Sold!

"That's good! Sit down, have some water, talk about how it felt, and let them gather the data."

Hearing this, Kizaru pointed at the researchers waiting nearby with shining eyes and spoke to Ron.

With Ron, both a Lightning Person and the founder, helping out, the researchers completed all the tests that had been expected to take a week or even several weeks in just one afternoon. Only some scattered evidence collection remained.

Ron also offered his opinions. Aside from needing to adjust the current intensity corresponding to a small portion of the Doriki Values, everything else was practically perfect! Of course, the most important issue was that the comfort of the interior space urgently needed improvement. It would be best to add a pillow... Teacher Zephyr rejected that suggestion with his fist!

Finally, when the two left the Science Unit's base, the researchers were exceptionally friendly toward Ron. They pounded their chests and promised that whenever he needed it, he could come over to train.

The instrument testing had been completed. Not only would Ron receive a reward, but they would receive credit as well. And since they had completed it days ahead of schedule without compromising quality or quantity, the credit was even greater!

"With this, although the lower-ranking soldiers will still need to slowly build their foundations and develop their potential, most mid-level officers will be able to achieve tremendous improvement in a short time! The Navy's future has become even brighter!"

After leaving the building and bidding farewell to Kizaru and the others, Zephyr sighed sincerely.

Over the past few years, the Navy had not produced any new monsters, and the gap in talent had become severe. Sengoku was anxious about it, and Zephyr was no better off. Smoker, whom they had thought highly of a few years ago, was not only a thorn in their side, but his strength was far from overwhelmingly dominant. The Navy's upper ranks had been deeply disappointed.

But now, things were different!

Even if no true monster emerged, the instrument Vegapunk had developed could still bring explosive growth to the Navy's core strength! Many things they had previously been unable to do because of troop shortages now had sufficient backing.

Zephyr was tremendously excited for the future!

And besides...

On top of all that, they had a true monster!

The Rumble-Rumble Fruit user, Ron!

Not only would the Navy's core strength grow, but its future peak combat power was guaranteed as well!

Ron was also grinning from ear to ear, silently considering which Rokushiki technique he should choose.

Both Soru and Iron Body were extremely practical techniques. There was no need to say much about the former. Just as Zephyr had taught him, with the speed of a Lightning Person, using Soru in close-range combat was faster and less taxing than Teleportation. As for the latter, the technique that accelerated blood flow and hardened the body like steel was not only useful for taking hits, but could also work together with the Lightning Stimulation Method to create even better training results.

"Rankyaku? No, lightning can cut too, so the functions overlap. Lightning completely outclasses Finger Pistol in destructive power, so I don't need to bother with that for now... As for Geppo... a Lightning Person can fly after Elementalization, but I can't control lightning's speed yet. Learning Geppo would be a pretty good supplementary choice. And then there's Kami-e... My biggest problem right now is that I'm all power and not enough flexibility..."

As they walked down the path, one was thinking while the other spoke. Moonlight stretched their shadows long, making them look remarkably harmonious.

But their trains of thought were on completely different wavelengths!

It was not until they were about to enter the New Recruit Camp that the figure ahead made them stop. Ron glanced at the man, and suddenly a phantom pain burst through his head. He instinctively took half a step back. "Vice Admiral Garp?!"

"Uh... what a disgrace!"

Zephyr shot Ron a fierce glare before frowning and asking, "Is it about time?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Ron was completely baffled, having no idea what they were talking about. Garp glanced at him, bared his gleaming white teeth, and grinned like a beast ready to devour its prey. "You brat, get back and sleep. Grown-ups are talking. Kids don't interrupt!"

"Tch! Like I care!"

Ron curled his lips in annoyance, but he also knew that the Navy was not made up of pirates. It did not only look at strength; status mattered too. His current position was too low, and he was not qualified to know many things. He immediately turned into a bolt of lightning, leaving brilliant patches of light in the night before vanishing at the end of the road in the blink of an eye.

Only after Ron left did Zephyr look seriously at Garp. "Is the Fleet Admiral really that worried about Ron?"

"Well! Better safe than sorry!"

Garp sighed and shrugged self-mockingly. "You know about Dragon, don't you?"

Seeing Zephyr frown and knowing how dissatisfied he was with the matter, Garp held back a laugh. "No need to be so tense, Zephyr. It's just a little test! Don't you know Ron's personality? Have a little faith in him."

"Phew... perhaps."

Thinking about what had happened at the Science Unit today, Zephyr tugged at his collar, his gaze strange.

To be honest, even he could no longer be sure whether making Ron a Marine had been the right thing to do.

