novelonline Chapter 457: Hashirama Takes Action
Chapter 457: Hashirama Takes Action
Facing these vicious pirates, Hashirama did not hold back. He clasped his hands together, and dense wood broke out of the ground in front of him and turned into wooden spears, which directly pierced through the charging pirates from bottom to top.
Most of the pirates had no time to react and were pierced through the body by the wooden spears. They howled in pain and died.
Only a very small number of pirates managed to dodge the fatal attack, but they also suffered varying degrees of injuries and retreated to the captain's side.
"Captain, the other party is a devil fruit user!" "Poison Sword", the deputy of Wild Hammer, the captain of the combat brigade, the senior cadre on the ship, and the one with a bounty of 70 million, said while covering his injured arm.
"I'm not blind!" Man Hammer said with suppressed anger. He didn't expect that during a planned vacation-style robbery, he would encounter such a tough and powerful man, which almost led to the annihilation of his pirate group.
This made Wild Hammer so heartbroken that he wanted to bleed. He had spent a lot of effort in recruiting and training these pirates. Now that all of them had died in the battle, it would take him at least several years to recover.
The enraged Barbarian Hammer raised his hammer, his arms covered with Armament Haki, and rushed towards Hashirama.
In order to prevent Hashirama's attack, Man Hammer also activated his Observation Haki while sprinting. He swung the hammer and smashed the jungle of wooden spears blocking his way, along with the corpses of pirates hanging on them.
Bathed in blood and flesh, Wild Hammer rushed in front of Hashirama. He raised the hammer high with both hands and smashed it towards Hashirama.
Faced with this powerful attack, Hashirama did not dodge or use Wood Release. His hands were also covered with Armament Haki, and he blasted upwards like bull horns.
With the extraordinary strength of the Senju clan, plus the amplification of chakra and domineering, Hashirama collided with the falling hammer and directly shattered it.
The iron hammer exploded, and the rebound force made Barbarian Hammer unable to hold the broken hammer handle in his hand, causing it to fly out of his hand.
There was fear on Man Hammer's face. It was the first time he encountered an opponent who could crush him head-on with strength. Proud of his own extraordinary strength, he immediately lost the courage to fight.
He took a step back, took a defensive stance, and wanted to beg for mercy.
But Hashirama had no plans to give him a word. He stepped forward and swung a heavy punch, knocking the Hammer down and sending him flying backwards.
The Wild Hammer flew backwards for several meters and fell heavily to the ground. His surviving men were frightened by this scene and wanted to escape in panic.
Upon seeing this, Hashirama clapped his hands, and trees sprouted out of the ground under these people's feet like vines, transforming into giant pythons that entangled these people.
The python's coils kept tightening, and the pirates suffocated in agony.
The Barbarian Hammer lying on the ground was also entangled by the giant python transformed from a tree, but with his good attainments in Armament Haki, he was able to temporarily resist the python's entanglement.
"Please spare me. I can tell you where all my savings are buried. There are at least hundreds of millions of Baileys of wealth there. As long as you let me go, I will tell you." While struggling, Wild Hammer tried to exchange the looted money for his life.
But the only answer he got was Hashirama's ruthless execution. A sharp wooden spear broke out of the ground, pierced through his abdomen, and soared into the sky.
Wailing in pain and unwillingness, this evil pirate came to the end of his life.
Hashirama stood there and watched the pirates die miserably. He didn't feel uncomfortable, but he didn't like this way of killing enemies.
The reason why he acted so ruthlessly was to fit in with his own background. After all, in the design of his background, both his parents died in the robbery of pirates.
This design is also to make him gain Akainu's trust and favor more quickly in the future.
boom!
Behind Hashirama, there was a sheriff who had been there for a while. He witnessed the entire process of Hashirama's battle. Seeing the pirate, who was considered extremely vicious in his eyes, die at the hands of Hashirama, the sheriff was shocked and happy. He was distracted and the long-handled musket in his hand fell to the ground.
Hearing the noise, Hashirama, who had already noticed the arrival of the sheriff, turned around and looked behind him, smiling and said, "Uncle, I didn't scare you, did I?"
The sheriff was stunned at first, then he reacted, shook his head hastily, and said in a trembling voice: "Brother, on behalf of the residents of this town, I thank you for your help."
"Hahaha!" Hashirama laughed brilliantly and waved his hand. "It was just a coincidence that I ran into you."
After talking with Hashirama, the sheriff got rid of his initial nervousness and fear. He picked up the rifle on the ground, put it behind his back, and took the initiative to step forward and came in front of Hashirama.
"No matter what, it was you who saved the town. If it weren't for you, the residents of the town would have been hard to escape the clutches of these pirates." The sheriff looked at Hashirama with gratitude, "Please come back to the town with me. We will thank you very much."
"Hahaha, no need to be so polite." Hashirama refused again.
"Although our Pumpkin Town is not wealthy, we know how to repay kindness. Please follow me. I will mobilize the townspeople to hold a party to thank you for your help."
