The Power of Companions

"That old geezer Garp sure knows how to enjoy himself."

Under Leon's resentful gaze, Zephyr plopped down onto the lounge chair Leon had just laid out on the deck.

"Garp's getting stingier by the day. Last time you mentioned that... royal nectar wine or whatever."

"I went to ask him for some, and the old man insisted he didn't have any!"

Maybe there was some magic in that chair, because once Zephyr sat down, his mannerisms started looking a lot like Garp's...

"You got a lot out of this trip, didn't you? I saw plenty about you in the papers."

Zephyr turned his head toward Leon, a teasing grin on his face.

"Everyone's saying you'll soon inherit Garp's title and become the new Hero of the Marines."

"That bird Morgans! Always blowing things out of proportion in the papers!"

Leon cursed those unscrupulous reporters in his mind, flatly denying Zephyr's claim.

Zephyr yawned.

"But you probably won't get a chance to shine on this training trip. Since it's your first time out, it won't last long."

"I brought you along specifically to make you understand that, with your current strength, going solo against those low-tier opponents is fine."

"But sometimes, you need to learn to rely on your comrades."

"Kid Leon, while you've been growing, they've been working twice as hard too..."

Uh...

Leon looked around at the familiar faces beside him. Rosinante was shouting excitedly at a strange fish leaping out of the sea. T Bone, seeing someone standing tired, earnestly offered to let them sit on him. Hina stood with her arms crossed, staring expressionlessly ahead...

Smoker had changed a bit, though—two cigars dangling from his mouth. It seemed his smoking habit had really matured...

Sensing Leon's confusion, Zephyr just smiled and didn't explain.

This training mission was clearly well-prepared by Zephyr. The warship sailed straight through the first half of the Grand Line.

"Report, Instructor Zephyr! Enemy spotted ahead!"

A marine holding a telescope relayed the news. With a single command from Zephyr, the warship raised full sails and sped toward the target.

"What do we do, Captain!?"

"The Marines are too fast! We can't shake them!"

This pirate crew had just plundered an island, never expecting the Marines to catch up so quickly.

Pirates who could survive in the Grand Line naturally had some skill. Seeing escape was impossible, they simply stopped in place, ready to fight.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

As the two ships closed in, a round of cannon fire began as usual.

This pirate crew was well-stocked. Just from the number of shells, they barely matched the Marine warship.

Cannonballs hurtled toward them. Seeing Zephyr completely unruffled, Leon held back from intervening.

He wanted to see how much his peers had grown.

"Hina's Ability!"

"T Bone's sword style!"

Hina and T Bone acted at the same time—one using her Devil Fruit power, the other his signature straight-cut sword technique. Together, they intercepted some of the shells.

Explosions rang out, but some shells still broke through their attacks, about to slam into the warship.

"White Hurricane!"

To Leon's surprise, Smoker turned his entire body into white smoke and shot straight into the air.

The thick smoke blocked all the remaining shells.

"Cough, cough. Surprised?"

Zephyr coughed a bit from the smoke on deck but still smiled at Leon. Too bad Leon's head was wrapped in bandages, making it impossible to tell if he looked shocked.

Leon was indeed a bit surprised. He hadn't expected Smoker to eat the Smoke-Smoke Fruit so quickly.

Guess he won't have to worry about lung cancer from smoking now...

Smoker, now flying through the sky, clearly wasn't done. Trailing thick smoke behind him, he quickly flew over to the enemy pirate ship.

"Cough, cough! I'm choking!"

"I can't breathe!"

"What kind of monster is this!?"

Soon, pirates couldn't stand the secondhand smoke and jumped into the sea in panic.

Having mastered a Logia Devil Fruit, Smoker's strength had skyrocketed. He single-handedly wiped out the entire pirate crew.

"Hmph."

Smoker returned on a cloud of smoke, unable to hide the grin on his face. As he reported to Zephyr, he stole glances at Leon, who had been watching the fight.

Leon watched Smoker fuming with rage, barely holding back his laughter as he forced himself to praise Smoker a few times through a suppressed grin, which only made Smoker feel more embarrassed...

The warship pulled up to the pirate ship, hauling aboard the surviving pirates from both the vessel and the water.

Just then, Rosinante, who had been silently standing beside Leon the whole time, suddenly dashed out, carrying a small case in his hand.

Under Leon's astonished gaze, Rosinante opened the case, pulled out various medical instruments, and began treating the wounded pirates with a surprisingly professional air.

Having realized that his own growth in strength couldn't keep pace with the others, Rosinante had taken a different path—he'd switched careers to become a medic!

"Not bad, Rosinante!"

"Heh heh."

Rosinante, still bandaging a pirate, twisted his head around and flashed a peace sign at Leon with a grin.