Chapter 06
The chill of early spring still lingered, and the faint morning light had just begun to spread across the sky.
It was March, yet Marineford still carried traces of winter.
Before the sun had even risen, Rengoku Yoriichi stepped out of his room. Looking at the empty courtyard before him, he slowly exhaled.
Just yesterday, under Garp’s recommendation, he had become the disciple of Admiral Zephyr of Marine Headquarters. However, due to his age, Yoriichi was unable to directly enroll in the Marine Academy. Instead, he had moved into Zephyr’s home and would temporarily live there.
The 47-year-old Zephyr had experienced a great tragedy five years ago. His family was murdered by pirates he had once pursued. After that incident, the “Non-Killing” Admiral stepped away from the front lines.
Originally, Zephyr had intended to leave the Marines completely. However, after being persuaded by Fleet Admiral Kong and his old friend Garp, Zephyr chose to remain in the Marines. He simply retired from active duty and became the chief instructor of the Marine Academy, responsible for teaching and nurturing the next generation of Marines.
Marineford was a massive, comprehensive island.
It was not only the headquarters of the Marines, but also an important military base. At the same time, it served as the residential area for the families of Marine officers.
At the center of the island was the Marine family district.
As a former Admiral of Headquarters, Zephyr had been assigned a spacious residence. However, after his family’s death, Zephyr rarely returned home. Most of the time, he slept in the Marine Academy dormitories.
Until yesterday.
Yesterday was the first time he had brought Rengoku Yoriichi back to this “long-abandoned” home.
A home that carried his happiest memories.
But now, this “home”—or rather, this house—was painfully quiet.
Yoriichi understood Zephyr’s past very well.
Even though he had lived in the Demon Slayer world for many years, after meeting Zephyr yesterday, his memories of the One Piece world had gradually become clearer.
For this righteous Marine Admiral who refused to kill, Yoriichi held great respect.
And for Zephyr’s tragedy, he felt deep regret.
At the same time, it gave him the clearest understanding yet of how cruel this world could be.
A Marine officer who had devoted himself to justice had received such an ending…
Yoriichi turned his head and looked toward the room he had just walked out of.
The room he was staying in originally belonged to Zephyr’s child.
On the table, there were still many baby toys that had never been put away.
Zephyr rarely lived here, but this room was spotless without even a trace of dust. It was obvious that Zephyr often cleaned it himself.
He had never truly let go of the deaths of his wife and child.
“Oh! You’re already awake this early? Not bad. Saves me the trouble of calling you.”
“Having the habit of waking up early is good. If you want to become an excellent Marine, a proper daily routine is essential!”
“Did you sleep well yesterday? I haven’t had time to tidy things up for a long time, so the room was a little messy. Don’t mind it.”
While Yoriichi was lost in thought, Zephyr walked through the corridor and arrived beside him.
Seeing that Yoriichi had woken up early, he smiled and spoke.
“Teacher Zephyr.”
Yoriichi turned around and greeted him with a smile. Hearing the concern in Zephyr’s words, he gently shook his head.
“Teacher, you’re joking.”
“A person like me, someone who lived like a wild man, has never stayed in such a good place before.”
“The room is clean and comfortable. I like it very much. Thank you for arranging everything, Teacher Zephyr.”
Yoriichi’s words were somewhat formal.
When Zephyr heard them, he felt a faint sense of distance.
However, he did not mind.
Children who suddenly arrived in an unfamiliar place naturally became cautious and reserved. That was completely normal.
“If you like it, then stay here from now on.”
“That guy Garp is always away on missions and rarely stays at Headquarters. From now on, you’ll live with me. I’ll take care of you.”
“Come on, let’s have breakfast first.”
“I’m going to the Marine Academy later. Come with me.”
“Although you can’t enroll yet, when you have free time, you can do some training there.”
“All the facilities are open. When no one is using them, you can train there as well.”
Zephyr walked to Yoriichi’s side and placed one hand on his shoulder.
The warmth from his palm drove away the coldness of the early morning.
“Yes, Teacher.”
From Zephyr’s words and actions, Yoriichi could feel genuine care.
A feeling he had not experienced for decades.
Yoriichi had become a monk when he was still very young in his previous life. He had long forgotten what it felt like to be cared for.
In his previous life, his mother had died early.
His father had been a selfish and status-obsessed man.
As for his foolish elder brother, he had never been good at expressing emotions.
All Yoriichi had ever known was endless battles against demons and his endless pursuit of swordsmanship.
