Cavendish was still young, roughly the same age as Cyrus, but he was already a highly capable swordsman.
Once his second personality emerged, his strength increased dramatically.
He was not a particularly evil person either.
The Hunter Guild had begun gathering information on him shortly after he first set sail, making him one of the candidates receiving special attention during the exam.
"He's certainly impressive."
Dragon slowly nodded.
With his experience, he could easily recognize Cavendish's potential.
Even without some sudden opportunity that caused his strength to skyrocket, he would have little difficulty becoming a great swordsman if he continued developing at this pace and received guidance from a capable teacher.
"We'll leave him here."
Crocodile glanced down at Cavendish before speaking.
"You aren't taking him away?"
Dragon gestured toward their surroundings.
His Observation Haki detected plenty of people nearby.
There was no guarantee someone would not decide to take advantage of Cavendish while he was unconscious.
"He's about to wake up."
Crocodile transformed into sand and shot into the sky, disappearing in moments.
Dragon noticed Cavendish's body twitch, then departed as a gust of wind.
Cavendish pushed himself up and rubbed the back of his head.
"That bastard has absolutely no respect for my body."
Assuming his other personality had gone too far again, Cavendish cursed under his breath and retrieved his sword.
After confirming the proper direction, he quickly disappeared into the forest.
…
Thud!
The sound made Rayleigh's eyes snap open.
Someone truly dared to challenge him?
Perhaps his name had lost more of its intimidating power than he realized.
However, when he saw the young man climbing off the ground, confusion appeared on his face.
How had the boy arrived?
If he had fallen from the sky, Rayleigh should have noticed long before he hit the ground.
'Did Cyrus send him here?'
Rayleigh's eyes swept across Ace.
Ace looked up, froze when he recognized the man before him, and narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Dark King Rayleigh."
"Boy, have you come to challenge me?"
"I'm Ace!"
Ace straightened and struck his chest proudly.
"Ace?"
Rayleigh stood and studied him carefully.
Roger's son?
Rayleigh had already learned the truth, though he had never known what Ace looked like.
He had also never intended to seek the boy out.
Yet now Ace had been dropped directly in front of him.
'That bastard Cyrus.'
Rayleigh did not need to think very hard to know who was responsible.
Ace could tell from Rayleigh's reaction that the old man knew his identity.
Otherwise, someone as insignificant as him would never have surprised the legendary right hand of the Pirate King.
"I'll become Pirate King one day."
Ace stared directly at Rayleigh.
"Heh. Every brat says the same thing."
Rayleigh could not help laughing.
"You? The Pirate King? First worry about escaping the Hunter Guild's attention."
Rayleigh genuinely doubted another Pirate King would ever appear.
Roger would be the first and last.
With Cyrus and the Hunter Guild suppressing pirates everywhere, there was hardly any room left for them to survive.
A few ignorant rookies might still set sail and boast recklessly, but what would happen afterward?
Either the Marines would crush them, or the Hunter Guild would.
Whoosh.
Ace showed no hesitation in the face of Rayleigh's mockery.
Cold white mist drifted from his breath, while frost spread from his fists and crawled up his arms.
"That won't be enough."
Rayleigh was mildly surprised.
Ace's ability was impressive and closely resembled that of a Marine Admiral.
But even that would accomplish very little.
After all, an Admiral-level fighter wielding a Logia as powerful as the Ice-Ice Fruit would still be incapable of causing Cyrus any real trouble.
Perhaps, however, Ace possessed enough potential to trip Cyrus up one day.
The thought of Cyrus sleeping with Hancock made veins pulse across Rayleigh's forehead.
It felt as though a precious flower he had raised for twenty years had suddenly been plucked by someone else.
Admittedly, if Cyrus treated Hancock well, Rayleigh could hardly call him a poor choice.
That did not make the situation any less irritating.
Rayleigh suddenly leapt from the platform and landed in front of Ace.
"Come on, boy. Let me see what you can do. If your skills aren't good enough, you won't be getting past me."
The instant he finished speaking, Ace's fist arrived in front of his face.
