Four Checkpoints of the Grand Line! (Bonus Chapter)

"Cough, cough, cough----"

Just as Kuzan finished recounting his recent experiences, Zephyr suddenly started coughing, and it was quite a difficult cough; his complexion and rapid breathing showed how uncomfortable he was.

He had actually wanted to cough for a while, but he had intentionally held it in so as not to disturb Kuzan's speech. Now that Kuzan had basically finished speaking, he finally couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Teacher!"

"Professor Zephyr?"

What's wrong with you?!

Momonga, Yamakaji, and the others' expressions changed drastically, and they hurriedly asked with concern. In fact, they hadn't seen Zephyr for a while since graduation, as everyone had been busy.

While being busy is good, it also means I've learned less about Zephyr's recent situation.

"Phew—it's nothing, just a minor ailment, no need to make a fuss, I'm much better now!"

Zephyr's asthma finally stabilized. He exhaled a long breath and grinned, taking out two white pills from his pocket and swallowing them with his beer.

His illness started in the last two years, but it's not very serious. He only occasionally experiences chest tightness, shortness of breath, and coughing.

I've already seen the island's doctor and gotten some medicine, and it's been quite effective. The only problem is that I've been told not to drink alcohol or smoke, but those are Zephyr's favorite things, and they're not so easy to quit.

"Teacher, although I don't know anything about medicine, judging from your symptoms just now, it should be related to breathing. I think you should take it seriously, and I believe you understand that yourself."

Kuzan's words were met with nods of agreement from the surrounding group. Zephyr himself, of course, understood what he meant. As a master of pure Physical Arts, he knew better than anyone the relationship between breathing and combat power.

If a person cannot breathe properly, they cannot exert much strength at all. Even the essence of Life Return is inextricably linked to breathing.

"I've already gotten a prescription from the doctor, but this stuff only provides good relief when it flares up; it can't cure it completely," Zephyr said, looking somewhat troubled.

"I heard that if asthma gets more severe, you'll need to use some kind of steroid inhaler to relieve it."

Kuzan, recalling what had happened before, said, "Since the doctors at headquarters can't cure it, how about we try asking the doctors at the Drum Kingdom's Medical Academy?"

What are the differences between the doctors in the Drum Kingdom?

Yamakaji asked curiously, Zephyr and the others also looked over. They had indeed heard Kuzan talk about the Drum Kingdom before, but they didn't know anything about the doctor.

Kuzan chuckled and said, "Alalala, I'm not entirely sure either, but Minister Mick said that there are some of the world's best doctors there, like Dr. Kureha, who was appointed as the dean of the Medical Academy. She's over a hundred years old but still maintains the vitality of a middle-aged woman. I happen to know her, so I'd like to introduce Professor Zephyr to her."

"Hmm, even the World Government recognizes him as the best doctor? I think that's impressive!" Momonga said happily, looking at Zephyr.

"Really."

Dragon and the others nodded in agreement, while Zephyr hesitated, saying, "But I'm very busy. I can't stop the students' training just to treat myself!"

"I remember the training camp had holidays, one day a week, and a long vacation of one month," Kuzan said, recalling his past experiences.

Zephyr gave him a disgruntled look and said, "That's because you guys are on holiday. I have to come back to deal with school matters!"

He wasn't just in charge of the few dozen people in the training camp; there was also a Marine Academy on the island, specifically for training a large number of marines. The workload there wasn't exactly huge, but it wasn't small either.

"What should we do then? Should we ask that Dr. Kureha to come to Marineford?" the Momonga asked, stroking his chin.

"I think it's a good idea. The teacher is Admiral, after all. What's wrong with having her come to our homes to treat patients?" another colonel said.

"Uh, that's a bit difficult. Kureha has a rather bad temper," Kuzan chuckled awkwardly, feeling that sending that witch-like female doctor over was unreliable.

Furthermore, Dr. Kureha is busy building the Medical Academy's framework and researching Amber Lead Syndrome, so it's impossible for her to come to Marine Headquarters, even though Professor Zephyr is Admiral.

That person doesn't care about these things at all.

"Then forget it." Zephyr shook his head.