Seeing the sheriff's enthusiasm, Hashirama no longer refused and followed the sheriff back to the town.
On the way back, the sheriff specifically mentioned the bounty for the pirates. He told Hashirama that he would arrange for people to clean up the bodies and notify the nearby naval base to ask the navy to come and confirm the identity of the pirates in exchange for the bounty for Hashirama.
As for the bounty, Hashirama, who had just lost all his activity funds, did not refuse it.
The two men returned to the streets in the center of the town. Some of the townspeople who were hiding in their houses carefully observed the situation on the streets through the windows. They were surprised to see the sheriff returning with a somewhat unfamiliar young man.
Those pirates? Why did the sheriff come back with a stranger?
"Dear townspeople, the invading pirates have been defeated by the hero next to me. The town is now safe." The sheriff took Hashirama to the center of the street and shouted loudly.
As the sheriff's voice spread, the townspeople who stayed at home heard this shocking news.
A brave young man opened the window and asked the sheriff, "Uncle Jim, have the pirates really been defeated?"
"The pirates' bodies are all on the dock. Come with me to clean them up later." Sheriff Jem replied.
With this answer, and Sheriff Jem's prestige in the town, people opened their windows one after another. Some cheered, some shed tears of relief, and some young girls secretly looked at Hashirama's appearance and said in a mosquito-like voice, "He is so handsome."
The tightly closed doors were opened, and people came out of their homes to celebrate the rest of the holiday with each other.
Of course, the townspeople did not forget Hashirama's heroic deed, and many of them gathered around him to express their gratitude and thanks to him.
A little girl struggled to squeeze into the crowd and got in front of Hashirama. She was a small, cute child who looked only six or seven years old. She held a few treasured chocolate candies in her hands and handed them to Hashirama. She said in a childish voice, "Big brother, thank you for saving us. This is Annie's most precious candy. I'll treat you to it."
Hashirama liked the scene in front of him very much. What he enjoyed was not the gratitude of the townspeople, but the innocence of the children and everyone's ordinary happiness.
Hashirama bent down with a smile on his face and took a candy from Annie's hand. He opened the package and put the chocolate milk candy into his mouth. After chewing it, he smiled and said, "This is the most delicious candy I have ever eaten."
After getting Hashirama's approval, the little girl named Annie smiled even more happily. She stood on tiptoe, stretched her hands as high as possible, and motioned for Hashirama to take the candy directly.
This time, Hashirama didn't take any more. Instead, he reached out and touched Annie's head, saying gently, "One is enough. Thank you for your gift! You are a good child, Annie."
After receiving the praise, a happy smile appeared on Annie's face. When the other people around saw this scene, they were less afraid of the strange hero Hashirama and instead felt a sense of closeness.
That night in the small town, Hashirama had a great time. He and the townspeople ate a simple but hearty dinner, and drank, sang and danced around the campfire.
That night, Hashirama slept in the sheriff's home at his arrangement.
The next morning, the naval warships arrived at the dock after receiving the notification.
The navy leader was a lieutenant colonel from the headquarters. Of course, this lieutenant colonel had long been replaced by a ninja from the intelligence unit. After he left the scene, he looked at the sheriff who came to greet him and the dead bodies of the pirates on the dock. After taking a look at the bodies, he said, "This is the Wildhammer Pirates, the pirate group of the great pirate 'Wildhammer' with a bounty of 130 million."
After that, the undercover looked at Hashirama after being introduced by the sheriff, and said in a surprised tone: "Hey, young man, what's your name?"
"Hashirama, my name is Hashirama." Hashirama's public name dropped Senju's last name and was just Hashirama.
"Brother Hashirama, you are so young but you can defeat a big pirate like Wild Hammer. You are really strong!" the undercover praised. The navy officers behind him also looked at Hashirama with admiration.
After saying that, the undercover took a step forward, grabbed Hashirama's right hand, and said in an exciting tone: "Now, our Navy Admiral Akainu is holding a world recruitment, and welcomes capable civilians to join the navy. With your ability, you can directly be awarded the rank of general. Brother Hashirama, join the navy!"
When these words were spoken, everyone present was stunned. The sheriff standing next to Hashirama heard that Hashirama would be directly awarded the rank of admiral after joining the navy, and he couldn't help but feel happy for the young man next to him. As a retired navy, he certainly likes to guide promising young people to join the navy.
After being stunned for a few seconds, Hashirama said hesitantly, "I need to think about it."
"Brother Hashirama, pirates are rampant on the sea nowadays and people are often robbed. The navy that upholds justice is looking for talents like you to join." The undercover agent continued to persuade.
"I" Hashirama continued to hesitate.
The sheriff at the side said at this time: "Sir, please give Hashirama some time to consider. After all, this is a big matter."
The undercover agent seemed to realize that he was too excited. He let go of Hashirama's hand, took a half step back, and said seriously, "I was abrupt just now. Brother Hashirama, please consider it. I will take the bodies of these pirates back to the base. I will report your achievements and claim the bounty as soon as possible."
