章 30: Chapter 30 It's another matter, Zefa's thoughts
In the woods, there was silence. Looking up, the sunlight streamed through the leaves, like stars twinkling in the air. It was a little dazzling, yet crystal clear and beautiful, filling the forest with an elusive tranquility.
"Strange! When did the island become so quiet?"
After wandering in the forest for a long time, Loya noticed that the once lively and noisy woods had fallen silent. There was no sound of recruits sparring, not even the chirping of insects or birds.
He knew that the dragon's might would be released in the state of Shijie, but surely its range couldn't be this vast, right?
Back in Marineford, it had only covered half of the recruit battalion, and only when he intensified the pressure could it reach half of the naval headquarters.
Even so, Loya had clearly forgotten that fear is contagious.
The explosion at the start of his battle, followed by the release of his dragon's might, had indeed only frightened the nearby animals into panic, making them flee. At that time, the predators on the outskirts were delighted at the sudden influx of prey delivered to their doorstep.
But after a few kills, the predators began to sense something was off.
The prey they caught showed no fear of death, and despite the presence of predators, they continued to stampede forward, driven by some unseen terror.
Was there something even more frightening behind them? Perhaps the king of the island?
These predators wondered, then slowly shifted from hesitation to a full-on retreat, which eventually snowballed into a massive stampede.
---
"I can't find anything to eat! I'm going to starve to death!" Loya complained, clutching his rumbling stomach. As he looked at the surrounding stones, they almost seemed to resemble coarse grain buns.
Just as he frowned, Lieutenant General Mole, with his Mohawk hairstyle, appeared before him. Loya's eyes lit up, and he immediately rushed over.
"Ah! What a big sausage!"
Crack!
Feeling a sharp pain in his head, Mole's face darkened. He grabbed Loya's foot and slammed him into the ground. "Who are you calling a roasted sausage?! That's my hair, you idiot!"
"How dare you mess with me! In the name of justice, you're going to die, you bastard!"
After some chaotic scuffling, Mole reluctantly sheathed his sword. When Kuzan had mentioned Loya's strength back on the ship, he hadn't believed it. But now, after witnessing it firsthand, he was convinced that Loya did indeed possess power comparable to a vice admiral. Even though Loya hadn't used the ability General Aokiji had described, his powerful fruit abilities alone made him a force to be reckoned with.
Sitting on the ground, holding his stomach, Loya pouted. "Tch! What's your problem? Don't you know I'm starving here? And now you want to fight me? I get it—you're trying to starve me into submission, right? Is that your idea of justice?"
Ignoring Loya's rant, Mole pointed in a direction. "There's a gathering point over there. Due to special circumstances, the assessment has been temporarily canceled. You should hurry up and join the others."
"Special circumstances?"
Loya sneezed, rubbed his nose, and asked, "Huh? What special circumstances? Are there pirates on the island?"
Mole: "..."
Seeing Loya's genuine confusion, Mole finally understood Zefa's frustration. With a deep sigh, he explained, "You just fought with the silverback great ape, scaring off all the nearby animals. It triggered a beast stampede. For everyone's safety, the assessment has been halted."
"What?" Loya looked dumbfounded. "You mean the entire island is having a beast stampede because of me?"
"What else!!!"
---
When they reached the beach, hundreds of recruits were sitting around in small groups, looking dejected. Some were bandaged and on crutches, while the ship's medical staff treated their wounds and applied medicine.
"Ah! It's Loya! Loya is back!"
The path of ice Loya had created from the forest spread out onto the beach, and one of the recruits noticed him gliding over on his ice blades.
"Hey, everyone! Good afternoon~" Loya greeted shamelessly, oblivious to the tense atmosphere around him.
Immediately, he was swarmed and pinned to the ground by a group of angry recruits.
"You jerk! Do you know I almost died because of you?"
"Did you fire a cannon or something?!"
"Hey, who kicked my butt?!"
Loya lay there, dazed, blinking as he looked at his friends with a mischievous glare. "Wait a minute... Did you guys sell me out?!"
"Uh..."
Although the assessment had been suspended because of him, the rest of the recruits still didn't know the exact reason. Only the generals and a few like his friends, who had been with him earlier, were aware of the truth.
So...
"Ice-Make: Clothes Pole!"
Crack! Whoosh!
Loya stood up, dusted himself off, and flexed his neck and knuckles. Behind him, the recruits were now suspended in the air by ice hangers, swaying helplessly.
He walked over to his friend, grabbed him by the neck with a grin, and asked, "So... how would you like to die?"
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