Youthful Recklessness, Lofty Ambitions

The entire long line was brimming with energy. One spirited youth after another, drenched in sweat and burdened by heavy pressure, ran around the spacious training ground, competing and challenging one another, unwilling to yield to anyone and eager to prove themselves.

Though no one made a move or even spoke, the scent of gunpowder seemed to fill the entire training ground.

At their age, they were rebellious and hot-blooded. It was the same in any world.

Comparatively speaking, the girls were a little more sensible and much quieter.

For instance, Hina, who had only recently joined at the back of the line, quickly found a friend—Gion. She was very close to Chief Staff Officer Tsuru and had considerable talent for swordsmanship, making her a novice swordswoman.

For some reason, the two gradually ended up running together. After all, they were currently the only two girls in the entire group, so it was only natural that they would gravitate toward each other.

"Hello, my name is Gion."

Gion, who was one or two years older than Hina, spoke first. No one knew how bored she had been in the Elite Class. It was full of boys who fought and clashed with one another at every turn, leaving her with no one to talk to.

Most importantly, there was an incurable idiot who brought her flowers every day and insisted on courting her, annoying her to no end.

Now that there was finally another girl, Gion was extremely happy.

Unlike Gion's excitement, Hina was a little reserved. Still, she smiled and introduced herself. "My name is Hina."

"Then I'll call you Hina."

"Okay." Hina did not object, since it was obvious at a glance that Gion was a little older than her.

"Hina, do you know? The Elite Class is so boring. Right now, I just want to graduate quickly, sail out to sea, punish evil, and uphold justice."

Having found someone to talk to, Gion seemed to have endless things to say. The words poured out of her because she had held them in for too long.

"Mm." Hina's pretty face was flushed, and beads of sweat began to roll down her cheeks, making her look somewhat pitiful.

At first, Gion did most of the talking while Hina occasionally replied. But at some point, the two girls suddenly became much more animated.

"Sister Gion, did you say there are lots of clothing stores in the commercial district?" Though she was drenched in sweat, Hina's eyes lit up the moment Gion mentioned the shopping street. Her exhausted body seemed to fill with strength all at once.

"That's right. I know a clothing store that has every kind of outfit, along with lipstick and cosmetics."

"Wow! That much?" Hina's eyes sparkled as if something inside her was about to burst out.

"Of course. There are not only clothing stores, but all kinds of snacks too. It gets really lively at night. Once training is over, I'll take you around." With a wave of her hand, Gion made the decision.

"Really?" Hina was so excited that she kept swallowing.

Shopping, strolling through the streets, and snacks—girls were naturally incapable of resisting such things, especially at an age when they were just beginning to understand romance and were curious about everything.

"Of course." Gion nodded firmly.

But after her excitement faded, Hina suddenly became conflicted.

Noticing Hina's mood, Gion wiped away her sweat. Why had she been so happy just moments ago, only to become so worried now?

"Sister Gion, I can't decide yet, because we might have special training again tonight."

Hina pouted. Back in the regular class, their nightly sparring matches had been called special training by Smoker. It seemed they had never stopped since the beginning. By now, it had become instinct, and they were used to it.

Once, someone had skipped a night of sparring. But that evening, he felt like something was wrong and was uncomfortable all over.

So Hina could not be sure whether Ye Chen and the others would continue tonight, even though they had changed locations.

This was where Ye Chen's influence had to be mentioned. Vergo, Smoker, Shu, Very Good, and even Hina had all deviated from their original paths. Not only had their foundations and strength changed, but even their personalities had shifted somewhat.

The six of them could now be considered friends. After sparring for more than half a year, they had naturally become close over time.

Although Ye Chen and Vergo were still as taciturn as ever, Smoker, Shu, and the others could at least joke around now.

Hina could even throw little tantrums, while everyone else, including Ye Chen, indulged her.

"Special training?" Gion was taken aback. How had she not known about that?

"Sister Gion, the special training I mean is our own training, not something Instructor Zephyr teaches us."

Hina pointed at Smoker and the others, who were competing fiercely with Sakazuki's group.

"Right, that one is called Smoker, isn't he? I heard my sister mention him. He's a Logia Smoke-Smoke Fruit user. Among the six of you, he should be the strongest, right?"

No matter how powerful a Logia ability was, the Navy higher-ups took it seriously. Thus, Smoker was far more famous than Vergo and Ye Chen.

"No. If we're talking about overall strength, Brother Ye Chen is the strongest. Then come Brother Vergo and Brother Smoker, followed by me. Last are those two idiots, Shu and Very Good."

With her chin slightly raised, Hina was a little smug about her own strength. But she did not know that Ye Chen and the others had all gone easy on her, including Shu and Very Good. Otherwise, Hina would definitely have been at the bottom.

Anything was possible for Shu and Very Good now. After all, Ye Chen, this unexpected variable, would directly affect them.

"Ye Chen? That weak-looking guy?"

Listening to Hina, Gion's mouth fell slightly open in disbelief. At that moment, Ye Chen was running right in the middle. Ahead of him were Vergo, Onigumo, and the others. Further ahead were Smoker, while Sakazuki and Borsalino held first place.

As for Kuzan, he was running alongside Vergo and the others, yawning from time to time with a listless expression.

Compared to the people in the leading tiers, Ye Chen seemed far too ordinary. Gion even had the illusion that if she went up there, she could surpass that Ye Chen fellow in minutes.

"Sister Gion, Brother Ye Chen isn't weak. He just doesn't like showing off. He likes training quietly by himself. Brother Vergo is the same. Neither of them talks much."

Hina pouted, somewhat unhappy as she tried hard to explain.

Because in her heart, Brother Vergo and Brother Ye Chen were the strongest.

"Is that so?" Gion did not pay much attention to it. After all, Sakazuki and the other two were right there, like enormous mountains pressing the entire Elite Class until they could barely breathe.

Hina did not notice that either and merely nodded.

After that, the two started chatting about girls' topics again. They ended up completely falling behind, but they did not drop out of the line. Instead, they laughed and talked, with Hina occasionally letting out a cry of surprise.

Everyone ran for most of the day, yet not a single person fell behind.

However, everyone's stamina had been heavily drained. They were soaked in sweat and gasping for breath.

"Very good. Ye Chen, Vergo, it seems you've improved again."

Once they had gathered together, Zephyr looked at Ye Chen and Vergo. Though their breathing was also disordered, it was much steadier than everyone else's, even better than Sakazuki's group.

Clearly, nearly a year of running laps had given Ye Chen and Vergo better control over their breathing, allowing them to reduce their physical exertion.

Do not underestimate that little bit of stamina. In a future battle, that very bit could determine life and death.

Zephyr had trained Sakazuki and the others the same way before, but they had relied on being Logia users and used developing their Logia powers as an excuse. In the end, they had only trained for three or four months.

After all, each of their attacks had already surpassed ordinary standards, so they simply disdained the slow improvement in physical fitness.

But Ye Chen and the others had run for more than half a year, laying an extremely solid physical foundation.

Moreover, Ye Chen understood that no matter what kind of power one possessed—Devil Fruit abilities, swordsmanship, or powerful martial arts—it all depended on physical fitness, the most basic form of strength: stamina.

Most importantly, Ye Chen's ability depended heavily on his body. The stronger his physical fitness became, the more powerfully he could develop the Bomb-Bomb Fruit.