Marine Academy's Special Student! (Two-in-One)

Marine Academy's Special Student! (Two-in-One)

Life Return.

It was not one of the Marine Six Styles. In terms of technique, it was somewhat similar to Paper Arts, but fundamentally different.

Paper Arts was a technique that controlled the body's muscles to disperse force, and could be considered a defensive skill.

Life Return, however, was on an entirely different level. If one had to compare them, Life Return was like an advanced version of Paper Arts.

It infused one's consciousness into any part of the body, allowing one to freely control those parts. That was the essence of Life Return.

Its simplest application was using Life Return to control one's hair, allowing it to move freely. Notable examples were the future Marine Headquarters vice admiral Onigumo, as well as Kumadori of CP9.

A slightly more advanced application was controlling one's internal organs. The simplest use was controlling the esophagus, intestines, and stomach, making digestion much easier.

To a certain extent, the world of the Pirate King still followed the law of conservation of energy. Of course, only to a certain extent.

The appetites of the strong were often terrifying. Yet the digestive capabilities of internal organs were limited; they could not possibly digest massive quantities of food. But without massive quantities of food, one could not possess superhuman combat power.

The significance of Life Return was that it connected this broken cycle.

With it, the human body could constantly break through its limits and grow ever stronger!

After learning that Tsugikuni Yoriichi had not learned about Life Return from Garp, Zephyr personally explained the principles and uses of the technique to Yoriichi.

Zephyr had actually been quite surprised when he learned that Yoriichi had not mastered Life Return.

In his view, Tsugikuni Yoriichi had improved at such a terrifying rate even without the support of Life Return. Once Tsugikuni Yoriichi mastered this ability, his future rate of improvement would likely become even more terrifying.

As Zephyr explained, Yoriichi listened intently. Zephyr even used breakfast time to demonstrate what Life Return was.

Through the Transparent World, Yoriichi watched the process of Zephyr using Life Return. After pondering it for a while, he tried it himself.

Still, this sort of body-control ability really could not be learned at a glance.

Yoriichi only mastered it after trying for an entire morning. Yet after Tsugikuni Yoriichi successfully mastered the ability, his appetite did not explosively increase. It merely grew somewhat from its existing level.

But the benefits Life Return brought Yoriichi went far beyond that.

When Tsugikuni Yoriichi used Haki at full force, he could only fight for half an hour at most. Then, for his Haki to recover, it took at least six or seven hours.

But after mastering Life Return, as long as there was enough food, Yoriichi only needed one meal and less than three hours of rest to recover completely.

His recovery speed had directly doubled.

This was simply too important for Yoriichi's training!

That evening, Zephyr returned from the Marine Academy and entered the kitchen, intending to have dinner with Yoriichi. The moment he stepped inside, he saw the empty food storehouse and froze.

He thought his house had been robbed, but then Zephyr suddenly thought of something and hurried to the dojo. Sure enough, he saw Tsugikuni Yoriichi wildly practicing sword techniques inside. Haki coated the bamboo sword, and every swing produced a terrifying sonic boom.

Zephyr also noticed two large bags of trash in one corner of the dojo. Without even thinking, he knew what was inside.

He learned Life Return in a single day?!

What on earth is this kid made of?!

Zephyr cried out inwardly. Without disturbing Tsugikuni Yoriichi's training, he sat by the door and quietly watched him. At that moment, Zephyr noticed that Yoriichi's breathing rhythm while practicing his sword techniques followed a strange pattern. Moreover, with every breath, Zephyr could tell that Yoriichi was exerting himself greatly.

A pained expression occasionally appeared on Yoriichi's face, yet Tsugikuni Yoriichi never stopped.

In a single morning, Tsugikuni Yoriichi had successfully mastered Life Return. After gaining this ability, he could not wait to combine it with his own Haki Breathing Technique.

Sure enough, once he could consciously control his internal organs, it became much easier to gather Armament Haki within them. His new Breathing Technique also became much smoother, and the pain it caused him was greatly reduced.

Now, he could use this Breathing Technique to complete an entire set of Sun Breathing forms.

With the dual support of his Breathing Technique and Life Return, Tsugikuni Yoriichi found it hard to imagine just how terrifyingly strong his physique could become in the future.

"Ha!"

"Yoriichi, your swordsmanship is truly impressive!"

Zephyr watched from the side for a while, waiting until Tsugikuni Yoriichi had finished a full set of Sun Breathing sword forms. Seeing Yoriichi stop, he could not help but praise him.

Yoriichi turned to Zephyr and reported happily, "Teacher Zephyr, I have already mastered Life Return."

Then, Yoriichi continued with a hint of guilt:

"Sorry, I ate all the food in the house."

