Chapter 22
The training rooms were located at the very bottom of the new recruit building, in a hidden space ten meters underground.
At that depth, even if the place collapsed, it would not affect the surface in the slightest. It was the preferred location for many recruits to test new moves and was open to all recruits... as long as they were not foolish enough to bury themselves alive, there would be no problem.
When Zephyr arrived at Ron's training room, he saw a brilliant humanoid mass of lightning.
As a Lightning Person, Ron's resistance to electricity grew stronger as he did. No matter how actively he controlled it, a Logia's Elementalization would negate most of the damage first, leaving only a small amount of current to stimulate his muscles. As a result, he had to increase the voltage now to achieve any training effect.
Even someone as worldly and knowledgeable as Zephyr could not help clicking his tongue in amazement at such a miraculous application.
However, he quickly remembered why he had come and spoke.
"Pause for a moment, Ron. I need to talk to you!"
"Hm?"
Crackle...
The lightning withdrew into his body. Seeing Zephyr enter the room, Ron stood up. "Instructor General Zephyr, what brings you here?"
Though Zephyr spent most of his days stationed at the New Recruit Camp, he rarely appeared before the recruits. Most of them only saw him once during the year-end evaluations. At other times, the highest-ranking officer they could come into contact with was Brigadier General Shuzuo.
"I heard you had a technique that uses lightning to stimulate your muscles and enhance training, so I came to take a look..."
Zephyr pulled over a small stool, sat down, and lit a cigar. "That was the move you were using just now, right? Tell me about your thought process."
"Really?! All right!"
Zephyr's meaning was obvious. He intended to guide him!
Receiving guidance from Zephyr, a former Marine Admiral and one of the world's peak figures, Ron was overjoyed. He agreed at once and immediately began explaining.
No matter why Zephyr was doing this or what his reasons were, Ron was the one benefiting. He could find no reason to refuse. After explaining the principles, Ron scratched the back of his head and said, "That's roughly how it works. As for the specifics... I should probably demonstrate it again."
Zephyr said nothing around his cigar and simply nodded.
Boom!
With Zephyr's approval, thunder erupted at once. Bolts of lightning coiled around Ron's body, radiating a blinding blue glow. Zephyr took a drag from his cigar and released his Observation Haki to sense Ron's condition. Then his expression suddenly froze. "This... aside from a few minor flaws, it's actually this perfect?!"
He had assumed Ron had merely relied on his unusual Self-Healing Ability to recklessly cobble together this technique... As for the peculiarities of Ron's body, Ron did not mention them, and neither would they. It was enough that everyone understood without saying it aloud.
What true powerhouse did not have a few hidden cards up their sleeve?
So Zephyr had come intending to point out and correct Ron's mistakes, helping him fix them while establishing his authority as a teacher... Yet to his surprise, this technique was so perfectly suited to the Lightning Person physique!
The powerful current that would have charred an ordinary person to ash was weakened countless times by the Lightning Person's physique, forming a perfect ratio with his physical strength! Not only was it harmless, it complemented his body perfectly!
Moreover, as his physique strengthened, the current's power increased. The strengthened current could then be fed back into training to further enhance his physique... Aside from the pain, this was a cultivation method with no upper limit!
A training method exclusive to users of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit!
Even without a Self-Healing Ability as powerful as Ron's, one could still train using this move!
Ron had pioneered a new application of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, one worthy of being recorded in history!
"What a... monster!"
For a moment, Zephyr was lost in thought. Looking back over the past several decades, Ron was not the strongest recruit he had ever seen, but he was the most gifted. The Rumble-Rumble Fruit User who had disappeared several centuries ago had only developed lightning's destructive power to the extreme. In terms of imaginative ingenuity like Ron's, however, he could not compare at all.
Combined with that thing opening up Ron's "eight extraordinary meridians" and awakening his physical potential ahead of time, with such an ability supporting him, if he kept training... Zephyr did not dare imagine what Ron might achieve one day!
At that thought, Zephyr's gaze grew somewhat heated...
Perhaps he could do more than fill the gap among the Marine Admirals... Perhaps Ron could even reach the summit!
"No, I can't rush things. Ron still has a long way to go! Besides... even among Admirals, there are stronger and weaker ones. Like me now, for example."
With a self-mocking smile, Zephyr called out, "Come here, Ron. I've found some problems."
"Yes, Instructor General Zephyr!"
"Call me Teacher Zephyr instead..."
Whoosh!
Ron froze mid-step, then became wildly ecstatic and gave him a deep bow. "Understood! Teacher Zephyr!"
At the end of Marineford Era 1514, Marine Headquarters, New Recruit Camp.
Sunlight shone in from the far east, lending a trace of warmth to the slightly cool sea breeze. The silent Marine Headquarters grew bustling once more at the call of the rising sun, unchanged as ever, eternal and constant.
"As long as it's working, leave the rest to me. I'll have Ron cooperate with you... You..."
Boom!!
At that moment, a dull explosion rang through the building, making the Den Den Mushi shudder involuntarily...
Click... the call ended.
In his office, Zephyr grimaced and set down the receiver speechlessly.
"That little brat, what is he developing now?!"
Beneath the New Recruit Camp building, in a special training ground, muffled thunder continued to explode. Even with the best soundproofing materials, dull blasts could still be heard in the corridor. The deafening detonations made dust continuously fall from the ceiling, and passing soldiers, covered in grime, hastened their steps.
"That monster is getting scarier and scarier!"
"The power of a Logia Devil Fruit... what did you expect?!"
"Shh, keep it down! Don't let him hear you..."
"Right, right, let's get out of here!"
A patrol squad quickly departed.
Inside the training room, dazzling lightning flickered erratically, leaving streaks of light in the air. The surrounding walls were covered with pits dense enough to make anyone with trypophobia faint. Flying discs shot out from them one after another, moving almost as fast as bullets. Yet the lightning kept leaping, striking the discs with extreme precision every time, with a miss rate of less than one percent.
After a long while, the lights in the training room turned red, and a pleasant female voice announcing the end sounded.
"...Training complete. Hit rate: 98.5%..."
Since Vegapunk had invented this testing device, a 98.5% hit rate had been second only to those old monsters. Among the recruits of the past few classes, it was utterly unmatched!
Crackle!
The lightning that had been firing wildly stopped in the center of the field. Ron stood there bare-chested, panting heavily.
"Still missed a few?"
Though it was a number others could scarcely dream of, Ron himself was dissatisfied.
He was a Rumble-Rumble Fruit User, blessed with immense innate advantages. Whether in speed or destructive power, ordinary people could not compare to him. Yet even with such an enormous advantage, he still could not score full marks. Ron knew he still had a long road ahead...
Boom!
As he clenched his fist, a pillar of lightning formed naturally, releasing a deafening blast. Currents wrapped around Ron's body, while cloud-like patches of light surfaced beneath his skin and flashed continuously. His eyes were a deep blue, radiating intense light, making him look like an illusory being from myth rather than a living person of flesh and blood.
"At last, I've perfectly controlled this form..."
Looking at his hands and feeling the vast, ocean-like power surging within him, Ron grinned in satisfaction.
Thanks to reader ~From the Abyss, Invitation~ for the 500 reward!
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