Transformation

The next day, Zephyr, who had had a great time drinking with Sengoku and the others the night before, woke up early and went to the training grounds to inspect as usual.

The Marine Academy's training grounds were vast. He habitually looked towards the area that was usually most crowded, but only saw a few scattered cadets, all of whom were female.

Zephyr's expression darkened. He thought that the training must have ended too early yesterday, giving those brats a chance to go out and have fun. They were probably still sound asleep in their dorms.

It seems I can't set such a precedent again. They're still young, how can they slack off at a time like this! How can they sleep through this?

Just as Zephyr was thinking about giving them devil training once everyone had gathered, a shout came from a distance.

"Ninety-nine, one hundred! Sakazuki is awesome!"

"Gigue's speed is getting faster and faster! Go Gigue!"

"Borsalino, what are you doing?! Damn it! Is he asleep!?"

Zephyr froze for a moment, then looked in the direction of the voices. He saw that the "exclusive corner" that used to belong to Sakazuki was now filled with people. He counted, and including the girls in the center of the field, all the cadets had arrived!

Since there were too many people, Zephyr could only tell from the cadets' shouts that Gigue and the other two were inside, and even Kizaru, who always arrived just in time.

Curious, he held his breath and silently approached Momonga from behind.

Momonga didn't notice Zephyr behind him at all. He was craning his neck, his face flushed red as he cheered for Gigue in front of him.

In the clearing in the center of the crowd, Gigue, Kizaru, and Akainu were lying on the ground shirtless, each lifting a large barbell.

Ginny stood to the side with a stopwatch, but her gaze was fixed on Gigue. It was unclear if she would be able to press the stopwatch accurately later.

Seeing this scene, Zephyr, who had been a little annoyed, instantly lost all his anger and was even quite pleased.

Although he didn't know what had happened, the sight of the cadets bonding made him feel pleased.

However, when his gaze fell on Kizaru, he instinctively reprimanded him.

"Borsalino, are you slacking off again! Did they put glue on that barbell? Is it stuck to your stomach?!"

Kizaru, who had been zoning out on the ground for a long time, shuddered when he heard Zephyr's voice. He subconsciously pushed the barbell up twice with a surge of effort, but quickly deflated again.

Zephyr's shout also made the others notice his presence, and they all turned to look at him.

"Ahem."

Zephyr coughed twice, thinking it was all Borsalino's fault. He wanted to observe for a while longer!

Now that he had been "exposed," Zephyr's subsequent actions surprised all the cadets. He put away his stern expression and said with a smile, "You guys continue. It's still early, haven't they decided on a winner yet?"

After speaking, he took the lead and shouted, "Keep at it! Whoever wins this month, I'll approve double the subsidy for them!"

This reward held little appeal for Gigue and Sakazuki. After all, one had no shortage of money, and the other was focused on the competition.

Only Kizaru's eyes lit up when he heard this. Finally motivated, he started pushing the barbell with renewed vigor.

However, he had been slacking off for too long. Before he could push it a few more times, Ginny had already pressed the stopwatch with a click, cheering, "The competition is over! Brother Gigue is amazing! You and Sakazuki tied for first place!"

Kizaru, who came in second, meaning last place, lay on the ground like a deflated eggplant, lamenting bitterly, "Teacher Zephyr, why didn't you say so earlier! What a waste of effort!"

Zephyr gave him a look. He had been given an opportunity, so who was to blame for not seizing it?

The three on the ground got up one after another. Ginny immediately draped her jacket over Gigue, drawing envious glances from the male cadets.

Akainu picked up his jacket from the ground and put it on, covering his muscular upper body.

In fact, quite a few female cadets liked Akainu's tough-guy type, but he looked too fierce, and no female cadets dared to approach him.

Of course, Akainu didn't care about such things. As he buttoned his jacket, he said, "Gigue, your body is very strong, much stronger than that Borsalino guy."

Gigue shivered, thinking that Akainu's way of speaking was always a bit effeminate.

However, Gigue still admired Akainu quite a bit. He knew that his own physical talent was top-tier, after all, he had the bloodline of the Figarland Family and his body had undergone special modifications. Although Akainu's talent was not low, it was still significantly inferior to Gigue's.

The fact that the competition results were a tie was entirely the result of Akainu's daily hard work.

Kizaru sat cross-legged on the ground, sighing repeatedly. He was still regretting missing out on the double subsidy.

Akainu was quite understanding of Kizaru and comforted him kindly, "Borsalino, even if you had used your full strength from the beginning, it would have been difficult to win against me and Gigue in this. Don't dwell on it too much."

"..."

Kizaru looked at Akainu speechlessly and quipped, "Sakazuki, are you comforting me or discouraging me?"

"Of course, I'm comforting you."

"Pfft!"

Hearing their conversation, Ginny couldn't help but burst out laughing. She grabbed Gigue's hand and said, "Brother Gigue, they're really something else!"

It wasn't just Ginny; even the surrounding cadets were amused by Akainu and Kizaru, laughing out loud. They suddenly realized that these two figures they had once viewed as monsters actually had such a charming side.

After they disbanded yesterday, the generous Gigue treated all the cadets to a grand meal. They were all young, and after a few drinks together, they quickly let loose.

The cadets who had been thoroughly beaten by Akainu even took the opportunity, fueled by alcohol, to apologize to Akainu and Kizaru in person.

The most explosive moment, however, was Ginny. Despite her astonishing appetite, her alcohol tolerance was the complete opposite. After just a few drinks, she got drunk. She clung to Gigue like a little snake and said things that made her want to find a hole to crawl into now.

On the way back, she even instructed Kuma to use his powers to expel the alcohol from her body if she ever got drunk again, otherwise, she would be too embarrassed to face anyone.

When she met Gigue at the training grounds today, her face was still flushed. Fortunately, Gigue didn't get a chance to bring up last night's topic, as he was immediately pulled away by Akainu for a match.

This, however, left Ginny feeling a little disappointed, like her words had been wasted.

A young girl's thoughts are always so complicated. Ginny looked up at Gigue's profile, her gaze growing distant.

She only snapped back to reality when Zephyr called for assembly. Reluctantly letting go of Gigue, she ran off to join the new girlfriends she had just made.