A Big Shot's Private Lessons

After the rookies' chaotic free-for-all team battles, the last nine standing were allowed to join the Elite Squad. Wright took first place, and no one challenged him. Smoker and Rosinante also remained, as expected. After all, no matter how unreliable a Devil Fruit ability might be, at this stage, it was still practically a cheat.

Smoker's Smoke-Smoke Fruit was an invincible defense when virtually none of the trainees had mastered Haki. He only needed to use his fruit ability defensively and conserve his stamina to remain standing until the end without a scratch.

Rosinante's ability appeared useless, but it was a godly technique for ambushes and assassinations. Once Rosinante activated Silent Domain, he simply did not exist to the others' sense of hearing. Moreover, by flexibly controlling the domain's range, he could even mislead the other trainees, throwing their auditory perception into confusion and making them easier to take down.

With the Elite Test over, the Elite Squad was officially formed. Leaving Gumir and Shuzo to oversee the other trainees, Zephyr personally led the ten-man squad to a special training ground.

"This will be your training site for some time to come." Zephyr stopped and introduced the place to the squad. "The grounds here are made of a special alloy developed by Headquarters' Science Laboratory. It is extremely resistant to damage and can basically withstand a full-force attack from a Headquarters colonel."

"Furthermore, the training equipment and instruments here were built to brigadier general standards. Whether you can reach that limit will depend on your own efforts." As he said this, Zephyr's eye twitched. "With certain exceptions."

The squad members wore strange expressions as they secretly glanced at Wright. Wright himself looked utterly confused. What did that mean? My combat strength had reached colonel level? Then how was I supposed to train?

"Ahem!" Zephyr coughed lightly, drawing everyone's attention back, then continued, "The Elite Squad consists of the elite among Headquarters' new generation of elites. Naturally, its training methods will also be the finest among the finest."

"In addition to your usual foundational training, I will invite several active vice admirals to guide your combat training, combat knowledge, and basic military strategy during their rotations. I will personally teach you the Six Powers and oversee your field internship half a year from now. Therefore, from this day onward, you may address me as 'Teacher'!"

This was equivalent to becoming the personal disciples of Marine Admiral Black Arm Zephyr!

"A true elite, a future pillar aiming to become a flag officer, cannot be a mere brute who only knows how to fight. Even Headquarters flag officers of the same rank can differ greatly in combat strength, but those who truly become flag officers will certainly possess their own unique skills, even if those skills are not combat-oriented!"

"And you... Wright." Zephyr turned toward Wright, who stood at the far right, and revealed a malicious smile. "Your combat strength exceeds that of the other nine by far. Even if all nine of them joined forces, they still would not be enough for you."

Wright opened his mouth, just about to modestly say that he absolutely did not harbor such unfriendly, uncooperative thoughts, when Zephyr's demonic voice sounded again. "Therefore, I will personally teach you every course. Prepare to welcome hell!"

"I..."

Three months had passed since Zephyr began personally training Wright.

The other Elite Squad members, including Smoker and Rosinante, had all stubbornly tried Wright's training regimen at some point. They were supposed to be the elite among elites, after all—but the result was that they all lay bedridden for an entire day. If Wright had not healed them a little, they might have been down for three days...

From then on, they completely gave up any thoughts of competing with Wright and shifted their sights to Smoker and Rosinante—especially Smoker, a Logia ability user who specialized in physical combat. His jitte? That strange weapon was merely something Smoker used to compensate for the insufficient attack power caused by his fruit ability lacking Haki support. At his core, he was still a martial artist.

Because of the characteristics of his fruit ability, Rosinante focused on developing infiltration, assassination, intelligence gathering, and military strategy. He was not being developed as a direct assault fighter.

On Wright's side, thanks to the Holy Light Power's formidable recovery ability and its comprehensive enhancement of his physical qualities, he completed every single hell-level training program Zephyr arranged for him in full. Zephyr even personally stepped in to spar with Wright in order to exhaust his power.

Naturally, hell-level training brought explosive growth in strength. Aside from infusing "Ashes" at a fixed time every day, Wright exhausted all of his Holy Light Power during his daily training. During the meditation practice that followed, he could clearly feel both the quality and total amount of his Holy Light Power steadily increasing.

Zephyr was determined to cultivate Wright into a supreme powerhouse capable of influencing the balance of the world. His goal—Marine Admiral! Thus, Zephyr could be said to have poured all his effort into Wright. After all, during the several decades he had taught at the New Marine Recruit Camp, the only elites Zephyr had personally accompanied in full-force training were Sakazuki and Kuzan. As for Borsalino—Zephyr considered himself lucky not to have been angered to death by him...

Zephyr had studied Wright's records. Compared to the extreme Sakazuki, the lazy Borsalino, and Kuzan, who had become slack, Wright undoubtedly aligned more closely with the will of Zephyr, Sengoku, Garp, and Tsuru's faction. Since he still had strength left in him, he might as well nurture another "hope"!

"After three months of training, all of you have progressed to the expected standard." Zephyr looked at the Elite Squad, which had once again assembled all ten members. Today's lesson was for the entire squad. "Your foundational training is basically complete, and your physical qualities have generally met the requirements. Therefore, today I will teach you the Six Powers you have been eagerly awaiting!"

Seeing the excited looks in everyone's eyes, Zephyr removed his Justice Coat. "As a martial art secret that 'surpasses the limits of the human body,' the Six Powers place high demands on physical ability. Forcing yourself to learn them before meeting those requirements will cause irreversible damage to your body."

"The Six Powers consist of Soru, Geppo, Tempest Kick, Iron Body, Paper Drawing, and Finger Pistol. Soru and Geppo focus on mobility, Tempest Kick and Finger Pistol focus on offensive power, while Iron Body and Paper Drawing focus on defense. You may learn all six, or choose several that suit you best to practice."

"Now, I will explain and demonstrate the training methods for the Six Powers..."

Zephyr truly deserved to be a top-tier powerhouse renowned for his supreme martial arts. His understanding and mastery of the Six Powers were both exceptional, unlike most Marine officers, who only learned or specialized in one or two of them. Under Zephyr's demonstrations and explanations, the Elite Squad quickly grasped the training methods and began attempting to practice under his guidance.

Once everyone began practicing, Wright quickly relied on his physical qualities, vastly superior to those of the others, to gain a preliminary grasp of Soru, Tempest Kick, and Paper Drawing. For Wright, techniques such as high-speed movement, aerial suspension, and changing direction were what he lacked most right now. The Holy Light Power's boost to speed still required deeper development, so Soru, which offered high-speed movement and directional changes, and Geppo, which granted aerial suspension, were Wright's first choices for practice.

What would happen once he learned Geppo? A flying healing juggernaut? Hiss... terrifying indeed!