Navy Headquarters Training Camp, Defying the Instructor

"Yun Ye, we're getting close to Navy Headquarters. Are you nervous?"

On the warship, Lun Jin'er came over to Yun Ye's side. He could not help rubbing his hands together as he stared at the sea ahead and spoke with some nervousness.

"I'm alright." Yun Ye also looked out at the sea, his tone calm.

After all, he was no young man. Something as bizarre as transmigration had happened to him, so he could be considered someone who had weathered great storms.

The warship had been sailing for nearly twenty days. They had traveled from the North Blue to the Grand Line and were now close to their destination.

The Navy's special route was indeed quite fast.

Navy Headquarters was the holy land in the hearts of all Marines.

Nothing had happened along the way. Their journey had been peaceful and uneventful.

Before long, the warship entered the harbor behind Navy Headquarters. Led by soldiers, the new recruits arrived at a building and were briefly settled in.

There were roughly a hundred new recruits from the North Blue, almost all of them men, with only a handful of women.

In this world, women's physical capabilities were generally inferior to men's. As a result, there were very few female Marines in the Navy.

The ratio of men to women was pitifully low.

There were even fewer powerful women.

They were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

The next day.

All the new recruits were gathered together.

Including those from the Four Blues and the Grand Line, there were fewer than five hundred people in total.

This was the new batch of recruits!

The recruits arrived at an enormous training ground.

This was the Navy's new recruit Training Camp!

The grounds could accommodate tens of thousands of people, yet there were fewer than five hundred people present.

A burly man wearing the Navy's Justice coat approached, his shoulder epaulets bearing the rank of Rear Admiral.

With every step he took, his imposing aura grew stronger!

The moment this Rear Admiral appeared, he naturally drew everyone's attention. Then they felt the aura radiating from him!

The aura and killing intent tempered through countless battles were simply not something these rookies could withstand.

Some people even found it difficult to breathe beneath that pressure, cold sweat streaming down their foreheads.

"I am Rear Admiral Kage, and I will be your instructor for the next period of time!"

Rear Admiral Kage spoke indifferently, his sharp gaze sweeping across the field. Not a single person dared meet his eyes!

Until... his gaze landed on Lun Jin'er, and he discovered that Lun Jin'er was glaring fiercely right back at him...

Heh, he's got guts! A troublemaker!

Rear Admiral Kage sneered inwardly. It was customary every year to give these rookies a show of force.

But there were always a few new recruits who were arrogant and full of themselves—the so-called troublemakers.

When dealing with a troublemaker, one simply had to make an example of him to warn the rest. That was also part of the usual routine!

Rear Admiral Kage looked at Lun Jin'er and said blandly, "Soldier, what is your name?"

Lun Jin'er froze for a moment, but quickly recovered and revealed a "ferocious" grin. "Sir, my name is Lun Jin'er!"

Kage nodded and continued, "Alright, Lun Jin'er. How do you assess your own strength?"

Lun Jin'er thought this was a test from the instructor, meant to judge his courage and confidence. He raised his head, puffed out his chest, widened his eyes, and said, "Sir, I think I'm pretty good!"

However, Lun Jin'er's expression was far too ferocious, making him look somewhat like he was provoking him...

"Pretty good, is that so?"

Rear Admiral Kage had initially been smiling faintly, but in the next instant, his figure vanished. When he reappeared, he was already beside Lun Jin'er, kicking out with one leg.

Lun Jin'er was merely a rookie who had only trained for a short time. How could he possibly react? He was sent flying more than ten meters away.

Then, Rear Admiral Kage vanished again. He was so fast that he caught up to Lun Jin'er while he was still flying backward, then stomped down and drove him into the ground!

With his right foot pinning Lun Jin'er's body down, he bent over and asked blandly, "And now?"

Seeing this, Yun Ye's brow furrowed slightly. He could tell that the Rear Admiral named Kage intended to make an example of someone, and had only set his sights on Lun Jin'er because of Lun Jin'er's "ferocious" appearance!

But Yun Ye found such behavior somewhat displeasing.

Although Lun Jin'er had constantly pestered him during their time aboard the ship, Lun Jin'er was actually a very good person. He was helpful to others; he was simply not well liked because his appearance was somewhat "ferocious."

Over this period, Yun Ye had already come to regard him as a friend. Seeing his friend being stepped on now, Yun Ye's gaze turned a little colder.

Lun Jin'er was still somewhat dumbfounded. Why had this officer attacked him?

He clearly had not done anything, had he?

Fortunately, Lun Jin'er's physique was indeed exceptional. Though pain showed on his face, he took a deep breath and said haltingly, "S-Sir, why did you hit me?"

Heh, his body has been trained pretty well!

Though that was what he thought, he had to see the whole chicken-killing, monkey-frightening act through. Rear Admiral Kage kicked Lun Jin'er back to where he had been standing. He rolled several times before coming to a stop.

Yet it was that final kick that made Yun Ye's gaze turn even colder!

Rear Admiral Kage then flashed back to where he had been standing. Seeing everyone trembling with fear, he nodded in satisfaction and said:

"I know you are all outstanding talents from your respective Navy branches, but where is this?"

"This is Navy Headquarters! The gathering place of the most elite soldiers across all the seas! Who here isn't a strong fighter? So put aside your pride and properly face your own weakness! Train hard, and become a..."

However, before the rear admiral could finish, a voice interrupted him:

"I think I'm fairly strong. Instructor, does that mean I don't need to train?"

Seeing someone interrupt him, the rear admiral was clearly stunned for a moment. Then his gaze turned cold as he looked toward the speaker.

This was the first time a new recruit had dared to defy him like this!

The one who had spoken was none other than Yun Ye, whose eyes had gone cold!

All the other recruits were shocked as well. After what had just happened, someone still dared to oppose the instructor's words? Was he tired of living?

Lun Jin'er was twitching in pain from Rear Admiral Kage's kick, but upon hearing that familiar voice, he still endured the pain and raised his head, signaling Yun Ye with his eyes.

He thought Yun Ye was standing up to the instructor before him to vent his anger!

Kage glanced at Lun Jin'er, then at Yun Ye, and roughly guessed what was going on. Narrowing his eyes, he said flatly, "Soldier, can you repeat what you just said?"

Yun Ye met his gaze without yielding in the slightest. "Instructor, I think I'm fairly strong. Does that mean I don't need to train?"

"Good, good, good! You think you're fairly strong, huh?"

A cold glint flashed through Kage's eyes, and a sneer appeared on his lips. His figure flashed as he used Soru, one of the Rokushiki, instantly vanishing from where he stood. When he reappeared, he was at Yun Ye's left, lashing out with a sweeping kick toward Yun Ye's chest!

Naturally, Kage had not used his full strength. He merely wanted to teach this ignorant brat, who dared defy him, a lesson!

To make sure this kid did not get too full of himself!

Yet Kage's confident strike missed completely just as it was about to hit Yun Ye!

Yun Ye had evaded it with Flash Step!

Kage had not expected that at all and stood frozen for several seconds!

Then he looked toward Yun Ye on the other side with astonishment. His attack had actually been dodged?