"Not bad."
Rayleigh tilted his head aside, avoided the punch, and calmly took two steps back while evaluating him.
"You didn't waste time announcing your attack like those other idiots. In a real fight, the goal is to defeat your opponent. Any method is acceptable if it works."
He continued retreating as he spoke.
Boom!
A hand coated in Armament Haki knocked aside the kick Ace aimed between his legs.
Rayleigh's previously relaxed expression darkened.
His words might have encouraged unconventional tactics, but Roger's son was certainly nothing like Roger.
What kind of shameless attack was that?
"You're the one who said anything was allowed as long as I beat you."
As Ace spoke, ice spread beneath his feet and raced across the ground.
It trapped Rayleigh's feet and rapidly climbed his legs.
"If that attack had landed, your Aunt Shakky would've beaten you to death herself."
Rayleigh flexed his legs and shattered the ice before Ace could close the distance.
"Here's your first lesson, boy. Devil Fruit powers may be useful, but Haki is just as important. Against someone who excels at Haki, an ability alone won't carry you very far."
He stepped forward and appeared directly before Ace.
His fist, coated in Armament Haki, slammed into Ace's stomach.
The air released a piercing crack.
Ace was launched across the arena and smashed into the wall at its edge.
The enormous stone structure collapsed, burying him beneath rubble.
Rayleigh glanced toward the arena's boundary, drew his sword, and released a slash.
The surveillance Den Den Mushi was sent flying.
While Rayleigh dealt with the camera, Ace climbed out of the rubble and rubbed his aching stomach.
"I know Haki too!"
He charged again.
"Ice Fist!"
Before he even reached Rayleigh, an enormous fist of ice shot ahead of him.
"Useless. It's too slow."
Rayleigh raised his sword and casually knocked the mass of ice aside.
The giant fist spun out of the circular arena.
And so, a training battle between the Pirate King's right hand and the Pirate King's son officially began.
To Cyrus, however, it looked more like children playing.
The scene he had hoped for never happened, leaving him rather disappointed.
He had especially wanted Ace to reveal his identity in front of the live broadcast.
The resulting chaos would have been entertaining.
But since Rayleigh had clearly decided to train Ace, there was no reason to continue watching.
Cyrus shook his head and shifted his attention elsewhere, apart from occasionally leaving to collect Devil Fruits from fallen ability users.
Mihawk's fight was nearly over.
One man was chasing an entire group around and cutting them down, clearly demonstrating that his strength stood far above theirs.
Doflamingo and the others had already begun considering retreat.
At the other challenge zones, many people lay defeated before Linlin and Shiki.
Strangely, far fewer candidates had chosen to face the more famous Whitebeard.
Then Cyrus noticed an unexpected challenger.
'That old man came too?'
Don Chinjao.
Whitebeard paused when he saw him.
Chinjao's pointed head was difficult to forget.
"Didn't Garp flatten your skull?"
Whitebeard had clearly heard the story and now stared curiously at Chinjao's restored head.
"Whitebeard, I never had the chance to fight you in the past. Today, I've come to correct that."
Chinjao ignored the question entirely.
Was he supposed to explain that Cyrus had punched his head back into shape?
"Grandfather, let us handle it. You should rest."
Sai stepped forward eagerly.
Since parting ways with Cyrus, he had grown considerably under Chinjao's training and completely mastered the secrets of Hasshoken.
"Hmph. Stay back, you youngsters. Whitebeard isn't someone you can handle."
Chinjao swept one hand aside, radiating confidence.
Cyrus's eyelid twitched as he watched through Observation Haki.
Back when his head was flat, Chinjao had cried at the slightest provocation. After Cyrus restored it, his spirit had become far stronger.
Perhaps a little too strong.
Did he genuinely believe he could challenge Whitebeard?
Before Cyrus could finish mocking him internally, Whitebeard sent Chinjao, Sai, and their entire group flying with one punch.
Literally one punch.
The shock wave carried all of them out of the arena together.
Everyone watching through the broadcast stared in speechless disbelief.
