Revisiting the Training Camp

After the confidential meeting ended, Wright ignored Garp's invitation to have tea and senbei in Sengoku's office and went to visit Zephyr instead—after the previous meeting, he had been dragged off to do hard labor and had not had time to visit Zephyr yet.

It was the training period for the new class of the New Marine Recruit Camp, and Wright watched his junior brothers and sisters endure their grueling training with satisfaction.

Compared to your senior brother here, what you're going through is nothing...

"Teacher Zephyr, it's been over two years, and you're still as vigorous as ever!" Wright wore a well-fitted black suit, a white shirt, and black leather shoes, yet paired them with a blindingly bright orange tie. With a pristine Justice Coat trimmed in orange draped over his shoulders, he exuded a uniquely distinctive style.

"Word is you made brigadier general already. Nicely done, kid!" Zephyr was exceptionally well informed. Wright himself had only learned about his promotion to brigadier general that morning...

Zephyr said no more, but judging by his expression, he likely knew why Wright had been promoted so quickly. In that case, Zephyr should naturally be one of "us"?

At least for now.

"Ahahaha, that's nothing in front of you, Teacher." Wright said "modestly," and Zephyr could not help but feel both amused and exasperated as he watched the corners of Wright's mouth nearly reach his ears.

"You came at just the right time. Ever since your class, this old man has never had such an easy time training recruits."

Zephyr tapped his forehead, and even his usual stern expression was starting to crack. "I keep getting the illusion that 'they can still train.' Your healing ability truly is an incredible tool for training."

"Teacher Zephyr wanted to invite you to be an assistant instructor back then." Brigadier General Shuzo, whose face had grown even darker over the two years since they had last met, spoke from the side. "But he did not bring it up because he did not want to delay your development. With your help, these youngsters' foundations would surely be even more solid."

"Shuzo!" Zephyr shook his head. "At first, this old man did have that thought. But Wright's later growth convinced me that his foremost priority was to grow stronger and become a top-tier powerhouse—wasting his energy elsewhere would be more loss than gain."

"Putting him in the Training Camp as an assistant instructor would be wasting his talent. It would be snuffing out a future top-tier powerhouse. This old man would not do something so foolish."

"Besides, Wright's contributions go beyond that... Combined Assault Formation training has already become one of the Training Camp's foundational programs. All sorts of advanced coordination techniques have been continuously developed, but the essence of it all remains the core concept Wright proposed back then: 'combined assaults.'"

"Over these past few years, the Combined Assault Formation has made the trainees value collective strength more than before. Even for officers with exceptional individual combat strength, such a mindset is essential. During the practical combat internships these past few years, quite a few astonishing records have emerged."

"Hehehe, Teacher Zephyr, you're embarrassing me with all that praise!" Wright's face was practically tilting skyward from his grin. Shuzo quietly snarked from the side, "Can this guy... really become a top-tier powerhouse?"

After cackling for a while, Wright came back to himself. "But Teacher Zephyr, training takes up too much time, so there's not much I can help with. But when it comes to practical combat internships, if I don't have a mission, I can take part and assist."

Zephyr smiled and nodded. "It's enough that you have the intention. Now that you've been promoted to brigadier general, you're also a flag officer. You'll have more opportunities to lead teams on missions yourself. This old man will oversee the practical combat internships, and with the Combined Assault Formation, you need not worry about that. Focusing on growing stronger is what you need to do now."

"...All right. If anything comes up, just call my Den Den Mushi anytime. Old Man Garp is easy enough to deal with!" Seeing that Zephyr insisted, Wright could only say, "Then, since I'm here now, let's give these junior brothers and sisters some extra training!"

Zephyr shook his head, though he did not stop him. "These youngsters will probably grow to like this feeling... The trainees from your class never got to enjoy it as a group. Shuzo, cooperate with Wright."

"Yes, Teacher!"

After letting the junior brothers and sisters of the new Training Camp class thoroughly experience the unprecedented ordeal that only Smoker and Rosinante had ever endured—"dying from exhaustion, coming back to life, then dying from exhaustion and coming back to life again, over and over"—Wright bid Zephyr and Shuzo farewell in high spirits.

There were a few promising recruits in this Training Camp class, including one Devil Fruit user: a beautiful girl with long pink hair, Lieutenant Hina. Too bad that smoking freak Smoker was not around. She had joined the Marines in the same year as Smoker, but because she was younger, she entered the Training Camp a few classes later. Her strength was no less remarkable. Her smoking habit could not possibly be like Rosinante's, could it? Did she also get led astray by that smoking freak?

Come to think of it... Rosinante had said he would undergo one year of closed training, but more than two years had passed without any sign of him. He should have... gone on a secret mission?

Since returning to Headquarters, Wright had been the young officer people discussed most often... Even that smoking freak had been mentioned, yet no one ever brought up Rosinante, whose results back then had been no worse than Smoker's.

Basically, none of the younger trainees at the Training Camp failed to recognize him... Some had even applied right in front of him to be transferred to G3 Branch after graduation to serve under him! Heh. Was G3 Branch really that easy to get into?

The plot was slowly unfolding. As someone who hoped for World Peace, Wright absolutely could not ignore the immense dark threat still in its lurking stage—Donquixote Doflamingo, Donquixote Rosinante's older brother!

This former Celestial Dragon was a man with charisma off the charts—none of his "family members" had ever betrayed him, and every one of them was willing to die for him. Yet his only blood relative, his younger brother Rosinante, had betrayed him instead.

This man was too complex, so complex that no one knew what he truly thought. Yet he was also too real: he committed every evil imaginable, but never concealed it—the true embodiment of evil!

Letting someone destined to become an embodiment of darkness run free would undoubtedly be a massive hidden danger. This guy was an obstacle that could not be bypassed, someone destined to affect the balance of the world!

But Wright was not powerful enough yet. He did not yet have the means to influence the course of the world. How could he add even a little more to his odds against the darkness?

Meeting Rosinante might have been a coincidence, or perhaps it had been inevitable—the breakthrough lay with Rosinante! Rosinante was the final shackle restraining Doflamingo. Once he died, Doflamingo would have no more reservations and would completely unleash himself—so Rosinante absolutely could not die!

Hopefully, Old Man Sengoku would realize the significance of the Lightforged Pointing Crystal in time... He would definitely think of it!

But that guy was far away in North Blue. As a brigadier general, Wright normally would not be sent to the Four Seas without special circumstances. It seemed he needed a skill for long-distance dashes.

As he headed toward Sengoku's admiral office, he heard Sengoku's roar from far away, beginning with the familiar phrase everyone knew: "Damn it, Garp!"...

Wright could not help shaking his head with a smile. Those two old men...

Right, there was also someone else he cared deeply about... It seemed he needed to write a letter.

As the core power of this work, I will do my best to expand the Holy Light Power along reasonable lines, including but not limited to WoW skills... After all, Ai-chan's skills have already been changed through several rounds!