Zephyr smiled and waved it off, not caring about such a trivial matter at all. Compared to the food being eaten, Tsugikuni Yoriichi mastering Life Return in a single day was what truly shocked him. He did not know that Yoriichi had only taken half a day.

Moreover, Tsugikuni Yoriichi's set of sword forms just now had been exceptionally gorgeous. After all his years in the Marines, Zephyr had never seen a swordsman within the organization wield such fluid, splendid sword techniques.

"If the food is gone, we can just buy more."

"I'm the Marines' chief instructor. You can't eat me poor."

"But you, kid—you've only been back for one day, and you've already given me one surprise after another."

"Not bad! Truly not bad. Just as expected of my disciple."

"Hahahaha!"

After laughing heartily for a while, Zephyr's smile faded. He beckoned Yoriichi over. Once Yoriichi approached, Zephyr's expression became somewhat serious as he said:

"Yoriichi, this afternoon, the Fleet Admiral called me to his office to ask about you."

"He's paying close attention to you!"

"Yoriichi, there is something I need to tell you."

"Of course, the choice is yours. Go if you want to go, don't if you don't. No one will force you."

Zephyr's sudden seriousness caught Yoriichi off guard. Hearing this, Yoriichi realized it was most likely Fleet Admiral Kong's idea. His expression also became serious, and he nodded. "Teacher, please tell me."

"Given your formidable strength, the Fleet Admiral intends to send you into the Marine Academy early."

"Of course, even if you enroll now, you will have to train at the Marine Academy until you come of age."

As Zephyr spoke, his brows could not help but furrow.

Truthfully, he had not wanted Yoriichi to enter the Marine Academy so early. Those lazy old hands would lead young Yoriichi astray.

And Yoriichi was too young. Entering the Marine Academy meant he would sometimes go to sea for practical training as a student. While the frequency was far lower than that of combat units, going to sea was still commonplace. After all, some knowledge could not be taught by books, and being a Marine required more than simply fighting.

When the academy went to sea, the officers leading them were usually rear admirals or vice admirals from headquarters. Only on rare occasions would Zephyr personally lead them out.

Though the Marine Academy was called a school, it could actually be understood as an advancement unit that deployed less often.

Those outstanding young people would fight across the seas alongside their fellow students at the Marine Academy, gaining experience through it.

The Marine Academy had never been an ivory tower.

The main reason Zephyr opposed it was that he felt Yoriichi's safety could not be guaranteed.

Zephyr had confidence in himself and in Garp. If Yoriichi followed him or Garp, there would be no problem at all.

But he truly did not have much confidence in those rear admirals and vice admirals leading the teams.

Every year, quite a few Marine Academy students died in battle.

Only those students who survived could rise further—either being assigned to the Four Blues as officers, or remaining at headquarters with bright futures ahead of them.

At the Marine Academy, risks and opportunities coexisted.

"The Marine Academy?!"

"I can join the Marine Academy?!"

"Teacher Zephyr, what is there to agree or disagree with? Of course I'll join!"

Tsugikuni Yoriichi answered as if it were only natural, without the slightest hesitation. He had learned some things from Aokiji. Though the Marine Academy was called a school, its students all held ranks and were actual members of the military.

The merits accumulated at the Marine Academy could be taken with you upon graduation. Some might enter as sergeants and leave as lieutenant commanders.

Ordinary graduates who trained for two years would be doing quite well if they left as lieutenants. Only the very best could possibly reach field officer rank.

If Tsugikuni Yoriichi entered the Marine Academy at such a young age, then even if he started from the bottom as an ordinary Marine, with his strength and some accumulated merits, by the time he came of age six years later, he would probably graduate as a flag officer.

At eighteen, others would have one year of service. At eighteen, he would have six.

They would not even be starting from the same line!

Of course, Yoriichi was not obsessed with rank. But the things he wanted to do required a sufficiently high position and sufficiently powerful influence. The Marine Academy was an excellent place to build connections.

If he did not want his life to be controlled by others, strength was one factor, position was another, and connections were equally important.

"Yoriichi, you..."

"How about thinking it over some more?"

Zephyr frowned, somewhat displeased. He knew Yoriichi wanted to become stronger and liked going to sea. He was not trying to stop him; Zephyr simply had a safer plan and did not want Yoriichi to take risks.

"Teacher Zephyr, I've already thought it through!"

"I'm grateful for the Fleet Admiral's support. I want to join the Marine Academy!"

"Teacher Zephyr, I know what you're worried about. But when I went to sea with Vice Admiral Garp this time, I saw the Roger Pirates."

"You may not believe it, but there were two children on that pirate crew around my age."

"Vice Admiral Garp said something I agree with: pirates can go to sea, so of course Marines can go to sea too!"

"I've learned so many combat techniques, but in the end, they need to be used on the battlefield. Isn't the battlefield more useful than a training ground?"

