Observation Haki acquired!

Time flew by in a blur of pain and pleasure.

The pleasure was Zephyr's, while the pain belonged to Randall and the other two.

Not a single day went by without the three of them taking a beating.

Randall's daily training began with a beating that exhausted all his Qi.

Then his Observation Haki training began.

He had to admit that Zephyr's method worked.

Perhaps his desire to avoid another beating had unlocked his potential, or perhaps the beatings had made his body more sensitive to its surroundings.

On the tenth day, Randall felt a barrier shatter inside his mind.

His senses felt clearer than ever before. He could even perceive every speck of dust in the air.

Observation Haki, successfully mastered!

In the empty Training Ground, Randall stood in the center with a cloth tied over his eyes.

Zephyr stood about a hundred meters away from him.

Several buckets of pebbles sat at his feet.

He grabbed a handful of pebbles, picked one out with his other hand, and flicked it with a finger.

It whistled through the air, shooting toward Randall like a bullet.

Then Zephyr flicked his fingers in rapid succession, firing more than a dozen pebbles one after another.

Having tasted the power of those bullets, Randall knew getting hit by one felt less like taking a bullet and more like taking a cannonball.

After all, every pebble was coated in terrifyingly pure Armament Haki.

Across from him, Randall activated his Observation Haki with his eyes closed, swiftly dodging every pebble.

But Zephyr gave him no chance to rest.

This time, he hurled an entire handful of pebbles at once.

Then another, and another after that.

The pebbles shot toward Randall in a furious storm.

From Randall's perspective, walls made of pebbles were bearing down on him.

Dodging them grew increasingly difficult.

Even with his stamina, he struggled to endure training that demanded so much energy and concentration.

Within an hour, sweat was pouring off him.

Another half hour passed.

In a moment of carelessness, a pebble struck his left ribs from an extremely tricky angle.

In an instant, he felt half his body go numb.

Then he went flying.

Seeing this, Zephyr stopped throwing pebbles.

Then he praised him:

"Not bad. You lasted twenty minutes longer than last time!"

Lying on the ground, Randall managed a weak smile at those words.

Then he used Life Return to heal the bruising beneath his ribs.

"All right! Break's over. Keep going!"

The bruising beneath Randall's ribs had only just vanished when Zephyr said this.

A new round of abuse began.

The following day, the three of them joined forces to fight Zephyr.

In reality, Zephyr simply beat them up one-sidedly.

Randall had to admit that, unpleasant as the process was, it was the best way to train Armament Haki.

And so, alternating between a day of Observation Haki training and a day of Armament Haki training, three months quickly passed.

Today was the last day of those three months.

Zephyr looked at the three young Marines, all brimming with vitality, with satisfaction in his eyes.

He was already old. Sengoku, Garp, and Tsuru were old too, even if their strength remained at its peak.

Marines like Randall and the other two were the Navy's future.

So far, he had done a pretty good job of whipping that future into shape.

"Randall, let's fight! Go all out!"

A few days later, Milers suddenly came looking for Randall.

Randall raised an eyebrow and said:

"What's going on? Didn't we fight just a little while ago?"

After learning Armament Haki, Aequus and Milers had grown a little cocky over their sudden increase in strength.

Randall didn't seem all that scary anymore!

One of them might not be able to beat him, but with both of them, surely they couldn't lose!

Then Randall had given them a beating they couldn't possibly escape.

Randall had laughed. Their strength had improved, but his own improvement had been even greater!

Before their egos could fully inflate, Randall had popped them.

And now, just a few days later, Milers was back for more?

Milers said, "No, I'm close to a breakthrough. I need pressure! Don't hold back!"

Randall said, "A breakthrough? To become a Swordsman? Sure, no problem!"

Once Milers broke through, Randall would be able to cut loose a little more when they fought!

An hour later, Milers could barely hold his sword hilt in his right hand.

His left arm was already broken, along with most of the bones in his body.

Blood had stained his chest red.

It was a miracle he could still stand.

Yet his eyes were incredibly bright.

He looked at Randall, who had stopped attacking, and said:

"Not enough! I'm almost there! Keep going!"

Randall thought it over. If he were in Milers's position and needed pressure to break through, he would probably be even more reckless.

So he gritted his teeth and chose to do as Milers asked.

"Worst case, I'll carry you to the hospital afterward!"

Under Randall's heavy punches, Milers struggled to resist.

Every punch brought him unbearable pain.

His hands began to stop obeying him, and his senses grew hazy.

He could barely hold on to his sword, the most important thing to a swordsman.

But as his condition worsened, his eyes only grew brighter.

At one moment, after successfully dodging Randall's fist, he finally heard the voice of the wind.

The wind told him that was his enemy's weakest point!

He should slash there!

At that instant, his eyes shone brighter than ever. Like a final flicker of life, his powerless right hand suddenly tightened around the hilt, and he followed the wind's guidance to deliver a slash.

Slash—

Blood sprayed.

Randall stared in surprise at the sword wound on his chest, then looked at Milers.

After that slash, Milers's entire aura had changed.

It was razor-sharp, as though he could cleave anything in two.

On this day, Milers, the future Vice Admiral Red Cloud whose name would strike terror into pirates, successfully grasped the Breath of All Things under the pressure of his friend Randall and entered the realm of a Swordsman.

Then, having just advanced, Milers passed out from his severe injuries.

Randall looked at him speechlessly and sighed:

"I must owe you from another life!"

Then he slung Milers over his shoulder and headed for the hospital.

The next day, Aequus was dumbfounded when he learned that Milers's strength had taken a tremendous leap.

Aequus had a good understanding of his own limits.

He had already given up on catching Randall. That guy was a monster.

But he felt he could surpass Milers if he pushed himself hard enough.

And yet...

Just when he had finally glimpsed a chance to catch up, the gap had widened enormously again.

Deeply shaken, Aequus learned that Milers had broken through with Randall's help and immediately dragged Randall toward the Training Ground.

He wanted a breakthrough too!

With someone volunteering for a beating, Randall was naturally more than happy to oblige.

He enjoyed beating Aequus up right there, then left feeling thoroughly refreshed.

All that remained in the Training Ground was a human-shaped lump questioning his life.

Liar! It did nothing except hurt!