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Zephyr's praise drew everyone's eyes toward Vergo and Ye Chen. Many people could not understand it, because neither Vergo nor Ye Chen had done anything particularly outstanding.
If anyone deserved praise, it should have been Sakazuki, Borsalino, and the others. After all, the difference between the two sides was obvious at a glance.
Although Sakazuki and the others had broader horizons than Smoker's group and would not care much—or perhaps had disdained Ye Chen's group from the start—they still felt somewhat uncomfortable.
Zephyr had no other intention. As a master of physical combat, he understood clearly that the body was the foundation of everything. Even Devil Fruits could only be properly wielded with a powerful body.
Most importantly, Logia users were not invincible. Armament Haki was enough to seize their true bodies, and the source of Armament Haki was the body itself.
Therefore, whenever he taught, Zephyr emphasized physical conditioning. Yet the immense power and elemental transformation of Logia abilities were enough to make Sakazuki and the others slack off.
Perhaps Sakazuki also practiced physical combat, but he was not as driven or as concerned about it as Ye Chen, Vergo, and the others.
At their age, they were naturally somewhat rebellious. Sometimes adults told you something for your own good, yet you did not understand it and might even develop a contrary mindset. Only after suffering losses in the future would you realize how precious those reminders had been.
That was Ye Chen's advantage as a transmigrator. Possessing knowledge this world found hard to understand and a wildly imaginative mind, he was destined to know what he should do.
Thus, Ye Chen spent far more time practicing physical combat and strengthening his body than developing the Bomb-Bomb Fruit.
Zephyr merely praised them once before continuing, "Today is the first day, so there will be no other training. Prepare yourselves. Tomorrow, I will explain the Six Powers."
Those words were clearly meant for Ye Chen and the others, because Sakazuki's group had encountered the Six Powers long ago. Some had even mastered one or two techniques.
The same was true for Haki. Perhaps among these people, only Ye Chen's group of six had not yet been taught the Six Powers and Haki by Zephyr. However, after more than half a year of training, they were qualified to learn these indispensable skills.
"Report." At that moment, Sakazuki stepped forward, saluted Zephyr, and said, "Tomorrow, Admiral Sengoku will head to the New World. Borsalino, Kuzan, and I applied to accompany him, and Admiral Sengoku has approved."
Zephyr frowned slightly but did not dwell on it. "Experiencing more real combat will greatly benefit you. Since that is the case, be careful."
"Yes, sir."
Sakazuki's face was full of excitement. Rather than train here, he preferred being out in the field.
Kuzan, on the other hand, looked utterly miserable. He had been forcibly dragged into this. He had only recently returned with old man Garp and had planned to get some proper rest, but then...
With a sigh, Kuzan looked completely listless.
As for Borsalino, he did not care much either way.
"Dismissed. Go get ready!" With that, Zephyr ended the gathering and vanished from everyone's sight.
Once Zephyr left, the place immediately became livelier. Yet the atmosphere remained somewhat strange, because neither side spoke to the other. After exchanging a glance, they simply left.
There was no provocation and no threat. In Sakazuki's eyes, Ye Chen's group was not qualified to be provoked at all, aside from that smoke brat.
Naturally, Gion and Hina were not included in that. The two girls were now like close sisters, chatting and giggling from time to time.
"Gion, marry me!"
As expected, Chaton, who confessed to Gion every day, held a bouquet of flowers and knelt before her on one knee. Gazing at her affectionately, he proposed once again.
"Rejected."
Without the slightest hesitation, Gion answered firmly without even turning her head as she spoke with Hina.
After rejecting Chaton, Gion took Hina's hand and prepared to go shopping.
Chaton was not dejected after being rejected. Instead, he calmly rose to his feet, dusted off his knees, and said gently to Gion's retreating figure, "I will not give up."
Night fell, and a faint breeze drifted by, carrying a touch of coolness.
The starry sky was especially bright tonight, without a single cloud in sight. Pure moonlight shone over the Elite Class training grounds, casting several long shadows.
"Everyone, sorry, I'm late."
