In less than half an hour, news of the bet spread throughout Marineford as if it had grown wings.
"Hey! Did you hear? That new recruit, Tokikake, is going to challenge Rear Admiral Kane!"
"You mean that creepy guy who's always pestering Sister Gion? Is he insane?"
"The bet is apparently that whoever loses has to wear women's clothing and run ten naked laps around the Headquarters Plaza!"
"What the hell! Seriously? Such high stakes? Quick, quick, let's go grab a seat!"
Rumors always grow more absurd as they spread, turning "running laps" into "running naked," but this did nothing to dampen the Marines' enthusiasm for the spectacle.
Even many commissioned officers of commander rank and below put down their documents, using the excuse of "inspecting training" to sneak off toward the First Training Arena.
At 2:10 PM.
The First Training Arena, large enough to hold tens of thousands of people, was now packed to the rafters. A dense sea of heads bobbed and weaved, the roar of the crowd shaking the heavens.
In the viewing box at the highest point of the stands.
Three towering figures leaned against the railing, creating the area with the lowest atmospheric pressure in the entire venue.
"The young people nowadays are so scary~"
Borsalino, hands in his pockets, wore a punchable grin on his sleazy face as he spoke to the two beside him.
"I've heard of that kid Tokikake. His talent is passable, but to challenge Kane... Is he tired of living and wants to commit suicide?"
"Probably just hormones clouding his judgment."
Kuzan yawned, pushed his eye mask up to his forehead, and leaned back lazily in his chair. "But that guy Kane really has some twisted tastes."
"Hmph, a boring farce!"
Sakazuki crossed his arms, his gaze icy.
"How can the dignity of the Navy be trifled with like this! When this is over, that idiot named Tokikake should be thrown in solitary confinement for three days!"
Down below, Tokikake stood in the center of the ring, his solitary figure appearing somewhat frail.
He looked at the tsunami-like crowd around him, his mind buzzing. Cold sweat dripped from his comical figure-eight eyebrows onto the ground.
He regretted it.
He truly regretted it.
Why did he let jealousy cloud his mind? Why did he agree to such a perverted bet?
Just as he was about to be crushed by the pressure, the crowd erupted in a deafening cheer.
"Rear Admiral Kane is here!!"
At the entrance of the tunnel, Kane had changed out of his admiral's uniform and was wearing only a set of form-fitting white casual clothes.
The collar of his shirt was slightly open, revealing his powerful muscles.
On his right shoulder, he carried a weapon wrapped in a long strip of black cloth.
That calm and unhurried aura formed a tragic contrast with the profusely sweating, on-high-alert Tokikake opposite him.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
Kane walked to the center of the arena, casually unwrapped the black cloth, and revealed a bizarre, pitch-black greatsword with a swastika-shaped handguard, exposing it to the sunlight.
The pupils of every swordsman present who understood the blade contracted.
Just looking at that sword sent a chill through their hearts.
Up high, the three monsters frowned in unison.
"To show my respect for you, I brought a new sword."
He glanced at the pale-faced Tokikake and smiled gently. "By the way, have you picked out a dress? I think pink lace might suit your temperament."
"You...!"
Tokikake's face turned the color of pig's liver.
"You can make the first move."
Kane held the sword in one hand, its tip pointing diagonally at the ground. He turned his head to look in a certain direction in the stands, where Gion was nervously clenching her fists.
This posture of complete disregard for him thoroughly ignited the last shred of Tokikake's sanity.
"You're the one who said it!"
Tokikake assumed a starting stance, letting out a great roar to bolster his courage. "I'll show you the results of my daily efforts to grow stronger!"
"Efforts?"
Kane smiled.
He didn't want to discourage the kid, but in the world of One Piece, there were some gaps that you couldn't cross even if you threw your life into it.
Tokikake roared, his feet stomping hard on the ground. The solid rock of the ring was actually crushed, leaving two deep pits!
Although his appearance was unkempt, the future Admiral candidate was by no means an empty title!
At this moment, Tokikake displayed astonishing explosive power. His entire body shot forward like a cannonball, crossing dozens of meters in an instant. A heavy punch, wrapped in the flames of jealousy, ruthlessly smashed toward Kane's chest!
"Go down!!"
Bang!
A muffled thud echoed throughout the arena.
However, the expected scene of Kane flying backward did not occur. He didn't even sway.
The fist, powerful enough to punch through a steel plate, landed squarely on his chest, and then... it just stopped.
Kane retracted his gaze, looked down at the fist print on his chest, and a flicker of imperceptible disappointment crossed his eyes.
"Is this the best you can do?"
