Target: Lukesen Island (Please Bookmark and Recommend)

Having received his orders, Zephyr immediately passed them down and set course for Lukesen Island.

Pus Island was not far from Lukesen Island. At full speed, the warship only needed three hours. After sailing for three hours, the outline of Lukesen Island gradually came into view.

The deck was packed with people, all recruits from this class. Their expressions were solemn as they watched Zephyr and awaited his orders.

"The warship will stop here. Smoker, fly to the island first and scout it out. Record the locations of all the pirates," Zephyr ordered.

"Piece of cake." Smoker let out an arrogant laugh, shot into the sky, and flew toward the island. As a Logia user, he was practically invincible in the Four Blues.

Twenty minutes later, Smoker returned.

"Teacher Zephyr, there are around three hundred pirates. Nearly half are staying at the former branch base, while the other half are scattered across the island, seemingly searching for something. There are four pirate ships in total, located in these four places. Also, some villagers are hiding in the forest. They haven't been harmed yet." Smoker marked several spots on the map.

"A group capable of slaughtering a Marine base could not have had so few men. Perhaps most of them died in the battle, and these are merely the remnants." Zephyr pointed at the map. "Those ranked third through tenth in the assessment, each of you will lead ten recruits and seal off these eight roads on the island. Do not let a single pirate escape."

"Smoker, Hina, take one hundred men and attack the branch base. Fight if you can; if you can't win, withdraw first. I will intervene as I see fit."

"The rest of you, form teams of three, spread out, and attack the pirates scattered around the island."

Everyone acknowledged in unison.

Seeing that Zephyr had not mentioned him, Zhong Hao knew it would be difficult for him to give him orders, so he took the initiative. "I'll go help Smoker's group."

Zephyr nodded and loudly commanded, "All forces, move out."

There were no detailed arrangements, only a rough division of tasks. The rest was up to them. After all, this was live-combat training. Most of them would become mid-level Marine officers in the future, and they needed to learn adaptability and command.

The warship moved toward Lukesen Island. At the same time, the pirates keeping watch on the island spotted it and hurried back to report.

Once all the recruits had landed on the island, Zephyr directed the regular soldiers to sink the pirate ships.

On the island, Smoker led the way, with Zhong Hao and more than a hundred others following behind him as they charged straight toward the branch base. Lukesen Island was a medium-sized island, and the distance from the shore to the branch base was only a little over twenty kilometers. None of them were ordinary people, and they moved quickly, reaching their destination in just eighteen minutes.

They stopped before the branch base's main gate. Corpses of Marines hung in a neat row along the walls, packed so densely that they covered a large stretch of the wall. The branch colonel's corpse had been hung alone from the gate.

"Damn it, those bastards!" Smoker's eyes went bloodshot. He roared and sent the gate flying with a White Fist, then charged inside at the head of the group. The others immediately followed. Though Hina felt that something was off, everyone had already gone in, so she rushed in after them.

The recruits stormed into the base and reached the drill field, only to find it completely empty. They looked at Smoker in confusion. Smoker's mind was filled with the sight of those hanging corpses, and rage burned in his chest. Without thinking, he charged toward the buildings.

Zhong Hao, however, remained where he was. Looking at the line of corpses on the wall, he felt uneasy. No matter how arrogant pirates were, they would not dare treat Marine corpses like this. It was as if they had deliberately displayed them as a provocation.

"Wait, deliberately? Provocation?" Zhong Hao suddenly thought of something. He cried out and rushed through the gate, shouting at Smoker and the others as they prepared to enter the building, "It's a trap! Come back, now!"

"BOOM—"

The moment Zhong Hao's voice fell, a tremendous explosion erupted within the branch base. Every building shattered, massive stones flew in every direction, and the ground began to quake.

Fortunately, Zhong Hao's warning had come in time. The startled pirates had detonated the explosives in a hurry. The recruits had not yet entered the buildings and were only struck by the blast's aftermath, so the losses were not too severe.

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft..."

Chunks of flying stone came crashing down. Though the recruits fought desperately to block them, they were still flesh and blood. They were too young and too weak, so injuries were unavoidable. A few who failed to defend themselves in time were buried beneath boulders and never moved again.

"Damn it!" Zhong Hao cursed under his breath as Sea Fang swiftly left its sheath.

Hundred Style: Demon-Slaying Barrage

He slashed twenty-two times in rapid succession. Sixteen of the twenty-two slashes cut down the flying rocks, while the other six carved open a path through the blockage leading to the gate, clearing an escape route for the trapped recruits.

The explosion continued for more than twenty seconds before finally stopping. The surviving recruits all escaped through the passage Zhong Hao had cut open. Every one of them was injured; not a single person emerged unscathed.

"Smoker, look what you've done! Didn't you say nearly half the pirates were here?" Hina counted their numbers and saw that only seventy-seven had escaped. Twenty-three were still buried in the ruins. She immediately screamed and landed a heavy punch on Smoker's face, sending him staggering to the ground with blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

The surviving recruits also looked at him. There was fear, lingering terror, and resentment in their eyes.

