On the deck of Zephyr's battleship. "Wahahaha! Binz! Too weak! Pathetically weak! You're still miles behind me!" "Damn you, Shuzo! You freakish pervert, bullying me comes so naturally to you!" Binz, clad in ridiculous ninja garb, sat up from the deck and glared at the long-armed giant laughing nearby. "I'm still a student from the elite training camp! If you've got the guts, go challenge someone from the SWORD Classified Special Forces! Try fighting the 'Empress' or 'Songstress,' or even 'Desert King'!" "Just because I look like a brute, you think I'm stupid?" Shuzo wiped tears of laughter from his eyes before hauling Binz up by the collar. "Every single one of the Grand Inspector's protégés is a monster. I know my limits—I can't compare to them... So I expect you to know yours too. You've got talent, but next to those freaks from the classified unit, you're light-years behind." "I... know that already." Binz sighed, wiping blood from his nose after taking Shuzo punch. "Barring surprises, the future admirals—maybe even fleet admiral—will likely be decided through internal competition within SWORD. There's no point comparing ourselves to people destined to be stronger and bear greater responsibilities... For me, helping Zephyr-sensei eradicate pirates who threaten civilians is enough." "Glad you understand." Shuzo clapped Binz's shoulder before darting toward the ship's interior. "Hey! Running after a fight? Have some shame, you bastard!" Binz moved to chase him but was yanked back by his collar. "Cough! Who the—trying to strangle me... Ain? What's up?" "I should be asking you. What are you doing here? Fighting Shuzo again?" Ain eyed Binz with disdain. "And losing, as usual." "Cough! If only my Devil Fruit powers were stronger—" "Zephyr-sensei said he's going to toughen you up properly soon! You can't rely too much on your fruit!" "Wait, Sensei said that?" Binz gulped. "Ain, how about we make a deal? Use your powers to shrink me back twelve years? Maybe if he sees me as a kid, he'll go easy?" "Are you joking?" Ain's eye twitched. "I know exactly what you looked like twelve years ago... you're somehow worse than now." And even if he were genuinely a child, Zephyr would still discipline him mercilessly. After all, a strict teacher like Zephyr doesn't go easy just because you're small. "Alright, Binz, stop fooling around. Notify everyone to assemble on deck." As soon as Ain finished speaking, Binz's expression turned serious. He nodded to Ain and then entered the cabin. Before long, a large group of people dressed in identical Marine uniforms filed out of the cabin one after another. The ratio of men to women was a surprising six to four. In the past, having two or three women in an entire training camp would have been considered a lot. The reason for this current situation was the existence of Amazon Lily. For example, in this elite Marine recruit training camp, aside from Ain, all the other female Marine members were from Amazon Lily. Seeing that everyone had assembled, Ain spoke up. "About fifty kilometers ahead, there's an uninhabited island where the pirate Gragas, with a bounty of 75 million, and his Barrel Pirates are located! Our mission is to surround and eliminate them! Everyone will participate in the battle!" Everyone responded in unison, seemingly already accustomed to Ain giving them orders as their leader. There was no helping it—whether it was individual combat strength or command and coordination abilities, Ain was the best in this batch, and there was no denying it. "Good! Once we dock, launch the attack immediately! Don't give the enemy any time to catch their breath!" "Sigh... this journey has been so boring." Yamato lay sprawled on the bow of the Seraphim Ship, looking utterly bored. "Honestly, this is way more fun than training at Marineford or Amazon Lily... They never let me go all out in the training grounds! Always holding back, it's so frustrating!" Jack, sitting nearby, was instead brimming with excitement as he looked around. "Besides, other than Alabasta, Amazon Lily and Marineford, I haven't really been to many other places!" When the two of them first set out from Marineford with Michael, they were both full of enthusiasm. But later on, only Jack, the big oaf, remained excited. "Let me ask you both, is there any chance you could stop holing up at Marineford all the time?" Michael walked up from behind, giving Yamato a look of sheer disbelief. "Especially you. Other than rolling around on your ship, all you do is go to Fish-Man Island to stock up on merchandise... And where do all those collectibles you buy end up anyway?" "Not all of them are for me!" Yamato did a backflip from the bow of the ship and landed in front of Michael. "Father, you have no idea—I discovered there are tons of fellow enthusiasts within the Marines! I'm actually the vice president of the Grand Inspector Michael Fan Club now!" "...Yamato, are you even speaking human language right now? Because it sounds completely foreign to me." Michael's lips twitched, he was speechless! The Marines actually had people with this much free time!? "You just don't understand the Marines' recreational activities well enough!" "This goes way beyond recreational activities!" The Seraphim Ship continued forward in this atmosphere. And then, thirty minutes later... Michael spotted a small sailboat. On it were only two people. One was a shriveled old woman, so small she looked like a potato. And the other was a bizarrely huge, muscular man. "M-Mom, what are we doing now?" "Stupid son! Of course, we're going to do something big to make a name for yourself on the seas! That way, your father might finally notice you!" "Exactly! I've already gathered intel—the one leading those new recruits is that old fool Zephyr... He's strong, but he doesn't have a Devil Fruit. If we ambush him at full force, we can actually hurt him! Once you make a name for yourself, you can become a Warlord... That's when the real benefits will come!" Miss Bakkin and Whitebeard Jr.? This world... is seriously damn small. But from the sound of it, they were planning to ambush Zephyr? Michael smirked, then glanced at the two idle troublemakers beside him and an idea forming in his mind. Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs novel※fire.net "Yamato, Jack, see that ship up ahead?" "Once they dock, rush over and beat up that big oaf!" ----------------------------- Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on . (.)com/Newbietranslator