Akainu's Frustration

Everyone was shocked to hear this. Tsuru frowned and asked, "You ran back using Geppo? How long were you running?"

"About a day. Actually, I could have had Kuma send me back directly, but I figured I'd use this opportunity to train."

Tsuru crossed her arms and glanced at Zephyr, who was preparing to land above them. She said gravely, "This is utter nonsense! Letting an Ability User leave the warship for an extended period at sea? What if you ran out of stamina or encountered a storm?"

At the same time, she was once again stunned by Gigue's physical condition. Geppo wasn't like regular running; it consumed a tremendous amount of stamina. Using it for travel was simply too extravagant.

And yet, Gigue had used Geppo for a day-long journey, and upon returning, he could still easily handle Gion. Thinking about it now, it was simply unbelievable.

The cadets on the scene, however, were much calmer than Tsuru after hearing the explanation. At the Marine Academy, they had spent day and night with Gigue, and his various extraordinary performances had somewhat numbed them.

Don't ask why, just accept that he's not one of us!

Zephyr landed steadily. Seeing that Tsuru was present and seemed relatively calm, he breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that thankfully Momonga had reported the situation, and it seemed like things were under control.

A "little yellow man" landed behind Zephyr and gradually took the form of Kizaru. He craned his neck, looking around, and muttered, "Vice Admiral Tsuru is already here. The old man just likes to worry for nothing!"

Momonga, who had gone to the office building to make a call earlier, also ran back at this moment. Seeing that Zephyr and Kizaru had already returned before him, he couldn't help but be stunned.

Upon seeing Momonga, Zephyr publicly praised him, "Momonga, you did very well this time. You considered everything very thoroughly!"

"But Teacher Zephyr, I just finished making a call, and you're already back?"

"Ah, that's because Kuma used his ability to send me and Borsalino back. We were just slightly off target."

"I see!"

At this moment, on Zephyr's warship, Sakazuki and Kuma were sitting cross-legged on the deck. The Marine soldiers standing guard nearby kept stealing glances at the two, whispering amongst themselves, "Hey, Instructor Zephyr and that Borsalino just disappeared. What an amazing ability. Where do you think they went?"

"Maybe they returned to Headquarters early? After all, the mission is complete, and we're so close to Headquarters. What pirate crew would dare cause trouble here?"

"Speaking of which, this mission was really easy. We barely did anything!"

"Ha! Have you seen who Instructor Zephyr brought this time? Those four cadets are monsters, each one more so than the last! Are the new recruits this strong now?"

"Tell me about it. Their Devil Fruit abilities are terrifying. Those pirate crews were really unlucky to run into them! Especially Gigue and Sakazuki; even Instructor Zephyr couldn't stop them when they were killing pirates!"

"In the past, Instructor Zephyr would try to capture pirates alive whenever possible, and we'd have to escort those scum back. Now, it's much more convenient."

"Stop talking. I'm still shivering thinking about it. If every Ability User was like them, what would happen to us when we encounter them in the future?"

"What are you afraid of? We have people like them in the Marines. Don't you feel safe?"

"That's true... Hey, hey, look! Sakazuki is standing up. I thought he was asleep!"

Sakazuki looked a bit small next to Kuma, even though he was already two meters tall. However, Kuma's physique was simply too massive, being from the Buccaneer Tribe.

Sakazuki adjusted his Marine hat slightly and slowly drew a katana from behind him.

Only half of the blade remained, the broken end clearly melted by high temperatures. Sakazuki ran his hand over the remaining half of the blade, looking somewhat dejected, and muttered, "My Devil Fruit ability really isn't suited for using a sword. How many has this been now..."

Sakazuki suddenly envied Kizaru's ability to create a lightsaber out of thin air, and its power was formidable, slicing through pirates like tofu. Just watching it made Sakazuki feel secretly pleased.

He could do something similar, but honestly, making a sword out of magma was less direct than just throwing a few Magma Fists.

He hadn't really felt it when practicing swordsmanship with Kizaru at school, but only after going out to sea for actual combat did he realize that swordsmanship was somewhat redundant for him.

Yet, he was reluctant to give it up, as he had genuinely put in the effort to practice before...

Kuma glanced at him silently and said, "Big Brother Gigue was right. You really aren't suited for swords."

Sakazuki was taken aback. He attached great importance to Gigue's words and quickly pressed, "Gigue said that too? What exactly did he say?"

Kuma hesitated for a moment before slowly replying, "He said you were like pulling up your pants to fart..."

"Huh? What does that mean?"

"Unnecessary!"

"..."

The classic Chinese allegorical saying from Earth left Sakazuki speechless. However, he wasn't angry. The words were spot-on, even if they sounded a bit harsh.

Looking at the broken sword in his hand, Sakazuki found it increasingly unsightly. He casually tossed it backward, throwing it off the deck, where it eventually fell into the sea.

Oddly enough, after throwing the sword away, Sakazuki felt a sudden sense of relief, as if a burden had been lifted. A hint of a relaxed smile appeared on his somber face.

Kuma nodded as he watched, and then unexpectedly remarked, "Hmm, you finally put your pants on."

In Gigue's absence, Kuma displayed a hidden sharp-tongued side, though it wasn't intentional.

Akainu's body stiffened, but thankfully he knew Kuma was a straightforward person and his words carried no ill intent. In fact, they helped resolve a mental block for him, so he didn't take offense.

If it had been Kizaru, that two-faced scoundrel, he'd have made sure Kizaru knew why a monkey's backside was so red.

He habitually adjusted his hat again and asked, "Kuma, Teacher Zephyr left in a hurry just now and didn't say what happened. Should we head back to Headquarters early to check as well?"

"Let's not. If we leave too, who will guard this place?"

"That's true."

Akainu strongly agreed with Kuma's statement. How could a qualified Marine abandon their post?

Well, Gigue didn't count; he had filed a report.

With that thought, Akainu gave Kuma a look of approval before sitting cross-legged beside Kuma again. The two fell silent, standing on the deck like statues, exuding a sense of security.

If you find this book good, please add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it next time.