"Your power is scattered, your point of force application is wrong. Aside from a loud voice, you're utterly useless."
Tokikake's pupils trembled violently.
It wasn't just because his attack was ineffective, but because he felt a despairing sense of pressure from Kane!
"I don't believe it!!!"
Tokikake's mentality shattered. He swung his arms wildly, launching a torrential storm of attacks at Kane like a pile driver.
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!
A rain of fist shadows fell—chest, abdomen, shoulders... Tokikake used every ounce of his strength, each punch creating a sonic boom as it crazily hammered every part of Kane's body.
But Kane was like a towering mountain, unmoving and unshaken no matter how the wind and rain battered him.
Thirty seconds later.
Tokikake was exhausted, panting heavily. His fists were already red, swollen, and bleeding, his eyes filled with confusion and fear.
The gap...
Was it so vast that he wasn't even qualified to break through his defense?
Kane sighed inwardly.
Sigh, I was too hasty.
With his terrifying physique of 85 points, an attack of Tokikake's level was no different from a scratch.
He had thought he'd found a sandbag to test his sword on, figuring he'd have to at least parry a few blows...
Turns out, he was overthinking it.
With such a disparity in strength, Tokikake wasn't even qualified to make him draw his sword.
The sense of anticipation in his heart quickly cooled.
"Are you done playing?"
Kane's voice sounded faintly, tinged with a hint of boredom.
Tokikake snapped his head up, just in time to meet Kane's eyes, which had instantly become indifferent, even somewhat pitying.
Crack.
At that moment, Tokikake heard the sound of his own mentality completely shattering.
"In that case, let's end this."
Before his words had even faded, Kane's right hand, simply coated in black Armament Haki, shot out nonchalantly.
Although he had held back ninety percent of his strength, it was still more than the current Tokikake could withstand.
Boom!
A straightforward, unadorned punch landed squarely on Tokikake's face!
"Pfft—!"
Blood gushed from Tokikake's nose, his features contorting as he was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string!
While his body was still tracing a miserable arc through the air.
Kane moved.
Since the sword was already in his hand, he might as well give it a try.
He flicked his wrist, lifted the pitch-black longsword, and swung it casually in the direction Tokikake was flying.
"Getsuga..."
The low murmur vibrated in the air.
"...Tenshou."
Voom—!!!
A crescent-shaped slash, interwoven with black and red and compressed to the extreme, instantly erupted from the blade's edge!
It shot skyward, closely following Tokikake's arching body!
The terrifying wind pressure directly shattered Tokikake's comical top hat.
Still in mid-air, Tokikake's eyes rolled back. This time, he had truly fainted from the palpable aura of death so close to him, and he fell to the ground with a thud.
But the slash did not stop.
The black and red crescent, like a furious dragon, roared as it charged into the heavens, tyrannically crashing into the sky!
Rumble—!
A deep, muffled explosion echoed from the sky.
Everyone in the arena looked up in terror.
They saw the thick layer of clouds above their heads had been forcefully sliced in two by this single slash!
The sky had split open.
The gloomy clouds retreated to either side, and golden sunlight poured down from the massive rift, perfectly illuminating the figure standing in the center of the ring, sword in hand.
Kane casually twirled his sword in a flourish, letting the longsword hang down naturally as he watched everything with an indifferent expression.
The entire training arena fell deathly silent.
Three seconds later.
"Ahhhhh—!!!"
The stands erupted in screams loud enough to overturn Marineford. Countless female Marines fainted on the spot from excitement.
"The hell kind of swordsmanship is that?!"
"He cut the clouds?! Are you kidding me!"
"So cool!! Rear Admiral Kane, I want to have your babies!!"
On the high platform.
Borsalino's sunglasses had slid to the tip of his nose, his expression turning grave.
"...You've got to be kidding me? A slash of that level..."
Kuzan's eyes were also filled with shock. "...This is trouble. His swordsmanship was clearly average back in the Elite Camp. When did he become even more of a monster than his Devil Fruit ability?"
Sakazuki stared intently at the black sword in Kane's hand, then at the sky that had been split open.
He turned his head to look at Borsalino, who was also a master swordsman, and asked in a hoarse voice:
"Borsalino, did you see it clearly? His swordsmanship..."
Borsalino adjusted his glasses, his tone unprecedentedly serious.
"I couldn't see it clearly, but... I know that slash has already stepped into the realm of a 'Great Swordsman'."
In the crowd, Gion stared blankly at the figure bathed in sunlight, her eyes dazed.
She knew that for the rest of her life, she would probably never be able to erase this image from her mind.
At this moment, the young girl's heart's defenses completely crumbled.