The battles on the training ground had mostly ended, and everyone's eyes were now fixed on the center of the field.
Rosinante and Smoker were still fighting.
The score was roughly nine to one. Smoker had knocked Rosinante down nine times in a single minute.
Yet every time he fell, Rosinante quickly got back to his feet, even though his body had long since reached its limit.
Sengoku, watching from the sidelines, felt his heart tighten. He hadn't expected the kind, somewhat timid boy he remembered to go this far...
Smoker stood in the middle of the field, panting as he watched Rosinante get knocked down and struggle back to his feet yet again.
He absolutely hadn't gone easy on Rosinante, but this was only a sparring match. He couldn't bring himself to hit Rosinante too hard.
What a headache...
Rosinante staggered toward Smoker. Smoker finally made up his mind. After knocking Rosinante down yet again...
He tossed aside the Jitte in his hand, rushed forward, and locked his right arm tightly around Rosinante's neck.
Rosinante still hadn't given up. He struggled fiercely.
"Enough! Rosinante!!!"
Smoker growled, "I don't know what you're holding on for, but I believe everyone here has already acknowledged your resolve."
"Let's end it here, Rosinante!"
"You still have a long future ahead of you..."
The intense feeling of suffocation made Rosinante's vision go dark. At last, his hands fell limp.
In a daze, he saw the figure of the man who had rescued him from blood and fire.
"Father..."
"Did you see..."
"I'll definitely become a proper Marine!"
Rosinante smiled, then lost consciousness.
"The winner—Smoker!"
Leon watched Sengoku clench his fists, struggling to hold back his tears with Garp beside him, and couldn't help shaking his head.
Smoker, Smoker... So what if you're first in the training camp?
The gates of Loguetown were waving you over...
The three-month new recruit training finally came to an end.
Marine Headquarters was remarkably efficient. In just half an hour, the venue for the graduation ceremony had been fully prepared.
Leon sat at the back of the formation, beside Rosinante, who had been bandaged up into the same mummy-like appearance as him.
Marine Admiral Sengoku had changed somewhere and now stood on the podium in his Coat of Justice, radiating authority.
"Today, I am honored..."
Right! This was exactly the feeling!
The moment Sengoku began speaking, Leon felt as if he were back in his past life, listening to some leader give a speech on the school athletic field.
Leon yawned without thinking. Rosinante, on the other hand, listened with great interest, looking proud.
Good thing I'm injured. At least I can sit.
Leon simply closed his eyes, leaned his head back, and drifted in and out of sleep.
"Three months weren't entirely without their rewards..."
"My physical abilities are still improving. I wonder if I'm stronger than Big Mom was at the same age..."
"My control over my body has improved quite a bit too. I should be able to fully control the nuclear radiation inside me soon. Then I can start developing moves powered by nuclear energy."
"If only I could go to Mary Geoise again and absorb another round of nuclear energy..."
"I wonder if the Five Elders died in the nuclear explosion. Probably not. Otherwise, the news would definitely have gotten out..."
"And Haki..."
As Sengoku delivered his rousing speech, Leon fell fast asleep.
"Leon... Leon! Wake up, stop sleeping!"
"Huh? What's going on?"
Leon jolted awake and stared at Rosinante, bewildered.
Covered in injuries, Rosinante was still full of energy.
"The ceremony's over! Because of our excellent results, we were selected to join Admiral Zephyr's Elite Training Camp!"
Both of us? Excellent results?
Leon raised a hand perfunctorily.
"Congratulations, congratulations."
Zephyr was going to have so many students anyway. Adding Sengoku's adopted son and Hero Garp's pupil wouldn't make a difference...
Not adding them would make a difference...
Rosinante was deeply impressed that Leon could remain so calm after hearing the news.
After all, the training camp Admiral Zephyr had established was known as "the cradle of Marine officers."
The three Marine Admiral candidates currently serving in the Navy—Akainu, Aokiji, and Kizaru—had all come from Zephyr's training camp.
Anyone who made it in would become at least a Rear Admiral in the future!
Seeing that most people had left, Leon stood up and stretched.
"There shouldn't be anything else. I'm heading back, Rosinante."
Now that the new recruit training was over, Leon and the others no longer had to stay in the dormitories.
Sengoku was already walking this way. The Marine Admiral, famed for his strategic brilliance, had always been suspicious of Leon's identity, so it was best to avoid him.
After three months, Leon returned to Garp's courtyard and saw Garp again for the first time in a long while.
Having learned his lesson last time, the moment Leon saw Garp, he called out, "Long time no see, Teacher Garp!"
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