"..."
Louis's gaze abruptly sharpened, and cold sweat soaked the back of his shirt.
Crack!!
Wade's hand suddenly tightened on Dylan's shoulder. Dylan's expression changed, as though Wade had crushed his bones, but the usually perceptive Wade seemed completely unaware. His eyes swept over the surrounding instructors, his brows furrowed, and his muscles began trembling slightly. He was warming up.
After his initial alarm, Louis immediately calmed down again. He had dared to reveal that he knew Life Return, of course, not because he actually had a death wish.
He really was a genius. Everything about him was true, and he was not afraid of an investigation.
"But it's a bit of a shame."
The Instructor sighed. "The Navy has produced three monsters. Their future is secured for the next twenty or thirty years, while we in CP have fallen a little behind."
Louis naturally knew who the Navy's three monsters were. Before long, the Navy would enter its golden age. The three monsters, red, blue, and yellow, had already begun making names for themselves. The three veterans, Sengoku, Garp, and Zephyr, were in their prime, with Momousagi and Chaton following close behind. Such an explosive concentration of fighting strength was unprecedented in the Navy's history. The next time the Navy's combat strength reached a new high would be under Akainu's leadership.
Of course, it would not do much good. The seas would remain just as chaotic as ever.
"So, Louis, tell me."
The Instructor stared straight at Louis, looking into his eyes. "Are you really a genius?"
"Yes."
Louis nodded without hesitation. "I believe I've demonstrated my talent thoroughly enough over this past year of training."
Although he was young, Louis unquestionably learned faster than anyone else in the entire training camp. He had been the first to learn the Six Powers, and he was the only one to have developed so many variations on them.
"Indeed. Just as you said, I know your background inside out, and your talent really is exceptional."
The Instructor nodded, a hint of a smile appearing on his face. "It would be such a shame for you to die here. And if you died..."
He glanced at Wade beside him. "Our losses would be even greater. Hah, forget it. Let the people in CP9 worry about this problem."
"Louis, CP9!"
That settled it.
"Yes!!"
Dylan nearly jumped up beside him. His tightly strung nerves relaxed in an instant, and he finally noticed his shoulder in Wade's grip. "Ow! It's going to break! Wade!"
"Oh, sorry."
Wade withdrew his hand with a broad smile. "I didn't realize you were so fragile, Dylan."
"Hey!!"
In any case, the job assignment meeting was over. All the trainees who had finished their training would now head to their posts to make something of their lives. Of course, before officially starting work, they still had induction training.
Finally, the Instructor gave Louis a meaningful stare for a full minute, then smiled in satisfaction, turned, and left. Who knew what he meant by it.
Their lives at South Sea Training Camp had come to an end. Tomorrow, ships would take the trainees assigned to different posts to their respective destinations. In other words, it was time to part.
"Why did you hold back, Louis? That bastard Frank really wanted to kill you, didn't he? Why did you let him off?"
Over their meal, Dylan was very unhappy with what Louis had done. Just now, he had seen Frank being carried to the hospital, covered in blood. At a training camp with such a high casualty rate, a hospital was absolutely essential infrastructure, and its medical expertise was quite advanced. That also meant Frank, who looked like a half-dead dog, would survive.
"Didn't I already tell you?"
Louis ate unhurriedly, swallowing before answering. "CP forbids private fights. Killing is even more strictly forbidden. Following the rules isn't a bad thing."
"So you're just letting him off? Fuck, are you kidding me, Louis?"
Dylan looked ready to lose his mind. "That bastard wanted to kill you!"
"All right, Dylan."
Wade smiled. "Hasn't Frank already been seriously injured?"
"What does that count for? It's just a little injury!"
Dylan clearly could not accept that outcome.
"No, Dylan. That's more than a little injury."
Wade looked at Louis with a smile.
"Huh?"
Dylan looked utterly bewildered.
"Yeah."
Louis nodded. Since Frank was already his enemy, of course he would not let him off so easily. Although Frank was only going to CP8, Louis absolutely did not want to watch that fellow continue to grow stronger. "My final attack pierced his chest. At the same time, I stirred things around inside him a little. Even if he recovers, the damage to his lung function is already beyond repair."
"What does that mean?"
Dylan blinked as he asked.
"It means..."
Louis smiled. "From now on, he'll probably be out of breath after even the slightest exertion."
"Uh-"
Dylan paused, then asked, "So what?"
"Honestly, how did I never notice you were this stupid?"
Wade smiled and gave Dylan a pat. "Think about it. Would the government keep a useless person like that around?"
"-Whoa! You're vicious, you know that?"
Only then did Dylan understand. This counted as killing someone with another's knife. Spies like them knew many of the government's secrets and possessed strong professional skills after systematic training. The government would not let them go free. Louis had crippled Frank. Was the government supposed to support him for the rest of his life for nothing?
"I'm very merciful."
Louis stressed that. Whatever else he had done, he had still spared Frank's life.
"You heartless bastard. Stay away from me from now on!"
Dylan spoke exaggeratedly.
"Don't worry. I'm leaving for CP9 tomorrow. That'll definitely be far enough."
Louis shook his head.
"Uh-"
Dylan choked. Only now did his slow mind register that they were about to part.
"Practice your Tekkai and Kami-e properly. Once you're out of the training camp, there'll be fewer restrictions."
Louis was like a kindly old father giving instructions to his son before his first long journey away from home. "CP5 handles assassinations. Don't go becoming some cannon-fodder assassin. Those two Six Powers techniques will be enough for you."
Dylan was different from Louis and Wade. He had not been given the opportunity to learn the Six Powers.
"If anyone questions how you learned them..."
Wade picked up where he left off. "Just tell them we taught you. I doubt anyone will dare give you trouble."
Even the chief of CP5 might not rank as high as a full member of CP9, let alone CP0.
"I'll teach you the remaining techniques once I learn them."
Louis continued. One advantage of CP9 was access to the complete set of Six Powers, so he did not need to learn from Wade. That was forbidden at the training camp. "You can try Life Return too. In short, make sure you protect yourself. Don't charge out in front on missions, but don't fall to the very back either. The mission comes second. Staying alive comes first."
"Exactly."
Wade nodded.
"Hey! That's enough!"
Dylan slapped the table. "It's one thing for Wade to do it, but Louis, you bastard, are you treating me like your little brother?"
"No."
Louis shook his head.
"At least you know better!"
Dylan gave a couple of smug snorts.
"I just think of you as my son. Isn't it only natural for a father to care about his son?"
Louis smiled.
"You bastard!"
Dylan jumped over the table, trying to tear Louis's mouth apart.
In any case, until their next reunion, the three of them were about to part.