The next day, the sky was dim and hazy, with a touch of dawn beginning to reveal its shy face, bathing the earth.
At the harbor, a vice-admiral’s warship bobbed up and down on the waves. On the shore, 300 eager faces stood silently.
“Whoosh…” From the sky came a loud bang, and a blaze of light descended from above.
“Is everyone ready? This training trip will be dangerous. If anyone has second thoughts, now is the time to back out,” Nokiyoru asked seriously as the firelight vanished, looking at the 300 faces.
“Vice-Admiral, we are not afraid.” They responded in unison, their voices strong and unwavering.
“Good… This is what I expect from my subordinates. Board the ship. Destination: Beast Island!”
“Yes, sir!”
In the Marine conference room, Kong’s face was as sour as if he were constipated. His dark expression could rival that of Armament Haki.
Similarly, Tsuru frowned and sighed deeply.
Meanwhile, Garp laughed heartily, eating donuts and banging the table, saying, “That little guy sure has guts. But I didn’t expect you to agree to this.”
“Shut up,” Sengoku said, pulling on Garp’s arm as Kong’s face darkened even more, with a hint of green.
“Bang!” Slamming the table, Kong stood up, his expression severe. “Zephyr, how could you go along with this nonsense? Don’t you know how dangerous that island is? This time, he took 300 new recruits. Maybe only half will come back. Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous.”
Getting angrier as he spoke, Kong was nearly fuming.
This morning, while Kong was discussing the Roger Pirates with Tsuru, Zephyr came in and informed him that Nokiyoru had taken 300 new recruits to Beast Island. Kong was initially confused, but after Tsuru reminded him, his face turned pale.
Nokiyoru taking 300 recruits required proper procedures, but Kong had not received any reports until now. These were 300 Marine Headquarters recruits, the future backbone of the Marines. Now Zephyr was saying that these 300 might all die. How could Kong stay calm?
“I’ve always seen you and Sengoku as rational. If Garp did this, I could understand. But why did you agree to such nonsense?” Kong glared, his chest heaving.
“What do you mean, if I did it, you could understand?” Garp grumbled.
“Shut up!” Kong snapped, his face fierce.
“Fine…” Garp picked his nose, choosing to avoid the confrontation.
“I trust him,” Zephyr said firmly, meeting Kong’s gaze without hesitation.
“With his strength, he might come back unscathed. But what about those 300 recruits? As an admiral, you should know their importance.”
“I trust him because he is Nokiyoru Kara, my disciple. He promised me that no more than 50 would die.”
“Fifty! That’s within acceptable limits,” Tsuru frowned, weighing the potential losses against the benefit of training 250 well-prepared Marines.
Indeed, Kong’s face began to relax.
“What if he can’t bring back 250 Marines?” Kong questioned.
“I’ll take full responsibility. Besides, that kid keeps his promises. I trust him,” Zephyr said unwaveringly, placing his faith in Nokiyoru.
“I have no objections to that. But will he really bring back well-trained Marines?” Tsuru’s expression was peculiar. She had gotten to know Nokiyoru’s personality over time. Honestly, she couldn’t imagine him doing things by the book.
Tsuru’s comment made Kong’s face darken again, and even Sengoku, Garp, and Zephyr began to doubt.
“Hahaha… Now I’m curious to see what kind of soldiers he’ll bring back,” Garp said with interest.
“Humph…” Taking a deep breath and glaring at Garp, Kong said, “It’s too late to stop them now. We’ll wait a month. For now, let’s discuss the Roger Pirates.”
“Roger Pirates?” The group sat up, their expressions serious.
“According to reports, the Roger Pirates disappeared after returning from the final island. But recently, they reappeared in the West Blue, albeit briefly. The Five Elders have ordered that Garp and Zephyr go to the West Blue, while Sengoku remains at headquarters.”
Kong rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on. Though Roger becoming Pirate King had calmed the seas, Kong felt uneasy, as if something big was about to happen.
“Gol D. Roger, or rather Gol D. Roger, what are you planning?”
“What’s the Whitebeard Pirates and Flying Pirates’ status?” Tsuru asked, thinking deeply.
“No news from them,” Sengoku replied, frowning as he considered the potential implications.
“Strange, are they accepting this?”
“Prepare to depart for the West Blue as soon as possible,” Kong instructed Zephyr and Garp.
“Yes, sir.”
“This time, I’ll catch him,” Garp said enthusiastically.
Three days later, a medium-sized Marine warship slowly approached the shore near the Calm Belt.
Standing on the deck, Nokiyoru looked at the endless mountains, feeling a rush of excitement.
Honestly, in the past month, Nokiyoru had mostly explored this island. However, there was an area he had never dared to touch—the center. His instincts told him that the creatures there could threaten him.
Even during his fight with Akainu, they had only approached the center. Perhaps the creatures sensed the presence of Garp and Zephyr on the warship, or for some other reason, they never showed up. But during the month he spent alone on the island, Nokiyoru had glimpsed one briefly, though he had yet to have a full encounter. This time, he wanted to meet this mysterious creature.
Taking a deep breath, Nokiyoru turned to his 300 recruits, a smile playing on his lips. “No weapons, only what you carry. For the next ten days, I will be with you. After that, you will train alone on this island. Remember, share your hardships, and survive by any means necessary.”
With a wave of his hand, Nokiyoru jumped off the ship, and the recruits followed in a rush, leaving the warship empty.
The familiar smell, the pungent danger, the boiling blood—Nokiyoru used Moonwalk to hover above, watching over his scattered recruits, always on alert.
Unless absolutely necessary, Nokiyoru would not interfere with their battles. From Marineford, Nokiyoru had explained the Six Powers to everyone on the ship, regardless of whether they understood. He set a rule: within a month, everyone had to master one technique. Failure to meet this goal would result in elimination.
On the first day, all 300 recruits were injured, with one nearly dying. Thanks to his teammates’ help, he survived.
On the second day, more than half were injured, and five died. That night, Nokiyoru was furious. The training was done in teams of five, meaning the deaths of these five recruits implicated five teams.
These five teams, due to poor cooperation and lack of unity, resulted in their teammates’ deaths. That night, Nokiyoru, in a fit of rage, eliminated all five teams, sending them back to the warship.
In just two days, 25 recruits were eliminated, a sobering sight for the remaining recruits.
That night, as they rested, all recruits saw a golden-red sea of fire on the island.
It was their leader exacting revenge. A pack of sword wolves had killed the five recruits. From that night on, the recruits noticed no more sword wolves on the island.
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