Tokikake knelt on one knee before Smoker.
The training camp grew lively with Tokikake's fifty-first confession, and before long, several familiar faces appeared.
A dark-skinned young man with an afro stood there, a sleep mask resting on his forehead. He yawned, and even his breath carried a chill.
Mu Chen had not expected this person to be the young Kuzan. From the looks of it, Kuzan had already eaten the Ice-Ice Fruit.
Beside Kuzan stood a fierce-looking Marine with long black hair and several sabers strapped to his back. It was Onigumo, the future Marine vice admiral.
"That Tokikake guy is here again. He's really disgracing us Marines."
"Isn't that the truth?"
Another fierce-looking man came over to stand beside the bored Onigumo. He had dark skin and several knife scars on his face. He was Dobberman, another future Marine vice admiral.
Even Mu Chen had not expected the Marine Elite Training Camp to be so full of talent. Just these few would all become Marine vice admirals in the future.
"Hello, rookie. My name is Wu Shu."
A tall figure suddenly appeared beside Mu Chen. He had a handlebar mustache, and only a small tuft of hair extended down the back of his head.
Well, here's another familiar face.
"Vice Admiral Wu Shu, hello. I'm Mu Chen."
Mu Chen casually greeted him.
Wu Shu was also one of the future elite vice admirals, one of the pillars of the Marines.
When Mu Chen had watched the anime, he had always felt that Wu Shu's fights were rather underwhelming. But in terms of strength, Wu Shu's record spoke for itself—he had basically never lost, though his fights always seemed to end halfway through.
Mu Chen and Wu Shu exchanged a few polite words, then continued watching the show.
"Tokikake, don't interrupt my training."
Smoker spoke expressionlessly, his hands never stopping. The blade flashed over Tokikake's head, yet Tokikake remained on one knee without retreating in the slightest.
"Smoker, you look so handsome when you work hard!"
One second, Tokikake was praising Smoker. The next, Smoker's saber swept across the bouquet in front of him, and the poor flowers drifted to the ground like snowflakes.
Only the base of the bouquet remained in Tokikake's hand, leaving him thoroughly embarrassed.
Mu Chen could not help commenting, "The flowers are innocent!"
"Tokikake, are you harassing Smoker again?"
At that moment, an exasperated roar came from the entrance of the training camp. The Marines immediately called out respectfully, "Teacher Zephyr, please let us explain!"
Jiaqi immediately got to his feet. He no longer dared to stay on his knees. This was not the first time he had knelt before Smoker, but every time, not only did Smoker reject him, Teacher Zefa would also teach him a lesson.
His scalp suddenly felt a little itchy.
"Explain? If you don't train properly and spend every day obsessing over romance, what will become of you?"
"Do you want to die the moment you step onto a battlefield?"
"Was the beating I gave you last time too light?"
"Teacher Zefa, I'm one of the strongest students in this batch of the Elite Training Camp! My strength ranks in the top three! Why won't you believe me?"
Tokikake said it without blushing or missing a beat.
Kuzan, Dobberman, and the others watching the show could only shake their heads helplessly. They all knew that when it came to thick skin, Tokikake could definitely claim first place in the Marines!
As Zefa slowly approached, Garp and Sengoku behind him also entered everyone's sight. The Marines respectfully saluted them, though they were curious. Teacher Zefa had come, but why were Garp and Sengoku following him?
Garp laughed and said to Zefa,
"Hahahaha! Zefa, your student seems quite capable. Looks like you've taught him well!"
Garp then shut his mouth.
The moment Zefa heard Garp's words, he felt as though Garp was mocking him.
Just great. He had run into Garp on the road earlier, and Garp had suggested coming together to see the new recruit and take a look at this batch of Elite Training Camp students. Who would have thought they would witness such a ridiculous scene? Zefa could barely keep his face straight.
"You little brat, come here."
Seeing Zefa's expression, Tokikake immediately sensed trouble brewing, but he could only force himself to walk over. Zefa showed no mercy and punched Tokikake hard, smashing his head straight into the ground. His raised backside looked utterly comical.
"Mm, Teacher Zephyr... mm, I was wrong."
Jiaqi hurriedly admitted his mistake, but inwardly added, I'll dare to do it again next time. After all, his goal was to confess to Smoker one hundred times!
At this point, Zefa stopped paying attention to Tokikake. The moment he saw Mu Chen, he walked over slowly and carefully examined him.
"Mu Chen, are you that new recruit?"
Before Mu Chen could speak, Garp immediately walked to his side and said to Zefa, "That's Mu Chen. I'm telling you, Zefa, you should thank me properly. He's a rare talent!"
Faced with Garp's praise, Mu Chen truly wanted to crawl into a hole. Forcibly drawing aggro like this was really something else!
Everyone in the training camp turned their eyes toward Mu Chen.
"Mu Chen?"
"A new recruit?"
"What?"
"A newcomer even Hero Garp admires?"
"No way?"
"Zefa, Garp, and Sengoku came to the Elite Training Camp for a new recruit?"
The Marines began discussing it among themselves. They had barely noticed Mu Chen before, since Tokikake had drawn all their attention. But now even Kuzan and the others were looking at Mu Chen with curiosity in their eyes. Dobberman and Onigumo in particular looked at him as though they had spotted prey. After all, new recruits who could earn Garp's praise were truly rare. Yet Zefa did not respond to Garp's compliment at all.
Before you continue