Terrifying energy transformed into a beam of light, erupting from Kenji's fist.
In an instant, the vast training ground, and even further beyond, were engulfed by the scorching light.
The energy explosion caused a violent airflow comparable to a hurricane disaster, forcing the elite students observing from afar to turn their backs and struggle against the gale.
Even the two most 'monstrous' students, Sakazuki and Borsalino, were unable to clearly see the situation at the center of the battlefield under the direct glare.
At this moment, only Zephyr, who was facing it at close range, could most deeply experience the terrifying power of 'Titan Impact'.
"Such power..." Zephyr's eyes showed shock.
He finally felt something was off. "We only fought last year, and I could still slightly beat you, so how did you become this formidable in the blink of an eye?"
However, Zephyr was not intimidated. He accumulated power in both fists and unleashed them simultaneously, this being his strongest technique.
The powerful punch made the space appear somewhat distorted, as if seen through a layer of heat haze.
Then, a pair of heavy fists also erupted with terrifying power.
Zephyr's two fists directly struck the 'Titan Impact' energy pillar head-on. The impact point instantly exploded, and a violent shockwave swept in all directions.
In just a few seconds, Zephyr's legs were pressed deep into the ground by the immense force, but his eyes remained resolute, his fists firmly fixed in front of him, never moving.
Having endured many years of arduous training and fought numerous powerful and dangerous enemies, Zephyr's willpower was extremely resilient.
Even when at a disadvantage in battle, even though this was just a sparring match, he would not easily give up.
"I can definitely stop it!"
Zephyr gritted his teeth and persevered, finally using all his strength to completely shatter the 'Titan Impact' energy wave.
After doing all this, he seemed greatly exhausted, his arms hanging down, constantly gasping for breath on the spot.
However, Kenji on the opposite side did not give him a chance to rest. An even more powerful technique had already been unleashed.
"Titan Breakthrough!"
This was a close-quarters, face-to-face punching kill move!
Kenji's right fist was seen enveloped in a large trace of Haki, impacting at high speed, causing the space in the areas it passed through to slightly distort.
Kenji used this move with the basic power of Sea Beast Power.
At the same time, he had already silently entered 'Berserk' state, enhancing both the power of his Armament Haki and his Sea Beast Power.
Moreover, his Observation Haki had foreseen the future, leaving Zephyr with no escape.
At this moment, Zephyr suddenly looked up, his eyes wide with disbelief as he stared at the rapidly approaching Kenji, feeling as if he were facing an incredibly fierce and insurmountable giant beast.
Although his Observation Haki sensed no chance of victory, Zephyr still clenched his fists and firmly punched to meet the challenge with his absolute maximum strength.
On the opposite side, the energy burst from Kenji's heavy punch reached its limit, the intense energy light temporarily blinding.
In a field of bright vision, Zephyr suddenly felt a hand grasp his wrist.
At this time, Kenji had already arrived in front of Zephyr. His right fist had already loosened to grasp Zephyr's punching wrist, while his left arm naturally rested on the latter's shoulder, then he gave Zephyr's neck a choke like he used to.
A hearty laugh came from the center of the battlefield.
"Hahaha! Were you scared? Hey, I was just scaring you, helping you build a little courage."
Hearing Kenji's words in his laughter, Zephyr turned his head with a slightly blank expression, his fists still trembling slightly from the extreme exertion.
Looking at Kenji's smiling face, memories he had deliberately buried deep in his mind, memories that always made him embarrassed when he recalled them, surged forth like a tide.
The young man training diligently under the moonlight... the superior he couldn't defeat no matter how hard he tried... the pale face of the frightened young man and the superior's playful smile...
These 'dead' memories continuously assaulted Zephyr's mind.
"Hmm, it seems I went a little overboard."
Kenji saw that Zephyr hadn't come to his senses for a long time, assuming the latter was stunned, and couldn't help but scratch his head, feeling a bit awkward.
"This kid Zephyr isn't easy either... Sigh!"
Zephyr had entered Marine School at 14, at the same time as Sengoku and Garp.
It wasn't until four years later that he participated in his first real combat, while his talented classmates had already achieved brilliant battle records.
When he finally mastered 'Six Styles' and was promoted to Petty Officer, he was already 28 years old.
But he ultimately rose to the rank of Admiral at the age of 38.
It can be said that Zephyr is a representative of the 'hard-working genius,' whose sweat shed in his youth ultimately became the steps to his dream.
Kenji looked at his old subordinate in front of him, and couldn't help but feel emotional, as if he saw his former self.
Just looking at their life trajectories, he and Zephyr were almost the same, or rather, 'hard-working geniuses' without a 'genius cheat' are pretty much the same.
Kenji waited for Zephyr to recover, while also secretly recovering from the damage caused by the side effects of 'Berserk' state.
Actually, he possessed 'Superspeed Regeneration', so physical damage had little impact. The main thing was recovering from the weakened state, but this time his 'Berserk' state only lasted for about ten seconds, so the period of weakness was very short.
Once Zephyr had recovered, Kenji led him back to the Admiral's office at the headquarters.
He also brought Sakazuki along.
In the office, Kenji and Zephyr each took their seats, preparing to drink tea and rest for a while.
Although it wasn't afternoon tea time, fortunately, Kenji's schedule still included evening tea time.
During a tea break, Kenji conveniently brought up the system interface.
Not long ago, less than three minutes after his battle with Zephyr ended, the system's task completion prompt had already appeared.
It was only now that Kenji began to carefully read the lines of text within his vision.
[You, as the strongest student of Marine School, challenged former Admiral Zephyr and fought him to a draw! Your strength shocked all the students!]
[Mission (Side): Challenge Admiral Instructor Zephyr, let your name spread beyond Marine School! — Overcompleted!]
[Reward has been upgraded!]
[Reward changed to: 3 Assignable Upgrade opportunities!]
"This mission hasn't expired yet?" Kenji was a little surprised.
He recalled that this side mission was issued a few months ago, shortly after he first awakened the system.
At that time, he wasn't too concerned about system missions.
After all, he didn't have much drive left then. He was an old Marine officer waiting for retirement, and he was also used to his usual daily slacking off. Moreover, at that time, he thought system rewards could only bring combat power enhancement.
'As an old man who just wants to slack off and wait for retirement, why should I work so hard on missions to improve my combat power? Am I supposed to save the world?'
It wasn't until later, when the 'Superspeed Regeneration' trait evolved, that it not only brought him powerful recovery abilities but also rejuvenated his body, filling him with vitality again.
This was very important for Kenji, who specialized in physical techniques.