The Marine Academy was located in the mountainous region behind Marineford and was one of the places the Marines valued most. After all, this was where the future of the Marines was cultivated.
It was simple. The academy was divided into two levels. One was the regular class. Barring any accidents, if the cadets who graduated from there were strong enough, they would become future Marine officers.
No matter what position they held in the future, strength was indispensable.
If you were strong, you could become an Ensign or Captain, or perhaps a Major through Colonel, even a Commodore or Rear Admiral.
If you were weak, your rank would be even lower, such as starting out as a Warrant Officer.
Besides the regular class, there was the Elite Class, also known as the Monster Class. For example, the Elite Class currently had three outstanding cadets. Though they had not yet graduated, they already wore the rank of Commodore and were chasing pirates in the New World under the leadership of the Marine hero Garp.
Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Kuzan—future renowned Marine Admirals, powerful and influential, with absurdly overwhelming strength.
But for now, they were still cadets and had yet to graduate.
Besides those three monsters, there were others, such as the future Marine Vice Admirals Hōshō, Onigumo, Momonga, Gion, and more. All of them were in the Elite Class.
Unfortunately, Ye Chen had entered the regular class this time and had not met those legendary figures.
To Ye Chen, whether he met them or not did not matter. Right now, he only wanted to survive, become stronger, and seize his fate in his own hands. He swore that he would never allow what had happened before to happen again.
He had been in the regular class for a month now, but that month had not given Ye Chen what he wanted. For the entire month, they had been taught about Marine justice, its system, the evil of pirates, loyalty to the Marines, and loyalty to the World Government. It was nothing but brainwashing.
Ye Chen had no reaction to any of it. It went in one ear and out the other. They wanted him to be loyal to the Marines and the World Government? How laughable. He was loyal only to himself.
Over that month and more, Ye Chen had understood everything. He was no longer the naive shut-in he had once been. He wanted to live, to live freely.
At last, more than a month of brainwashing came to an end.
Now, more than half the cadets were filled with fanatical devotion to the Marines and the World Government. Only a few still had thoughts of their own, but they were smart enough to hide them.
It was easy to see that those with their own thoughts were either people who truly understood the rules by which this world operated, or those who had endured tragic experiences beyond anyone's imagination.
As it happened, Ye Chen was one of them.
During that month, Ye Chen had also gotten to know several people: Smoker, who had eaten the Logia Smoke-Smoke Fruit; Hina, who had eaten the Cage-Cage Fruit; Shu, who had eaten the Rust-Rust Fruit; Very Good, who had eaten the Berry-Berry Fruit; and Vergo, who was as quiet and taciturn as Ye Chen. No one knew Vergo's ability, but he was stronger than the other children.
Together with Ye Chen, they had all received special attention from the Marines, simply because they were either Devil Fruit users or exceptionally talented.
In addition, many children had been sent away from the academy during that month. Clearly, they had been eliminated.
"Very good. There are several promising seedlings in this class."
In the academy's great plaza, all sorts of training equipment and weapons were arranged nearby. At that moment, a powerful man with purple hair stared sternly at Ye Chen and the others.
This man was a legend. He was Black Arm Zephyr, a Marine Admiral and one of the highest combat powers on the seas, among the very few standing at the pinnacle. He could control his own fate, yet it was tragic that he was bound by so-called justice.
In the end, it led to the destruction of his family and a miserable later life.
Ye Chen neither admired nor mocked him, because he had neither the qualifications nor the time for it. His heart was utterly calm; all that so-called worship and excitement had long since been worn away.
This was a real world, a cruel world where strength reigned supreme. Ye Chen would no longer fantasize about salvation, nor would he fantasize about fairness or equality.
So Ye Chen neither worshipped nor feared him. He merely looked at Zephyr with calm indifference.
"You were originally supposed to have other instructors, but I'm on leave recently, so I came to train you little recruits. For justice, you must persevere. Anyone who fails to meet my standards will be eliminated immediately. There will be no second chance."
After delivering a long string of threats and encouragements, Zephyr continued speaking at length. From time to time, a trace of his aura pressed down on them, forcing Ye Chen to grit his teeth as though a mountain were weighing on his shoulders, trying to make him bend.
That feeling again. That feeling of being unable to resist. Ye Chen clenched his fists so tightly that his nails pierced his flesh. His face was pale, and though his legs trembled, he forced himself upright. There was no expression on his face, but his heart was filled with ruthless resolve.
Ye Chen was not the only one who endured it. Not far away, Smoker and Vergo also straightened their backs with proud defiance.
As for Hina, Shu, and Very Good, they were somewhat worse off, but still far better than the others.
Ye Chen could clearly feel Zephyr's gaze settle on him, Smoker, Vergo, and the three others. Obviously, enduring this aura was one of Zephyr's tests.
"Everyone, turn around. Run ten laps around the track."
Without any preparation, Zephyr began the training directly—or perhaps it did not even count as training.
One lap was two kilometers, two thousand meters. Ten laps meant twenty kilometers. For Ye Chen's current body, that was somewhat difficult.
But this world was just that strange. Even children possessed terrifying physical constitutions. In his previous world, aside from athletes, try running twenty kilometers at once. If you could get out of bed the next day, he would jump straight into the sea.
Most importantly, Ye Chen and the others ranged from eight or nine to sixteen or seventeen years old. They were still children. Even with powerful physiques, twenty kilometers was torture.
The first lap posed no problem, and they merely sweated a little. By the third lap, some were drenched in sweat, their breathing pounding like drums as they gasped heavily.
By the fifth lap, some had slowed down.
By the seventh lap, some had already stopped.
By the eighth lap, only six or seven people were still holding on.
Unable to catch his breath, Ye Chen felt as though his body weighed a ton. His feet especially felt as if they had been filled with lead. Every time he lifted one, it was like dragging a stone tied to it, sending sharp pain through him.
His clothes were soaked through with sweat, as though he had just been pulled from the water.
"Pant, pant."
Amid the rapid gasping, Smoker caught up beside Ye Chen. He glanced at him without saying anything, merely staring ahead and gritting his teeth.
Ye Chen said nothing either, because neither of them had the strength to speak. More importantly, someone remained in the lead the entire time: Vergo.
It was hard to imagine why that guy, who had not eaten a Devil Fruit, could persist for so long. Smoker's face was not only pale, but full of unwillingness.
As for Ye Chen, he did not feel unwilling. What others did had nothing to do with him. He had no interest in competing with them. All he cared about was himself.
If he could not even endure this, then his future would remain the same—being tortured and killed by others.
Never again. He would never be a slave again. He would become someone above others. He would change all of this.
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