NIHM: Ch. 14

This incident instantly made Kazuha famous in the new recruit training camp, but it also drew a lot of skepticism and challenges. However, after he sent a few more recruits to the hospital through his actions, Z, who had heard the news and arrived in person, finally issued a "no-challenge order" against him.

Because he realized that Kazuha's combat style was entirely in a hunter's mindset. Every move he made aimed for a one-hit kill. Each technique focused on the simplest, most efficient method to achieve maximum lethality.

This wasn't fighting. It was killing.

The Marine's Shigan was used to stab the body, Kazuha's Shigan went straight for the eyes.

The Marine's Rankyaku was for slashing, Kazuha's Rankyaku was aimed at slicing the throat.

The Marine's Tekkai was for defense, Kazuha's Tekkai was used to unleash his self-developed body attack Iron Mountain Crash, or for elbow strikes targeting the opponent's temples.

Although he restrained himself during combat, his deeply ingrained hunting instincts were not something that could be changed easily. And the Marine's goal in training new recruits was to prepare them to fight pirates. This kind of instinct was a rare and exceptional trait, something Z had no intention of correcting.

After he banned others from dueling Kazuha, many recruits finally breathed a sigh of relief. Only Smoker didn't let go. Although he couldn't defy Z's orders, he never gave up competing with Kazuha.

If Kazuha trained 12 hours a day, Smoker trained 15.

If Kazuha ran 200 kilometers with weights, Smoker ran 300.

No matter what, he wanted to work harder than Kazuha. In every aspect, he strove to surpass him.

But Kazuha seemed like a tireless machine. Every day, apart from eating, drinking, and sleeping, he trained nonstop. He even used Life Return to rapidly recover, developing a two-hour rapid rest method.

Subtracting time for food, rest, and other necessities, he squeezed out 21 hours a day for training.

After keeping up with such a freak for a while, one day, Smoker somehow got his hands on a Devil Fruit, specifically, a Logia-type, the Smoke-Smoke Fruit.

With his new Logia body, capable of full elementization, he thought the Devil Fruit made him invincible. With his physical vulnerabilities gone, he boldly requested another match against Kazuha in front of Z.

This move made Z look at Smoker with disdain. Still, it seemed he was also curious to see how far Kazuha had come.

So, under his supervision, Kazuha and Smoker held a private duel.

"This time I'll show you with real strength, under absolute power, all your fancy tricks are useless." Smoker, puffing on a cigar, looked arrogant and wild, perhaps trying to reclaim his pride, or maybe to vent the frustration of having been dragged into Kazuha's brutal training pace for so long.

Kazuha, watching the cigar-smoking Smoker, glanced at Z. Though he said nothing, the latter seemed to understand something just from Kazuha's eyes.

"He's eaten a Devil Fruit. He's immune to physical attacks. Unless you use Haki, it'll be hard to really hurt him."

At that moment, Kazuha understood.

Z wanted him to realize that there was always someone stronger, sometimes backed by unfair advantages. The Devil Fruit was one such unreasonable advantage.

He did this because he could see Kazuha's body was almost ready to awaken Haki. He hoped this defeat would adjust Kazuha's mindset, so that he could then secretly teach him the secrets of Haki, giving him even greater motivation to grow stronger.

However, once the battle began, he realized he had been wrong.

The moment the duel was announced, Kazuha instantly used Soru to appear right in front of Smoker. There were no fancy moves, just like in their very first fight.

One punch.

Smoker's previously confident, smug expression instantly turned into a mask of pain.

Then, as his body was sent flying, he completely lost consciousness.

Z, witnessing this scene, even forgot to intervene. "Armament Haki! Who taught you Haki?"

"Does someone need to teach it? Once it appeared, I just tried to figure it out on my own."

"...You really do amaze me."

"Thanks for the compliment. But if you don't take Smoker to the infirmary soon, he might really be done for."

"..."

In the end, the duel concluded with Z carrying Smoker to the infirmary.

That very afternoon, Smoker quietly left the infirmary. Part of it was thanks to the boost from the Devil Fruit, but it was also because Kazuha had held back a bit during his attack.

He remained the top troublemaker and rising star among the new recruits, but he no longer tried to compete with Kazuha.

After all, Kazuha had already mastered Haki, a power typically only accessible to officers of the highest ranks, and he was still just a recruit. That was just plain monstrous.

Even Z hadn't expected Kazuha to surprise him this much.

Still, the outcome was satisfying.

Though Kazuha hadn't learned a lesson from defeat, Smoker, on the other hand, had been thoroughly humbled. Even with the Smoke-Smoke Fruit, he continued to train his body relentlessly, working hard to awaken his Haki.

Seeing Smoker's dedication despite having a Devil Fruit, Hina, who had been feeling a bit down, regained her fighting spirit. If even the strongest were still training hard, then someone like her, who was struggling to catch up, couldn't afford to slack off, or she'd be left in the dust.

And because she was working hard, her admirers began to work harder too. If they didn't, they wouldn't even be qualified to pursue her.

Meanwhile, those who had been slacking off looked around and saw everyone pushing themselves, and in that kind of environment, doing nothing felt unbearable.

Not working hard just wasn't an option anymore!

And so, this batch of Marine recruits became the easiest group Z had ever trained. Compared to past recruits who had to be constantly pushed by him to train their bodies, the line he repeated the most with this batch was:

"You all really need to remember to balance work and rest!"

Because not everyone was extraordinarily gifted, and not everyone had Kazuha's martial arts techniques absorbed from another world. Many recruits pushed themselves so hard they ended up with injuries and problems, which gave Z a headache.

While Pirate Kazuha, no Marine Kazuha, was fiercely "competing" in the Marine training camp, and the Ninja Kazuha was starting his life in Konoha… One day, while wandering down the streets of Konoha, Ninja Kazuha suddenly felt his leg go weak and stumbled. At the same time, in the Marine Headquarters training camp, Marine Kazuha, despite his powerful body, also suddenly felt a wave of weakness.

In that instant, a part of both their consciousnesses was forcibly pulled into the System Space, where they found themselves seated once again in their respective command chairs. But unlike before, where it had just been the two of them, they now noticed that out of the ten chairs, a third figure had appeared in one of the remaining eight.