Enrollment

Hearing Zephyr call for him, Kizaru immediately felt a headache coming on and muttered,

"What does the old man want now? He won't even let people have peace on their day off!"

Akainu had already taken off his shirt and was doing one-handed push-ups on the floor. Kizaru rubbed his hands together and asked,

"Sakazuki, come with me, will you?"

"No. Teacher Zephyr only called for you."

"How heartless. I just treated you to barbecue!"

"Gigue paid for it."

"Eh, close enough, close enough~"

Seeing that Sakazuki had no intention of going, Kizaru had no choice but to give up. With his head hanging low, he headed out the door.

Kizaru and Zephyr simply couldn't stand the sight of each other. In Kizaru's view, Zephyr suddenly calling for him could only mean trouble.

And things turned out exactly as he expected.

The moment he entered the office, Zephyr saw Kizaru and immediately launched into a harsh scolding.

"Borsalino! Didn't I tell you not to use your abilities carelessly outside the Academy? The complaint calls have reached me already!"

Kizaru rolled his eyes downward and muttered,

"Who's making such a fuss? I only flashed a little light!"

Zephyr slammed his hand heavily on the desk.

"What did you say?! Stand at attention! What kind of posture is that for a Marine?!"

Kizaru pursed his lips and awkwardly straightened up, shouting,

"Yes! Teacher Zephyr, everything you say is right!"

"Cut the act! If everything I say is right, why have I never seen you take any of it to heart? What is Sakazuki doing?"

"Reporting to Teacher Zephyr! He's training!"

"Hmph, and you have the nerve to say that? You're both Ability Users, yet Sakazuki has always paid close attention to physical training. What about you?"

"Reporting to Teacher Zephyr! I wanted to train too, but you called for me. I thought Teacher Zephyr's business was more important!"

Looking at Kizaru's utterly shameless expression, Zephyr rubbed his forehead and said helplessly,

"Forget it. No matter how much I say, it's useless. You'll understand once you suffer for it."

"Reporting to Teacher Zephyr! May I leave now?"

Zephyr waved him away as though shooing a fly, his face full of impatience.

"Go, go. Training continues tomorrow, and you'd better not be late!"

"Yes!"

Kizaru gave an extremely standard military salute, then turned and marched out with high steps, his feet pounding against the floor.

Zephyr folded his arms and watched Kizaru leave the office. He sighed, took a file from a drawer, and looked at Gigue's photograph as he muttered to himself,

"Another Logia. I just hope you don't give me headaches like Borsalino."

Sengoku had already handed Gigue's group's information to Zephyr, specifically highlighting Gigue's file. Naturally, he wanted Zephyr to pay special attention to this promising talent.

In truth, Sengoku didn't need to say anything. Zephyr understood perfectly well what a powerful Logia Ability User meant to the Marines. As for Gigue's age, he didn't even give it a second thought.

Ever since Zephyr stepped down as a Marine Admiral and became an instructor, his mindset had changed greatly.

Now, he devoted all his energy to training students.

Especially for outstanding talents like Kizaru and Akainu, he put in every ounce of effort.

Even though Kizaru often went against him, Zephyr would at most scold him. Of course, that was also because Kizaru's talent was exceptional enough.

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Though Kizaru acted frivolous all day long, Zephyr knew better. Even if Kizaru had not eaten the Glint-Glint Fruit, based on his current Taijutsu and swordsmanship alone, there was basically no one in the Academy besides Akainu who could defeat him.

Zephyr often thought about how wonderful it would be if Kizaru could put even half as much effort into training as Akainu did!

The reason he was always so strict with Kizaru was definitely not because he disliked him. He was simply frustrated that Kizaru was wasting his potential!

On the day of registration, Major General Babus arrived at Gigue's group's residence early and led them to the Marine Academy.

After escorting Gigue's group to the entrance of the Marine Academy, Babus stopped and said with a smile,

"I can only take you this far. Once you enter, go straight to the office building. Instructor Zephyr's office is on the top floor."

Gigue shook Babus's hand and said,

"Major General Babus, thank you for all your help during this time."

"Haha, it was my duty. All three of you are rare talents. Your future accomplishments will surely surpass mine, and by then, I'll have to address you as officers!"

After saying that, they exchanged smiles. Babus waved, turned around, and left.

Gigue's group entered the Academy. Along the way, Gigue noticed that many students were already doing physical training on the field. Among them was a familiar face: Akainu, whom they had eaten barbecue with not long ago.

Akainu stood alone in a corner of the training field, surrounded by all kinds of exercise equipment. At that moment, he was training with a barbell.

Just from its size, the barbell was clearly not something an ordinary person could lift. It was obviously custom-made.

Yet in Akainu's hands, such a barbell was like a toy, and he did not look strained in the slightest.

The students passing by him were already used to the sight. At most, they would glance at him before continuing with their own business.

Akainu seemed to notice someone staring at him. He looked up and immediately spotted Gigue's group standing outside the field.

Ginny and Kuma waved to him, while Gigue gave Akainu a thumbs-up from inside the field.

Akainu casually tossed aside the barbell in his hand. It hit the ground with a dull thud.

The people nearby glanced over, then all froze.

Because Sakazuki, who had always worn a poker face in their memories, was actually smiling and waving in a certain direction.

Though the smile looked somewhat stiff, it was clear Akainu had done his best to smile.

Following Akainu's gaze, they saw Gigue and immediately began discussing him.

"A new face. Who's that?"

"No idea. He's probably a newcomer here to register."

"A newcomer joining at this time? Then his qualifications must be impressive. The admission standards for this class aren't low!"

"Yeah, and it looks like he knows Sakazuki. Aside from Borsalino, Sakazuki usually can't even be bothered to acknowledge anyone else!"

"I bet they're from the same hometown. Tsk, tsk, could he be another monster?"

"Shh! Stop talking. Did you forget what happened to those guys last time? They badmouthed Borsalino right in front of Sakazuki and got beaten so badly they spent half a month in the hospital!"

The moment those words were spoken, the discussions came to an abrupt stop.

They still remembered that those people had been fairly clever at the time. They provoked Sakazuki by saying that he only knew how to rely on his ability, and that if he had any guts, he should fight without using it.

Those people were fairly strong among the students and believed that if Akainu did not use his ability, they would have a good chance of winning.

But reality was cruel. Akainu truly hadn't used his ability. With just his fists, he beat those people who gave others nicknames behind their backs unconscious on the spot.

That made everyone realize that the gap between them and Akainu was not merely a Devil Fruit.

Outside the field, Gigue was about to continue onward after greeting Akainu when he suddenly stopped and shot out a hand.

Zephyr, who had somehow appeared behind Gigue, stared in surprise at the arm Gigue had caught and praised him.

"Good reflexes. You're Gigue, aren't you?"

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