Leaving the Island

Sea Circle Calendar, Year 149, August.

Splash, splash... Wave after wave gently lapped against the reefs, as though the sea were leisurely plucking at its strings, playing a melody of parting.

"Waaah... Reg, you have to wait for me to come find you!!" On the beach, Eileen clung to Reg and sobbed.

Reg had really liked the atmosphere in the Ninth Tower... Though everyone working hard together sometimes got on each other's nerves, it was more often a healthy kind of competition.

Their usual training was harsh and exhausting, and the punishment for slacking off was severe enough that no one dared make the same mistake twice.

Yet it was nothing like the assassin organizations from his memories... where you schemed against me, I schemed against you, and in the end, everyone fought to the death.

Only during interrogation and counter-interrogation training did Reg clearly realize that this was a training facility of the P Organization, a cradle for agents.

Although, aside from Jabra and Kumadori, Reg had not seen any of them in the "future."

But that was unavoidable... Other than Jabra, whom he had helped, Reg was not arrogant enough to think he could persuade everyone else to rebel.

Changes in thought could not be overturned overnight... Without some tremendous shock, they could only happen bit by bit over time.

"Everyone... take care of yourselves."

"Alright, I'll wait for Eileen."

Reg told the lie without a care, though there was a hint of reluctance in his smile... The others were quite magnanimous and did not glare at him with hostility, only a touch of resentment: this crazy brat was finally leaving.

Thanks to him, whether it was Brother Joey or Mountain Hag, even Joey, who usually only taught academics, mentioned him several times every day: Look at Reg, how hard Reg works, look at what Reg has done now.

Reg could understand their "resentment," and it dispelled some of the sadness of parting: being the child from someone else's family felt pretty good.

"Ahem... what about me?!"

Watching Eileen release Reg, Jabra blinked, looking somewhat hopeful... He wanted a cute girl to hug him too!!

"Jabra, people should know their own limits... Sorry, you're a good person." Eileen stuck out her tongue playfully.

Crash... Reg could practically feel Jabra "turning to stone." That good-person card had been handed out in truly heartbreaking fashion.

After all, Jabra had become rather "rugged" due to the scar over his eye and the powerful physique granted by his Devil Fruit.

"Hahaha..."

Everyone's laughter dragged the petrified Jabra back to reality... All he could do was scratch his head and curl his lips with a dark expression.

"Alright, everyone else, come back with me... Oh, right, Lord Joey told me to tell you something about 'learning is like the sea,' or something?" Joey, who had come to deliver the message, froze on the spot... If he forgot, he would definitely get beaten when he returned.

"The sea of learning has no bounds... Brother Joey, please tell Teacher Joey... I'll keep it firmly in my heart." Reg bowed in thanks.

"Whew... Right, right, that's it. Goodbye, Reg."

"Goodbye, Reg...!"

"Goodbye, Jabra!"

Everyone waved their farewells... Kumadori, at the end of the group, turned his head. "Yoyoi... you two~ wait for me!"

"Mm."

Reg nodded. Kumadori's power level had not reached 400... It was not because he did not work hard, but because he needed to study his family's inherited martial arts with Mountain Hag.

According to his family's ancestry, they had come from Wano Country... Kumadori himself, who had grown up with his mother, did not know much about that country either.

Though he was curious, Reg did not dare ask Mountain Hag herself... In their line of work, they hated it most when others pried into their past.

"Yoyoi... Reg~ don't forget to keep it up. Meditation is something you can use for your entire life."

"Yes, Teacher Mountain Hag."

Before leaving, Mountain Hag did not forget to nod at Jabra as well... Of the three teachers who had come to see them off, only Colin remained.

After a long while, Colin patted Reg's shoulder. "Don't underestimate anyone."

"I understand, Teacher."

Reg answered seriously... Once he left, he would be departing this not-so-gentle "ivory tower"... What awaited him would be bloodshed and battle, deception and schemes.

In this world, slaughter between humans did not distinguish between good and evil or sides... There was only the simple difference between strength and weakness.

"Jabra, I'm leaving Reg in your hands."

Colin patted Jabra's shoulder again... Though he understood that even without being told, Jabra would do just that.

After all, Reg had saved his life and resisted the immense temptation of a Devil Fruit.

"I'll definitely protect Reg, Teacher Colin!"

Jabra stood with his feet together and saluted... No one knew that Reg had given the fruit to him... even though Jabra had willingly offered it to Reg at the time!

A boss like that was worth Jabra following for the rest of his life... even if Reg was still far weaker than him now.

But Jabra possessed an inexplicable confidence... The hardworking Reg would one day surpass him.

"Go on... Don't make Major Naden wait too long." Colin waved them off.

"Yes!" Reg and Jabra saluted sharply together.

"Goodbye, Teacher Colin."

There was no final embrace. Reg left resolutely, and Colin made no attempt to keep him... Everything that needed to be said and done had already been addressed over the past month.

What Reg needed to do now was... move straight ahead and complete the second stage of his transformation.

"Fly, Reg."

Watching the two young men in black suits walk side by side... for a moment, Colin seemed to see his younger self.

Back then, he had boarded a warship with Joe in just the same way... at the time, he had never imagined that despair would descend so abruptly.

Now, Reg was boarding a warship once again... but with a different state of mind.

Was it complicated? Envious? Or perhaps there was even a little anticipation?

"No matter what, you have to survive... As long as you live, there's hope."

Colin turned and headed for the forest... He had waited over a decade already, so a few more months did not matter.

He was going to request leave and wait in Water Seven for Reg to return from his mission... After all, anyone returning to Enies Lobby had to pass through there.

"This way, gentlemen." Naden merely nodded, while the soldiers aboard the warship all saluted together.

"We'll be in your care from here on." Reg and Jabra returned the salute.

The Marines' salute differed from theirs... Rather than holding a hand diagonally beside the head, they kept their palms facing inward and the backs of their hands outward—this was a salute unique to the Marines.

They kept their palms inward so their superiors would not see the dirt on their hands from work.

"Private Third Class Lyle, take these two to their cabins to rest!"

"Yes, Major Naden!"

The young man in a blue-and-white sailor uniform hurried over and saluted again.

"Please follow me."

The two followed behind... Reg could feel the subtle looks from the Marines around the deck. After all, even dressed in the black suit uniform worn by World Government officials, he could not hide the fact that he was still a little boy.

Standing beside Jabra, there was a whole head's difference in height between them... Reg looked somewhat better, at least like a boy in his early teens.