Panting, Hina wore a blue princess dress. A ribbon was tied in her pale pink hair, making her look like a delicate little elf.
After spending so much time together, they seemed to have rarely seen Hina wear a dress, much less dress herself up a little.
"Done shopping with Gion?"
They were only briefly stunned, because none of them had expected Hina to be so beautiful.
"Hehe, do you think I'm pretty?"
She spun in a circle, her blue skirt fluttering in the wind. Blushing slightly, Hina smiled at them with crescent-shaped eyes.
"Pretty." Shu and Very Good had hearts practically shining in their eyes.
"Yeah. I never knew you looked this pretty in a dress, Hina. I only just remembered that you're actually a girl."
Smoker was utterly tactless. It was unclear whether he was praising Hina's beauty or saying she lacked any of the temperament a girl ought to have.
On the spot, Hina puffed out her cheeks and glared fiercely at Smoker.
What did he mean, she was actually a girl? She had always been a girl, all right?
"Hmph. Brother Vergo, Brother Ye Chen, do you think I'm pretty?" Skipping over Smoker entirely, Hina eagerly approached the expressionless Ye Chen and Vergo.
"Pretty." Vergo was sparing with his words, but a faint smile appeared on his face. The few of them were all indulgent and protective toward this girl.
"Thank you, Brother Vergo. Brother Ye Chen, what do you think?"
Ye Chen was even more composed. His dark eyes did not ripple in the slightest as he merely nodded.
He was a little too calm, which made Hina somewhat unhappy.
"Hina, since you didn't change clothes, just rest today," Smoker interjected.
"Fine. I'll watch from the side." Hina seemed uninterested, unable to summon any energy for some reason.
"Start."
Their unbroken daily sparring began. In only moments, the five of them were locked in battle, relying entirely on physical combat.
It was clear that Ye Chen and the others no longer fought as chaotically as they had in the beginning. Now, every punch and kick was tricky, and their speed was astonishingly fast, like a crude imitation of Soru.
They were no longer children fighting. Every punch and kick carried the air of battle, as if they had experienced countless fights. They had grown from ignorant children into experts who knew when to strike and when not to.
They had taken an enormous step forward.
One had to know that no one had taught them any of this. They had figured it out entirely through sparring with one another. Perhaps it was vastly different from true life-or-death combat, but this kind of experience was still extremely rare.
As usual, Shu and Very Good were the first to drop out. Their faces were bruised and swollen, and they lay on the ground, unable to get back up for a while.
This battle was every man for himself, meaning each person had to face attacks from the other four. It precisely trained their neural reflexes, because they never knew when a fist would come flying at them.
Next came the chaotic melee between Ye Chen, Vergo, and Smoker.
If one looked closely, one would discover that the three of them sometimes seemed to possess a third eye. They could foresee attacks and instinctively dodge them.
The three believed it was merely instinctive reaction, but they did not know it was the prelude to the awakening of Observation Haki among the Three-Color Haki.
After more than half a year, none of them knew how many times they had fought or how many beatings they had taken. Naturally, their bodies remembered that feeling, and changes began to occur.
Combined with the solid physical foundation they had built, Observation Haki and Armament Haki were perhaps only separated from them by a thin sheet of paper. All it would take was one finger to poke through it.
Yet for some people, that sheet of paper was something they could never pierce in their entire lives.
The changes in all six of them were immense, especially in their appearances. That was right—being beaten black and blue every day, how was that any different from plastic surgery? And this plastic surgery was not gentle in the slightest, causing them all to change greatly. Both their strength and appearance had diverged from the original story.
Take Ye Chen, for example. He was now growing his hair long, and it had reached past his shoulders to his back. Before long, it might reach his waist. And after years of brutal beatings, his facial features had become incredibly stiff, completely changing his image.
Without a doubt, this method of plastic surgery was far more advanced than the one in South Korea in his previous life. It was just that severe cases could kill people.
A special reminder: attempt this method of plastic surgery according to your ability. The farmer tried it once and easily ended up lying in the hospital for a month!
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