One Piece: The Eternal Flame

Three years have passed, and Gray is ten years old. According to the regulations of the Naval Academy, he can only be officially enrolled this year. However, in the past three years, his growth rate has exceeded everyone's expectations.

In fact, according to the standards of the Naval Academy, he can become a full-fledged Navy now, but the steel frame insists on letting him stay in the Naval Academy for another four years.

Gray obeyed Cyborg's orders unconditionally, doing repetitive and boring training every day. He never mentioned his idea of ​​going to sea. The only fun in the naval academy was to learn from others and enjoy the joy of victory for a moment.

He is open to all competitions, so after the instructor proposed this assessment competition, he immediately agreed.

The instructor explained the reason for the game, but Gray didn't listen very carefully.

He had met Muli before, and his only impression was that he was a bit dull and didn't like to talk, and always practiced hard by himself.

Gray once wanted to discuss with him after hearing his story, but was rejected by the other party.

Because of this, the two have never had a match, and this is the first time, Gray can't wait.

Muli's strength is considered strong among these people, but his talent is very poor, so he can only rely on hard work to improve his strength.

Then the previous scene appeared, everyone was watching the field, and the battle was more intense than the previous few games.

Gray's and Muli's swordsmanship is not fancy, each move is crisp and neat, and it is a real attack that hits the weakest point of the other party.

The sound of the collision was continuous without a break, and the nerves of the people listening to the sound outside the court were so tense that they didn't even dare to breathe.

The more Gray fights, the more excited he becomes, and such a close fight can stimulate his potential even more.

Especially in long-term evenly matched battles, his brain became clearer and his reaction speed became faster. He pinpointed Muli's momentary weakness, and directly slashed upwards with his sword.

Muli dodged urgently, but was still a step too slow. The sharp blade directly scratched from the left waist and abdomen to the chest. Although the wound was not deep, it looked terrifying enough.

This is also the most serious injury in this battle so far, and the strengths and weaknesses of the two sides have been divided.

Usually at this time, the instructor would ask if he should admit defeat, but Muli obviously wanted to continue fighting, and this was his last chance.

Holding the sword, Gray exhaled lightly. He had heard about Muli, but he didn't understand the other party's insistence.

Is there any difference between a branch navy and a headquarters navy?Obviously, even if Muli didn't become the headquarters of the navy, he could return to his original branch and continue to be the navy.

"The branch is different from the headquarters." Muli said.

Gray was stunned for a moment, and then realized that he had just expressed the question in his heart. In this case, Gray simply continued to ask: "Why is it different? Everyone is in the Navy, isn't it?"

"You don't know anything, naive boy." Muli emphasized his tone, and then laughed at himself after speaking sharply. Compared with the headquarters, the navy in the four seas is not a star and a half, not only in strength and military rank, but also in thought and morality.

In their navy branch, officials and thieves colluded. It is not so much a navy, but a pirate wearing a navy uniform.

As long as you have money, you can be in the navy, and as long as you have money, you can replace those who worked hard and climb up faster.

Muli, who was born as a civilian, was robbed of his merits several times. The recruits who joined the navy later than him quickly became his superiors, but he has always been a private first class.

How could Gray know these things, the biggest grievance he has suffered is the jealousy and exclusion of recruits in the school, but these things are not painful, Gray doesn't even care.

He is talented, willing to work hard, and has someone to protect him. The navy he comes into contact with in his life is the elite of the headquarters, and he is indoctrinated with positive thoughts such as the navy maintains peace and the navy is justice. He doesn't know what bribery is at all.

This can be seen from his straightforward statement that "I came in through the back door"—he didn't shy away from it because he didn't understand what it meant to go through the back door.

Unlike most of the people in the school, his road ahead must be smooth, but he himself is naive and terrifying, not knowing at all what enviable things he has and got.

Muli only said such a sentence, he looked at the puzzlement and bewilderment in Gray's dark eyes, the child didn't even understand why he was suddenly angry.

Suddenly Muli was discouraged. What's the use of blaming a child, "Go on, boy, this injury is nothing, I will definitely win this assessment!"

The oppression he suffered will be rectified when he becomes the headquarters navy and returns to the branch—he has persisted for so long just to correct their branch.

This last chance, even if his body is covered with bruises, he will win it.

Gray nodded and wanted to say something more, but just as he opened his mouth, someone from the surrounding crowd suddenly shouted: "Come on, Muli!"

"Come on Muli, I support you!"

Those newcomers who had a similar experience with Muli, or were members of the same branch of the navy, could empathize more, while Gray was more like the nobleman who spent money to buy military ranks they hated the most.

Of course, everyone hoped that Muli would win.

After the first person uttered his voice, as if a switch had been turned on, the onlookers began to spontaneously cheer for Muli.

The sound came together and finally had a deafening effect.

"Silence! Silence!"

None of the instructors expected this to happen, and after a short period of stupefaction, they began to maintain order on the scene, but the voice would not be suppressed for a while.

Everyone wants Muli to win, because his story is inspirational enough, and his experience is enough to make people sympathetic.

Gray could barely hear his name in these voices, but they all said that he must lose something.

He admitted that Muli's persistence was touching enough, but a game is a game, winning or losing has nothing to do with any personal feelings.

Muli clenched the training sword in his hand—different from the wooden sword, it was a sharp blade capable of hurting people. The assessment stipulated that as long as he did not admit defeat, did not pass out, and did not endanger his life, he could continue.

This is a tradition, to warn naval recruits with blood and pain that they will face a more dangerous situation after this battle, so we must remember this pain.

Encouraged by the recruits, Muli roared and rushed towards Gray, this desperate horizontal cut was fast and ruthless, the sharp blade was like lightning, and the reflected white light was extremely cold.

But this menacing sword did not hit, Gray's figure disappeared in place, and the next moment Muli only felt a sharp pain in his wrist.

Gray's sword hilt hit Muli's wrist with such force that anyone else would have let go of it.

But Muli gritted his teeth, clenched the hilt of the sword in his hand even more, and his moves became more and more fierce.

Gray who missed was not surprised, but calmer. The voices of other people did not shake his heart just now, maybe he was shaken, but Gray didn't show it.

Maybe victory is important to Muli, but it is also important to Gray.