Azure Chicken

"Who are you?"

Noah felt a rare flash of indignation. With a sharp swish, he pointed his bamboo sword menacingly at the top of the wall. "Squatting up there at the crack of dawn and suddenly speaking out of nowhere—do you have any idea how terrifying that is?"

"Oh, my apologies."

The guy scratched his messy hair. "I accidentally fell asleep. I just woke up and didn't think it through. It was rude of me."

"Your attitude is sincere enough, so fine, I'll forgive you this once."

Noah lowered his bamboo sword, eyeing the guy suspiciously. "Just woke up? Don't tell me you slept on that wall all night?"

"Well, not the whole night, I suppose."

The man yawned again and muttered, "I didn't get back to headquarters until after three in the morning. I was too tired to find my way home, so I just found a spot to rest."

What a weirdo.

"Well, it's light out now, so please, hurry home."

Noah was speechless for a moment and pointed toward the exit of the training ground. "I don't like having strangers watching when I'm practicing my swordsmanship."

"Understandable."

As the guy hopped down from the wall, he stretched and asked, "I'm off then. Oh, by the way, at this hour, where would Instructor Zephyr usually be?"

"He shouldn't have been up for long, so he's probably at the mess hall. Wait, are you also one of Instructor Zephyr's..."

Noah watched the man emerge from the thick fog, his words trailing off as he froze in surprise.

"Mr. Kuzan?"

The man who stepped out of the mist wore a black coat and a purple bandana embroidered with the Marine scales. Beneath his messy black curls, his face looked incredibly familiar.

—He was none other than the man who would become one of the three Marine Admirals, Aokiji.

Of course, he didn't yet hold the title of Admiral "Aokiji." At twenty-eight years old, Kuzan was still young and currently serving as a Vice Admiral at headquarters.

"Ara ara, you recognized me?"

Kuzan looked at Noah with some surprise and couldn't help but scratch his head. "To be recognized at a glance by a junior in the recruit camp who hasn't even graduated yet... it seems my time these past few years wasn't wasted. I've actually made a name for myself."

His demeanor remained easygoing, but now that Noah knew his identity, it would be rude to maintain his previous attitude.

"You're too modest, Mr. Kuzan."

Noah stood at attention, gave Kuzan a standard Marine salute, and then said solemnly, "Instructor Zephyr considers you his pride. He has used you as an example to educate and motivate us many times."

"Pride, huh..."

Kuzan repeated the word under his breath. For some reason, images he had buried deep in his memory began to resurface like a carousel after several months of silence.

The refugee ship exploding in cannon fire, Sakazuki's cold profile, the wailing of civilians, the desperate gaze of a black-haired girl...

And the "Dereshishishi" laughter of his late friend seemed to echo in his mind once more.

"I'm hardly an example."

His mood suddenly dipped, and he lost the desire to chat. He glanced at the confused Noah, sighed, and waved a hand. "...Thanks for the directions. We'll talk next time."

After dropping those words, Kuzan walked away from the training ground on his own, his back disappearing into the thick fog and fading from Noah's sight.

Judging by the direction, he was clearly heading straight to the mess hall to find Zephyr.

"What's up with that guy..."

Watching Kuzan's retreating figure, Noah felt a bit bewildered. This didn't seem like his usual temperament. He had been pleasantly surprised to run into such an incredible senior and had hoped to chat a bit more.

Unable to make sense of it, he decided not to dwell on it. He shook his head, picked up his bamboo sword, and refocused on his training.

He started with his usual routine: standard "suburi" swings at a frequency of one every two seconds, continuing non-stop for half an hour.

After a short break to stretch his aching wrists, he picked up a second bamboo sword and practiced his dual-wielding techniques.

"Dual-Wielding."

This was one of the few skills Noah had possessed at a beginner level before obtaining the system. Having practiced swordsmanship for over a decade since childhood, he had mastered the basics of dual-wielding to perfection.

In terms of pure fundamentals, he was among the best in the entire elite camp, not inferior to any of his peers.

His choice of dual-wielding might have been influenced by his father, Captain Romanov, who was an excellent dual-wielding swordsman.

But truthfully, Noah felt he had been poisoned by the manga he read in his past life, where the idea that dual-wielding was the pinnacle of cool and style was deeply ingrained in his mind.

Aoshi Shinomori, Shunsui Kyoraku, Musashi Miyamoto... even Levi and Kirito were living examples.

"Hoo..."

After repeating the techniques several times, his stamina was significantly drained. Noah panted, his gaze clearing as he snapped out of his focused state.

Looking at the battered, deformed bamboo sword in his hand, he scratched his head, estimating that at this rate of wear and tear, he would need a replacement in a few days.

Come to think of it, in less than a year at the headquarters recruit camp, he had already gone through twenty or thirty bamboo swords just from his own training.

"I wonder if I can pull a famous sword or blade from the system shop..."

Noah thought to himself as he packed his jacket and headed toward the mess hall.

"If I could, how many points would it take to redeem a sword of the 'Grade' quality?"

He hoped it wouldn't be too expensive; otherwise, he might as well wait until after graduation and seize one for himself.

Just as Noah finished his morning swordsmanship training and was heading toward the cafeteria.

Located in the northeast corner of the Elite Camp, inside a spacious office, Zephyr, the Chief Instructor in charge of the entire Headquarters Recruit Camp, also met with the prized student who had come specifically to visit him.

"Sherry from the Orpho Kingdom in the North Blue?"

Zephyr took the two bottles of wine from the hands of Aokiji, examined the "Sherr" label engraved on them, and his eyes lit up as he grinned:

"I love it! I'll accept this gift; as expected, you're the one who understands my tastes best, Kuzan!"

"I'm glad you like it, Teacher."

Seeing his long-lost mentor, the gloomy mood that had been hanging over Aokiji eased slightly, and he forced a smile, saying softly:

"I seized these from a pirate crew at the beginning of the year. I got half a case in total, and they're all fine vintages aged over twenty years. If there's another chance, I'll definitely bring them all for you to enjoy to your heart's content."

"It's a deal!"

Zephyr laughed heartily, but once he had tucked the two bottles of sherry away and sat back down behind his desk, his expression gradually turned serious.

"You haven't been back to Headquarters for nearly half a year, have you? Sengoku clearly issued orders for you to return earlier, but you made excuses about having business and drifted all around the Four Blues..."

Looking at Aokiji across from him, Zephyr suddenly sighed, "Have you still not moved on from that incident?"