Noah had just returned from the training ground.
Lilith came to his study with a document in hand.
"Noah, this is Mary's interrogation report."
Noah took a sip of milk tea and opened the document, a trace of surprise appearing on his face.
It was him!
Noah hadn't paid much attention to the bespectacled man Ray had brought back. Lilith and Mary had handled his reception and screening.
The man in the report was Kuro of the Black Cat, who would later make a name for himself in the East Blue before bowing out at the height of his success.
He was only fifteen at the time. He had been born in Machi Port in the Oykot Kingdom, where his father was a small-time merchant. Both his parents had died in a pirate attack two years ago, leaving his family destitute and forcing him to move to the slums.
After reading the report, Noah saw that although Kuro had preyed on other criminals, he had yet to develop the ruthlessness he would show as a pirate. Noah decided to give him a chance.
"There aren't any major problems. We can arrange for him to be reformed."
"What level?"
"He has A-level potential. Give him B-level treatment and training for now, and observe how he changes. Keep him away from the family's core secrets. If he refuses to change his ways, dispose of him." Noah valued Kuro's potential, but that didn't mean he would tolerate Kuro doing as he pleased. If Kuro couldn't be reformed, Noah would dispose of him without hesitation.
Lilith nodded. "I understand."
Noah remembered something else. "By the way, Lilith, how is our secret recruitment of scientists going?"
"Not very well. There are a few fairly well-known scientists in the East Blue, but they're all prominent figures in their respective kingdoms. So far, we've only recruited a dozen or so second-rate researchers."
Noah wasn't surprised. Those famous scientists either had a country's backing or were conceited about their talents. The Noah Family, operating in secret, really didn't have much to offer them.
"It doesn't matter. Second-rate researchers will do. At worst, they can teach the basic sciences and train scientists of our own for the family."
"Actually, we could secretly kidnap-"
Noah waved his hand. "Enough, Lilith. We may be operating in the shadows, but one day we'll stand in the sunlight. There are lines we still need to draw."
"All right!" Lilith didn't think Noah was being old-fashioned. Some things did require firm boundaries, and that was what made him a man worth following for the rest of her life.
The reason Noah was unwilling to do that was that Conqueror's Haki was, in essence, a manifestation of a person's spirit.
The Noah Family was currently developing in secret, but that didn't mean it could abandon all principles.
Moria and Crocodile, for example, both had the potential for Conqueror's Haki, but they had operated in the dark for too long. Their methods had become unscrupulous, and they had strayed from their original intentions. Not only had their Conqueror's Haki failed to awaken, but their Armament Haki and Observation Haki had also steadily deteriorated.
If a person strayed from their original intentions, their will would be shaken, and their Haki would stagnate, or even deteriorate and disappear.
Noah had never considered himself a person of the dark world. His goal had always been to overthrow the World Government and change this pitiful, despairing world.
Torrent Bay lay north of Mackerel Town in the Rum Kingdom.
It was home to one of the Noah Family's secret training camps.
Kuro, who had just been released from a cell at the secret base, was given a change of clothes and sent there.
Noah's Apostle, Cat Claws Brian, was in charge of the Torrent Bay training camp, which was reserved for assessing certain people whose status had yet to be decided.
After reading Kuro's file, Brian had no intention of singling him out. Instead, he planned to observe him secretly. After all, Noah's instructions had included an assessment of Kuro.
There was no need to use other methods on someone so clever; secret observation was enough. Kuro didn't know Observation Haki existed, so if he had any dangerous thoughts, they certainly wouldn't escape Brian's notice.
Inside the camp dormitory, Kuro, who had thought he was more likely to die than survive, listened to several of his roommates explain that this was a secret training camp dedicated to nurturing talent.
Kuro pushed up his glasses with the inside of his wrist. Thought after thought flashed through his mind, but in the end he decided to lie low for the time being.
After all, the psychological trauma Anthony had inflicted on him was simply too severe.
Being crushed without any chance to fight back, along with that bizarre Devil Fruit ability, had left Kuro feeling powerless. Being able to keep his life was already a blessing amid misfortune.
The next day, just as dawn was breaking.
A shrill whistle sounded in the dormitory.
"Get up and assemble!"
"Quick, quick..."
Kuro was completely bewildered, but he scrambled into his clothes and followed his roommates to the training field.
More than fifty people had already gathered there.
Brian watched everyone with a smile. "Twenty laps around the field to warm up. Get started!"
Everyone was already used to it and began running.
Kuro had no choice but to go with the flow and run with the crowd.
As he ran, however, he took stock of the field. Before long, his expression grew uneasy: the field was rather large, and a single lap was about two kilometers.
That meant twenty laps would be forty kilometers.
Remembering that Brian had called it a warm-up made Kuro break out in a cold sweat.
By the end of the day.
Kuro was utterly exhausted, while several of his roommates were still full of energy.
One of them was eating heartily when he reminded Kuro, "Eat more meat. Go to the dispensary and get some ointment to put on later, or you won't be able to get out of bed tomorrow."
"Thanks." Weak as he was, Kuro gritted his teeth against the pain and tore off a large bite of meat. As the sea beast meat went down, he felt warmth spread through his body.
The sea beasts they ate were all small Sea Kings, and they were highly beneficial to the body.
After eating his fill, Kuro followed his roommate to the camp dispensary and picked up an ointment that relieved muscle fatigue and damage.
The ointment was made from a Sea Deer Beast that Barton had infused with vitality. It contained a great deal of vitality. Although it wasn't as effective as having Barton infuse vitality directly, its advantage was that Barton didn't need to do so every few days, and his ability wouldn't be exposed.
After applying the ointment, Kuro felt his body gradually recover, as though he were soaking in a hot spring.
But it still wasn't time for them to rest that evening.
The trainees also had to attend general education and science classes.
In his first general education class, Kuro looked at the Book of Dragon Slaying in his hands. His mind reeled, and cold sweat poured down his back.
The roommate beside him noticed his panic.
With a chuckle, he reassured him, "Don't worry. If you don't tell anyone, who'll know what you studied? Besides, a lot of what's in this book is the reality of this world!"
"..." Kuro wanted to cry but had no tears. He felt he had boarded a pirate ship, and getting off would be difficult.
After all, if anyone found out he had studied a book like this here, the World Government would never let him go.
But what could he do, weak and helpless as he was? He could only accept reality and warn himself never to speak casually about what he had studied here.