Time slipped away like quicksand, and half a year passed in the blink of an eye.
Out at sea, Dawn and the others trained with all their might.
Although he had suspected it before, Dawn truly had not expected their training in the first half of the Grand Line to be led by Kuzan, one of the future three Admirals.
Setting aside the influence of Dawn's background, since he could have been placed somewhere better on his own, having Aokiji lead them also showed from the side how highly the Navy's upper ranks regarded the potential of Hina, Sola, Shuen, and the others.
Over the past half year, Dawn and the others encountered all kinds of strange weather and pirates with all sorts of bizarre abilities. But with Aokiji holding the line, they all received excellent training.
They could even clearly feel just how vast the gap was between their current selves and who they had been before the training.
This was what they called veterans leading rookies. Dawn and the others were now soldiers and combat personnel under Aokiji's command. Whatever task Aokiji had, they were soldiers and had to obey without condition.
However, disappointingly, after this year's New Year passed, it would be difficult for them to continue working under Kuzan.
Before this, Aokiji had merely been stationed in the first half of the Grand Line to wipe out pirates, so he had pulled Dawn and the others over as laborers while conveniently keeping them safe. It was something he did in passing, and Dawn's group was far stronger than ordinary soldiers, perfectly suiting Aokiji's lazy temperament.
Thanks to Aokiji, Dawn and the others had such a good-natured nanny... no, bodyguard.
As for Kizaru and Akainu, they were said to each be suppressing their own seas, though the