With loosened teeth and splattering blood, Smoker's entire body was smashed into the ground by Jake's punch.
As dust flew into the air, Hina's slightly nervous voice called out.
"Smoker! Are you okay? Hina is worried!"
Jake looked at the dust that had risen several ters high, feeling slightly awkward.
He seed to have struck too hard just now—he'd need to hold back so strength.
"I'm fine! And I'm about to knock that bastard flat on the ground!"
The dust was instantly swallowed by white smoke as Smoker's voice rang out.
Then, the white smoke visibly expanded, enveloping the entire training ground in monts.
Visibility dropped instantly, with the field of view reduced to just over a ter. At this distance, if the opponent launched an attack, dodging would be nearly impossible.
The mont the trainees were shrouded in smoke, each of them began assessing its effects and how they might counter this situation.
However, apart from a few soldiers with special abilities, most realized with despair that if Smoker's attack had been aid at them, they would have lost the mont the smoke engulfed them.
"White Fist!"
The smoke transford into montum and a fist the size of a sandbag shot out from the thick smoke, aiming straight at Jake's face.
This was Smoker's retaliation for Jake's earlier punch.
This vision-blocking technique was extrely effective in actual combat—the opponent couldn't discern Smoker's attack direction and could only defend passively.
In this scenario where the enemy was exposed while Smoker remained hidden, the opponent couldn't afford even the slightest mistake.
But the limitation of this move was that it only worked in low-level battles.
Once the opponent mastered Observation Haki, Smoker's large-scale smoke would be nothing more than a waste of stamina, offering no advantage whatsoever.
And clearly, Jake's current actions were demonstrating to Smoker what it truly ant to waste energy.
No matter which angle Smoker's fist ca from, Jake dodged it effortlessly, as if he had foreseen it in advance.
He didn't even counterattack, rely evading each incoming strike.
The force behind the punches grew weaker and Smoker's expression turned increasingly grave.
Maintaining this scale of mist for so long had begun to take its toll on him, while Jake, trapped in the thick smoke, still appeared completely at ease—not even breathing heavily, let alone breaking a sweat.
By this point, Smoker already understood the gap between himself and Jake.
But having been regarded as a genius since childhood, he couldn't accept such a humiliating defeat—especially when Jake hadn't even used his Devil Fruit abilities yet!
Taking a deep breath, Smoker gripped the jitte at his waist.
Abandoning his previous long-range attacks, he used the smoke as cover to close in on Jake directly.
His arm muscles bulged as he swung the weapon down hard towards Jake's shoulder.
After all, this was just a spar between classmates, so there was no need to aim for vital spots.
Sensing the direction of his opponent's attack, Jake nodded slightly.
Although Smoker had a sowhat hot temper now, he was still kind at heart—at least he hadn't gotten so carried away as to smash the seastone weapon towards Jake's head.
Facing the incoming strike, Jake decided to end the fight in one go.
He had been counting the ti and now roughly a minute had passed.
It was ti to conclude this duel.
If he didn't defeat Smoker within two minutes, the doubled training load would be a minor issue, but causing Zephyr to lose face—that would be a real problem.
But instantly defeating Smoker would make him lose too much face, so, finding a way to win the match while still allowing Smoker to retain his dignity beca particularly important.
The surrounding smoke provided excellent cover and with Smoker's Jitte swinging towards him, Jake quickly devised a plan.
He looked at the charging Smoker and suddenly condensed a golden light sword in his hand—an elental shaping technique he had learned from Kizaru "Ama no Murakumo."
The mont Smoker saw the light sword in Jake's hand, his scalp tingled with a sense of dread.
If he took that hit, he would absolutely die!
But it was already too late to dodge.
He could only watch helplessly as the light sword slashed toward him.
"Right Angle Swordsmanship Modified—Saint Bird!"
As Jake's voice rang out, a terrifying slash cut straight through the smoke Smoker had created.
Accompanied by a blinding flash of light, Smoker's vision turned completely white, forcing him to close his eyes.
When he could finally open them again, he realized Jake's slash had already flown past him, tearing a fissure over a dozen ters long and two ters deep into the ground.
The slash extended all the way into the forest beyond the training field, vertically splitting several towering trees before slowly dissipating.
A faint golden glow clung to the soil and the scent of sothing charred wafted from the distant woods.
As for Smoker, only a shallow cut—barely ten centiters long and less than a centiter deep—appeared on his body.
Yet, the numbness radiating from the wound left him temporarily unable to control his movents.
Everyone present was stunned.
Ain and Binz, who had initially harbored doubts about Jake's strength, completely dismissed their last shred of skepticism upon witnessing that slash.
The other Marine trainees gulped at the sight of the terrifying slash mark.
An attack of that magnitude was sothing no student here should have been capable of!
Monet, however, remained calm.
After all, in the past few days, Jake had demonstrated techniques far more exaggerated than this.
Hina glanced at the golden slash stretching into the forest, then at Smoker's minor injuries.
Letting out a slight sigh of relief, she also shot Jake a grateful look.
Zephyr, observing the scene, chuckled slightly and said.
"One minute and thirty-seven seconds. Not quite two minutes—a bit slower than I expected."
Without waiting for Jake to respond, Zephyr walked up to Smoker and spoke slowly.
"Devil Fruits are a matter of luck. Those who rely too much on luck can never beco true powerhouses. This is your first lesson, Smoker. Rember it."
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