Area A / Area A13 ...

Under Zephyr's instruction, his basic physical techniques improved, and a line of text appeared on his panel.

"Basic Physical Techniques LV1."

On the seventh day, during a battle with Kuzan, he was already able to put up a decent fight. He was no longer getting brutally beaten from one side.

This filled Xia Le with confidence.

"If I use Conqueror's Haki..."

"Forget it. That would be too unfair."

Still, the feeling of growing stronger quickly and improving every day had truly drawn him in, giving him a deep sense of accomplishment.

Especially when all the other students around him were monsters.

Every day, Zephyr gathered the future Three Admirals and several other promising young people to teach them together.

Since he had a good relationship with Kuzan, Xia Le naturally often sought him out for sparring. Borsalino likewise could not avoid these simple exchanges.

"They really are monsters!"

"Compared to Kuzan, Borsalino looks completely harmless on the outside. But because he enlisted a little earlier, he's even more abnormal!"

Xia Le had already formed a very clear understanding.

Among all the trainees, these two were the strongest and most monstrous. Their strength, speed, and reactions were all genuinely monstrous. Everyone else was still within the realm of normalcy.

"Without using Conqueror's Haki, I have no chance of winning."

His eyes shifted slightly toward Sakazuki, who stood not far beside him.

Sakazuki had awakened after being unconscious for three days, but he had not taken the initiative to provoke or cause trouble again.

Xia Le had originally looked forward to intimidating him with another burst of Conqueror's Haki, but he had not expected everything to remain peaceful.

"Extraordinary willpower and powerful physical attributes. He truly deserves to be called a monster."

He sighed inwardly, without feeling the slightest bit proud.

On the morning of the tenth day after arriving at G-5 Fortress,

an urgent assembly whistle rang throughout the entire base. Xia Le quickly put on his Marine uniform and draped the white Justice Cloak over his shoulders.

"Hurry, Xia Le! Emergency assembly!"

"We're probably heading out!"

Kuzan leaped down from the upper bunk. He was already fully dressed, his whole body brimming with excitement.

"Mm!"

Xia Le nodded.

The dormitory housed four people. The other two were also officers of field rank, both in their thirties.

"Hopefully, we'll be assigned to the same Warship."

One of the bearded men chuckled.

Kuzan waved and quickly walked out. Xia Le did not respond.

The base had become crowded due to the sudden increase in troops in recent days. Everyone had been assigned temporary quarters. The chances of being assigned to the same ship for the coming operation were slim.

After all, there were quite a few officers stationed inside G-5 Fortress at this moment.

When they hurried to the square, they saw that it was already packed with Marines. Every one of them wore a cold expression, their Justice Cloaks fluttering in the wind behind them. The atmosphere was solemn and imposing.

"We should be going with Vice Admiral Garp."

Kuzan spoke in a low voice.

Xia Le nodded. He thought so too, but he could not be certain. He had not seen Garp for ten whole days.

The assembly proceeded quickly. All the officers were elites, and in a short time, the entire square had formed several formations.

"You were all elites summoned from Headquarters, and you should also understand the purpose of this assembly."

"So I won't waste any more words!"

Sengoku shouted in a low voice from the High Platform.

"Next, we'll assign the missions."

"Your mission is to head to the Edd War Waters and observe and closely monitor the movements of Golden Lion Shiki and the Flying Pirates."

"But remember: avoid combat whenever possible."

All the Marines stood at attention and shouted in unison, "Yes!"

One name after another was called. After quickly stepping out of formation and learning their assigned Warship numbers, they ran off.

"Kuzan!"

Sengoku shouted.

"Port No. 6, Warship B3."

Kuzan immediately acknowledged the order before turning and leaving.

Xia Le waited quietly, but his name was not called until a moment later.

"You, head to Port No. 8 and Warship A5!"

Sengoku ordered.

"Yes!"

Xia Le turned and hurried away.

The Warships were easy to find. Each hull had a conspicuous number painted on it. After boarding, he saw several officers of field rank similar to his own.

There was also a particularly tall man with an honest, foolish smile on his face.

"Xia Le! I didn't expect us to end up on the same ship."

Xia Le was somewhat surprised. "Saron?"

"You still remember me?"

Saron laughed in his booming voice, looking delighted.

Xia Le smiled as well. He looked over the others. He knew almost no one, and the atmosphere aboard the ship was heavy and solemn.