"Thank you." Hashirama thanked.
After saying that, the navy, under the watchful eyes of Hashirama, handed over the bodies of these pirates to the sheriff. After taking photos of all the bodies, they moved them onto the warship.
After the bodies were moved, the Light Country Ninja who was undercover as a lieutenant colonel in the headquarters came to Hashirama again and said, "Brother Hashirama, you are always welcome to visit our base during this period. I believe that a righteous man like you will become one of us."
"I'll think about it carefully," Hashirama promised.
At the same time as Hashirama began to come into contact with the navy, on an island on another route in the first half of the Grand Line, the Third Raikage and his son were instructing several young men on the island in combat training in their own somewhat shabby gym.
Under the arrangement of the intelligence department, the father and son have been on the island for the third day.
Today, they were conducting plain instruction like the previous two days, until a townsman stumbled into the gym.
"Master Yeyue, there are pirate invasions."
After hearing the news from the townspeople, the father and son looked at each other and knew that the time had come for them to take action.
"You go to the town and protect the townspeople." The Third Raikage first instructed several disciples, then quickly ran out of the gym with his son.
In this battle, the intelligence unit arranged a pirate group with a bounty of over 100 million.
The performance of the Third Raikage and his son was no less than that of Hashirama Senju. The father and son ruthlessly dealt with the invading children, which won them the gratitude and cheers of the townspeople and also attracted the attention of the nearby navy.
A few days later, Akainu at the Navy Headquarters received a steady stream of recruits recommended by naval bases from all over the country. The names on these lists that could be presented to Akainu had all passed multiple rounds of selection.
Among them, the information of Hashirama and the Third Raikage, father and son, is all listed, and is at the front of the recommended list.
Akainu felt a little more delighted when he read the introduction about these people's abilities and combat achievements, as well as the powerful strength they demonstrated in the naval base test.
Facts have proved that the world conscription plan he insisted on implementing despite pressure from all sides was successful. The addition of these strong men will greatly fill the vacancies left by Aokiji's departure and Sengoku and Garp's retirement.
"Have someone bring them all to the headquarters. I want to test their strength myself." Akainu ordered. He hoped that among this list of candidates, there would be one or two top-level strong men who could take on the important task of being admirals.
Under Akainu's instructions, the various naval bases that received the order did not waste any time and arranged warships to escort the selected civilian strongmen to the naval headquarters.
Five days later, all the people on the list arrived at the Navy Headquarters, and Hashirama also met the Third Raikage and his son here.
According to the setting, both parties are strangers who do not know each other and there is no communication between the two sides.
After all the candidates were in place, Akainu organized a test. Sengoku and Garp, who he called back to the headquarters, and Chief of Staff Tsuru, who had not yet retired, all came to the test site.
This test concerns the future military ranks to be awarded to these candidates, so everyone is extremely cautious.
In the first test, the examiners these candidates faced were all vice admirals of the Navy Headquarters.
Seeded players like Hashirama and the Third Raikage were placed at the end of the test, and they all watched the test of others from the sidelines.
The contestants who are qualified to come to the headquarters to take the test are at least strong enough to be evaluated as major generals in this department.
These people were able to sustain a contest of dozens of rounds with the lieutenant general of the headquarters. Some of the stronger players even managed to draw with the lieutenant general.
The son of the Third Raikage was called by name in the middle. His public name was Yeyue Lei. When his name was called, he walked to the center of the venue with a calm expression.
His opponent is Vice Admiral Spider of the Marine Headquarters, a hawkish backbone of the Navy and a follower of Akainu. He is skilled in swordsmanship and physical skills, has mastered the Six Styles and Life Return, and can manipulate his hair to control six gauntlet swords. This is also the origin of his nickname Spider.
"Just a lieutenant general? That's too troublesome. I want to challenge the admiral directly!" Ye Yuelei showed a rebellious look and said to Ghost Spider with disdain.
As soon as these words came out, Ghost Spider's face instantly darkened, "Little ghost, being too arrogant is not a good thing!"
Akainu, who was watching from the sidelines, had no change in expression. He had seen in the information that this young man, teamed up with his father, and crushed a pirate group with a bounty of over 100 million in just a few minutes.
At the same time, the information also emphasizes that he is arrogant and impulsive, but has outstanding strength and amazing qualifications.
Next to Akainu, Sengoku and Garp also heard the words of the young man. As the strong men of the older generation, they were not angry about it, but were just curious whether the strength of this young man was really worthy of his arrogance?
In the center of the venue, the third Raikage's son, Yotsuki Rai, twisted his neck slightly, lightning appeared around his body, and his hands and arms were covered with rich armament domineering.
Ye Yuelei looked at the Ghost Spider who had drawn his weapon in front of him, holding a long sword in each hand, and reminded him coldly: "Use all your strength."
"You little brat who overestimates your own abilities!" There was a hint of anger in Ghost Spider's tone.
