At Marine Headquarters, inside the newly repaired Training Room.
Zephyr had spent a fortune renovating the Training Room, which was full of memories for him. He had not only thickened the walls but also insisted on using top-grade materials throughout.
Its resistance to shocks, pressure, and impacts was more than double that of the old Training Room!
Fortunately, Loa's mission in Hiswell had put a little extra money in the Marines' coffers. Otherwise, Sengoku would have flatly told Zephyr to get lost.
Now, inside the Training Room, Zephyr was guiding Loa through Haki training.
Loa had already learned Life Return, a technique that demanded exceptional control over the body. Given that and Loa's unusual physique, Zephyr decided to teach him Armament Haki first.
In the latter half of the Grand Line—the New World—Haki users were everywhere. It was practically a standard ability.
That meant the Marines had to spread its use as well, or they could never stand against the great Pirates. Forget carrying out missions; merely passing through a pirate's territory could cost them their lives.
Unfortunately, Haki was extremely difficult to learn. Marines generally had to reach officer level before they could grasp even the basics.
And that was only the beginning. Strengthening Haki took tremendous effort too.
Take Rocky and Beard, whom Loa had encountered. Rocky's Armament Haki could be broken with a single Thousand Forest Thrust, while piercing Beard's defenses required Heavy Armored Lancer.
That was the difference Haki strength made. Unlike a Devil Fruit, which could grant tremendous power just by eating the damned thing, Haki had to be honed again and again after it was learned.
For some users, newly acquired Haki was even weaker than their own bodies.
That was why the Marines focused on training elites. They could not match the Pirates