Chapter 09
Doriki (Power Level).
In the current world, excluding Haki and Devil Fruit abilities, Doriki is a numerical measurement used to directly quantify a combatant’s attack power.
An ordinary adult male, after undergoing some basic training from the Marines, would only have a Doriki value of around 10.
For example, the commander of CP9 during the Enies Lobby incident, the famous unit of measurement himself, Spandam, had a pitiful Doriki value of only 9.
Within the Marines, Doriki was a reference used to measure the strength of lower and mid-ranking Marine soldiers.
And at the Marine Academy led by Zephyr, Doriki testing was also one of the evaluation criteria for students.
The basic requirement to enter the Marine Academy was 80 Doriki, while the basic requirement for graduation was 500, with no upper limit.
Of course, Doriki was only one of the many graduation standards. Besides personal combat ability, whether a student could graduate also depended on various other aspects.
Before long, Zephyr led Kunikuni Yoriichi to an open training field.
At this moment, standing in front of Yoriichi was a massive stone wall measuring 5 meters × 5 meters × 5 meters. Attached to the side of the stone wall was a small display screen, and the number currently shown on it was:
“0.”
Zephyr walked up to the stone wall, lightly tapped it with his hand, and spoke to Yoriichi.
“Yoriichi, this is the ‘device’ used to test Doriki.”
“This entire stone wall is made from Seastone. It is incredibly tough. When you attack this wall, the force you transmit into it will be converted through calculations and displayed as your Doriki value on this screen.”
“Here, just like this.”
As he spoke, Zephyr extended two fingers and lightly knocked on the stone wall as if he were knocking on a door.
Despite the seemingly effortless movement, the massive stone wall suddenly released a deep rumbling sound and was visibly pushed backward several centimeters.
“BOOM!!”
As the sound echoed, the numbers on the display beside Zephyr began rapidly increasing.
Finally, they stopped at:
1213.
Zephyr seemed quite satisfied with his demonstration. A smile appeared on his face.
Ten seconds after the number stopped displaying, the massive stone wall slowly began moving back on its own, returning to its original position, as if a spring had been installed behind it.
Yoriichi was fascinated by the strange sight before him.
This was the first time he had seen something that could directly measure attack power.
However, looking at the enormous stone wall, Yoriichi couldn’t help but feel puzzled.
With a wall this huge, wouldn’t it be impossible for a normal person to move it at all?
Zephyr had only pushed it back a few centimeters, and the value had already reached around 1200.
If an ordinary person tried, they probably wouldn’t even be able to produce a reading.
“Come on, Yoriichi. Give it a try. Use your strongest attack!”
Zephyr smiled and pointed toward the stone wall, motioning for Yoriichi to step forward.
Filled with curiosity, Yoriichi walked up to the wall.
He casually lowered his stance into a horse stance.
Then—
He threw out a punch.
Bang!
His fist struck the stone wall with tremendous force.
A huge amount of power poured into the Seastone wall.
Yet…
The stone wall remained completely unmoving.
However, the display beside Zephyr began rapidly changing.
The numbers continued climbing.
Finally, they stopped at:
520.
“Heh, is this all you’ve got?”
Zephyr looked at the number displayed on the screen.
Although his words sounded teasing, his eyes were filled with amusement and approval.
But at that moment—
Yoriichi suddenly stepped backward.
His hand moved toward his waist, and he instantly drew his long blade.
“Whoosh…”
He adjusted his breathing slightly.
Then Yoriichi swung his sword toward the Seastone wall.
The black blade was surrounded by crimson flames, illuminating his small face with a bright red glow.
Sun Breathing — Third Form — Raging Sun Halo!
“CLANG!!!!”
The horizontal slash struck.
Unlike the dull impact from before, the moment Yoriichi’s blade collided with the Seastone wall, a sharp metallic sound rang out.
The enormous stone wall was visibly pushed backward several meters before finally coming to a stop.
At the same time, the display beside Zephyr showed a number that shocked him.