Seeing this, Ye Yue Lei stopped talking nonsense. His whole body was covered with flowing lightning, and his hair danced upwards like a Saiyan.
With his legs bent, he pushed the ground with force, leaving a residual image on the spot. Ye Yuelei appeared in front of Ghost Spider like a flash of lightning.
The fist, blessed with both lightning and armed color domineering, blasted towards Demon Spider's head like a heavy artillery.
Ghost Spider did not expect that the little ghost in front of him had such amazing speed. He reacted a little slowly and clamped the double blades covered with armed color domineering, barely blocking in front of him.
Ye Yuelei punched down heavily, and the terrifying explosive force directly knocked the ghost spider away.
After a successful attack, Ye Yuelei did not stop. He appeared next to the ghost spider flying upside down in the air as if teleporting again, raised his right leg high, and turned it into a thunder axe to chop down.
This time, Ghost Spider was prepared. Although he didn't have time to adjust his body posture due to the huge inertia, he still used Life Return, and his long hair turned into a shield to block the side.
Unfortunately, the hair blessed with armed color could not block Ye Yuelei's thunder slash. His right leg turned into a battle axe, cutting through Ghost Spider's hair, and kicked him in the waist, causing him to fall heavily to the ground.
With a loud bang, Ghost Spider fell into a big hole in the ground, blood flowing from the corner of his mouth. He looked embarrassed, supporting himself with the rubble on both sides with his hands, trying to stand up.
But Ye Yuelei had no plan to give him a break and continued his pursuit. He appeared beside Ghost Spider like lightning and raised his right foot, which was blessed with both lightning and armed color domineering, again and stepped towards Ghost Spider.
If this blow landed, Demon Spider would be seriously injured if not killed. Akainu, who was sitting in the spectator seat, also stood up at this time and said in time: "Enough, stop."
Ye Yuelei's right foot, shining with lightning, stopped about ten centimeters above Ghost Spider's head.
Ye Yue Lei retracted his right foot, and the lightning on his body receded. He looked at Akainu and said coldly: "I said, vice admiral is not enough."
"You have passed this test. You can withdraw first. There will be a second round of tests later." Akainu said calmly.
Yeyue Lei stared at Akainu for a few seconds, then turned and walked out of the venue.
Next to Akainu, Sengoku saw the young man's performance and asked with some surprise and curiosity: "Could this young man be the user of the Thunder Fruit?"
"No, they are family-inherited fighting techniques that use lightning to temper the body, and they are constantly practicing to master the power of lightning." Akainu explained simply.
Zhan Guo understood this clearly and had no doubt about it. There had been too many schools of cultivation on this vast ocean, and their abilities were also bizarre.
"This young man is worthy of careful training, but his character needs careful guidance," Zhan Guo commented.
"His father also participated in this world conscription. He is stronger and is a seeded player on the list." Akainu continued.
Hearing this, Zhan Guo and Akainu also became more interested. Ye Yue Lei's performance just now was amazing enough. How much stronger would his father be? Could he really have the combat power of an admiral?
Ye Yuelei's performance added a bit of excitement to the rather dull competition previously.
With the appearance of all the ordinary candidates, the test has come to the highlight, which is the three seeded players on the list, Hashirama, Yotsuki Mu, and Aramaki, the user of the Nature-type Mori Fruit.
This third person is the future General Green Bull.
As for these three seeded players, Akainu did not let the ordinary vice admirals take action, but followed the direct plan and looked at Garp on the side.
In the One Piece world of this timeline, because of Kizaru's intervention, Ace did not die at the hands of Akainu, and there was no rift in his relationship with Garp.
Although he usually doesn't like Garp's style, he still recognizes Garp's strength.
Now that Garp has retired and is serving as an instructor in training new recruits in the navy, it is most appropriate for him to appear in this test.
Facing the gazes of Akainu, Sengoku and Tsuru, Garp picked his nose but did not complain. He just laughed, took off his coat and walked out of the spectator seats.
Both Hashirama and the Third Raikage had read the intelligence data of the navy. They knew that the one who would appear this time was the hero of the navy, Vice Admiral Garp, who had the strength of an admiral.
Seeing Garp appear on the stage, the Third Raikage didn't wait for the navy to call anyone, but walked out of the crowd and stepped into the venue.
"This time, let me go first!"
The similar tones of the Third Raikage and Yotsuki Raikage made Akainu and Sengoku, who were watching the battle, sigh that they were indeed father and son.
The Third Raikage stepped into the venue, walked to the position in front of Garp, and stood opposite him, his eyes full of fighting spirit.
Like his son, the Third Raikage also spoke up to remind him: "I know you, Navy hero Garp, use all your strength, otherwise you will end up like the vice admiral just now."
Unlike his son, the Third Raikage directly used his domineering aura when he spoke, and his astonishing momentum and pressure swept the entire audience in an instant.
Around the venue, some of the weaker and less determined guys fainted under the shock of the domineering aura.