Clearly, the mission was about to begin, and no one was in the mood for conversation.

A moment later, a tall figure boarded the Warship. His brows carried a hint of fatigue, and a sword hung at his waist.

"Rear Admiral Jerry!"

Upon seeing him, everyone aboard the ship saluted in unison.

Rear Admiral Jerry waved his hand and lit a Cigar.

"No need for formalities."

"Set sail. Our mission is to cover the northwestern area of the Edd War Waters and monitor the Flying Pirates."

His voice was listless, making Xia Le wonder whether his kidneys had been drained dry.

Moreover, the man's face was pale, and he was tall and thin—so thin that a gust of wind might blow him over. He looked as though he did not have long to live.

Chapter 15: Area A

Chapter 15: Area A13

Chapter 15: Area A13

The Warships left the Harbor one after another in batches, as their destinations differed.

After fifteen minutes, the Warship Xia Le was aboard began to move toward the Edd War Waters.

"I've looked into it. The northwestern part of the Edd War Waters is very empty, so we can be considered one of the relatively safer teams."

Saron spoke in his booming voice, radiating enthusiasm.

"Safe?"

Xia Le was stunned.

"Yes. Our mission this time is only to search for and observe the movements of Golden Lion's group from a distance. Under normal circumstances, there won't be any fighting."

Saron spoke happily.

As Marines, especially when they were summoned to carry out missions in the New World, they faced a high death rate. Many of his comrades who had enlisted alongside him had already lost their lives.

"Is that so?"

Xia Le murmured.

He was not afraid of death. In fact, cycling between life and death would allow him to improve his strength even faster.

However, the current mission arrangements had indeed exceeded his expectations.

Originally, he had thought he would be traveling with Kuzan, Garp, and the others, but the result was clearly different.

The journey was not particularly strict. Aside from the officers taking turns standing watch, everyone else was quite free. Rear Admiral Jerry was also an unconventional superior who essentially left them alone.

Most of the time, the tall and thin Rear Admiral with a kidney-deficient appearance smoked his Cigar alone, sighing constantly as though he carried some worry in his heart.

Instead, Xia Le and Saron got along quite happily during this period.

This young man of the Giants looked very different from humans. He had a huge body, but his personality was kind, passionate, and, most importantly, simple and honest.

The two of them had met a few days earlier through Kuzan's introduction.

"I saw Kuzan and Sakazuki board Vice Admiral Garp's ship. They must have been assigned a special mission."

"Borsalino seems to have stayed behind at the base."

Saron revealed some surprising news to Xia Le.

"A mission? What kind of mission do they have?"

Xia Le asked doubtfully.

"I don't know. It must be an extremely dangerous mission, unlike how easy ours is."

Saron said with a laugh.

Xia Le nodded and stopped thinking about it. He continued cultivating silently.

Once someone possessed Superhuman Level physical attributes, as long as they were willing to work hard and had a little talent, learning the Six Powers was quite fast.

On the third day of the journey to the Edd War Waters, he mastered Shigan.

On the fifth day, the Warship arrived at the designated location and entered patrol mode. Rear Admiral Jerry reported the situation to his superiors and received orders to remain on standby.

That afternoon, another line of text appeared on Xia Le's panel.

"Geppo LV1+."

This meant that aside from Kami-e, he had mastered and could use all six techniques of the Six Powers. However, achieving mastery would undoubtedly require a great deal of time and effort.

As far as he knew, entering the Six Powers was easy, but mastering them and developing techniques of one's own was extremely difficult.

Even those three monsters had failed to accomplish it.

The sea was calm. Rear Admiral Jerry occasionally raised his telescope to look around, but he found nothing every time.

They could not even see the shadow of the Flying Pirates. This undoubtedly left everyone disappointed, yet also relieved.

"Looks like this will be an easy job."

Jerry sighed.

Xia Le continued cultivating silently. The training equipment aboard the ship was fully stocked. Following Bogard and Zephyr's guidance, he repeatedly swung the Dumbbells in his hands, whipping up gusts of Gale.

"Monsters are already rare enough!"

"Monsters this diligent and hardworking are even rarer. It's truly admirable."

"Hahaha, Simboo, you're already a middle-aged man of forty. You've long since reached your limit, so of course you don't need to work this hard. But Xia Le is still young."

"Maybe he'll become an Admiral in the future!"