Six Powers Training

Two days later, Marine Headquarters, Fleet Admiral's office.

"Your failed pursuit led to the destruction of a Headquarters warship. All thirty-two Navy officers and soldiers aboard were killed. Gion, do you have anything to say in explanation for this failure?"

Seated behind the massive desk was the current Fleet Admiral—Steel Bone Kong.

His steel-cast muscles stretched his Fleet Admiral's uniform taut, and his voice boomed like a great bell, filled with unquestionable authority.

"No explanation." Gion stood straight and answered calmly. "The deaths of my comrades were entirely my responsibility for failing to pursue them effectively."

"Hmph." Steel Bone Kong snorted, and an immense pressure filled the entire office. "Your responsibility? More than thirty lives and a warship, and all you have to offer is that flimsy word, 'responsibility'?"

He took a new appointment document from a drawer and tossed it onto the desk.

"Starting today, you will be relieved of all field assignments and transferred to the Elite Training Camp as a specially appointed Swordsmanship instructor. You will not set sail again until you rein in that self-righteous arrogance of yours!"

"Yes, Fleet Admiral." Gion saluted without the slightest objection.

Yet as she turned and left the office, that cold, pure sword aura surfaced uncontrollably in her mind once more.

The two-week wilderness survival training on the deserted island had officially ended.

After Rayne dealt with the remnants of the Skull-Crushing Pirates, the following two days passed peacefully, without another incident.

When the instructors' transport ship arrived as scheduled, all the recruits looked... full of energy. They could even be said to be glowing with health.

After returning to Marineford, all the recruits gathered once again at the central training ground.

Zephyr stood atop the platform, his gaze sharp as lightning as it slowly swept across every recruit below.

He had expected to see a group of survivors who were bedraggled but resolute.

Instead, he saw a group of recruits with rosy complexions and high spirits who had even... gained a noticeable amount of weight.

Zephyr nearly failed to maintain his stern expression.

After a pause, he still followed the usual procedure and spoke in his booming voice. "Very good. It seems you all ate... quite a lot during these two weeks."

He had originally wanted to say, "You suffered quite a lot," but looking at those glowing faces below, he simply could not bring himself to say the last two words.

The atmosphere became extremely awkward for a moment.

The recruits below all wore embarrassed expressions. Many unconsciously touched their rounder bellies, their gazes quietly drifting toward the calm figure at the very back of the formation.

It was supposed to be wilderness survival, but someone had practically moved an entire kitchen onto the island!

They ate something different every day, and sometimes there were even desserts. They had lived better than they did at Marineford. It would have been strange if they had not gained weight!

"Ahem!" Zephyr coughed dryly again, forcibly changing the subject as his stern expression returned. "Still, you performed very well this time. Everyone returned, and there were no casualties—this is the first time in the history of our Elite Training Camp!"

Zephyr did not mention the patrol warship stationed beyond the deserted island, nor the Navy soldiers who had died protecting them.

On these seas, sacrifice was simply too commonplace.

Looking at the recruits below, who had grown rounder but were clearly much steadier than before, Zephyr finally nodded.

"Barely passable as Navy soldiers."

He paused, then abruptly raised his voice, filling it with encouragement.

"Since you have learned how to survive, from today onward, you will begin learning how to fight!"

"Your upcoming courses—Marine Six Powers, firearm shooting, and practical Swordsmanship!"

"Your detailed schedules have been posted on the notice board in the dormitory area! At six tomorrow morning, your new hell will begin on time!"

"Now—dismissed!"

On the second morning after the wilderness survival training ended, the Elite Training Camp finally returned to its usual order.

Inside the vast indoor training hall, hundreds of recruits sat cross-legged on the cold floor in utter silence.

After two weeks of being left to their own devices, they were instead full of anticipation for this kind of group class.

The physical combat instructor, Shuzo, walked to the front of the formation. His powerful, booming voice echoed through the empty training hall.

"Listen up! Starting today, you will begin to encounter the true realm of 'superhumans'—the Marine Six Powers!"

"And your first lesson will be the technique among the Six Powers that tests willpower and bodily control the most—Iron Body!"

Shuzo did not spend much time explaining abstruse theories. Instead, he described the essence of the skill in the most straightforward manner.

"Listen carefully! The principle of Iron Body is to accelerate the flow of blood throughout the entire body in an instant, pour your consciousness into it, and mobilize every strand of muscle fiber for synchronized compression and hardening beyond your limits! That grants you steel-like defensive power on a physical level!"

He took a deep breath and suddenly dropped into a horse stance, the muscles across his body instantly tightening!

Iron Body!

With a loud shout, the skin of his bare upper body instantly took on a deep metallic sheen.

Another instructor beside him gripped a heavy wooden sword and swung it down at Shuzo's arm with all his strength!

Crack!

The wooden sword shattered on impact, splinters flying everywhere. Yet not even a pale mark remained on Shuzo's arm.

This astonishing sight made all the recruits gasp, their eyes burning with fervor.

So that's how it is. Rayne sat at the back of the formation and thought, I seem to remember the manga from my previous life mentioning that Iron Body was essentially an extreme form of bodily Armament, a beginner's and weakened version of Armament Haki. For someone like me, who has already mastered [Top-tier] Armament Haki...

With a thought, he sank his consciousness into the system interface.

At the very moment the instructor finished explaining the principle, he saw a new icon immediately appear in the [Skills] list—Iron Body (Beginner).

Then, something happened that even surprised him.

The skill level behind [Iron Body] began rising wildly at a speed visible to the naked eye!

Iron Body (Beginner) → Iron Body (Intermediate) → Iron Body (Advanced)

In just an instant, the skill level stopped at [Advanced].

Rayne understood immediately.

The Marine Six Powers are, at their core, merely basic physical techniques developed to the extreme, then packaged with unique methods to make them easier to spread and standardize.

For someone like me, who has already mastered its superior version—Armament Haki—there really is no need to spend Sin Points on such a low-level skill. It reached the final stage directly.

With that thought, Rayne wanted to see how many Sin Points it would take to push it to [Top-tier].

The next second, he received a system prompt: the highest limit for any single Six Powers skill was Advanced.