บท 16: Chapter 16 - Unmovable as a Mountain
Chapter 16 - Unmovable as a Mountain
Rosha didn't understand why Rear Admiral Adilla would suddenly announce such an obviously unfair rule.
However, he could tell that this was a test from Rear Admiral Adilla.
Facing 500 opponents alone, Rosha wasn't sure if he could manage it.
But as he thought of his father, old John, who died with a piece of black bread still clutched in his hand, and of his mother, Elizabeth, sitting outside their wooden house weaving bamboo baskets, and how she succumbed to a simple cold because they couldn't afford treatment…
As he thought of the 187 twisted, shattered bodies of the villagers of Maple Village…
As he thought of the seventeen survivors, who seemed fortunate but were in fact scarred for life by the pirates' brutality, likely to be haunted by nightmares forever…
Rosha stepped onto the platform without hesitation, his eyes turning slightly red. Without waiting for Rear Admiral Adilla to announce the start, his silver hair billowed wildly as he roared:
"Recruit Rosha! I challenge you all… to a battle!"
His voice boomed like thunder, shaking the entire field!
"Kid, don't get too cocky! Do you really think you can take on everyone? There are over 500 recruits here!"
"Let me, Vieri, see what you're made of!"
A towering man standing 2.5 meters tall strode onto the stage, charging straight at Rosha.
His massive, muscular body was even taller and more imposing than Rosha's 2.3 meters.
His body was covered in bulging muscles, making him look like he was made of solid rock.
"That's… the two-star bounty hunter from North Blue, the Tiger Hunter Vieri! It's said he once single-handedly hunted down a pirate captain with a bounty of 3 million Berries, he…"
Before the anonymous recruit could finish his sentence, a violent burst of air erupted from the stage.
In the blink of an eye, the giant Vieri, standing 2.5 meters tall, was struck in the chest by Rosha's right fist.
Boom!
A deep, thunderous sound echoed.
Vieri's massive body lifted off the ground, flying backwards for fifty or sixty meters like a cannonball, crashing through the base wall and leaving a large hole three or four meters in diameter.
The entire place fell silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
The recruits stood there with their mouths agape.
"What just happened? Who flew away?"
Someone looked utterly confused.
Thud.
A recruit's legs trembled, barely able to stand.
"Hey, hey, is this a joke? That's the two-star bounty hunter Vieri from North Blue, a strongman who can single-handedly kill a pirate with a bounty of 3 million Berries, and he was sent flying with one punch? Is this guy really a recruit? Navy, did you bring an officer to mess with us?"
A military captain from a certain kingdom looked disgruntled, suspecting that Adilla was deliberately making things difficult for them.
"A bunch of trash, scared so easily? We don't need cowards like this in the North Blue branch!"
Adilla's eyes swept coldly across the noisy training ground.
"Arm them."
A chilling voice came from afar.
Everyone turned to see a three-meter-tall naval officer in a red uniform standing with his arms crossed and staring expressionlessly at them.
"Who is that guy? Never seen him before. He's kind of arrogant… ouch."
A well-known martial artist from North Blue barely got out a complaint before several burly men jumped on him, covering his mouth tightly.
"Let me go! What are you doing?"
"Shut up, fool! Do you want to get us all killed? Do you have dog crap for brains? How can you not recognize a Navy Admiral?"
The burly man, face pale and sweating, pressed the martial artist to the ground, covering his mouth.
"An Admiral? You mean that guy is… hey!"
Boom!
A fist the size of a sandbag landed on the martial artist's face, sending his teeth flying. He passed out instantly, head slumped to the side.
The burly man who threw the punch stood up, pale-faced, relieved to see that Akainu still showed no expression. Then he looked toward the platform at the white-haired boy.
"The Admiral is allowing us to use weapons against that boy, which means…"
The burly man's face grew even grimmer.
"Big brother, what do you mean?" his subordinate asked, puzzled.
"I mean, when we get on stage, try to stay on the periphery and let them go first," the burly man instructed solemnly.
"Oh, what about the weapons?" The subordinate, still confused, decided to follow orders.
"Of course, we take them! Even if the Admiral has high hopes for that boy, he won't be able to sustain his strength against so many. We only need to make our move at the last moment! If timed right, this might be our chance to make a name for ourselves in the North Blue!"
The Longleg martial artist, Hammur, saw a glimmer of opportunity in his eyes.
Elsewhere, after a brief silence, all the recruits on the training ground seemed invigorated. They rushed to the naval soldiers distributing weapons, grabbed their preferred arms, and charged towards Rosha on the platform.
Though Adilla had said that whoever defeated Rosha would get an exceptional promotion, if anyone just slacked off and waited for Rosha to tire out before stepping in, they wouldn't gain any benefits.
The naval officers watching weren't blind.
And more importantly, weapons gave people courage.
Within seconds, dozens of recruits holding spears, swords, and other weapons surrounded Rosha.
Naturally, the weapons handed out were all cold weapons.
Though allowed to use weapons, Adilla wasn't foolish enough to hand out firearms.
Even if Rosha's body was resilient, his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose were still vulnerable.
One careless shot could blind him, ruining everything.
The battle was about to begin!
"Kid, you can still surrender now! I…"
Crack!
A long sword shattered, and a heavy fist shot out, punching the recruit in the abdomen.
"Ugh!"
The recruit's body arched, his back showing a clear spine imprint. Blood and stomach fluids sprayed from his mouth and nose.
Boom!
The recruit's body flew backwards, his shattered sword falling to the ground.
Boom!
He collided with the person behind him, causing a sickening crunch of breaking bones.
Boom!
The second person flew back into a third, then a fourth, then a fifth.
Thud, thud, thud!
Where Rosha's fist pointed, the recruits fell like dominoes, stacking up.
In an instant, a dozen recruits collapsed like a pile of cards!
There was no technique, just pure brute strength.
The power Rosha displayed was after intentionally holding back!
He dared not use his full strength, as these recruits would be reduced to pieces otherwise.
Jericho, with a bounty of 16 million Berries, couldn't withstand his attack.
That was when he was severely weakened.
Now, after five days of meticulous care by Head Chef DeNo, Rosha's body had fully recovered and was at its peak.
A single punch burst the air, clearing a large area before him.
"Come on! Defeat me, so I can grow stronger!" Rosha roared, his feet stomping down, almost cracking the platform, sinking it.
His fists swung wildly, creating sounds of wind and thunder.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Hundreds of recruits swarmed like a waterfall, rushing towards Rosha in the center of the platform.
However, to their horror, the white-haired boy stood like a rock in a torrent, unmoved by the surge of people.
Standing in the midst of the torrent, the boy was unmovable as a mountain!
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