The Free-for-All on Z Island

"The island ahead didn't have a name before, but I gave it one: 'Z Island'!"

Zephyr stood at the very front of the deck, facing the fiercest winds as his Justice Coat flapped noisily around him.

Behind him stood the fifty trainees of the special training camp. They were no longer in formation, instead spreading out loosely to observe their surroundings.

After all, this was a massive warship built to hold a thousand people, so there was plenty of space.

"For the next year, you'll come here once a month for a free-for-all!" Zephyr announced, shocking everyone.

"A free-for-all?!" several trainees echoed instinctively. The others also stared at Zephyr's back in surprise.

"That's right, a free-for-all!" With his back to them, Zephyr laughed heartily into the wind. "You have two days!"

"For those two days, you'll keep fighting until no more than three people are left on the island!"

Silence fell over the deck. Finally, Vidal stepped forward and asked in surprise, "What do you mean, only three people left? Are we supposed to kill each other?"

"Of course... not!" Zephyr drawled in an entirely flippant tone, finally turning to face his fifty students.

"The requirement is that you fight with killing intent, but you must not deliver a killing blow. You must always remember that the other person isn't just an opponent, but also a partner and a comrade-in-arms."

"That's the second purpose of this free-for-all: to temper your hearts of justice!"

Everyone pondered the words "heart of justice," and Sakazuki's expression grew even more serious.

"What's the difference between the Navy and pirates?"

Without waiting for an answer, Zephyr continued, "The difference is that the Navy fights for justice. That's why, even in the midst of deadly combat, you must always keep a cool head and a just heart."

Ever since his family was murdered, he had no longer been the "no-kill" Admiral, but now he had also become extremely extreme.

At most, he had gone from "no killing" to "allowed to kill," unlike the "must kill" justice of certain people.

"But it's easy to strike too hard in battle, and all kinds of accidents can happen," Dragon suddenly said.

"Besides me, two Vice Admirals and five Rear Admirals will be on the island to supervise. Our job is to step in and rescue you at the right moment."

"But anyone who's rescued will be considered defeated. They'll leave 'Z Island' and return here to watch the others fight."

Admiral Zephyr was very patient in this regard and was indeed well suited to being an instructor. Someone like Garp would have started cursing or thrown a punch long ago.

"There are also many kinds of Den Den Mushi on the island. When a Den Den Mushi announces that a trainee has been defeated, the people around them must stop attacking."

At this point, Zephyr sneered. "You already proved that you remember your partners' names and faces, so there's no chance of you failing to match a name to a person."

"Right?"

Silence fell again. They hadn't expected yesterday's task to have also been meant to lay the groundwork for today.

"'Z Island' is completely bare, nothing but barren land without vegetation and hills of all sizes, so there aren't many factors that can affect your battles."

"However, there's a small lake in the center of the island, with fresh water and fruit trees there. You might even find a few wild beasts." Zephyr had hidden malicious intent in those words, and everyone understood what he meant.

"You'll take a small boat to the island one after another, landing from different directions. You can follow them and get ready now."

Vidal and the others exchanged glances. They really hadn't expected the special training camp to start with something this big, much less do it once a month.

"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you something."

Just as they began turning around to follow the nearby Marines down to collect their boats, Admiral Zephyr's voice rang out again.

"There's also an unknown number of criminals on the island, including pirates and bandits released from Impel Down. If they kill any one of you, or survive until you've decided the top three, they'll be allowed to transfer to an ordinary prison."

The trainees froze at those words. Hadn't he just said killing wasn't allowed? If they ran into pirates, were they supposed to kill them or not?

Just then, Vidal suddenly felt an astonishing surge of killing intent. He turned instinctively and saw that it was Sakazuki.

"Pirates... can we kill them?" Sakazuki fixed Zephyr with a terrifying stare, both fists clenched tightly.

"Yes."

After meeting his gaze for a few seconds, Zephyr nodded. He had read Sakazuki's file and knew why the trainee hated pirates so much.

When Sakazuki was a child, the island where he lived was frequently raided by pirates. At first, the pirates weren't very strong, and the island's men managed to drive them off each time without serious harm.

But in the end, three pirate crews of around a hundred men each joined forces and broke through the town's defenses. Every man on the island was killed, and the women were either humiliated or captured as slaves.

Taller children like him were killed, while the smaller ones were kept for menial work or killed on a whim for amusement.

He survived in that environment for two years!

Then one day, the pirate crew that had "adopted" him finally ran into a powerful Navy fleet. Amid the chaos of the fierce battle, he seized a knife and stabbed the captain to death.

Afterward, he was naturally taken in by the Navy in the North Blue. In fact, if not for him killing the captain, the whole story would have seemed like a very ordinary experience.

There was nothing to be done about it. That was simply the kind of world this was.

So Zephyr didn't think Sakazuki's reaction was abnormal. On the contrary, he understood it very well.

He only thought that, as time washed over him and through his bonds with the Navy, the wounds in his heart would slowly heal.

At most, he would become a Navy officer who hated pirates. There were far too many people like that in the Navy, just like Zephyr himself now.

But later, he would learn that he had underestimated the fire of hatred in Sakazuki's heart!

The warship circled "Z Island," lowering one small wooden boat after another. Vidal was the seventh to leave the ship, making him one of the first to land on the island.

Standing on the beach and looking inland, he saw nothing but uneven, earth-yellow hills. There weren't any trees on them, or even a single weed.

Vidal couldn't help suspecting that this was aimed at him, at least in part.

Zephyr definitely knew about his fruit ability, so he had deliberately chosen this place, which was completely devoid of plants.

After all, whether it was a winter island or a summer island, the chances of it having no jungle vegetation were very low.

"So all I have to do now is keep heading toward the center, right?" Vidal didn't dwell on it and immediately set off.

"But where are the Den Den Mushi Zephyr mentioned?"

In such a bare environment, why couldn't he see a single Den Den Mushi at a glance? He muttered to himself as he walked.

With no other choice, he used his Observation Haki. After all, having his curiosity go unsatisfied was really uncomfortable.

"Oh, I see. They've been coated in camouflage colors and embedded in the hills." He immediately understood what was going on.

After all, Den Den Mushi were living creatures, plainly put. Living creatures were bound to have a presence and make some movement, so they were easy to find.

"But this island seems bigger than it looked from outside. I've been walking all this time without running into anyone."

Vidal was actually looking forward to fighting those few people. After all, every one of them was an opponent no weaker than Issho.

Good news, everyone! This book has finally received a recommendation from Qidian, and a particularly good one at that. Let me show you!

It's the new book image-and-text recommendation in the light novel channel on the new website—the new arrivals section under the light novel category. Anyone interested can take a look, though it won't be today; it starts at two in the afternoon on the eighth.

Ah, I just hope this recommendation does better. I'll work hard on updates too, and best of all, it happens to coincide with the Z Island free-for-all.

Could you all give me your recommendation votes and comments too?

Also, I saw that thirty-two people have invested in this book so far. Have you made anything? Though I still don't know how more investment helps the book.

Anyone who hasn't invested yet can give it a try. Someone said they made a profit before, right?