Admiral Material?

"!"

Lin Qi felt as though he had been hit by a cannonball. His whole body was sent flying into the air, and he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. Yet he grinned happily, because the system's voice rang out again.

Congratulations, Host, for completing the mission. Geppo (Peak) reward is being issued...

A massive amount of information regarding Geppo flooded into his mind in an instant, as though he had truly practiced Geppo for more than a decade.

The muscles in his legs swelled visibly.

On the ground, Hina's pretty face had turned crimson. She kept wiping her enticing lips with her delicate hand while glaring furiously at Lin Qi in midair.

That had been her first kiss!

She had planned to save it for her future husband.

Yet it had been stolen by a strange man just like that.

Hina's beautiful eyes practically spewed flames. She even had the urge to kill Lin Qi.

Driven by her intense fury, Teacher Zephyr's earlier lesson suddenly clicked in her mind.

"Whoosh~"

Before everyone's eyes, Hina stepped through the air with Geppo and flew into the sky, rapidly closing in on Lin Qi.

Seeing this, a hint of pleasant surprise appeared in Zephyr's stern eyes.

He had not expected a genius to emerge among the students he was teaching this year.

She had successfully used Geppo after hearing its techniques only once. Over his sixteen years of teaching, he had encountered such students fewer than ten times.

That group included the current Admirals: Kizaru, Akainu, and Aokiji.

"Miss Hina is even more talented than the rumors say."

As Hina drew closer and closer, cold sweat broke out on Lin Qi's forehead.

Judging by her expression, if she caught him, nothing good would come of it. Even being beaten into the emergency room would probably be getting off lightly.

"I absolutely can't let her catch me!"

Lin Qi had already integrated Geppo into instinct. He rapidly kicked off the air, widening the distance between himself and Hina.

"This brat learned Geppo too?!" The surprise in Zephyr's eyes deepened.

He had thought Lin Qi's talent was ordinary, but it seemed he had misjudged him.

"Wait, that brat's Geppo isn't right!" The appreciation on Zephyr's face gradually turned serious, his tiger-like eyes sharp as an eagle's.

Whether it was the way Lin Qi exerted force, the angle at which he kicked the air, or any of his other techniques, Hina could not compare to him.

As an instructor and former Marine Admiral, Zephyr's eye was exceptionally keen. From a single detail, he could see the whole picture.

Zephyr even suspected that the Vice Admirals at headquarters were, at best, equal to this brat in their mastery of Geppo—not superior to him.

That was terrifying.

Which Vice Admiral had not risen through more than a decade of slaughter? Their mastery of the Six Powers had long since reached perfection. How could a mere recruit compare?

Even Borsalino's performance with Geppo in the Elite Camp had been far inferior to this person's.

Could it be that Lin Qi had already studied Geppo for more than a decade before joining the Marines?

The moment that thought arose, Zephyr swiftly dismissed it.

Impossible! Leaving aside the fact that his physical strength had not been sufficient to practice Geppo.

Lin Qi would have had no way to learn the method of practicing Geppo either. The Six Powers were Marine secrets.

To prevent spies from infiltrating the future pillars of the Marines, Zephyr knew every detail of these recruits' backgrounds.

If he remembered correctly, that brat had merely been an orphan working at a ranch before joining the Marines.

Then there was only one conclusion!

That brat was a genius—a genius who had been overlooked!

And he possessed unparalleled talent for the Six Powers!

Zephyr's expression burned with excitement. He had a feeling that another monster comparable to the Admirals might soon emerge among his students.

"Hey, stop chasing me. You can't catch me."

In midair, Hina pursued while Lin Qi fled. Anyone unaware of the situation might have thought they were witnessing a woman chasing her husband.

That was, if they ignored Hina's tiny expression of gritted-teeth fury.

"If you've got guts, stop running! What kind of man keeps running away?!" Hina snapped in exasperation.

"Stop? Are you stupid, or am I stupid? Stop so you can beat me to death?" Lin Qi turned back and gave Hina a kingly look of contempt.

"You...!" Hina's full chest rose and fell with anger.

The soldiers on the ground were already dumbfounded.

They could still understand Miss Hina learning Geppo, but... wasn't Lin Qi an ordinary person with neither talent for Body Technique nor talent for swordsmanship?

Yet right before their eyes, that "ordinary" person with average aptitude had learned Geppo.

Then what did that make them—trash???

"That's enough. Stop!" Zephyr's voice echoed in everyone's ears.

"Teacher Zephyr."

Hearing Zephyr's words, Lin Qi obediently descended from the sky and spoke respectfully.

Hina landed right after him, still pointing at Lin Qi in anger as she complained, "Teacher Zephyr, but this guy..."

Zephyr raised his right hand, signaling Hina to calm down.

"You can settle matters between yourselves after class. I don't care, but don't hold up everyone else's lesson right now."

Since Teacher Zephyr had spoken, Hina could only temporarily let the hooligan off despite her unwillingness.

After shooting Lin Qi a furious glare, Hina returned to the group. Faced with everyone's concerned looks, she did not say a word.

Lin Qi, meanwhile, gave Zephyr a grateful look.

No matter what, he had avoided that beating for now.

Lin Qi was confident that as long as he had enough time to complete a few more choices, he would no longer fear any threat.

"Next, we'll continue explaining the techniques of Geppo..."

The rest of the time passed with Zephyr's lecture.

As the sun set, evening arrived.

"That concludes today's lesson. Lin Qi, Smoker, and Hina, you three stay behind."

"Yes, Teacher Zephyr."

"Goodbye, Teacher Zephyr."

"See you tomorrow, Teacher Zephyr."

After everyone else left, Zephyr kept only the three of them behind. "Meet in the forest behind Training Ground No. 3 at six tonight."

"Yes, Teacher Zephyr."

Obeying an instructor's orders was a Marine's duty. None of the three asked why; they simply agreed readily.

"You're all quite good. Don't disappoint me." Leaving behind those words, Zephyr departed.

Apparently sensing the sharp glare beside him, Lin Qi, worried about getting beaten up, had no choice but to leave with Zephyr.

"What, brat? Are you planning to follow me home for dinner today?" After walking some distance, Zephyr turned around and placed a heavy hand on Lin Qi's shoulder.

"Hehe, Teacher Zephyr, um... thanks." Lin Qi gave an embarrassed, sheepish laugh.

"You still know how to feel embarrassed? Kissing a girl in public—I truly don't know what to say about you." Zephyr sounded utterly speechless.

Young people's methods of pursuing partners were becoming harder and harder to understand these days.

First, there was Rear Admiral Chaton, who sent a love letter every day and confessed his feelings and fawned over Rear Admiral Momousagi every few days. Even after being beaten, scolded, and rejected, he still remained so... devoted.

And now there was someone even more extreme. Zephyr had begun to wonder whether he had really fallen behind the times.

What could Lin Qi say? The system's reward had been too tempting. Forget kissing Hina—even if it had told him to kiss Smoker, he would... better not.