Chinjao had sounded so confident that they expected him to cause Whitebeard at least a little trouble.
Instead, he had turned out to be nothing but a clown.
"Did Cyrus meet that old man before?" Hancock asked curiously.
Robin nodded.
"Yes. We travelled aboard his ship for a while."
She found the whole situation amusing.
Even during their first meeting, Robin had thought Chinjao seemed like a ridiculous man.
Her first impression had been entirely correct.
"Robin, aren't we going in?"
Baby 5 stared wide-eyed at the monitors.
She had been left to guard the ship before, but had used this opportunity to return and join the excitement.
Seeing the Donquixote Family made her especially eager to participate.
Robin thought briefly, then shook her head.
"No. It's already chaotic enough."
Nearly every monitor displayed a battle, and people were falling at every moment.
This exam was anything but peaceful.
With Devil Fruits hidden throughout the grounds, the competition had become even more vicious.
"No one has properly passed yet."
Hancock turned toward several larger screens at the side.
A few candidates had used speed or unusual abilities to reach the final destination quickly.
Unfortunately, none of them had sufficient strength to overcome the Hunters guarding the tower.
"These people aren't weak. Crocodile, what does Cyrus intend to do with them?"
Robin looked toward Crocodile, who stood a short distance away.
"With the exception of the few candidates we were instructed to watch closely, everyone must pass using their own genuine ability."
"Isn't that somewhat unfair?"
"This world has never offered true fairness, only fairness appropriate to the circumstances."
Crocodile smiled faintly.
"Besides, anyone who passes as a full Hunter will receive the Guild's complete support. Whether in training or future operations across the sea, they'll have access to an enormous amount of our resources."
He turned toward the countless screens displaying battles.
"There can't be too many people receiving privileges like that."
Truthfully, Crocodile did not entirely agree with Cyrus's approach.
The Guild would be investing vast resources without demanding much in return.
Even if only a small number passed, fully funding their training and activities would cost an enormous amount.
But Cyrus had already decided, leaving Crocodile no choice but to carry it out.
These full Hunters would effectively form a privileged class within the organization.
Keeping their number low would reduce the burden on the Guild.
At the same time, the benefits would make countless people desperate to become one of them.
That thought made Crocodile feel somewhat better.
Once the exam ended, he intended to have Morgans advertise the arrangement heavily. Perhaps the next Hunter Exam would attract even stronger candidates.
"Vice-Chairman, those people are attacking again."
An employee stood and reported.
Crocodile looked toward the relevant screen, then waved his hand.
"Move in. Capture every one of them. We can't allow them to continue killing candidates."
"Understood!"
The employee hurried away.
"Why didn't you stop them earlier?"
Hancock asked.
After watching the monitors for so long, she understood what was happening.
World Government agents had infiltrated the exam and were assassinating candidates.
"Some of their victims deserved to die."
Crocodile gave only a brief explanation.
That was partly true, though controlling the situation had not been easy.
They had not managed to use the agents to eliminate every desired target, but the result was close enough.
The Hunter Guild finally began its operation.
...
Meanwhile, inside the Room of Flowers in Mary Geoise, Imu watched the countless projected screens before her.
"It's time to begin."
"Lord Imu."
A maid nearby dropped to one knee.
"Has information about Kong's departure reached the Marines?"
"Yes, Lord Imu. We leaked it according to your instructions."
The maid's voice carried some doubt.
"But are you certain the Marines will ask that man to intervene?"
"Sengoku will."
Imu's eyes remained fixed on one particular screen.
Cyrus stood within it.
"Perhaps he already understands what is happening and won't go personally."
"He will." Imu spoke quietly.
"Lord Imu, the Five Elders request an audience. They have received information from Sky Island. A creature believed to have entered from another world was discovered and delivered there."
Imu's body stiffened.
She turned sharply toward the doors of the Room of Flowers.
"Bring me the complete report."
"Yes, Lord Imu."
The maid rose and withdrew respectfully.
Imu stared at the closed doors.
"Did he really find it before I did?"