Although Akainu and the others were fine, they stood up in surprise because of the move displayed by the Third Raikage.
"Haoshin Haki! Would such a strong man really be willing to live in seclusion on a small island?" Zhan Guo suddenly doubted the origins of this father and son.
But then, the words of the Third Raikage dispelled his doubts.
"Twenty years ago, an accident ruined my path to becoming the strongest. Twenty years have passed, and some people say that I am old, but I refuse to admit it. At my age, it is just right for me to become the strongest. You, the naval hero, are also just right for me to be my first opponent." The Third Raikage looked at Garp with a slightly ferocious smile, full of fighting spirit.
Feeling the enemy's strength and fighting spirit, Garp also became serious. He clenched his fists and raised the corners of his mouth, "Stop talking nonsense, let's have a good fight."
"That's just what I want!" The Third Raikage smiled even more happily.
As soon as the words fell, the two men launched a charge at the same time, leaving afterimages in the air, fist against fist, pure armament domineering and armament domineering blessed by lightning collided with each other.
The battle between the two had no fancy abilities or skills, just iron-fisted and domineering punches.
Black and blue lightning blended together in the center of the venue, the sound of fists colliding continued to ring out, and the figures of the two people turned into afterimages, constantly colliding at high speed.
"You have good strength, I like it!" The Third Raikage collided with Garp with another punch and said with a smile.
"Hahaha! Yours is not bad either!" Karp said admiringly.
As soon as the words came out of their mouths, the two of them stepped back at the same time, and after gathering strength, they moved forward again. Their fierce physical skills and ultimate domineering aura were fully displayed.
"If Ye Yuewu had gone to sea twenty years ago, he would have been a hero on the ocean." Sengoku was very clear about Garp's strength. Seeing that the two were evenly matched in their fight, his assessment of the Third Raikage's strength continued to improve.
"It's not too late now." Akainu looked at the battle below with admiration on his face. This time, the world conscription was able to discover such a strong man. Even if he is a little older, it is still a huge profit.
Not to mention, this person also offered a buy one get one free deal, and brought his son, who also had great strength and amazing qualifications, to join the navy.
Because the duel was on the navy's local playground, Garp and the Third Raikage tried their best to control their respective powers, compressing their domineering and lightning in their fists to prevent large-scale attacks from causing too much damage to the playground and even the entire navy headquarters.
After the two men collided again and separated, Garp rolled up the sleeve on his right arm, and the compressed armament domineering was concentrated on his right fist, with black lightning surrounding his arm.
The Third Raikage who saw this scene was unceremoniously ready to use his strongest attack. He raised his right hand and extended only one finger, concentrating all his domineering aura and lightning chakra on that one finger.
At the same time, the domineering aura that he had just mastered was also under his control, surrounding his fingers.
All the power is concentrated on one point, Hell's Thrust, the famous skill of the Third Raikage, known as the strongest spear.
Akainu, Sengoku and others who were watching the battle were also watching this decisive battle very seriously at this moment. They all knew that the next blow would be the one that determined the outcome.
Steel fists and hell thrusts, ultimate dominance and ultimate attack, the brave one wins when two meet on a narrow road, this is the decisive blow between two top powerhouses.
Without any nonsense, the two men looked at each other and charged forward at the same time. Garp raised his right fist and swung it forward.
The Third Raikage transformed into a spear of lightning and instantly stabbed at Garp.
Garp swung his right fist, and a huge shock wave destroyed everything in front of him.
The Third Raikage thrust out a finger, breaking through Garp's defense and piercing through Garp's chest which was protected by the Armament Haki, but at the same time he himself also suffered the shock wave from Garp.
The Third Raikage spat out a ball of blood from his mouth. His left shoulder was fractured by the heavy punch. Blood flowed from the corner of Garp's mouth, and the white military uniform on his chest was also soaked with blood. The Third Raikage's right index finger pierced into his chest, causing a penetrating wound.
"What is the name of this attack?" Garp asked the Third Raikage.
"Hell Thrust: One-Handed Technique, what about yours?" the Third Raikage asked back.
"Fist bone impact." Karp replied.
After saying this, the two men looked at each other and laughed. Their laughter kept getting louder until the naval medical personnel who were standing by outside the venue rushed into the venue and interrupted their laughter.
The competition ended in a draw, and both players walked off the field surrounded by medical staff.
"The Domineering Haki entanglement in that attack just now was still a little lacking. If there is someone to guide him, his strength can be further improved." Sengoku, who also mastered the Domineering Haki, commented.
Compared to Sengoku, Akainu, while happy, encountered a small trouble. The examiner he arranged, Garp, was injured in the first test, and he had no suitable personnel for the next two tests.
Akainu looked at Sengoku beside him. The retired Sengoku pretended not to understand Akainu's look and continued to analyze the battle seriously.
Akainu had no better way to deal with this kind of rogue behavior, and could only choose to take action himself.
With a burning cigar in his mouth, he stood up again and walked down step by step from the spectator seats.
