Chapter 07
“Yoriichi, the admission requirements for the Marine Academy are extremely strict.”
“Only those with a Dao Power level of 80 or above are qualified to study at the Marine Academy.”
“Do you know what a Dao Power of 80 means? An ordinary adult male who has received some training only has a Dao Power level of around 10!”
“For ordinary people, a Dao Power level of 80 is practically the level of a superhuman!”
As he said this, Zephyr could no longer hide the pride on his face. He burst into hearty laughter.
Clearly, he was a former Marine Admiral who had experienced countless battles and storms, but whenever he talked about his students and his academy, he looked just like a child showing off his report card, his face filled with pride and excitement.
“Come, come, come! I’ll take you to see it!”
As he spoke, Zephyr brought Yoriichi to the edge of the training grounds and looked into the distance while introducing everything to him.
“See that? That’s the shooting range. Every graduate from our Marine Academy becomes an excellent marksman!”
“See that field? That’s used for hand-to-hand combat training. Everyone who graduates from our Marine Academy becomes a master of combat!”
“And that building is the dojo. We have dedicated sword instructors there. Those who graduate from our Marine Academy…”
Before Zephyr could finish speaking, Yoriichi interrupted:
“Are they all great swordsmen?!”
Zephyr, who had been enthusiastically introducing the Marine Academy to Yoriichi, suddenly choked.
After a moment of silence, he touched his chin and awkwardly said:
“Well… not exactly. They’re not all great swordsmen.”
The next second, Zephyr immediately laughed and continued:
“But every single one of them will have laid a solid foundation for becoming a great swordsman!”
“Hahahahaha!”
Zephyr laughed loudly.
Hearing this, Yoriichi could not help but glance sideways at him.
This was the first time he had discovered that Zephyr was actually the kind of person who liked to exaggerate.
If he did not retain some vague memories of the power levels in the world of One Piece, he might have actually been fooled by the grand future Zephyr described.
A great swordsman?
How many great swordsmen were there in the entire world?
As far as he knew, among the Marines, those who could truly be called great swordsmen…
It seemed… perhaps… maybe…
There were none at all.
However, Yoriichi was not annoyed by Zephyr’s boasting in the slightest.
This middle-aged man, who possessed such a strong sense of belonging and pride toward the Marines, was painting a picture of the “future” for a child who admired the Marines.
And that gave Yoriichi a feeling of peace he had never experienced before.
In the Demon Slayer world, he had never once experienced something like this.
Even after being interrupted by Yoriichi, Zephyr continued introducing everything about the Marine Academy.
His spirited appearance even caused Yoriichi to briefly lose himself.
After listening for a long time, Yoriichi noticed that Zephyr’s speech had begun to slow down. He pointed toward the sword dojo Zephyr had mentioned earlier and said:
“Teacher Zephyr, can we go take a look at that dojo?”
Hearing this, Zephyr lowered his head and glanced at the sword Yoriichi was holding.
Seeing the long blade in his hand, he smiled and nodded.
“Of course! Let’s go!”
“Coincidentally, you can also test your Dao Power there.”
“I also want to see exactly what kind of kid could make Vice Admiral Garp personally bring him back to Marineford.”
As he spoke, the two of them crossed the training grounds and walked toward the distant sword dojo.
The sight of one large and one small figure attracted the attention of many trainees who were practicing.
“Hey! Who is that kid following Teacher Zephyr? I’ve never seen him before!”
“Is he a relative? Or a new student?”
“You idiot, does Teacher Zephyr even have relatives here? Besides, the enrollment period has already passed! And that kid is way too young!”
Ignoring the discussions among the students, Zephyr led Yoriichi directly to the entrance of the sword dojo.
Although the dojo had looked rather small when viewed from afar, only after arriving in front of it did Yoriichi realize that he had underestimated its size.
The dojo in front of him covered an area of several thousand square meters.
After removing his shoes and entering, Yoriichi looked around.
Along the walls were rows upon rows of wooden racks, and countless bamboo swords stood neatly on them.
