits.
"Round two: Pressure test!" His voice was ice-cold. "It's very simple. Withstand the pressure. If you fall, you fail!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a terrifying weight descended without warning.
No one saw Zephyr move.
There was no flashy technique, no obvious source—
just a sudden, crushing force that pressed down like a mountain.
The air seemed to thicken instantly.
A heavy pressure crushed down on everyone's shoulders.
Thud! Thud!
In just a moment, nearly a hundred recruits turned pale.
Their legs gave out. They collapsed in groups like wheat being cut down.
Some even started foaming at the mouth and fainted instantly.
Rosinante's whole body was shaking violently.
Sweat poured down from his forehead like a stream.
However, he gritted his teeth hard. His feet were nailed to the ground like spikes. He refused to fall!
Hina, T-Bone, and the others also had grim expressions, resisting the pressure with everything they had.
Only Smoker, though he also felt massive pressure, remained standing perfectly straight.
His face was full of stubborn defiance.
He spent most of his energy using the corner of his eye to lock onto a certain figure at the back of the line.
That figure was "shaking like a leaf."
Smoker wanted to see with his own eyes how this monster would keep acting!
At the very back of the formation, Aiden was perfectly playing the role of an ordinary elite with strong willpower.
His legs were shaking uncontrollably in a very rhythmic way.
Fine beads of sweat broke out on his forehead at just the right time.
His breathing became heavy and labored.
He looked like a small tree in a violent storm—ready to snap at any second, yet stubbornly holding on.
In reality, his mind was completely clear.
"I see... so this isn't Conqueror's Haki," Aiden calmly analyzed.
"And it's not coming from Zephyr, either."
The pressure was too stable.
Too uniform.
It didn't feel like a person's presence flaring and fading—it felt like an external force being dialed up and held in place.
"More like an artificial field... a controlled load."
"Gravity?" Aiden narrowed his eyes slightly, still acting miserable on the outside.
"If Conqueror's Haki is a shockwave of will, this is a training tool—something that crushes posture and stamina first."
While he analyzed, he didn't forget to continue his performance.
"Hmm, let's make the leg muscles shake a bit faster. Let's make the expression 30% more painful. That should be about right."
When the pressure finally vanished, fewer than a hundred people were still standing.
"Round three: Combat assessment!" Zephyr announced.
"You will have a one-on-one fight against an instructor. The limit is one minute!"
"I am not looking at whether you win or lose. I am looking at your potential!"
Smoker's opponent was the "Iron Jaw" instructor.
Smoker took the initiative to attack.
He used his Smoke-Smoke Fruit powers to constantly annoy and bind his opponent.
Combined with his powerful physical techniques, he fought back and forth with the instructor.
In the end, he even forced the instructor to take a step back. His performance was rated as "Excellent."
Aiden's opponent was a standard physical combat instructor with the rank of Major.
Aiden completely abandoned his "Top-tier" swordsmanship and marksmanship.
He only used the most basic fighting moves.
A Marine Headquarters Major was naturally quite strong.
However, under Aiden's "Peak-level" Observation Haki, the instructor's movements were different.
In Aiden's perception, every attack looked like a slow-motion scene from a movie.
From the way the muscles moved to the shift in weight, to the path of the next attack... every detail was crystal clear.
There were openings everywhere.
"This is too hard..." Aiden complained wildly in his mind.
"I have to move in front of a slow-motion machine that is covered in weaknesses. I have to create my own openings and force myself to get hit."
"This is a hundred times harder than knocking him out in one hit!"
The battle began.
Aiden moved "clumsily" to the left, barely dodging a straight punch from the instructor.
He then raised his arms in a "frantic" hurry, managing to block a follow-up kick.
In the second half of the fight, he caught an opening caused by the instructor becoming careless during a long combo.
Aiden "luckily" landed a punch on the instructor's shoulder.
Then, near the end, he acted as if his stamina was failing.
His reactions slowed down by half a beat.
He was kicked in the chest by the instructor and stumbled back several steps.
However, he stubbornly refused to fall.
"Solid basics. Impressive willpower. But your combat experience is seriously lacking, and your reaction speed needs work," the instructor gave his final evaluation.
"Overall rating: Upper-Middle."
All the tests were over. The final placement lists were posted on the bulletin board.
Smoker, Hina, T-Bone, and a few other elites entered the Vanguard Class as expected.
A large group of people was placed into the Mainline Class.
Those with terrible test results walked toward the Deckhand Class area with their heads hanging low.
The "Iron Jaw" instructor stood in front of the list and began to announce the names loudly.
When he reached: "Aiden... Mainline Class!"
Aiden's face showed a perfectly timed expression of relief.
He blended into the large group of the Mainline Class, looking completely unremarkable.
In his mind, he was already calculating what kind of delicious Sea King dishes the Mainline Class cafeteria would have today.
At noon after the placement test, all the recruits headed to the same massive central cafeteria.
Since it was the first day, the kitchen staff hadn't had time to adjust yet.
Everyone was still eating the same mass-produced food.
Aiden felt a sense of "saying goodbye to the past and welcoming a new life."
He stood in line with a heart full of hope.
"It's finally over."
Aiden looked forward to the future.
"I ate that pig feed in Loguetown for over a year. The Marine Headquarters cafeteria, especially for the Mainline camp, has to be different, right?"
"Sea King cuisine, here I come!"
He looked at the soup pot—which was as big as a small boat—near the window.
He imagined tender, juicy Sea King steaks full of protein inside.
However, the cafeteria lady dipped her ladle in and dumped a portion of food onto his tray with a heavy thud.
Aiden's smile froze.
It was a scoop of sticky, grey stew.
You couldn't even tell what the ingredients were. It gave off a heavy, fishy smell.
Aiden looked around.
He noticed that not just the "Mainline Class," but even the proud members of the "Vanguard Class"—including Smoker—had the exact same thing on their trays.
Everyone was eating that grey, unidentifiable mess.
Aiden broke down on the spot.
"Are you kidding me?! This is Sea King cuisine?"
"This is clearly just Sea King meat, bones, and organs thrown into a pot with unknown vegetables and boiled for three hours!"
"This is just protein fodder!"
Looking at the pile of food where he couldn't even distinguish the ingredients, Aiden turned his tray around three times.
He literally didn't know where to start eating.
"This is a crime! This is a public insult to high-quality ingredients!"
Still, Aiden tried to comfort himself.
Today was just the first day. Everyone was probably eating "Deckhand Class" food for now.
Tomorrow, everything would be better... right?
Finally, with his stomach screaming in hunger, Aiden pinched his nose and closed his eyes.
Like he was drinking bitter medicine, he swallowed the unidentifiable food one mouthful at a time.
To his surprise, once the "fodder" hit his stomach, a strong feeling of fullness combined with a surge of heat spread quickly from his gut.
Aiden was stunned.
"This stuff... even though it tastes like a specialty from Hell, the effect is actually good."
Aiden analyzed it objectively in his mind.
"The ingredients are solid. The energy it contains is far beyond normal food. It's great for recovering after high-intensity training."
But as soon as that rational thought appeared, another voice full of irritation roared in his heart.
"But eating this every day?! You've got to be kidding me!"
"What's the difference between this and turning yourself into a machine just for a performance review?"
"Sure, the body gets stronger, but doesn't a person live for the joy of eating?"
"If I eat this for a year, I'm definitely going to get clinical depression!!"
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