Did You Take Steroids, Sadaharu?!

The warship's return voyage to Marine Headquarters went smoothly.

They encountered neither ocean storms nor any overconfident Dock-Dock Fruit users. Noah, who had been hoping to snag one last bit of military merit, found this deeply regrettable.

At dusk.

As the warship slowly entered Marineford's harbor, the new recruits gathered on deck looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar fortress building of Marine Headquarters. They exchanged smiles, their faces filled with emotion.

Including the journey there and back, it had been nearly four months.

After being away for so long, they had finally returned!

After disembarking, Zephyr announced on the spot that all his students would get two days off. Normal training would resume on the morning of the day after tomorrow.

Before then, a detailed ranking list would be posted on the training ground walls, publicly revealing everyone's performance rankings during their internship period.

Amid cheers of "Long live Instructor Zephyr!", everyone gradually dispersed.

As Shiryu and Rosinante gathered to discuss how to force Noah into revealing his results early, they suddenly noticed that he had vanished without a trace.

So fast? Where had he gone?

The two froze, then realized it at the same time and curled their lips.

He had probably rushed straight to the training grounds the moment he got back, right? That guy really was still the same as before—a complete training fanatic...

Behind the fortress, in the residential district.

Along the quiet streets, Noah carried a huge string of gifts and headed straight for Vice Admiral Tsuru's residence.

He knew the way quite well and did not need to ask anyone. The reason was simple: when he had been learning Haki, a drunken Zephyr had sent him flying with one punch, and he had landed here.

Hmm, the house looked rather new. It seemed