As he looked at the disciple who made him proudest, Zephyr felt a surge of complicated emotions.
Beyond his lament at the passage of time, there was also a trace of conflicted feeling.
Noah's killing intent was simply too heavy. Back in the day, not to mention the version of himself before retiring to the second line, when he upheld the creed of "no killing," even during his first few years as an instructor, he would certainly have earnestly tried to dissuade this disciple.
But over the past two years, as he watched Noah build his fearsome reputation, achieve exceptional deterrence against pirates, and preserve justice and order as much as possible...
He found that his views had been completely overturned. Without realizing it, his stance toward pirates had become incomparably close to Noah's.
—Perhaps Impel Down did not need to exist at all.
"After being cooped up in Mary Geoise for half a month, you must have been bored to death, right?"
Zephyr set down his teacup and looked at Noah with a smile. "Want to find some fun and kill the boredom?"
"Find some fun?"
Noah was initially confused, but when he saw the meaningful look on Zephyr's face, his expression changed as he understood. "No way, Teacher Zephyr. This is the day the new recruits enter camp. Shouldn't you be going to..."
"Enough nonsense."
Zephyr snorted. "The last time I sparred with someone was years ago. My hands have been itching for a long time, and you brat are always busy. I never see you on normal days. This chance is rare. How could I possibly miss it?"
"...All right."
Since Zephyr had put it that way, Noah could only nod with a bitter smile and agree.
Half an hour later.
On an uninhabited little island