After entering the venue, Akainu looked at Hashirama and Aramaki beside him and said, "I will fight in the next two games myself. Who of you will go first?"
Upon hearing this, Hashirama looked towards Aramaki who was not far away. The future admiral also looked towards Hashirama at this time.
After the two looked at each other, without waiting for Hashirama to speak, Aramaki took a step and walked into the venue.
Aramaki, who has developed the Nature-type Sen Sen Fruit to the extreme, is among the top-notch among conventional strong men, but his domineering skills are not top-notch. He is still a little bit behind the admirals of the older generation such as Akainu, or the strong men at the level of the Four Emperors.
Not to mention, Akainu's magma fruit can restrain Aramaki's Mori fruit.
The battle between the two was very gorgeous. While Aramaki controlled the trees to attack Akainu, he himself turned into a giant tree man.
Facing this newcomer, Akainu did not use his full strength. He restrained his domineering aura and used the power of the magma fruit to fight against Aramaki.
The two fought for dozens of rounds. After determining the upper limit of Aramaki's strength, Akainu became serious and defeated him in just a few rounds.
After being hit hard by Akainu's giant lava fist wrapped in Armament Haki, Aramaki canceled his transformation into a tree man and howled a few times while covering his injured arm.
Looking at Aramaki's appearance, Akainu was a little disappointed. This guy's strength was barely enough to be an admiral, but if there were other more suitable people, he didn't want to give the position of admiral to this person.
Thinking of this, Akainu looked at Hashirama outside the field, who was the last seeded player in today's test.
"Hashirama, come up! Let me see your strength." Akainu said calmly.
Hashirama, who had been waiting for a long time, smiled. He stepped forward confidently and walked into the venue.
Akainu, who had read Hashirama's information, knew that this young man mastered a secret technique to control plants, and also possessed extremely outstanding physical skills and domineering.
"Go ahead!" Akainu said encouragingly.
Hashirama nodded, and without further ado, he covered his arms with Armament Haki and attacked Akainu.
Akainu did not use the power of his fruit, but with the blessing of armament Haki, he punched and collided with Hashirama.
With the blessing of chakra, Hashirama's strength and burst were amplified, and the extraordinary power he unleashed exceeded Akainu's expectations. After a fist fight, Akainu was at a disadvantage in strength and was forced to retreat several steps before he released Hashirama's huge power.
What a strong power! Hashirama was surprised by Hashirama's strength.
"Nice power, keep showing your abilities." Akainu said affirmatively.
Hashirama was not polite either. He used his Armament Haki and combined his extraordinary strength to engage in close combat with Akainu.
Akainu's physical fitness, even without the magma fruit, is at the monster level. In the past, even for close combat that was not adapted to his abilities, there were only a very few strong people who were better than him.
But this time, in the close combat with Hashirama, Akainu was at a disadvantage.
The navy watching the battle, especially Sengoku and others, were surprised when they saw that a "young man" like Hashirama was able to suppress Akainu in close combat with just physical skills and domineering.
This young man is so young, yet he possesses such amazing, monstrous physical fitness, coupled with his strong domineering skills. Just based on the strength that Hashirama has shown now, he is qualified to touch the threshold of the admiral.
But if these were all he knew, this young man, Hashirama, would not be considered a qualified general, just like Aramaki just now.
In the venue, Akainu also became serious. He used the power of his fruit for the first time. His right arm turned into a giant lava fist and slammed towards Hashirama.
Facing this attack that used the power of the fruit, Hashirama also used more abilities. For the first time, he used the Conqueror's Haki Entanglement and knocked the lava fist away in front of Akainu's shocked gaze, knocking down Akainu who was a little dazed.
"Another master of Conqueror's Haki, and he is even more skilled in using Conqueror's Haki Entanglement."
At this moment, Akainu and Sengoku said almost the same words in their hearts.
In the venue, Akainu was more and more delighted that his world conscription plan was correct; in the spectator seats, Sengoku was also surprised that a world conscription could discover two owners of Conqueror's Haki, what a luck it was.
Especially considering Hashirama's young age, this young man's potential and future are immeasurable.
If there are no major problems with his background, and if he does not go astray in the future, based on Hashirama's strength and qualifications, he will definitely be a strong contender for the position of the Navy Admiral in the future.
"You are surrounded by domineering aura! Just use whatever abilities you have!" Akainu said excitedly.
Hashirama, who knocked Akainu down, was not polite either. He stood in place and clapped his hands. Countless trees broke out of the ground in front of him. These trees grew in the wind, entwined with each other, and soon merged into a huge wooden man.
The height of this wooden man is much taller than the tree man that Huangmu transformed into. There is also a wooden dragon wrapped around the wooden man's body. The wooden dragon roars as if it has life and slides on the upper body of the wooden man.
Such a huge wooden man shocked everyone present. Huang Mu, who was receiving treatment on the sidelines, looked at the wooden man in the field and widened his eyes in shock, "What kind of ability is this?"