Smoker climbed to his feet with his head lowered, his eyes blood-red like a beast ready to devour someone. His fists were clenched so tightly that his nails pierced his flesh, and the blood that flowed stained his hands red. He threw back his head and let out a grief-stricken roar as billowing white smoke surged into the sky.

Hina was about to hit him again when Zhong Hao caught her hand. "Hina, Smoker's intelligence was not wrong. When we first arrived, I used Observation Haki to sense the area. There really were one hundred and fifty-eight pirates inside just now. They all died in that explosion. Not one escaped."

Observation Haki could enhance the five senses and detect auras. It was similar to hearing, allowing one to hear the voices of living beings, sense danger, and evade attacks. Zhong Hao's Observation Haki had only recently awakened, and its range extended only fifty meters, but because of the toughness of his soul, his perception was exceptionally clear.

Though Hina was shocked that Zhong Hao possessed Observation Haki, this was not the time for that. She snorted angrily. "Even so, he was too reckless and fell into the pirates' trap. Luckily, you warned us. Otherwise, if they had detonated the explosives after we entered the buildings, I'm afraid he would have been the only one to survive. After all, he's a noble and powerful Logia user."

Smoker's body began trembling violently. He did not dare raise his head, his face smeared with tears and snot. The surviving recruits, meanwhile, looked at Zhong Hao with gratitude.

Zhong Hao did not respond to that. He paced back and forth twice before carefully analyzing the situation. "When I sensed them just now, the pirates in the branch were all carrying swords and guns. They didn't look like they intended to die with us. Instead, they looked ready to fight us. I think they were set up, or their captain abandoned them."

Hina's heart jolted at his words, and she stared at Zhong Hao in disbelief. Zhong Hao nodded at her. "Looks like you noticed it too."

Hina's expression was conflicted. "Slaughtering an entire branch isn't unheard of. It has happened in the South Blue, North Blue, and Grand Line before. But Jeff, captain of the Iron Pirates, isn't the sort of reckless man who would risk everything. There must be more to this. If I'm right, the pirates scattered across the island are also bait. Jeff abandoned them too."

Zhong Hao nodded, confirming her words, then added, "You said he isn't that reckless. Either he hid himself very well, or someone behind him gave the order. He must be trying to achieve some goal and is prepared to abandon the entire pirate crew. Only then did he slaughter the branch. But why did he remain on the island for three days?"

Hina grimaced. "We haven't even seen a single pirate, yet we've already lost more than twenty people. How are we supposed to explain this to Teacher Zephyr?"

Those words snapped something inside Smoker. His entire body transformed into white smoke and shot into the sky as he roared, "Jeff, I'm going to kill you!"

His voice was shrill and hoarse, like a reaper from hell demanding a life.

Zhong Hao was startled and shouted, "Smoker, don't be reckless!" Seeing that Smoker ignored him and flew straight away, he cursed under his breath and said to Hina, "They're injured, and all the pirates at the branch base are dead. Take them back to the ship first and report what happened here to Mr. Zephyr. I'll go after Smoker."

With that, Zhong Hao chased after Smoker.

Running on the ground could not compare to flying through the sky. All kinds of obstacles limited his speed, and the distance between them gradually widened. Zhong Hao had no choice but to use Soru repeatedly to travel, chasing him all the way to the shore.

Soru was a short-range burst movement technique. Zhong Hao had originally thought that while using Soru for travel was fast, it consumed far too much stamina to be worthwhile.

However, he gradually discovered that using Soru repeatedly over a short period made him increasingly proficient. Previously, he needed a full second of calculation and preparation before he could use it. Now, he only needed half a second, cutting the time in half. It was an unexpected delight.

At the shore, he discovered that Smoker had no intention of stopping and was still flying out toward the sea. Zhong Hao immediately realized that he must have found something and hurried after him.

Finally, Zhong Hao stopped at the edge of the beach and looked out over the ocean. More than two hundred meters away, a strangely shaped ship was slowly sinking into the sea like a submarine. Smoker was filled with grief and fury, so how could he possibly let it go? He dived at the ship at high speed. Just as only two meters of its mast remained above the surface, he grabbed it and was dragged underwater.

"This idiot! Doesn't he know Devil Fruit users can't swim?"

Zhong Hao was almost angered into laughter. He plunged into the sea and swam toward where Smoker had fallen, repeatedly using Geppo to accelerate.

Although the ship was continuously diving, it was still accelerating and was not difficult to catch. By the time Zhong Hao found Smoker, his entire body had gone limp. Only his teeth were clamped tightly around the top of the mast, his eyes rolling back as he clearly suffered from oxygen deprivation. Fortunately, he had not yet lost consciousness.

Zhong Hao pulled him free, grabbed his wrist, and swam toward the surface. After breaking through the water, he tossed him high into the air, then plunged back into the sea, leaving only one sentence behind: "Fly back yourself. I'm going after him."