Wood, Who Was Mistaken for Scum

Although Loguetown, where Smoker came from, was famous, it was located in the East Blue, known as the Weakest Sea. The average bounty there was around 3 million Berries, so in his eyes, a bounty of 20 million Berries already made someone a big shot.

Yet Wood had been capable of killing a big shot like that all by himself before even entering the Marine Academy!

Wood had been older than Smoker at the time, but surely not by much.

"Tina gets it. That big brother named Wood must be a Devil Fruit user, just like Tina."

Hina was about the same age as Smoker. Smoker had made it into the Marine Academy at that age through determination and ambition, while Hina had done so through her strength.

Or, more precisely, she had relied on the power of the Devil Fruit she possessed.

Though Devil Fruits were said to be powers cursed by the sea, there was no denying that they granted powerful and incredible abilities.

Even a child or an old person with no strength to speak of could potentially become a powerful figure on the sea by eating a Devil Fruit with a strong ability.

Devil Fruits were also rare, and even on the black market, they could fetch hundreds of millions—or even billions—of Berries.

Hina was a Paramecia user who had eaten the Cage-Cage Fruit. She could create steel restraints to bind enemies, make bars to block ships, or even produce iron spears to attack from a distance.

The Cage-Cage Fruit wasn't especially strong, but it wasn't weak, either. After all, the same fruit could produce different levels of power in the hands of different users.

A Devil Fruit's potential and the direction its abilities took depended mainly on its user's ingenuity and imagination.

Still, it had to be said that aside from being unable to swim, Devil Fruit users already had an advantage over most ordinary people from the outset.

Hina was no exception. She was a young girl, and not very old at that, but she was already strong enough to beat most of the people at the Marine Academy with ease.

It was a good thing when Devil Fruit users chose to join the Marines, which was why Hina had become a student here. And because she was one of the few girls at the Marine Academy, she had been assigned to Gion's dormitory.

Wood had defeated a pirate with a bounty of 20 million Berries at such a young age. So Hina naturally assumed that, like her, he was a gifted Devil Fruit user.

But as soon as the girl voiced her guess, Gion beside her shot it down.

"No. There's no way he's a Devil Fruit user. I've seen him go into the water more than once during this past year at the Marine Academy."

The three Marine extras who had beaten Smoker to a pulp were eventually taken away by the disciplinary department. Their fate probably wouldn't be good.

Wood, who didn't want to have much to do with Gion, eventually returned to the dorm with Smoker, looking thoroughly annoyed.

Back in the dorm, Smoker bitterly dabbed medicine on his wounds while gazing curiously at Wood. "You and Senior Gion must be pretty close, right?

"Otherwise, she wouldn't have helped you get into the officer training program, then helped us out just now."

Most of the senior students had left the Marine Academy to report to their respective units, so there weren't many upperclassmen still around.

Of the seniors Smoker had seen so far, there were only Wood and Gion.

Still, in Smoker's eyes, Gion was the true Marine elite: strong and kind. Though she was a woman, she had taken down three Marine extras in a single move, which couldn't help but earn his admiration.

As for Wood, Smoker thought that compared to being a so-called "Marine elite," he seemed more like a "disgrace to the Marines."

Not only had he swindled money from a rookie like Smoker, but when danger struck, he had shoved a newcomer forward to take the fall. He was a scumbag among scumbags.

Smoker still didn't believe a word of the things Senior Gion had said about Wood.

Rather than believe that Wood's scoundrel-like appearance was merely an act, Smoker would sooner believe that this was simply Wood's true personality—or that the Wood from Maple Leaf Island and the Wood here were two entirely different people!

"Me and Gion are close? Don't make me laugh. Didn't you see how she looked like she wanted to take a knife to me earlier?

"As my underling, take my advice: no matter how pretty a Marine woman is, don't get involved with her.

"Especially that Gion. Every time I run into her, something bad happens. If she didn't have so many fans and someone backing her, I'd have pinned her over my knee and given her a beating long ago."

Hearing Wood's words, Smoker could only stay silent and keep rubbing in the medicine. He wanted to respond, but Wood was just full of hot air.

In Smoker's eyes, there was no way Senior Wood could take on Senior Gion, currently the Marine Academy's number one. And the way Wood had acted around her earlier only made his words even less convincing.

Smoker didn't want to flatter Wood against his conscience, but he was also afraid he'd get beaten if he told the truth, so he wisely kept his mouth shut.

There was no fun in bragging alone. Wood had thought taking on an underling would mean someone to listen to his flattery, but Smoker was simply too clueless.

A few days passed. Wood repeatedly tried to submit another graduation application, but, as expected, they were all rejected.

Smoker and the others officially began basic training, while Wood and his group started the so-called advanced training for Marine officers.

Compared to the basic training for Marine cannon fodder, the officer training covered a lot more material.

Command, practical combat, martial arts, swordsmanship, and the Six Styles were all part of the curriculum.

Of course, one person had limited time and energy. Aside from command and practical combat, students at the Marine Academy could choose whether to study martial arts, swordsmanship, or the Six Styles.

Even with something like the Six Styles, not everyone could master all six techniques.

Wood finally understood why he had never seen Zephyr at the Marine Academy before. The reason was simple.

As a Marine Admiral, Zephyr had a certain prestige. Not every Marine was qualified to become his student.

Only the Marine elites who had been kept on to be trained as future Marine officers were qualified to become his students.

At first, there had been thousands of people in Wood's year at the Marine Academy. But now, fewer than a hundred had been kept on.

"Starting today, I'll be your instructor for practical combat. I'll also be teaching you the Six Styles, command, martial arts, and several other subjects. You may call me Teacher Zephyr."