New Slacker Identity, Becoming Zephyr's Student

Jia Ji knelt on one knee before Smoker.

The training camp grew lively again with Jia Ji's fifty-first confession, and several familiar faces appeared before anyone noticed.

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.

Kuzan... Mu Chen had not expected this 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. The newcomer was Onigumo, the future Marine vice admiral.

"That Jiaqi guy is here again. He's disgracing the Marines."

"Isn't he?"

Another fierce-looking man appeared beside the bored Onigumo. He had dark skin and several sword scars on his face. He was Dobberman, another future Marine vice admiral.

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. I'm Wu Shu."

A tall figure suddenly appeared beside Mu Chen. He had a thin mustache and only a small tuft of hair trailing down the back of his head.

Good grief, another familiar face.

"Hello, Vice Admiral Wu Shu. I'm Mu Chen."

Mu Chen casually greeted him.

Wu Shu was also one of the future elite vice admirals and one of the Marines' pillars.

When Mu Chen watched the anime back then, he had always felt Wu Shu's fighting performance was rather underwhelming. But in terms of strength, Wu Shu's record could be checked—he had basically never lost. It was just that every fight seemed to end halfway through.

Mu Chen and Wu Shu exchanged a few pleasantries before continuing to watch the show.

"Jia Ji, stop interrupting my training."

Smoker spoke expressionlessly. The movements of his hands never stopped, and his blade flew past Jia Ji's head. Yet Jia Ji remained on one knee without giving an inch.

"Smoker, you look so handsome when you're working hard!"

One second, Jia Ji was praising Smoker. The next, Smoker's saber swept through the bouquet before him, and the pitiful flowers drifted to the ground like snowflakes.

Only the roots of the bouquet remained in Jia Ji's hands, leaving him in an awkward state.

Mu Chen could not help but mutter, "The flowers are innocent!"

"Jia Ji, are you harassing Smoker again?"

At that moment, an angry roar of disappointment came from the entrance of the training camp. The Marines respectfully called out, "Teacher Zephyr! Please listen to my explanation!"

Jiaqi immediately got to his feet. He no longer dared to remain kneeling. After all, this was not the first time he had knelt before Smoker, but every time, Smoker rejected him and Zefa gave him a beating.

Suddenly, he felt his scalp itch.

"What is there to explain? If you don't train properly and spend all day chasing love, what will that get you?"

"Do you want to die the moment you step onto the battlefield?"

"Was my last beating too light for you?"

"Teacher Zefa, I'm one of the strongest students in this class of the Elite Training Camp! My strength ranks in the top three! Why don't you believe me?"

Jia Ji spoke without blushing or missing a beat.

Kuzan, Dobberman, and the others watching the show helplessly shook their heads. They all knew that when it came to thick skin, Jia Ji could definitely claim first place in the Marines!

As Zefa slowly approached, Garp and Sengoku behind him also entered everyone's view. The Marines all respectfully saluted the three of them, though they were puzzled. Teacher Zefa was here, but why were Garp and Sengoku following him?

Garp laughed as he spoke to Zefa.

"Hahahaha, Zefa! Your student seems quite capable. Looks like you taught him well!"

Garp shut his mouth.

The moment Zefa heard Garp's words, he wondered whether Garp was mocking him.

Good grief. He had run into Garp on the road earlier, and Garp had suggested they come look at the rookie together and check out this batch of Elite Training Camp students. He had not expected to witness such a ridiculous scene. His face immediately became a little hard to maintain.

"You brat, get over here. Teacher Zephyr is calling you."

Seeing Zephyr's expression, Jia Ji felt that something was terribly wrong. Still, he could only force himself to walk over. Zephyr showed no mercy and directly gave Jia Ji a heavy punch, smashing his head into the dirt. His upturned backside looked utterly comical.

"Mm... Teacher Zephyr... mm, I was wrong."

Jiaqi hurriedly admitted his mistake, though he silently added, I'll dare to do it again next time. After all, his goal was to confess to Smoker one hundred times!

Zefa stopped paying attention to Jia Ji. Upon seeing Mu Chen, he walked over slowly and carefully looked him over.

"Mu Chen, you're that rookie?"

Before Mu Chen could speak, Garp immediately walked to his side and said to Zefa, "He's Mu Chen. Listen, Zefa, you should thank me properly. He's a rare talent!"

Faced with Garp's praise, Mu Chen wanted nothing more than to find a hole to crawl into. What kind of forced aggro-drawing was this? Good grief!

Everyone in the training camp turned their eyes toward Mu Chen.

"Mu Chen?"

"A rookie?"

"What?"

"A rookie even Hero Garp praises?"

"No way?"

"Zefa, Garp, and Sengoku came to the Elite Training Camp for a rookie?"

The Marines began discussing it among themselves. They had not paid much attention to Mu Chen before, since Jia Ji had drawn all their attention. But now even Kuzan and the others were looking at Mu Chen, their eyes filled with curiosity. Dobberman and Onigumo in particular looked at him as though they had spotted prey. After all, rookies praised by Garp were truly rare. Yet Zefa gave no response at all to Garp's compliment.