"Strictly obey the Master's orders."
This was an absolute rule carved into the minds of every cloned soldier.
On top of that, each clone soldier possessed the ability to think independently.
Therefore, when Judge ordered this tall, heavily armored clone soldier, wielding a war hammer, to face the mysterious "Envoy," the clone soldier's mind generated the following thought:
Yes, Master.
And… that's it.
Huh? Would he have low-level emotions like "Watch me smash that little thing with my hammer"?
Of course not.
No detrimental emotions like "underestimation" or "arrogance" would appear in his mind.
He would only strictly follow the orders given by Vinsmoke Judge.
So, when he stepped forward and swung the war hammer in his hand at the Envoy, his mind held only one thought:
Strictly obey the Master's ord… er…
After this thought flashed through his mind, his vision was split in two.
Like his body, it was split into left and right halves by the one-handed wooden ax that was brought down from above his head.
Thump… thump…
Two sounds of falling to the ground.
Thump.
A third sound of falling to the ground, the soft landing of the Envoy's toes.
Although, there were other sounds besides these.
For example, the movements of the clone soldiers, or the sound of a sniper rifle being set up again somewhere, but those three "thump" sounds distinctly reached the ears of everyone present.
This naturally included the commander sitting on his throne at the end of the road—Vinsmoke Judge.
His expression remained unchanged, but his mind was already contemplating the scene that had just transpired.
He had personally watched the man who called himself an "Envoy" leap from the ground with astonishing speed, then swing the wooden ax in his hand and cleave the armored clone soldier in one blow.
That was no ordinary armor!
While its defensive capabilities couldn't quite match the formal combat suits of the Vinsmoke family, they far surpassed ordinary iron armor.
Muskets couldn't penetrate it, and even the force of bullets couldn't get through.
Yet, the Envoy ended the battle in just one hit!
Was it Armament Haki?
…No.
Judge dismissed his own speculation.
From the way the Envoy had attacked just now, the wooden ax in his hand did not emit the aura of Armament Haki.
Furthermore, even a simple form of Armament Haki wouldn't allow a mere wooden ax to cleave through Germa 66's specially made armor. It would require a high-level Armament Haki capable of turning a blade into a black sword!
But the wooden ax did not show the blackness characteristic of high-concentration Armament Haki.
If that's the case, how did he do it?
Years of combat experience had given Judge immense judgment.
It was precisely because of this that Judge's mind inferred a guess he himself could barely believe:
Speed.
The Envoy, with his own "speed" that defied common sense, had added "power" to his incredibly fragile wooden ax, comparable to Armament Haki!
A master.
To be able to do this, he was undoubtedly a master!
But Judge couldn't quite grasp one thing.
Unlike Conqueror's Haki, both Armament Haki and Observation Haki have a high probability of being acquired through diligent, hard training.
The Envoy appearing in the Germa Kingdom, with the combat prowess he displayed, was undoubtedly among "those who can train" to possess Armament and Observation Haki.
But what puzzled Judge was why this Envoy showed no intention of using Armament Haki?
Was it because he didn't want to use it? Or because he couldn't?
Hmm… there doesn't seem to be enough to go on, what should I do?
The answer was simple.
For the Germa Kingdom, there was no shortage of "test subjects."
Clone soldiers that could be mass-produced in just five years made Germa 66 unafraid of so-called "sacrifices," as long as the foundation of the kingdom wasn't threatened.
Therefore, after the Envoy displayed that terrifyingly bizarre combat power, Judge instead ordered the clone soldiers to accelerate their attack.
To Judge, those clone soldiers were merely expendable; he wouldn't hesitate to use them as human shields.
"Continue the attack!"
Judge secretly clenched his fist, his brow furrowed, his expression grim.
"Let's see just how capable this 'Envoy' of the Four Seas Alliance truly is!"
…
A line of heavily armored clone soldiers holding shields charged towards the Envoy.
Seeing this, the Envoy pondered for a moment, then suddenly thrust the seemingly powerful wooden ax into the ground with a "boom."
Afterward, he drew two wooden short swords from beneath his robe. They looked like children's toys, not even as finely made or sturdy as those from the gift shop next door.
Yet, even so, as the Envoy held those two wooden short swords, he exuded an incredibly suffocating aura.
…
Conqueror's Haki?
No, it wasn't, but it was very similar.
Judge continued to observe silently.
Although he had reached the threshold of Conqueror's Haki, he could clearly feel the lack of "destiny" on a fundamental level.
Such a person would never awaken Conqueror's Haki in this lifetime!
But why did this guy give the impression of being a Conqueror's Haki user?
…
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack…
The shield-bearing heavy infantry advanced at extreme speed, their spears already raised, like an iron wall with spears, heading straight for the Envoy.
Swish!
The Envoy shifted his stance, his figure blurring slightly as he slipped through the gap between two of the shield-bearing heavy infantry.
Immediately, the two wooden short swords in his hands began to swing, slicing through the gaps in the armor of each heavy infantry soldier at astonishing speed!
It was an extreme speed that ordinary human eyes couldn't see; even the enhanced eyes of the Germa 66 clone soldiers could only faintly catch a few afterimages.
For most of the clone soldiers, the Envoy's arms became "semi-transparent" for an instant.
By the time the semi-transparent state returned, the Envoy had already walked past the line of shield-bearing heavy infantry.
Crack… Clatter!
As they passed each other, with the Envoy's exhale, the two wooden short swords in his hands had turned into two piles of powder, scattering in the wind.
Following that was the sound of a group of armor clattering to the ground.
That group of shield-bearing heavy infantry fell, never knowing what happened until the very end.
…
Judge's brow furrowed deeply.
He had seen the Envoy's movements clearly, and it made him even more unbelievable.
The opponent's speed had surpassed the concept of "very fast."
Judge could say without hesitation that the Envoy, relying solely on "speed," could compensate for not using Armament or Observation Haki!
But that wasn't what bothered Judge the most.
He had already discovered the Envoy's "second weapon," and its threat far exceeded pure "speed"!
It was "precision."
With extreme speed and extreme precision, this "Envoy," who had never used Haki, was fully capable of ranking among the top fighters in this sea!
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