The day after his fight with Garp, Leon had his bandages wrapped anew and, leaning on a pair of crutches, resolutely made his way to the Marine training ground.
"Leon!!!"
At long last, Rosinante was reunited with the Leon he had longed to see. He was so moved that tears nearly filled his eyes.
Without Leon to back him up... and encourage him, Rosinante had relied on his father to get into the Marine Elite Training Camp. Every day, his monstrous fellow trainees beat him down until he was utterly demoralized.
Leon's back. Now I've got someone to share my suffering with...
"Leon, I've missed you so much~"
As soon as break time began, Rosinante—who had been eagerly waiting for this moment—flailed his arms and dashed toward Leon.
Leon was delighted to see a familiar face too. He tossed aside his crutches and opened his arms to greet Rosinante.
"Long time no see, Hina!!!"
Leon went straight past the eager Rosinante, intending to give Hina, who stood beside him, a warm, long-overdue hug between friends.
Hina lit a cigarette and watched Leon silently, her expression stern.
Leon had acted on impulse, and now he realized Hina had no intention of dodging. He could only grit his teeth and press on.
The scene he had imagined never came to pass. Leon's arms passed straight through Hina's body!
A black iron ring appeared out of nowhere and bound Leon firmly in place.
"Huh?"
Watching Leon struggle in vain, Hina slowly exhaled a cloud of smoke.
"Anything that crosses through my body gets bound."
"That's the power of my Cage-Cage Fruit."
"Heh..."
Smoker had watched the whole thing unfold. Looking rather pleased at Leon's predicament, he took out a treasured cigar and savored it.
Rosinante wasn't the least bit upset by the cold shoulder. He immediately turned around and tried to help Leon get the iron ring off.
After several failed attempts, Rosinante could only turn to Hina, who was standing off to the side as if none of this concerned her.
"Hina, you bad woman! Hurry up and undo your power!"
T Bone, who looked like a zombie, was more composed than the others. He merely wore a rather sinister grin as he watched them bicker with amusement.
"Hey! Are you planning to throw a party in my training camp?"
"Admiral Zephyr!"
The whole group straightened up at once and looked solemnly toward Zephyr, who had appeared without anyone noticing.
The iron ring around Leon quietly vanished. Without the slightest hint of embarrassment, Leon addressed Zephyr in a deep voice. "Admiral Zephyr! Chief Petty Officer Leon of Marine Headquarters, reporting for duty!"
"Mm, good."
Zephyr wore a white suit and rimless glasses. He had an imposing air about him as he looked Leon up and down.
"Are your injuries all right?"
Leon immediately tossed aside his crutches and replied loudly, "I'm ready to join the training at any time!"
"Good. Fall in!"
"Yes, sir!"
Zephyr turned and walked away. While the trainees were falling in, Rosinante moved close to Leon and said worriedly, "Leon, the training here is dozens of times harder than it is at the new recruit camp. Can your body handle it?"
"Maybe you should take a few days off and come back once you've healed. I'm sure Instructor Zephyr will understand."
Leon shook his head. "I'll do my best to keep going..."
"But what about you, Rosinante? I hear things aren't going well for you at the Elite Training Camp."
"Ah..."
Rosinante's face fell at once. He let out a long sigh, wanting to confide in Leon but unsure where to begin.
"Rosinante is still working hard!"
T Bone offered some encouragement just in time.
"Especially after he read in the newspaper about Leon facing Bullet alone. Since then, Rosinante has been training late into the night every day..."
Rosinante, sunk in dejection, weakly waved a hand.
What good was hard work? The gap between him and those monsters only kept growing...
"Cheer up, Rosinante."
Leon knew Rosinante well. He patted him on the shoulder.
"You don't want to disappoint your father, do you?"
"If your hard work isn't paying off, that just means you haven't worked hard enough!"
"If you put in ten times, a hundred times, even two hundred times the effort, then one day, the title of 'Hero of the Marines' will be yours, Rosinante!"
"Really, Leon?"
Rosinante's eyes gradually brightened.
He was fired up!
Leon nodded firmly.
Two hundred times the effort.
Leon couldn't guarantee Rosinante would become a Hero of the Marines. After all, Rosinante wasn't Koby...
But at least this would keep Rosinante from being completely helpless when he faced Doflamingo in the future.
Marine Elite Training Camp.
Zephyr folded his arms. His presence loomed over the assembled trainees like a towering mountain. Looking at their neat ranks, he issued his command without wasting a word.
"Begin training!"
At Zephyr's order, shouts rang out across the sky.
Rosinante hadn't been wrong. The training at the Elite Training Camp was far more brutal than at the new recruit camp.
It took only a short while for Leon to spot several Marines injured during sparring. The instructors acting as referees nearby showed no sign of stopping the matches.
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