Akainu looked up at the huge wooden man in front of him and couldn't help but ask a similar question, "Have you ever eaten a devil fruit?"
"No, this is the power I gained on an island. It is the inheritance from the sacred tree." Hashirama made a serious expression and introduced.
A sacred tree? What is this?
Akainu and the others couldn't help but have similar questions in their minds.
But unlike ordinary navy officers, Akainu and Sengoku, as high-ranking navy officers, usually come into contact with more confidential information and have more intelligence at their disposal.
Akainu speculated that the sacred tree that Hashirama mentioned might be some kind of power from ancient times.
In public, he did not speak out this speculation, but continued to attack, wanting to test the strength of the giant wooden man in front of him.
Under Akainu's control, countless lava fire fists spurted out and shot towards the wooden man.
Hashirama also reacted at the same moment, controlling Konoha and reaching out to grab Hashirama.
Faced with the huge palm that covered the sky and the sun, Akainu did not dodge. Instead, his whole body turned into elements and turned into hot magma.
The wooden man grabbed the magma that Akainu had turned into, but because it was not covered by domineering, it did not cause any harm to Akainu. On the contrary, due to the high temperature of the magma, his palm was gradually melted.
Hashirama also noticed this problem. He jumped onto the wooden man in an instant and placed his hands on his arms.
Using the principle of strengthening weapons, he wrapped his own Haki in the wooden man's palm. With Hashirama's current Haki level, he could only let the Armament Haki cover one of the wooden man's palms.
But this is enough. The wooden man's palm, which is blessed with domineering power, makes Akainu no longer dare to rely on his elemental ability and ignore the wooden man's attack.
Under the threat of Haki, Akainu jumped down from the wooden man's palm in time and fell to the ground.
Hashirama seized this opportunity, controlled the wooden man, and stretched out his hand to slap Akainu.
This time, facing the huge palm wrapped in armament Haki, Akainu did not dare to be careless. He dodged in time and counterattacked by shooting a giant lava fist at Hashirama on the wooden man.
For a moment, the two of them were in a stalemate. Akainu kept dodging the wooden man's attacks, while waiting for an opportunity to use the power of the fruit to counterattack.
Relying on the huge size of the wooden man, Hashirama took Akainu's lava attack. Although the wooden man was covered with wounds, he was not damaged to the point where he was unable to fight.
In the audience, Zhan Guo looked at the stalemate between the two and said seriously, "Sakaski lost."
Chief of Staff He, who was standing by, looked at the wooden dragon that had not launched an attack on the wooden man, and understood why Zhan Guo made such a conclusion.
Around the two of them, there were vice admirals who were watching the battle. After hearing Sengoku's judgment, some were surprised, some were shocked, and some were slightly dissatisfied. They felt that Admiral Akainu was concerned about the navy outside the venue and did not use a large-scale fruit ability attack.
Compared to the evaluation of outsiders, Akainu's own feelings were the most real in the venue. He had already felt the threat posed by the wooden dragon that was waiting to be unleashed on the wooden man.
This kind of threat that is not yet fired is the biggest interference to him, making him more cautious when counterattacking.
Akainu has now fully recognized Hashirama's strength, but unlike Sengoku's judgment, Akainu does not think that he will lose to the young man Hashirama.
The reason why Akainu was so confident was because of his abundant physical strength. At the same time, he judged that Hashirama would not be able to maintain such a huge wooden man for a long time.
If both sides continue to waste time like this, they will be the only ones who win in the end.
However, it is enough that the competition has reached this point. The young man, Hashirama, has at least shown the same strength as himself in a short period of time, and that is enough.
Facts have proved that Hashirama's strength is fully comparable to that of an admiral. He and Ye Yuewu can completely replace the vacancies of the two admirals.
At the same time, Huang Mu's strength has reached the threshold of a general, and Ye Yuewu's son Ye Yuelei's strength is also close to that of a general. These two people only need to make further progress in their domineering practice to be fully qualified for the position of general.
In this way, the Navy gained the equivalent of four admiral-level combat forces through this world conscription, and Akainu was very satisfied with such a gain.
Satisfied, Akainu took the initiative to end the battle. He looked at Hashirama with appreciation and said in praise: "You are very strong. The Navy welcomes you to join."
Hashirama also released the wooden man, landed in front of Akainu, and said with a bit of hatred: "I joined the navy to eliminate the pirates on the sea!"
Hearing this, Akainu became even happier. He had seen the information in the document that Hashirama had taken the initiative to explain.
This young man was born into a noble family. When he was young, he and his parents were on a merchant ship traveling to another place when they were robbed by pirates. His parents were killed, and he himself was thrown into the sea by the pirates and stranded on a deserted island.
With such experiences, it is natural to hate pirates.
"You are right, pirates are the source of chaos in this ocean, they must all be eliminated!" Akainu said admiringly.
After praising Hashirama, Akainu left the venue and returned to the spectator seats. As the Admiral of the Navy, he no longer needed to arrange the next things personally.
