At The Peak of One Piece

The revelry lasted late into the night. After Smoker and the others left, Victor lay in bed replaying his battle with Shanks. 

Though the Red-Hair captain's Conqueror's Haki hadn't yet developed its later destructive power, its mental assault had given Victor his first taste of spiritual pressure. 

"So that's the 'Disposition of a King'—a psychic attack only those with monstrous willpower can wield." 

Swordsmanship-wise, he and Shanks were evenly matched. By extension, that likely put him on par with Dracule Mihawk at this stage. 

But his Armament Haki remained the weak link. 

"Can't even scratch Garp, Zephyr, or Shanks... How many more monsters are out there?" 

He grinned before sleep took him. 

--- 

At dawn's run, Victor cornered Instructor Andrew. 

"The weighted gear's useless now. Get me heavier ones." 

Andrew paled. "That was already the maximum—" 

"Find. Some. Or I'll use 'you' as training weights." Victor's smile didn't reach his eyes. 

--- 

Elite Squad Showdown 

Victor strode into the training grounds, tossing Zephyr a bottle of sherry. 

"Here to spar with Smoker!" he announced. 

The white-haired recruit's face darkened. 

Under Zephyr's orders, Smoker had no choice. 

Round 1: Smoker vs Victor 

- Smoker's Rokushiki-enhanced punches never touched Victor, who dodged with Observation Haki. 

- When Smoker smoke-engulfed the arena, Victor's Armament-coated fist sent him crashing down. 

Round 2: Zephyr vs Victor 

Their clash shattered the training yard's foundation—again. 

(The engineering corps had started a betting pool on how often they'd need to replace the floors.) 

--- 

Headquarters Intel 

Fleet Admiral Sengoku studied the World Economic Journal at his desk. 

FRONT PAGE: 

"Mystery Swordsman Fights Red-Haired Shanks to Standstill!" 

Accompanying it was Victor's classified Marine dossier. 

"Why would Shanks target Victor specifically?" Sengoku mused. 

Across from him, Garp crunched senbei. "Bah! Kid just needs seasoning! More importantly—when's he cooking for us next?" 

--- 

Echoes Across the Seas 

New World - A Split Galleon 

Mihawk's golden eyes gleamed at the newspaper. "A new challenger..." 

Reverse Mountain - Twin Capes 

Crocus patted Laboon's scarred head. "Very talented young man, is the sea going to be turbulent again? Roger, is this what you want to see?." 

Shakky's Rip-Off Bar 

Rayleigh chuckled. "Let's see how high this boy can fly." 

East Blue - Shimotsuki Village 

Koushirou smiled behind his teacup. 

Lyep Island

The hometown of Vic and Rebecca

In the mayor's office, Andre was also reading the World Economic News.

He was a little worried when he heard the news of Vic's defeat, but he was relieved

when he saw that Vic was safe and sound!

He knew Red Haired. His bounty was almost 1 billion. He was a very powerful pirate!

He couldn't help but sigh that Vic was really strong now, and he was proud of Vic's

achievements!

After all, he is just a boy under 17 years old. With such potential, he is a potential

naval officer.

The residents of the town also saw today's newspaper and were proud that a big

figure had emerged in the town.

The last person was Rebecca's mother. Today was a joyous day for the residents,

but this joy was not known to outsiders. 

--- 

The World Takes Notice 

From underworld brokers to Marine admirals, one name spread like wildfire: 

Victor. 

The teenager who: 

1. Crushed a underground kingpin's lieutenant of the Rhodes family

2. Crossed blades with a 1 billion bounty

Yet none knew his Marine affiliation—making him the Grand Line's newest enigma.