Early the next morning, when the sky was only beginning to brighten, Ron eagerly ran to Zephyr's office to collect his reward. He had spent the entire night considering which Rokushiki move to choose, afraid that if he came too late, it would be treated as giving up.

Knock, knock, knock!

"Come in!"

After receiving permission, Ron pushed open the door and said excitedly, "Teacher Zephyr, I came to find you... uh... Vice Admiral Garp?"

Besides Zephyr, Garp—the man who had appeared last night—was also in the office. Their solemn expressions made Ron lower his voice without realizing it.

"Did something happen?"

"Oh, Ron!"

Zephyr raised his head. "You're here to collect your reward, right?"

After several months, Zephyr knew Ron extremely well. Seeing the excitement still lingering on his face, he knew exactly what Ron was thinking. Ron nodded blankly. "Uh... that's right! I thought about it all night. I'm lacking badly in flexibility right now, so I want to learn Kami-e."

Although Kami-e was not especially famous in the original story, far inferior to Soru and Geppo in reputation, it had naturally earned its place among the Marine Six Powers after being compiled from the strengths of many schools. It was not only a technique that enhanced perception and flexibility to evade enemy attacks, but also the best method for practitioners to fully understand the state of their own bodies! To master the ultimate secret of Life Return, control over one's body was self-evidently vital, and Kami-e accounted for a great deal of it!

The only example was Rob Lucci's Kami-e Bushin. Altering his body shape, reducing expenditure and power while concentrating on boosting agility, was a wonderful application of combining mastered Kami-e with Life Return.

A man needed to be able to bend and stretch, be soft and hard. Being rigid all the time would only make one easier to break.

The same applied to training.

"Mm, I understand..."

Zephyr nodded and took out a form. "Then sign this."

I have to sign something too??

The year-end assessment reward had not required this much trouble!

Full of questions, Ron picked up the form and looked it over. It had been issued under Fleet Admiral Sengoku's signature. Its clauses listed the reasons and process by which Ron had earned the right to learn the Marine Six Powers. At the bottom were supporting materials provided by the Science Unit, seals, and the signatures of Zephyr and Kizaru. Only his own signature as the person involved was missing.

Since when did the Navy need this process?

Ron could not figure it out, but if Zephyr wanted him to sign, then he would sign. It was not as though they could sell him to the Celestial Dragons as a slave, right?

Under the watchful gazes of Zephyr and Garp, who both seemed unusually nervous, Ron signed his name. Before he could even set down the pen, he suddenly noticed the two old men let out sighs of relief.

Oh no!

Before Ron could react, Garp suddenly burst into laughter. "Puhahaha! You want to learn Kami-e?! No problem! For the next month, I'll teach you properly."

Ron: "W... T... F?"

He looked at Zephyr in shock, only to find that Zephyr would not even look at him. Instead, he nodded and said, "Vice Admiral Garp's mastery of the Marine Six Powers is unmatched. He is the strongest in several hundred years! I'm very relieved to have him teaching you... Remember, Ron, never slack off in your training. You still have a long road ahead of you!"

Is that really the point?!

Look me in the eyes when you say that!

You really sold me out, you bastard?!

Wait, there was something fishy about that signature!

Ron instantly came to his senses and reached for the form. But Garp was quicker. Coating himself in Armament Haki, he seized Ron in one move and dragged him toward the door.

"Hahahaha! You can't escape! Come with me, Ron!"

Seeing Zephyr tuck the form into his undershirt, protected by a thick layer of Armament Haki, Ron dispersed into lightning in grief and indignation, hooking his fingers around the doorframe. He tried to struggle, but Garp's monstrous strength was too much. Garp snapped the wooden frame apart and dragged him straight outside.

"No!!!"

Once Ron had disappeared from view, Zephyr sighed. He took the form from his chest and kneaded it twice, and one sheet of paper immediately became two.

The top sheet was indeed an explanation of Ron's right to learn the Marine Six Powers. Its general meaning was that he had helped the Navy complete the Lightning Stimulation Instrument, exchanging his contribution for the reward, and that Zephyr would be responsible for teaching him, thus fulfilling the promise. The sheet beneath it, however, was one of the procedures required for Ron to officially join the Navy—a recruit file... one that would only take effect two months later.

"Sigh! Even the Five Elders have tacitly approved it, so why does an Affiliated Nation have to jump out and make trouble? I'm doing this for your own good, Ron."

Sitting in his top-floor office, Zephyr gazed toward the distant harbor. There, Garp's Doghead Warship had been waiting for a long time, ready to depart at any moment.