The Naval Academy was built against the mountains and facing the sea, covering a vast area.
Quiet little groves, beaches beneath the setting sun, mountains that soared into the clouds.
Everywhere, the cadets had shed sweat as they trained.
Everyone except one person!
Morito didn't take part in the Training Camp drills, and the instructors turned a blind eye to this lazy fish.
Besides, this was his final year. If he failed the graduation exam, he'd be kicked out.
By the seaside, waves crashed against the rocky shore.
The air was filled with the salty scent of the sea.
Standing alone on the beach, Morito rested one hand on his lower abdomen. He had already learned to refine Chakra when he was five.
Back then, he hadn't met Garp yet.
But now he was fifteen, and the amount of Chakra he had was still only the little bit he refined each day.
Other people's grandfathers or whatever only needed three years to emerge.
But you've been absorbing for three years, then another three years, and another three years.
And you forcefully absorb it twice every day!
It's been ten years, man!
Even a pig would've been dragged out and slaughtered by now!
"This won't do. I can't keep going like this. This is the world of pirates, and the most chaotic era after the dissolution of the Rocks Pirates!"
"If I keep my strength at this level, I probably won't even live to see the story begin!"
Morito frowned, a rare look of seriousness crossing his face.
It wasn't that he didn't work hard, nor was he a lazy fish.
He skipped the Training Camp's physical drills not because he wanted special treatment, but because every day at midnight, the Chakra inside him would gather on its own in his eyes.
When his Chakra suddenly disappeared, he would fall into a deep sleep for a while.
Morito didn't want anyone to discover this secret, so he always completed his morning training alone.
Even if someone found him unconscious, they would think he'd been "sleeping to slack off."
Besides, he wasn't Garp or Rock Lee, taking the pure Taijutsu route. He had other training to complete besides physical conditioning.
Morito lowered his head and looked at his blurry reflection in the water. Those pure white, flawless pupils were definitely Byakugan.
But they were also a little different from the Byakugan he remembered.
Whose Byakugan needed ten years of Chakra nourishment?
"I've been absorbing twice a day for ten years, and nothing's changed. From now on, I'm not giving you any more Chakra."
Before, Morito had always thought, Let it absorb. Once it's had its fill, it'll awaken.
Now he knew he'd been far too naive.
There were old oxen that got worked to the bone, but no fields that got plowed to ruin.
Some things could never be fed enough!
At his current level of strength, who knew if he'd even survive another ten years?
He had to start looking out for himself.
The thought crossed his mind, and Morito sat cross-legged and began refining Chakra. Today, he decided to store whatever Chakra he refined.
Chakra was an energy created by perfectly combining physical and mental energy in equal measure.
It was the "mana bar" for using skills and the "stamina" that powered the body.
Every day at midnight, his Chakra dropped to zero.
What kind of joke was that?
Refining Chakra was tedious, but the boy sitting cross-legged on the beach remained perfectly calm, showing not the slightest impatience.
The sea breeze gently brushed his face as the Chakra inside Morito gradually increased.
His Chakra reserves were so low that even refining a little made the increase clearly noticeable.
As time passed, the Chakra inside Morito built up to a certain level.
But noon was drawing closer and closer.
Suddenly, an intense pull surged from his eyes. Morito could clearly feel an invisible force tugging at the Chakra inside him.
"It's here!"
Morito's expression darkened. This was going too far. It wouldn't stop even when he refused to give it any?
Was there some mistake in the setup?
You're Byakugan, not a juice extractor!
He grumbled to himself and decided not to let it absorb anything. He struggled to control his Chakra, gathering it in his abdomen and holding on with all his might. He wasn't giving it up!
But a pure glow flickered faintly in his pupils.
Like a bottomless white vortex.
An even more terrifying, powerful, and domineering force of suction surged out. The Chakra inside him rushed wildly toward it, drained away in an instant.
His body's self-protective response kicked in, and Morito's eyes rolled back as he fainted right there on the beach.
"You win!"
As his consciousness blurred, Morito cursed in anger and helplessness.
This time seemed a little different from usual. The deathly gray haze in his pupils had faded away.
All that remained was a pair of pure white eyes, like polished jade.
Rustle, rustle.
A little over ten minutes later, faint footsteps sounded on the beach. Gion walked over at an easy pace, her long legs carrying her forward.
After the two parted ways in the plaza, Gion had gone back to the Elite Class first.
After all, Zephyr personally supervised the Elite Class lessons.
She had been worried the whole time. Morito was too impulsive; he shouldn't have agreed to a duel with Onigumo so rashly.
She had decided to persuade Morito to give up the duel.
It was now the midday break, and Gion had searched a few of the places where Morito often went.
Before long, she spotted Morito on the beach, "sleeping to slack off."
Gion's eyes darkened as she glared at Morito, who was fast asleep, exasperated with him. Had this guy even taken what just happened seriously?
"Looks like I've taken too good care of you."
Because of her ties to Garp and Tsuru, Gion had known Morito since he was in the Training Camp. She had always treated him like a little brother, looking after him and never allowing anyone to bully him.
Even after leaving the Training Camp, she had often kept an eye on its training.
Otherwise, she couldn't have shown up so quickly today.
It hadn't been a coincidence that she stopped Onigumo.
But now Gion felt that taking such good care of Morito had been a mistake. It would only bring him harm.
"There's no such thing as peace and quiet in this world. It's just that someone else is carrying the burden for you."
"From now on, you'll have to learn to grow up on your own."
Suppressing her worry, Gion didn't wake Morito. She simply turned and left in silence.
All that remained was a trail of footprints in the sand.
The Navy faced pirates who were ruthless and vicious. Without enough strength, all that awaited him in the end was a banner commemorating his heroic sacrifice.
Rather than attend Morito's funeral, it would be better to let him drop out and never become a Marine in the first place.
It might be good for Morito to suffer a little at Onigumo's hands.
The sea breeze howled and the waves crashed.
Not much time passed—about the length of an afternoon nap.
On that same stretch of beach, Morito opened his eyes where he lay in the sand. It was much like before, yet also a little different.
The sunlight was rather dazzling.
Morito raised a hand to shield his eyes and peered through the gaps between his fingers.
It took him a while to adjust.
"This is..."
Morito sat up. His gaze was fixed straight ahead, yet his field of view took in everything around him.
The beach. The sea.
The memories from before he'd passed out rushed into his mind, and Morito jolted awake.
His vision zoomed out, then in.
Two hundred meters away, several fish swam across the surface of the sea, sending up little sprays of white foam. He could see them clearly, as if they were right in front of him.
His field of view widened, then narrowed.
Even without turning around, he could see behind him. A crab was quietly scuttling through the rocks nearby.
"Byakugan has awakened?!"
After trying it again and again, Morito stared blankly ahead, hardly daring to believe it.
But the facts told him it was all real.
Ten years of nourishment hadn't been in vain. His Byakugan had awakened, and it was different from ordinary Byakugan: he could expand his field of view without the veins around his eyes bulging!
It was more discreet than ordinary Byakugan.
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