Hearing this, Zephyr looked at Yoriichi's young face and found himself speechless.

In the end, Zephyr still could not change Yoriichi's mind. He let out a soft sigh, nodded, and said, "In that case, starting tomorrow, you'll go to the Marine Academy with me."

"Normally, students have to live in the dormitories. But at your age, I don't feel comfortable having you live with those lazy fools."

"In the morning, you'll go with me and attend classes normally. At night, after your training is over, you must come back here to sleep."

"When the students go to sea for training, I'll do my best to lead them myself."

As Zephyr spoke, he rose to his feet, his words filled with concern. Yoriichi could only give Zephyr a slight bow. He could feel Zephyr's goodwill.

That night, the atmosphere as Zephyr and Yoriichi ate was somewhat oppressive. Zephyr was very unhappy, but facing Yoriichi's determination, there was truly nothing he could do. He directed all the anger in his heart toward Fleet Admiral Kong.

He had already decided that if anything happened to Yoriichi at the Marine Academy, he would settle accounts with Kong immediately.

In Zephyr's eyes, Tsugikuni Yoriichi was the future of the Marines!

The meal ended in a gloomy atmosphere. Afterward, he and Zephyr strolled around the residential district to digest their food before returning home, where Zephyr thoroughly "trained" Yoriichi's combat skills.

Sure enough, after that training session, some of Zephyr's anger had dissipated.

And after finishing his "training," Yoriichi returned to his room sore all over.

Sure enough, even sleeping felt more comfortable.

The next day, dawn shone into Yoriichi's room once again.

But before Yoriichi could wake up, Zephyr arrived at his door, pushed it open, and tossed in a set of clothes. Yoriichi was awakened by Zephyr's commotion, and the moment he sat up, a brand-new Marine uniform came flying straight at him.

"This is for you. I specially got it for you this morning."

"Since you're becoming a Marine, you can't keep wearing your own clothes."

"Get ready. We'll set out after breakfast!"

With that, Zephyr closed the door.

Yoriichi rubbed his eyes, then felt the clothes in his hands. He immediately woke up fully. After getting up, he quickly changed clothes, washed up briefly, then returned to his room, took his sword, and headed to the dining room.

After breakfast, he went to the Marine Academy with Zephyr.

Tsugikuni Yoriichi had only visited the Marine Academy at headquarters once, and he had merely taken a brief look around. He truly did not know much about it.

When Zephyr brought Yoriichi to the Marine Academy, the students were gathering in formation, preparing to begin their morning training.

The instructor leading them was a young Marine in training fatigues, around thirty years old. His rank could not be discerned from his clothes alone. When Yoriichi saw the young Marine instructor, he found him somewhat familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before.

There were more than two hundred students attending training that morning, and Yoriichi even spotted a familiar figure among them.

"Kyros?"

"This guy didn't follow Kuzan and entered the Marine Academy instead?"

Yoriichi was greatly surprised to see Kyros in the crowd. Kyros, among the students, had apparently also seen Tsugikuni Yoriichi standing beside Zephyr, and his face was likewise full of surprise.

Zephyr brought Yoriichi before the students who were about to begin training. After greeting the training instructor, he said to Yoriichi:

"This is the swordsmanship instructor of our Marine Academy, Victor. He is also responsible for the Marines' physical training."

"Yoriichi, you two should have met before."

With Zephyr's reminder, Yoriichi finally remembered who the young instructor before him was. Victor had clearly recognized Tsugikuni Yoriichi as well, and his eyelids could not help but twitch.

"Instructor Victor, my name is Tsugikuni Yoriichi. Please guide me."

Yoriichi greeted him with a smile. Victor's face twitched, but he nodded.

Zephyr ignored the two of them, patted Yoriichi on the back, and said to the other students:

"This kid is named Tsugikuni Yoriichi."

"Starting today, he is a member of our Marines."

"He's twelve this year. All of you are older brothers and sisters than him, so take good care of him in daily life."

"Of course, I mean in daily life!"

"As for combat, this kid is the strongest among all of you!"

"Well? Anyone unconvinced? If you are, step forward!"

"Oh, right. This kid just joined the Marines, so he's a Private Third Class."

"But! Whoever among you can defeat him will be promoted one rank, regardless of your current rank!"

Zephyr grinned as he casually made Tsugikuni Yoriichi a target of everyone's hostility, while also tossing a piece of meat into the wolf pack.

He wanted to add some color to Tsugikuni Yoriichi's future life as a student.

Yoriichi was initially stunned by those words, but he soon understood Zephyr's intentions. Carrying his sword, he walked before the many students, his expression cool and calm, neither joyful nor sorrowful, as though accepting Zephyr's assessment that he was the strongest.

His demeanor immediately caused an uproar among the students.

(End of Chapter)