The value had already climbed to:
5333.
Zephyr turned his head.
The moment he saw that number, his expression clearly froze.
However, the surprise disappeared almost instantly.
Very quickly, Zephyr returned to his calm appearance and spoke indifferently.
“Hmm… not bad.”
“Barely acceptable.”
Although he spoke casually and maintained a calm expression, inside his heart—
A storm had already erupted.
Over 5000 Doriki.
What did that represent?
To put it simply, among the Marines, most Vice Admirals, without considering Devil Fruit abilities, could only reach the range of 2000–4000 Doriki.
Ignoring Garp, even the strongest Vice Admirals could barely reach 5000.
During the Enies Lobby incident, Gear Second Luffy, if measured by Doriki, would have been slightly above 5000.
At that time, Luffy was already considered a powerful pirate.
He had defeated two Warlords of the Sea and would later be recognized as one of the members of the “Worst Generation.”
Without a doubt, a Doriki value exceeding 5000 meant that, even across the entire ocean, someone could no longer be considered an unknown figure.
But now…
A teenage boy casually picked up by that old bastard Garp possessed such terrifying strength.
It was impossible for Zephyr not to be shocked.
However, in order to maintain his image as a teacher, Zephyr remained calm on the surface.
“Yoriichi!”
“You must train hard from now on.”
“Your Doriki value is only five thousand.”
“You’re still far from enough.”
“When you can achieve something like me, then you’ll barely be qualified to go out into the sea and make your own way.”
As Zephyr spoke, he once again stood in front of the Seastone wall.
He took a deep breath.
Gathering his strength…
He suddenly threw out a punch.
“BOOM!!”
After a deep impact sound, the Seastone wall was blasted backward more than ten meters.
The display beside Zephyr rapidly climbed.
When it reached:
7000
the screen suddenly stopped.
Then…
It changed into:
00000
A string of corrupted numbers.
Crack!
At that moment, the Seastone wall seemed to have reached the limit of its movement.
A faint cracking sound came from the mechanism connecting the wall to the ground.
The device supporting the wall broke.
The massive stone wall rolled away into the distance.
“Moving this wall requires at least 1000 Doriki.”
“As for someone at my level… I’m barely around 10,000 Doriki.”
Zephyr looked at the stunned Yoriichi and smiled.
“Kid, you’re still far from enough.”
“From now on, train properly under me.”
“I’ll turn you into an excellent Marine.”
“Come on. I’ll show you the rest.”
“Starting tomorrow, I’ll personally train you.”
After saying that, Zephyr ignored the Doriki testing machine that was already smoking from the damage he caused.
Without looking back, he led Yoriichi away.
Not long after the two left…
Several instructors from the Marine Academy hurried over.
Looking at the ruined training field, they remained speechless for a long time.
The entire day, Yoriichi followed behind Zephyr.
Zephyr introduced him to everything about the Marine Academy.
Not only the academy itself—
In the afternoon, Zephyr also took Yoriichi around Marineford.
Along the way, Zephyr encountered many familiar faces.
Old comrades.
Former students.
Marine officers who admired him.
And today, Zephyr was in an exceptionally good mood.
Whenever he met someone, he greeted them warmly and introduced Yoriichi.
“Hey! XXXX, you’re back?”
“Ah, this kid?”
“He’s my newly accepted disciple.”
“His strength?”
“Nothing special.”
“On his first day of testing, he only scored a little over 5000 Doriki.”
“He’s still far too young.”
The same words…
Yoriichi had already lost count of how many times Zephyr had said them.
While marveling at Zephyr’s extensive connections, Yoriichi also gradually became familiar with Marineford.
At night.
After following Zephyr around for the entire day, Yoriichi finally returned home.
He sat on the corridor outside his room.
His back rested against a pillar.
He raised his head and looked at the night sky.
“The night sky of this world… is even deeper than the previous one…”
“The stars… are also much brighter.”
…………………