At this moment, Dragon spoke up and shared his thoughts after careful consideration.

"The Drum Kingdom is a Winter Island, and according to Kuzan's description, it's a place with a harsher environment than ordinary Winter Island. Could Teacher Zephyr take this year's training camp students there for a period of time?"

"Eh!!"

Zephyr's eyes lit up when he heard this. The frigid temperatures and Tornado of Winter Island would definitely be of great help in tempering the students' will.

"That's right, that's right. The teacher can train them while treating patients. As for the training content, I can think of one right now. There are eight Drum Peak there, but I only built the stairs leading to the main peak. The other seven are all 5,000 meters high, and the wind and snow are extremely fierce. This year's students can climb the mountains by hand!"

Kuzan cheerfully proclaimed his brilliant suggestion, piquing the interest of the Momonga, Yamakaji, and the others beside him. They began to brainstorm, thinking about what other training programs on Winter Island could help the current cohort of students.

Well, I'm doing this for the good of my juniors, I've put in a lot of effort, and I think they'll understand and accept it gladly, and might even thank me.

"Are there any wild beasts on the island that the juniors can wrestle with in the freezing cold—oh no, I mean practice with them!"

"I think we should have non-ability users undergo winter swimming training around the island in the surrounding sea!"

"Avalanche! They have to face the avalanche!"

The navy personnel and their families at the surrounding tables stared in disbelief at these ruthless training camp veterans. "Hey, are you serious?"

Climbing a 5,000-meter-high snow-covered mountain with bare hands is one thing, but bringing up avalanches is another! Do you even know what an avalanche is?

Hey, why did we skip the first one?

"Alright!"

Seeing that these guys were getting more and more excited, Zephyr slammed his hand on the table to stop them, but he did make a mental note of the interesting training suggestions they had just made.

"I also think Dragon's suggestion is excellent. So let's do it this way. I'll take the training camp to the Drum Kingdom in a few days!"

With this decision made, and the time almost up, everyone had drunk quite a bit, so they all grabbed the Coat of Justice from their chairs and put them on.

In an instant, led by Navy Admiral Zephyr, with Marine Vice Admiral Kuzan and Dragon following closely on either side, along with more than a dozen Rear Admiral and Captains, they all climbed the stairs to the first floor of the tavern, immediately attracting the attention of all the guests and bartenders on the first floor. Everyone watched as this group of big shots pushed open the door and left.

After they came out, everyone went home, except for Kuzan and Dragon, who tacitly stayed behind. The two of them went to the seaside of the harbor together, looking at the huge warships moored under the moonlight and the surging waves that shimmered with silver light.

"You've probably noticed the changes in the World Government," Dragon said in a deep voice.

"Um."

Kuzan and smiled, "I'm also full of questions, but given our current status, it's unlikely we'll ever get to the truth. So I've chosen not to think about it too much and to focus on completing my current task. I believe we'll find out someday."

"Indeed, if you ever become Navy Admiral, you'll have the chance to learn more secrets. I hope you'll tell me then," Dragon said, turning his head.

"Ara la la, of course no problem."

Dragon continued, "I just thought back on our positions. I'm in the Sabaody Archipelago, you're on Fish-Man Island, Borsalino is at G-2 in the first half, Sakazuki is at G-1 in the second half. What do you see?"

Kuzan was stunned. A clear image of the Grand Line immediately appeared in his mind, and then four points of light appeared on it, which were the outposts of himself and his companions.

"The World Government has set up four checkpoints!!"

Consider this chapter an extra chapter for the three readers: Jie Geng De Gu Du, Spear of Longinus, Xue. Although it's not much, it's a token of my appreciation. I hope you won't mind. Please continue to support and encourage me in the future. If you have any thoughts or opinions, please let me know directly, and I will definitely respond seriously.

A huge thank you to reader Xin Zi for the 100 Qidian Coin reward! Bowing deeply! Thank you so much to another reader for the reward and encouragement. Because it's not currently available for purchase, seeing these rewards, along with the monthly tickets and recommendation votes from all the readers, always makes me much happier and gives me the motivation to write. At least I know that although there aren't many readers, there are definitely people who enjoy this book.