Watching Yoriichi obediently accept everything, Zephyr looked back at the room where his child had once lived.
After remaining silent for a moment, Zephyr suddenly spoke in a deep voice.
“Yoriichi…”
“Today, come with me and take a look at the Marine Academy first.”
“If you don’t like it… actually, you don’t have to become a Marine.”
Zephyr looked at Yoriichi.
That young and innocent face caused him to become slightly lost in thought.
If his child had survived, he would probably be eight years old now.
According to Garp, Rengoku Yoriichi possessed extraordinary talent.
But the child standing before him reminded Zephyr constantly—
This was only a child.
He still had many choices ahead of him.
Becoming a Marine was not necessarily the best path.
Living an ordinary and peaceful life…
Wasn’t that also happiness?
If only his child had been able to…
Hearing Zephyr’s words, Yoriichi became slightly confused.
Why was this Marine Admiral suddenly trying to persuade someone who wanted to become a Marine not to join the Marines?
“Is he testing me?”
Thinking this, Yoriichi immediately shook his head.
“No, I won’t dislike it.”
“I have already made my decision.”
“I do not like this world.”
“No matter what others think, I have decided that I will make an effort to change this kind of society.”
Yoriichi’s gaze was firm.
Zephyr looked at the child beside him, slightly stunned.
He did not understand how someone so young could possess such determination.
“Has this world become so bad that even a child has developed such thoughts?”
“Our Marines… really haven’t done enough.”
“Damn it…”
A sense of guilt suddenly rose in Zephyr’s heart.
But in front of Yoriichi, he suddenly burst into laughter.
“Hahahahaha!”
“Good! Very ambitious!”
“Come on. Let’s go to the Marine Academy.”
“I’ll show you how outstanding Marines are trained!”
Zephyr happily patted Yoriichi’s back.
When Zephyr and Yoriichi arrived at the Marine Academy of Marineford, the Marine cadets had already begun their daily training.
On the training field, the cold morning air had yet to disappear.
However, every Marine trainee was already drenched in sweat.
“Hey, Yoriichi.”
“These people are all elites from the Four Seas.”
“The Marine Academy isn’t a place where just anyone can casually enter.”
“Everyone training here is a talented individual who has stood out from countless soldiers in the branches.”
“And those who successfully graduate from here will directly become officers after being assigned.”
While speaking, Zephyr led Yoriichi closer to the training field.
He pointed toward the trainees running laps around the outside of the arena, his face filled with pride.
“Running?”
“It’s a little different from what I expected.”
“I thought the training at the Marine Academy would be something more unique.”
“Teacher Zephyr, if it’s only running, I think I could join them too.”
Hearing Yoriichi’s words, Zephyr smiled without saying anything.
He casually called over an instructor responsible for supervising the training and asked loudly:
“Report!”
“How long have they been training?”
After saluting Zephyr, the instructor straightened his chest and reported:
“Reporting to Chief Instructor Zephyr!”
“They have already trained for one hour and forty minutes.”
“Twenty minutes remain before the warm-up ends!”
Listening to the report, Zephyr looked at Yoriichi with a smile and explained:
“Running is only a simple warm-up.”
“It can’t even be considered proper training.”
“One lap around the training field is one kilometer.”
“Their daily warm-up exercise is forty kilometers!”
“After this simple warm-up, the trainees will undergo other forms of training.”
“This includes, but is not limited to, navigation knowledge, firearm usage, hand-to-hand combat, Marine history, and many other subjects.”
“What you are seeing now is only the tip of the iceberg.”
Zephyr spoke with a proud smile.
In the early days of the Marine Academy, things were far less complete than they were now.
Back then, trainees only learned some basic combat skills or swordsmanship before being sent out to fight pirates.
But after Zephyr became the chief instructor of the Marine Academy, the training curriculum became far more detailed and comprehensive.
And every graduating class produced many outstanding officers.
Listening to Zephyr’s explanation, Yoriichi couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows in surprise.
This Marine Academy was far more developed than he had imagined.
He originally thought this place was merely an institution where Marines learned techniques like the Six Powers and Haki.
But now it seemed that was only a small part of it.
This truly was an academy designed specifically to cultivate Marine officers.
“Yoriichi, the admission requirements for the Marine Academy are extremely strict.”
“Only those whose combat power reaches a value of 80 or higher are qualified to study here.”
“Do you know what 80 means?”
“An ordinary adult man who has received some training, even an ordinary Marine soldier, only has a combat power value of 10!”
