Watching Sakazuki's figure disappear into the distance, Daren finally withdrew his gaze and shook his head.
"How long are you planning to keep watching the show, Vice Admiral Borsalino..."
He turned around, looking at the seemingly empty ground before him.
"Sorry, sorry, but you two were putting out so much killing intent and clashing so fiercely... it was just too scary."
A slow, lazy voice drifted over, infuriatingly casual.
Moments later, countless golden photons gathered before Daren, forming into the tall figure of Borsalino.
Borsalino raised his hands in a surrendering gesture and muttered,
"I really don't want to be caught between two monsters like you guys..."
Daren rolled his eyes.
"If I remember right, weren't you the one who suggested that Sakazuki and I fight back then, Vice Admiral Borsalino?"
Borsalino put on an innocent face.
"I only made a suggestion. You're the one who actually carried it out, Vice Admiral Daren..."
Daren couldn't be bothered to argue with this joker and changed the subject.
"So, you're one of the special instructors too?"
Borsalino dropped his hands and nodded.
"Since it was an invitation from Zephyr-sensei... even though I'm swamped with military duties, there was no way I could refuse him, right?"
"…"
Are you seriously claiming to be busy with military work?
Daren's mouth twitched slightly.
"So, the specially appointed instructors this time are just the three of us?"
Borsalino smiled slyly.
"There's more..."
More?
Daren froze, a sudden bad feeling rising in his gut.
"Dahahahaha!! Daren!! As expected of my eternal rival!! You're a special instructor too!!"
A loud, dramatic laugh erupted from behind him.
Hearing that over-energized voice, Daren sighed deeply.
He turned around—and sure enough, there was Kuzan, standing tall with his hands on his hips, looking impossibly full of himself.
Daren rubbed his temples and muttered under his breath,
"Great... everyone's here now..."
But then...
"Kuzan, when did you get promoted to Vice Admiral?"
He stared at Kuzan walking toward him, noticing for the first time the shoulder insignia on his Marine cloak clearly marking his new rank.
Last night at their late-night gathering, Kuzan had been in casual clothes—and drunk at that—so nobody had brought it up.
Kuzan's grin stiffened.
Scratching the back of his head awkwardly, he said,
"Well, I went with Garp-san to chase after Roger's pirate crew... and, uh, after the Battle of Edd War, the headquarters just promoted me."
Daren: ???
Wait, you followed Garp out to sea... that was supposed to be a "crackdown" on Roger's crew?
That was basically a glorified vacation!
And about the Battle of Edd War—wasn't that entire battle orchestrated by me!?
I was the one who defeated Shiki the Golden Lion in the end too!
How the hell did you end up getting promoted!?
Daren silently cursed Sengoku in his heart, hoping all his senbei would get stolen.
"Okay, so there are four special instructors..."
Borsalino smiled and said,
"Yes. And from what Zephyr-sensei said, it seems the training camp's teaching system has also been adjusted a bit."
"Zephyr-sensei will still oversee the overall teaching and training like before. We special instructors will mainly focus on practical combat, each responsible for a different area."
"For example, in my case..."
He pointed at himself with a grin.
"I'll be in charge of swordsmanship during the combat classes."
Kuzan chimed in excitedly,
"And me!"
"I'll be teaching close-quarters combat skills!"
Daren pondered for a moment, forming a rough idea of how the training camp would be structured.
Zephyr, as the chief instructor, would give all the new recruits a comprehensive education, covering core skills and basics. Then, each special instructor would take over a specialized area of training. It was a solid and reasonable system—let the experts handle their specialties.
Kuzan, having trained under both Zephyr and Garp, had already built a rock-solid foundation in close combat. Assigning him to teach physical fighting skills to the new recruits made perfect sense.
As for Borsalino... Daren glanced at him. Even now, he still couldn't figure out what this guy was really good at.
Was it Devil Fruit development? Close-quarters combat? Or maybe that strangely casual swordsmanship?
This guy was always an enigma—he seemed to know a bit of everything...
Still, among the special instructors, Borsalino seemed to be the only one qualified to teach swordsmanship.
Sakazuki had dabbled in it—back in North Blue, he had used a sword as his weapon.
But after he gained the Magu Magu no Mi, he abandoned swordsmanship entirely, turning into a mad brawler instead. After all, no matter how strong your sword skills were, they couldn't match the sheer destructive force of a magma-powered punch.
Besides, Sakazuki's nature had always been straightforward. He used a sword only because it made killing pirates easier. Now that magma was far more efficient, ditching the blade was only natural.
Given all that, Borsalino really was the only option left.
No way Daren himself could teach the recruits the "profound and mysterious" art of swordsmanship.
"What about Sakazuki?"
Borsalino smiled.
"He'll be responsible for Devil Fruit development... Mostly theoretical classes, though."
Daren nodded.
Not everyone was a Devil Fruit user, but it was essential to have courses on how to handle them. Even those without powers needed to know how to fight against those who did.
Know yourself and your enemy, and you will never be defeated.
As for this so-called "mainly theoretical" course...
Daren's eye twitched.
Zephyr-sensei probably just didn't dare let Sakazuki handle live training. If that guy lost control, he might end up crippling half the students.
Having a class with the highest injury rate would be... entertaining, to say the least.
"Then... what about me?"
Daren raised an eyebrow.
Borsalino would teach swordsmanship, Kuzan would teach close-quarters combat, Sakazuki would teach Devil Fruit development...
Haki wasn't part of the standard training camp curriculum...
Was he just extra?
Kuzan also looked at Daren with curiosity.
Like Daren, he had only returned to headquarters a couple of days ago and only knew his own assignment. He wasn't familiar with the broader arrangements for the camp either.
"You..."
Borsalino looked meaningfully at the Vice Admiral in front of him, rubbing the stubble on his chin.
"You'll be in charge of a special training project for the new recruits."
"What?"
"Physique."
"..."
Black lines formed across Daren's face.
No wonder Zephyr had that strange, bitter look when he invited him earlier...
So he was still holding a grudge over him mastering the "Indestructible Body" from Kaidou!
"Oh, right, there's one more thing Zephyr-sensei recently added..."
Borsalino scratched his head as if he just remembered.
"The third training camp has implemented a dual selection system. Seats are ranked based on strength, and the higher your rank, the sooner you get to pick your instructor. It's meant to motivate the recruits."
"The top four will also be selected to serve as adjutants for us four special instructors."
At that, his expression turned a little sour as he glanced at Daren.
"It looks like we'll be stuck babysitting..."
...
(100 Chapters Ahead)
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