As a Marine Admiral, Zephyr's combat strength was beyond question. Even if the pirate targets of the Training Camp's live-combat internships were close to the New World, they were still in Paradise. It was already difficult enough to encounter anyone with a bounty over a hundred million.
Zephyr alone could wipe out several pirate crews worth tens of millions!
But as a Training Camp instructor, Zephyr could not do that. Otherwise, what would be the point of the internship? Zephyr's presence was only the final safeguard. He could only step in when a major incident threatened the lives of most of the trainees.
Only by truly facing life and death could the Training Camp's live-combat internships have meaning. And just as Zephyr had said, even with a Marine Admiral holding the line, team battles would inevitably result in severe injuries or disabilities that made trainees unable to continue serving in combat positions.
Now, Wright's appearance had directly eliminated that possibility.
Not long after the Trainee Warship set sail, it encountered a pirate crew—the Butcher Pirates. Their captain, "Great Blade Butcher" Hobert Fergus, had a bounty as high as fifty-eight million! A fifty-eight-million bounty at this time was comparable to nearly a hundred million more than a decade later!
Hobert Fergus was a pirate from North Blue who had once been a butcher. He wielded a massive double-bladed axe and was cruel and bloodthirsty, killing people as easily as slaughtering dogs. Most of his subordinates were also wicked men who delighted in murdering and torturing the weak. Because of their excessive brutality, Fergus's immense strength, and the considerable fighting power of several of his officers, they had gained quite a notorious reputation after roaming the Grand Line for over a year.
Zephyr had kept a low profile at Marine Headquarters for years and had gradually become unknown to outsiders over the past few decades, much less a group of pirates who had only arrived on the Grand Line a year ago. At present, there were only three Admiral-level forces universally known at Marine Headquarters: Fleet Admiral Steel Bone Kong, Marine Admiral Buddha Sengoku, and Vice Admiral Hero Garp.
The warship assigned to the live-combat internship was merely of ordinary specifications. In the pirates' eyes, at most there would be a Marine Headquarters Lieutenant Commander stationed aboard. They could take them head-on!
Thus, the pirates met a tragic end.
There were more than fifty Training Camp trainees, with an average combat strength at the level of a Marine Headquarters Lieutenant. The nine elite trainees had each mastered varying numbers of the Six Powers' secret techniques, and there were even two Devil Fruit users among them.
With such a lineup, even though the Butcher Pirates had more than two hundred men, they were still doomed to be annihilated.
Their captain, "Great Blade Butcher" Hobert Fergus, was held back by Smoker. Fergus had not mastered Haki, so facing a Logia user was practically hopeless. Smoker restrained him completely. Fergus was merely tough and durable enough to withstand a beating; his defeat was only a matter of time.
Rosinante once again demonstrated the team-fighting skills he had shown during the Elite Test. He used his ability to disrupt the enemy's senses and increase his allies' efficiency in killing enemies. He was a qualified support.
Zephyr and Gumir observed the trainees' battle conditions. With Wright as an extra layer of insurance, they did not even need to move from where they stood; Observation Haki was enough.
"Ah!" A Training Camp trainee was surrounded by two pirates. His leg was slashed, and he fell to the ground. Seeing the pirates pounce on him while his injured leg could not exert enough strength to let him stand, he could not help thinking, My life ends here!
Whoosh—
A streak of golden light flashed past. His powerless leg was suddenly filled with strength again. At the critical moment, he forced himself aside and dodged the pirates' pincer attack. While they were stunned, he countered with a punch that sent one flying. Only then did he discover that he could not even find the wound on his leg. If not for his torn pant leg, it would have seemed as though he had never been cut at all!
Another Training Camp trainee desperately killed five pirates, but he himself was severely injured. Blood poured from his abdomen, and he could barely stand. As more pirates rushed at him, he could only close his eyes and await death. Yet he suddenly felt a wave of warmth. Opening his eyes, he saw that his abdomen had stopped bleeding, and even the scar was gone... Not only that, his utterly depleted stamina was recovering as well. Without time to think further, he immediately raised his blade to meet the enemy...
Wright remained in the rear, using his powerful Observation Haki to monitor the entire battlefield. Whenever he saw someone approaching certain death or a severe injury, he would directly cast a Holy Light Spell to avert the danger.
A true gold-tier support!
Ah, this was that familiar whack-a-mole feeling again!
Wright thought boredly. He wanted to yawn, but felt too embarrassed to ruin the intense atmosphere of the battle, so he held it in. His expression became rather strange.
With Wright's support, the trainees dealt with the Butcher Pirates' crew with almost zero casualties. Several pirate officers were jointly taken down by the trainees who had freed up their hands. Of the entire Butcher Pirates, only their captain, "Great Blade Butcher" Hobert Fergus, remained, still clashing with Smoker.
"The Smoke-Smoke Fruit really is a little too weak before learning Haki. That jitte also has limited killing power against a target with such thick skin and tough flesh." Seeing the other trainees gathering around Smoker and Fergus's battlefield, Wright frowned slightly but said nothing.
Soon, the scene Wright had expected appeared. Fergus had no Haki, so his giant axe could not hit Smoker's real body at all, while he himself was repeatedly struck by Smoker. Already at his limit, he noticed the trainees gathered around the battlefield—his pirate crew was finished!
Once Fergus realized this, he knew he had hit an iron wall today. This group was not made up of ordinary Marines!
Instantly enraged, with the mindset of dragging someone down with him even in death, Fergus abruptly ignored the Logia user entangling him. He swung his giant axe fiercely and attacked the "spectators"!
The elite trainees, all of whom had mastered Soru, naturally dodged with ease. But among the ordinary trainees were a few unlucky ones. Perhaps they believed the overall situation had been settled and relaxed their guard. With one sweep of the giant axe, some had their abdomens sliced open, some had their arms severed, and some were sent flying and collapsed without rising again...
"They really do lack actual combat experience. They can make such basic mistakes? Haven't they ever heard that bystanders can die too..." Wright could not help silently complaining.
When he turned and saw Zephyr's questioning gaze, Wright nodded and slowly walked forward. He first cast a Holy Light Spell on the trainee lying motionless and the one whose abdomen had been sliced open and was already near death. Then he called to the others, "Don't just stand there. Carry the injured over here, and bring the severed arms on the ground too."
Over there, Smoker felt that the damned pirate had thoroughly slapped him in the face, and he instantly flew into a rage. With several full-force strikes, he knocked Fergus unconscious. Here, the two trainees Wright had healed with Holy Light Spells had already recovered. They were only short of falling to their knees and worshipping him...
The other trainees had already suspected something, and now their suspicions were naturally confirmed. The injuries that had seemed to vanish during battle had been healed this way. They had originally thought Wright was merely here to watch. When Instructor Zephyr boarded the ship, he had said that Wright would not personally kill enemies, and they had almost forgotten that he possessed such an extraordinary skill. He was a golden thigh indeed!
"Secure the arm back in its original position..." Wright directed the others to fix the severed arm of the trainee in place. One Holy Light Spell after another, followed by Eternal Fire, and before long, the arm was restored as good as new.
Even Zephyr, who knew about Wright's ability, was greatly astonished, much less the other trainees—
If not for Wright, in today's battle, these severely inexperienced trainees would have had at least half of their number injured. Even with Zephyr's rescue, at least several would have suffered severe injuries beyond recovery!
He truly deserved to call himself a "gold-tier support"!
Before you continue