There was still half a month before the second Swordsmanship Tournament officially began.
The pirates of the New World had quieted down, while the World Military Draft continued. Every day, crowds arrived at recruitment centers and joined the Marines, bringing in fresh blood.
Everything seemed to be thriving. Marine Headquarters was gearing up, training new recruits while planning which areas to clear of pirates first.
More importantly, the Elite Training Camp had reopened.
Marine Chief Instructor Black Arm Zephyr had pulled himself together.
Zephyr's return was a tremendous boost to Marine Headquarters, as though it finally had someone to lean on again.
Then, without warning, a major incident cast a shadow over the Marines' progress.
A Celestial Dragon had been killed on his way back from an Affiliated Nation.
The atmosphere in the Marine conference room was heavy.
Fleet Admiral Kong, Admiral Sengoku, Staff Officer Tsuru, and the newly reinvigorated Black Arm Zephyr were all present.
This was serious. Celestial Dragons had been killed by pirates before, or died in wars, and no one had made much of it.
But this time was different. The killer was the current Marine Rear Admiral Aatrox.
"What do we do?"
Staff Officer Tsuru broke the silence as she looked around at the others.
"I don't know. The Celestial Dragons are already putting pressure on us."
"But what a waste."
Sengoku interlaced his fingers, shook his head, then sighed.
Yes, what a waste.
The others felt the same way.
How could they not regret losing such an outstanding Marine?
Zephyr was there because Aatrox was a student he had thought highly of.
There was no denying that the first class of the Elite Training Camp had been the finest yet.
It had produced not only its three most famous monsters—Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Dragon—but also