"..."
Aokiji lowered his head slightly and remained silent.
More than four months ago, he had witnessed—and participated in—the massacre that had wiped out Ohara.
The "Burning Justice" that had once blazed like a raging fire in his heart had gradually dimmed after that operation. Even his entire demeanor had slowly shifted from high-spirited determination to laziness.
Zephyr could naturally sense the change in his disciple, but he could not directly offer comfort either. How was he supposed to explain the hidden truth behind that Buster Call? From what position could he even explain it?
Like Aokiji, there were many things he could not stand. But Mary Geoise hung over their heads, and Zephyr had long understood that some things could not be changed by a mere Marine Headquarters vice admiral. Even he, once the youngest Marine admiral, had been powerless to change them.
"...Sigh."
Zephyr let out a long sigh. After a long while, he spoke in a low voice. "There are some things I can't teach you. I only hope that, like when you were still in Recruit Camp, no matter what others do or what those above you do, you can still uphold the justice in your heart..."
"There haven't been many missions at headquarters lately. I suppose you don't have much interest in taking part in any major battles for now, do you?"
He looked at Aokiji, frowned in thought for a moment, and suddenly said, "How about this? The batch of new recruits I'm training is about due for a practical assessment."
"I originally planned to take them out myself, but since you're back, I'll leave this one to you. That way, I can take some time off and rest as well. What do you say?"
"Leave it to me?" Aokiji finally raised his head, looking somewhat startled.
"Ha, that's right!"
Zephyr patted his shoulder and laughed. "Don't overthink it. Just treat it as a chance to take a break and clear your head. Though the amount of leave you've had these past few months has already made a certain someone insanely jealous."
"..."
Aokiji hesitated for a moment. In the end, beneath Zephyr's expectant gaze, he took a deep breath and nodded seriously.
Everyone in the room was intelligent. He could more or less guess Zephyr's good intentions.
—It was simply to let him relax while spending time with these younger recruits. Perhaps, from these children who were filled with passion and enthusiasm for the future, he could rediscover the original resolve that had once driven him to defend justice and climb out of this confused, painful low point.
But...
Aokiji gazed out the window in confusion. The white flag above the Marineford headquarters fortress still fluttered in the wind.
Could this method really work for him now?
In the spacious indoor training ground, over two hundred recruits from the Marine Headquarters elite camp had gathered, divided into groups for hand-to-hand combat training.
It was already nine in the morning, and their regular training had been underway for some time. Zephyr, the chief instructor, had yet to appear, but he had sent someone with unexpected news.
"Tomorrow's assessment has been canceled?"
Noah was paired with Shiryu, sparring with the Six Powers. Hearing the news, he could not help but freeze. "What's going on? Did Instructor Zephyr take leave because something came up?"
"More precisely, it hasn't been canceled. It's been postponed."
With a cigarette between his lips, Shiryu deftly used Soru to evade Noah's incoming bamboo sword slash as he spoke in a low voice.
"When I was eating breakfast this morning, I heard that Instructor Zephyr was discussing something with Admiral Sengoku. It seems he wants to hold a practical assessment to give us recruits some real experience. He's probably been preparing for that these past few days."
"I see."
Noah understood. Their batch had been in camp for nearly a year now, and taking assessments at headquarters every month was getting rather dull. He had indeed found it boring, and it was about time for a practical exercise.
"Any more detailed rumors?" he asked again. "Like which pirate crew the target will be? The New World, or the first half of the Grand Line?"
"I don't know, but you're dreaming if you think it'll be the New World."
Shiryu replied irritably, "No matter how practical it is, it's still only an assessment. With the overall strength of people like us, if we went to the New World on a mission, even with instructors protecting us, serious casualties would be hard to avoid. Instructor Zephyr wouldn't be able to explain that to headquarters."
"It'll probably be a pirate crew from the first half, and the kind that has only recently entered the Grand Line."
Shiryu took a deep drag on his cigarette and gave his opinion. "Though the Four Blues are possible too. There are plenty of suitable targets in those seas. Oh, except for your hometown, East Blue, of course."
Among the Four Blues, East Blue pirates were the least impressive. That was common knowledge throughout the world.
Every other sea had major pirates with bounties of fifty or sixty million Beli causing trouble, but East Blue was the exception. Apparently, the highest bounty there at present was only a little over ten million Beli.
"The truth can really hurt sometimes, Shiryu."
Noah wore a sorrowful expression and spoke gravely. "You really need to work on your personality. Besides, from our Marine perspective, isn't it a good thing that East Blue has no pirates with high bounties?"
Shiryu gave a dry laugh, too lazy to respond. Instead, he casually asked, "Come to think of it, you've seemed really excited about this assessment since this morning, haven't you?"
"You were even a little disappointed when you heard it was canceled. What, are you confident you can move up a few ranks this time?"
"Was I?"
Noah gave an awkward laugh, while inwardly grumbling, How could even this guy tell? Was I really making it that obvious?
Shiryu had guessed correctly. Ever since obtaining the system yesterday, Noah had indeed been eagerly anticipating this assessment.
With the newly mastered Intermediate Kami-e skill and the extra two points of endurance, he might not be able to make a stunning debut and take first place, but breaking into the top twenty should not be much of a problem.
He had been stuck at fiftieth place for ages. It was time to move up!
But plans could never keep up with changes. He had already figured out how to hold back at first and then reveal his strength during the assessment, putting on a perfect act of playing weak before crushing everyone and harvesting the astonished looks of his fellow recruits.
Yet today, this happened instead?
What kind of bullshit was this?!
"Still distracted?"
Just as Noah's mind wandered, a low shout suddenly came from behind his ear.
Shiryu, who had been directly in front of him a second ago, had somehow circled around to his rear right. A Shigan shot straight toward Noah's shoulder.
He had naturally held back on this strike. Even if it landed, it would amount to no more than a flesh wound. But its speed had not slowed in the slightest, and in an instant it had closed in on Noah's skin.
Got him!
Shiryu's gaze remained calm. In his view, Noah had exposed an opening and had no time to react. The next moment, he would be clutching his arm and hopping around in pain.
However.
At the very instant the Shigan was about to hit, Noah's body, with his back still turned, suddenly twisted left at an incredibly strange angle. As if merging with the surrounding airflow, he dodged the strike at the absolute limit.
"Gasp..."
Shiryu immediately sucked in a sharp breath.
His eyesight was excellent. From the subtle sensation of airflow against his fingertip, he could naturally tell that Noah's response was no lucky fluke. It was the result of Kami-e being practiced to an accomplished level.
"Unbelievable. Unbelievable."
When Noah turned around, he found Shiryu looking him up and down as if he were a monster. "Tell me, who are you really? Are you Rossi in disguise? Since when did your Kami-e reach this level?"
Noah fell silent for a long time.
"...I'll say it again, Shiryu. The truth can really hurt like hell sometimes."
Before you continue