want me to collaborate with you No, what you really want is for me to obey you. But you have nothing to offer that would convince me."Having said that, Doflamingo arrogantly exhaled a plume of smoke."...(The previous chapter was revised. I got lost in the writing process. Sakaski is indeed from the same graduating class as Kizaru, and Doflamingo was the chief of the second graduating class. That's why the recording of the graduation ceremony for the second graduating class disappeared from the last book.)

……

With the resounding voice of Zephyr, a group of marines spontaneously parted to make way for him.

"Whoa, I'm up first!! This is so exciting!!"

Kudo smiled and strode to the center of the clearing.

Ze Fa narrowed his eyes, observing Ku Zan, a smile playing on the corner of his mouth.

This little imp always gives one the feeling of being lazy and carefree, but when he encounters something interesting, he shows a side that is full of excitement and enthusiasm.

Two completely different temperaments were perfectly blended in him.

"That's quite impressive..."

Ze Fa muttered to himself.

In the training camp, it's a tradition to determine the top five ranks through duels. This serves to both stimulate students' competitive spirit and provide instructors with an opportunity to observe them closely.

Students can learn about each other through interaction, and instructors can gain a clearer understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. This allows for tailored instruction in the future.

At this time, the Doberman with scars on his face also stepped out of the crowd with a cold expression. His eyes glared coldly at Kwanza.

"My goal was originally Darren. I wanted to see for myself how strong the so-called 'King of the North Sea' really was. After all, I've heard his name so many times lately that it's become a bit tiresome."

But now it seems, if I want to fight Darren, I'll have to settle you first, Kuzan.

Before coming to the headquarters for training, Doberman was the highest-ranking officer in the East China Sea, serving as the East China Fleet Admiral.

As one of the admirals who shared the same sea, he had heard of Darren's resounding name long ago.

To some extent, Darren's exceptional skills and achievements as the North Sea Admiral put a great deal of pressure on him and fueled a strong sense of discontent within him.

Though Darren had successfully defeated the notorious pirate, Bandy Waldo, and survived his encounter with Gol D. Roger, proving his strength.

But Doberman doesn't really think Darren is that strong.

After all, Admiral Sengoku and Vice-Admiral Aokiji also participated in the action to defeat the Warlord Pirates.

And in the confrontation with Roger, Captain Cap and Rear Admiral Dorag were also present.

Who knows what the real situation is like

Only a real fight... Even if you lose, you have to lose with conviction!

"I'm so sorry, Darren is my rival."

Ku Zan scratched his head somewhat irritably, a troubled expression on his face.

Then I won't stand on ceremony.

Doberman slowly pressed down on the hilt of the military knife at his waist, his body sinking slightly.

As he moved, the aura emanating from Dobberman suddenly became heavy and ominous.

A gust of wind whipped up the yellow sand, and the snow-white cloak billowed in the air.

The Doberman's right paw steps forward, its left knee bent, its body a taut coil of powerful energy, poised and ready to spring.

Ku Zan narrowed his eyes.

What a beautiful sword drawing stance... Gion's eyes lit up.

"Want a one-move solution to the fight"

Darren smiled calmly.

Everyone fell silent, watching the scene with bated breath.

They don't want to miss any details.

After all, whoever wins this duel will become their competitor.

The opportunity to grasp intelligence on the competitive landscape is one that no one would miss.

The air gradually became oppressive.

Suddenly—

Yellow sand whirls and rises.

The Doberman's figure darted out like a cheetah, its speed so fast it was almost impossible to see.

A dazzling flash of blade light suddenly erupted.

In an instant, his aura transformed from robust to sharp and piercing… and relentlessly strong!

The sharpness of this blade is already comparable to that of a swordsman slicing steel!

Tut!

An exaggerated gash appeared on Kuai Zan's shoulder, but there was not a drop of blood spurting out.

Thin, crystalline ice crystals danced in the air, reflecting the brilliant sunlight before being quickly swept away by the strong wind.

A Doberman's figure appears behind Kuzan.

He stared blankly at his sword, which had frozen into a block of ice, and his own palm. He couldn't accept this for a moment.

Other sailors present were also dumbfounded, watching this scene unfold with pupils constricted.

"Nature is!"

"Is that... ice"

"This is too hopeless...there's no way we could possibly win..."

"No, look at Dao Berman's hands and knife, they are frozen!"

"This...could it be..."

They looked at Doberman's hands and knife, their faces gradually becoming horrified.

Drawing sword techniques inherently pursue the ultimate in speed and explosive power, channeling the body's entire strength into a single strike to maximize damage.

Dberman's strike perfectly showcased the essence of his swordsmanship.

Such a fast draw speed, even if Kuzan is a natural devil fruit ability user, relying solely on the elementalization of his fruit power wouldn't be able to freeze his hand and sword.

There is only one way to do it.

—Kujzan successfully tracked the trajectory of Daobman's strike and, as the blade met his body, he proactively activated his elementalization ability.

To do this, one must possess excellent dynamic vision, reflexes, body speed, and good control over Devil Fruit powers!

"Monster..."

"Indeed, a monster..."

All the sailors were astonished.

"Wow, that's impressive..."

"Even Jiaji seems a bit dumbfounded as he mumbles to himself."

He quickly imagined in his mind what it would be like to be a Doberman, and his face fell.

There is absolutely no chance of winning!

Even without the power of a Devil Fruit, Kuzu wouldn't stand a chance against that guy!

"...What a fast blade."

At that moment, Ku Zan scratched his head and let out a soft sigh.

The blade wound on his chest, inch by inch, with a continuous shimmer of ice crystals, finally restored to normal.

"Don't be silly..."

The Doberman gritted his teeth.

He slowly got up, turned around, ice crystals shattering and falling continuously from his palms and the saber.

"Truly worthy of the title 'monster,' a complete and utter domination, overwhelming strength that leaves one despairing…"

Doberman sheathed his combat knife, shook his head, and stared at Kwanza with a complex look in his eyes. After a moment of silence, he mumbled:

"I lost.... Thank you for your guidance, Kuzama."

Ku praised him with a hearty smile and a thumbs-up.

"Your knife is pretty sharp too!"

Doberman was taken aback, and then a nameless fire suddenly surged from his chest, making him feel as if Kuzan was laughing at him.

When he met Kwanza's sincere and enthusiastic gaze, he was immediately stunned.

This guy… seems to be serious.

Some words, when spoken by certain people, sound just off, almost provoking.

But when the same words are spoken from the mouths of these enthusiastic young people, they sound sincere.

Doberman pursed his lips and finally shook his head with a wry smile.

It's not shameful to lose to a monster.

But I will catch up to you.

His eyes quickly became resolute.

Ku Zhan grinned.

I'm waiting for you!!

Doberman smiled wryly again.

This guy is really annoying, I just can't stand him.

Seeing this, Ze Fa, as an instructor, was also satisfied and nodded. He then announced loudly:

"The first match, the winner, Koozan!"

"The second duel is now beginning... Gion versus Moambique!"

"Form your ranks!"

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...

Please note that without context, I can only translate the provided text literally. If you have more context about the content within the > tags, I might be able to provide a more accurate and natural-sounding translation.

About when Kuzan obtained the Devil Fruit, I checked and there's no definite statement. To save trouble, here I'll just write that he already has it, otherwise the battle would be boring and wouldn't affect the plot.

Ask for everything, be grateful.ou can go out now. This old man wants to be left alone.""Yes, General of the Warring States Era... if you have any orders, just call me." The rat raised his hand in a standard military salute and turn...