Based on the results of the competition just now, all contestants participating in the competition today will be awarded appropriate military ranks and assigned to different positions.
Of course, considering that these people have no military command and leadership experience, they will be accompanied by an adjutant with command capabilities.
Back in the audience, Akainu came to Sengoku's side and asked, "Marshal Sengoku, what do you think of today's candidates?"
"Hashirama and Yotsuki Mu have the combat power of admiral level and are qualified for the position of admiral. Aramaki is barely qualified and can be awarded the position of admiral, or he can be arranged as a candidate for admiral. The key lies in the attitude of this person. What we have to ensure now is to keep all these talents in the navy. In addition, Yotsuki Mu's son is also very strong and can be a candidate for admiral." Zhan Guo expressed his opinion.
Sengoku's arrangement was similar to Akainu's idea, the only difference was that after thinking about it, Akainu decided to directly appoint Aramaki as the general.
This arrangement was intended to use the four admirals to restore the navy's power on the sea and restore morale after the Battle of Marineford.
Of course, Akainu also knew that it was impossible to make the forces at sea, especially the pirates, recognize the strength of the new admiral simply by relying on the appointment of an admiral.
He still has a lot of work to do next, the most important of which is to arrange suitable jobs for the new generals, so that they can become famous on the sea and thus deter all forces and ambitious people on the sea.
"I plan to directly appoint Hashirama, Yotsuki Mu, and Aramaki as admirals." Akainu directly stated the arrangement in his mind.
"In this way, we will have four generals." Zhan Guo said in a deep voice. He was thinking more about how to balance the forces within the navy after the new generals were appointed. How to resolve the conflicts between the doves and hawks left after Aokiji's defeat.
Judging from the competition just now, both Hashirama and Yotsuki Mu have strong personalities, especially Hashirama’s last speech, which was completely like another Akainu.
In this way, two admirals and one marshal are all from the hawkish faction, the doves are leaderless, and the centrist Kizaru is just taking advantage of the situation. In the future, the hawkish faction will dominate the navy.
Zhan Guo didn't know whether this future was good or bad, but as a retired former naval marshal, he didn't have much position or motivation to intervene in the conflicts between these factions.
"Sakaski, since you have an idea, just execute it according to your decision. You are the admiral of the navy, and the future of the navy is in your hands." Zhan Guo said half encouragingly and half remindingly.
Akainu said nothing, but nodded calmly, "I plan to make the decision publicly this afternoon."
After saying that, Akainu relit a cigar, picked up his mouth, and left the audience.
Seeing Akainu leave, Sengoku and Tsuru also stood up and prepared to go to the hospital to visit Garp who was receiving treatment.
That afternoon, Akainu convened a meeting of senior generals within the navy. Only those with the rank of vice admiral and above were eligible to attend the meeting.
At the meeting, Akainu announced the appointment of three new admirals.
Akainu's swift and decisive appointment caught the attending generals off guard. Some of them disagreed with Akainu's approach, thinking that it was reckless to directly appoint an untrained strong man from the civilian population as a general.
But at this moment, facing Akainu's strength and the support of many hawkish generals, these opponents could only suppress their opinions in their hearts.
Compared to before, Akainu now holds more concentrated power in the navy. The hawkish soldiers who experienced the disastrous defeat in the War of Marineford have gathered around Akainu, eager to wash away the shame under Akainu's leadership and regain the occupied East China Sea.
To this end, these people are willing to make concessions on many things, including Akainu's proposal for world conscription.
You know, Akainu's world conscription directly grants military ranks based on the participants' strength. This is equivalent to forcibly splitting a piece of the pie from the existing power system and rewarding those strong people who are capable but have not yet made any military achievements.
This is not fair to those naval officers who have been promoted step by step, but it can directly and roughly make up for the navy's loss of strength due to defeat.
Even though this decision harmed the vested interests, Akainu still received the support of most of the hawks. This also indirectly shows how much psychological shadow Kizaru and the Kingdom of Light brought to the navy in the Battle of Marineford and the East China Sea.
After the meeting passed or the decision was notified, Akainu immediately sent someone to notify the candidates who were coming to take the test.
The four top candidates (plus the son of the Third Raikage) were personally informed by the Navy Admiral Akainu.
In the office, the first person Akainu received was Hashirama. Akainu, who was very optimistic about and admired Hashirama's strength and character, first praised Hashirama's strength and pursuit of justice, and then announced the decision to appoint him as admiral.
Hearing Akainu's announcement, Hashirama showed good acting skills. He was stunned at first, then showed an excited look and said excitedly: "Can I really be the admiral of the navy?"
"Of course, with your strength and wisdom, you are qualified for the position of admiral. Admiral Hashirama, I hope you understand that being an admiral is not only a position, but also a responsibility. From now on, the lives of many soldiers are in your hands. I hope you can use your power prudently." Akainu said admonishingly.
"I understand!" Hashirama replied. (End of this chapter)