There were easily more than a thousand.
The dojo was a modified Japanese-style structure.
The supporting pillars were arranged in an orderly manner, dividing the massive open space into numerous smaller “training areas” of several dozen square meters each.
This dojo could probably accommodate three hundred people training at the same time without difficulty.
Yoriichi did not even know how many years it had been since he last stepped into a dojo like this.
Ever since he left the Kamado?—no, the Tsugikuni family and began hunting demons, he had never entered a place like this again.
Looking at this dojo that felt both unfamiliar and familiar, Yoriichi stood there in a daze.
Zephyr assumed that Yoriichi was simply shocked by the size of the dojo.
With a proud expression, he casually picked up a bamboo sword beside the entrance and walked into the center of the training area.
Then he suddenly turned toward Yoriichi.
“Yoriichi, want to have a little spar?”
“I heard from Garp that you’re pretty skilled with a sword!”
“My own swordsmanship is only average, but it’s still good enough to show off a little. How about it? Let’s play around.”
Yoriichi was pulled back to reality by Zephyr’s words.
Seeing that Zephyr was interested, Yoriichi naturally had no reason to refuse.
To be honest, he had only been in this world for a short time, and he still did not have a clear understanding of his own strength.
Back on that island, he had easily killed a giant beast.
But Yoriichi understood that killing a giant beast was not a reliable measurement of strength.
He vaguely remembered that even Luffy, shortly after setting out to sea, could effortlessly defeat a Sea King.
And the second time he fought seriously was when he faced Garp.
The result?
He was knocked unconscious by a single punch from Garp.
The third time was when he attacked that pirate ship.
According to Garp’s evaluation, his strength should have been comparable to that of a Marine officer.
But such an evaluation could not truly be used as a standard.
A Marine lieutenant colonel and a weak captain could have completely different levels of strength.
Even among captains of the same rank, the difference could be enormous.
For example, Smoker and Morgan were both captains.
Yes, the same Morgan who once chopped down the legendary hero Garp with an axe…
Moreover, during the battle where he eliminated the pirates earlier, Yoriichi had never used his full strength.
“If I fight Teacher Zephyr, I should be able to clearly understand where my current strength stands in the world of One Piece.”
“And he probably won’t knock me unconscious with one punch like Vice Admiral Garp did…”
Thinking this, Yoriichi casually leaned his sword against the wall, picked up a bamboo sword, and walked in front of Zephyr.
Without wasting words, he held the bamboo sword with both hands and said:
“Teacher, I will attack with all my strength. Please be careful.”
Hearing this, Zephyr smiled.
Holding the bamboo sword casually in one hand, he said:
“Come at me.”
The moment his words fell, Yoriichi adjusted his breathing.
His entire presence suddenly changed.
If the previous Yoriichi had been like a calm lake, no different from an ordinary person…
Then the current Yoriichi was like a raging ocean wave.
The aura radiating from him was something that no ordinary child should possess.
And Zephyr, standing in front of him with his sword raised…
Within Yoriichi’s Transparent World, his entire body was filled with openings.
“Hmm?!”
Feeling the sudden change in Yoriichi’s aura, Zephyr’s expression became serious.
The bamboo sword that had originally been pointing toward the ground instantly rose before his chest.
The next moment—
Yoriichi’s figure disappeared from his original position.
Inside the dojo, a strange mist suddenly began to rise.
In merely two breaths of time, the entire dojo was filled with a mysterious haze.
“What is this?!”
“Is it a Devil Fruit ability?!”
“Garp never told me this kid had such an ability!”
“No… no, that’s not right…”
“It doesn’t feel like a Devil Fruit ability…”
“Could it simply be swordsmanship?”
Zephyr activated his Observation Haki.
His brows slightly furrowed as he muttered internally.
The next instant—
Yoriichi’s figure suddenly emerged from the illusory mist.
He appeared on Zephyr’s right side.
The bamboo sword swept horizontally toward Zephyr’s abdomen.
“Mist Breathing — Flat Flow Slash!”
