VIP Course from a Big Shot

Following the subsequent noob-bickering and team battles, the final nine trainees standing earned the right to join the Elite Squad. Wright claimed the first spot as no one dared to challenge him, while Smoker and Rosinante secured their places without any surprises—after all, no matter how unorthodox a devil fruit ability was, it was still a bug at this stage.

Smoker's Smoke-Smoke Fruit was an invincible defense at a time when basically no trainees had mastered Haki. He only needed to use his fruit ability to defend and conserve his stamina to stand unharmed until the end.

As for Rosinante's ability, it seemed useless at first glance, but it was a divine skill for sneak attacks and assassinations. Activating his Silent Domain, Rosinante was completely nonexistent in the auditory perception of others. Not only that, but flexibly controlling the coverage range of his domain could even mislead other trainees, causing chaos in their auditory perception and making them much easier to be knocked down.

The Elite Test concluded, and the Elite Squad was officially formed. Leaving Gumir and Shuzo behind to lead the other trainees temporarily, Zephyr personally led the ten-member squad toward a special training ground.

"This is your training ground for the foreseeable future." Zephyr stood still and introduced to the squad, "The material of this ground is a special alloy developed by the headquarters' Science Laboratory. Its resistance to destruction is extremely strong, and it can basically withstand the full-power attacks of a headquarters colonel."

"In addition, the training equipment and instruments here are all built to the strength level of a brigadier general. Whether you can reach this upper limit depends entirely on your personal efforts." Reaching this point, Zephyr couldn't help but twitch the corner of his eye. "Except for certain individuals."

The squad trainees wore strange expressions, casting subtle glances at Wright, while Wright himself wore a blank look—what does that mean? My combat power has reached the colonel level? Then how should I train?

"Cough!" Zephyr gave a light cough to pull everyone's attention back and continued, "The Elite Squad is the elite of the headquarters' new generation, so the training method must naturally be among the elite of the elite."

"Aside from your regular basic training, I will invite several current vice admirals during their rotation times to guide your actual combat training, battle knowledge, and basic military strategy. As for myself, I will personally teach you the 'Six Powers' and prepare you for the actual combat internship half a year from now. Therefore, from now on, you may address me as 'teacher'!"

This was equivalent to becoming the direct disciple of Marine Admiral Black Arm Zephyr!

"True elites, the future backbone aiming for flag officer ranks, cannot be mere brawlers who only know how to fight. Even among flag officers of the same rank, there are considerable gaps in combat power, but those who truly become flag officers inevitably possess their own unique ultimate techniques, even if they aren't focused on direct combat!"

"And you... Wright." Zephyr turned his head to look at Wright standing on the far right, revealing a mischievous smile. "Your combat power already far exceeds the other nine. The nine of them combined aren't enough for you to beat."

Wright opened his mouth, just wanting to express some modesty to show he absolutely lacked any such uncomradely and unbrotherly thoughts, when Zephyr's devil-like voice rang out again: "Therefore, I will personally teach you all the courses. Prepare to welcome hell!"

"I..."

This was already three months after Zephyr personally began tutoring Wright.

The other Elite Squad members, including Smoker and Rosinante, had all tried refusing to accept reality by attempting Wright's training volume—since they were elites among elites, right? The result was that they all collapsed and lay in bed for a whole day. If Wright hadn't healed them, they might have been bedridden for three days...

From then on, they completely extinguished any thoughts of competing with Wright, shifting their targets toward Smoker and Rosinante instead—especially Smoker, a Logia ability user who specialized in physical combat. His jitte? That niche weapon was only used by Smoker to make up for his lack of attack power caused by his fruit ability lacking Haki coordination. When it all came down to it, he still specialized in physical techniques.

As for Rosinante, due to the characteristics of his own fruit ability, he focused on developing skills in infiltration, assassination, intelligence, and military strategy, and was not developed as a heavy-assault fighter.

On Wright's side, thanks to the powerful recovery ability brought by the Holy Light Power and the all-around enhancement to his physical fitness, all the hell-grade training items arranged by Zephyr for him were completed in full. Zephyr even personally stepped into the arena to spar with Wright just to exhaust his abilities.

The training of hell-grade intensity naturally brought about a rapid leap in strength. Aside from the fixed daily infusion into the "Ashes," Wright's Holy Light Power was completely exhausted during daily training. During the meditation and cultivation that followed, Wright could clearly feel that both the quality and total volume of his Holy Light Power were growing steadily.

Zephyr was determined to cultivate Wright into a peak powerhouse capable of influencing the world's landscape, setting his sights on the goal of becoming a headquarters admiral! Therefore, Zephyr poured all his efforts into Wright—it must be known that even during the decades he spent teaching at the Marine Recruit Camp, the only elites Zephyr had personally sparred with at full strength were Sakazuki and Kuzan. As for Borsalino—it was already a miracle Zephyr hadn't been angered to death by him...

Zephyr had studied Wright's profile. Compared to the extreme Sakazuki, the slack-off Borsalino, and the grown-indolent Kuzan, Wright undoubtedly aligned much closer to the will of Zephyr's faction with Sengoku, Garp, and Tsuru. Since he still had lingering strength, he might as well cultivate another "hope"!

"After three months of training, your progress has all reached the scheduled standards." Zephyr looked at the ten-member Elite Squad assembled once again. Today's lesson was instruction geared toward the entire squad. "Your basic training is basically complete, and your various physical qualities basically meet the standards. Therefore, today I will teach you the long-awaited 'Six Powers'!"

Looking at everyone's excited expressions, Zephyr took off his Justice Coat. "As martial arts mysteries that 'surpass human limits,' the Six Powers have very high requirements for physical fitness. Forcibly learning them without meeting the physical fitness standards will cause irreversible damage to the body."

"The Six Powers are divided into Soru, Geppo, Tempest Kick, Iron Body, Paper Drawing, and Finger Pistol. Among them, Soru and Geppo focus on mobility, Tempest Kick and Finger Pistol focus on attack power, and Iron Body and Paper Drawing focus on defense. You can learn all six powers, or choose a few that suit you best for cultivation."

"Next, I will explain and demonstrate the cultivation methods of the Six Powers for you..."

Zephyr truly lived up to being a top-tier powerhouse achieved through top-tier physical techniques, and his understanding and cultivation of the Six Powers were top-tier, rather than merely studying or specializing in just one or two techniques like most marine officers. Under Zephyr's demonstration and explanation, the Elite Squad quickly grasped the cultivation methods and began attempting to practice them under Zephyr's guidance.

Once everyone began attempting cultivation, Wright quickly relied on his powerful physical fitness—which vastly exceeded everyone else's—to initially master "Soru," "Tempest Kick," and "Paper Drawing." For Wright, high-speed movement, mid-air hovering, and turning skills were what he currently lacked most. The Holy Light Power's enhancement to speed still required deeper development, so "Soru" for high-speed movement and turning, along with "Geppo" for hovering capabilities, were Wright's top choices for cultivation.

What would happen if he learned Geppo? A flying giant healer who can tank and deal damage? Hiss... terrifyingly powerful!