Chapter 98: The Third Term Freshmen
Military academy, training camp parade ground.
The early morning gloom had been completely dispelled by the sun, and under the scorching sun, yellow sand danced in the air on the empty parade ground.
A group of military academy freshmen dressed in training uniforms stood there in small groups, chatting excitedly, their young and even somewhat childish faces brimming with excitement.
"Hey, have you heard? It seems that in addition to Zephyr-sensei, the military academy's chief instructor, several powerful generals from headquarters will be invited as special instructors to teach us during this training camp!"
"Really? That's great! It seems that headquarters is taking this term very seriously!"
"I wonder who will be our instructors?"
"I hope it's Vice Admiral Garp! If I could learn under Vice Admiral Garp, I'd probably smile in my sleep..."
"Don't be so naive. Vice Admiral Garp has an important mission to carry out, which is to defeat the Great Pirate Roger... How could he possibly have time to teach us new recruits..."
"Then could it be Admiral Sengoku? He doesn't seem to have much to do, spending most of his time in his office drinking tea and reading the newspaper..."
"No, no, no, I heard that the special instructors this time... are likely to be those monsters from headquarters!"
At this moment, someone whispered mysteriously.
Upon hearing this, everyone else couldn't help but widen their eyes and gasp.
"Really!?"
"That's great!!"
"Vice Admiral Sakazuki, Vice Admiral Borsalino, Vice Admiral Kuzan... and Vice Admiral Daren!!"
"Those terrifying monsters are going to be our instructors!?"
"..."
The third batch of military academy students were shocked, their hearts pounding wildly, their expressions filled with excitement.
For this group of young officers from all over the world and the Grand Line, if Sengoku and Garp were legendary figures and powerful figures of justice, then these four names were the rising stars of the Marines!
They were representatives of the younger generation of the Marines, and in the eyes of countless young people, they were even more dazzling than Garp, Sengoku, and Zephyr, the three Marine elders.
Moreover, because they came from the same training camp, deep down, they subconsciously felt that Sakazuki and the others were closer to them than Garp and Sengoku. After all, they were fellow disciples.
"And I also heard that the top few who perform outstandingly in this term will have the opportunity to become adjutants to the specially appointed instructors!"
Someone added.
As soon as these words were spoken, almost everyone in the room held their breath, staring with burning eyes.
Adjutant!
This was no longer just a "teacher-student" relationship, but a relationship between close confidants!
Being able to become the adjutant of one of those monsters and learn from a future Admiral of the Marines, not to mention the improvement in strength and vision, this alone would be enough to allow them to rise rapidly in their future military careers!
Kuzan, who was recently promoted to Vice Admiral of the Marine Headquarters, was the best example!
He only briefly followed Vice Admiral Garp in the operation to subdue Roger's pirate crew, but he was quickly promoted from Rear Admiral to Vice Admiral.
"This... this is great!"
"So we can choose our instructors, right?"
"Vice Admiral Sakazuki, Vice Admiral Kuzan, Vice Admiral Borsalino, and Vice Admiral Daren... I don't know which one to choose."
"I wonder what their personalities and styles are like..."
"Hey, Arthur... weren't you serving under Vice Admiral Daren before? What kind of person is he?"
When these words were spoken, many people's eyes turned to a gentle-looking black-haired teenager.
Arthur was taken aback for a moment and scratched his head, saying,
"Vice Admiral Daren... He's a very unique person."
At that moment, he was still in a state of shock, immersed in his inner surprise.
Even standing in the training ground, he still couldn't believe that he had obtained such a precious training camp spot!
"Cut it out! That's the same as saying nothing!"
"Really!"
The others glared at him in annoyance.
Upon hearing the name "Daren," a wooden figure among the new students' crowd flickered slightly.
He had black hair cut short, a lightning bolt tattooed on his temple, half a piece of steak stuck to his face, and stood stiffly on the outskirts of the crowd, seemingly out of place among the lively, chattering new students.
If Daren were here, he would have recognized this guy at a glance as one of his own subordinates... Vergo.
Besides Vergo, there were several other "misfits" scattered throughout the crowd.
One of them had curly black hair, a gaunt face with a missing upper tooth, and grayish-green skin, looking like a walking zombie.
He was concentrating on polishing the knight's sword in his hand, muttering to himself,
"Right Angle Fencing..."
—T Bone.
Not far away, a burly figure was sweating profusely as he did push-ups, gritting his teeth and counting,
"813, 814, 815..."
He was bare-chested, his bronze-colored skin slick with sweat, muscles knotted as if forged from steel, and his black hair tied into a thick rope-like braid atop his head.
—Shuzo.
On the other side, a tall woman was casually straddling a cannon, her long legs powerful, her figure nearly perfect. She held a cigarette between her lips, watching the ongoing discussions with interest.
She wore a short-sleeved top that highlighted her slender waist and an astonishingly full bust. A spiked collar and earrings, combined with the tattoos on her arms, made her resemble a wild female leopard.
—Doll.
Suddenly, the voices among the crowd began to quiet down.
A magnificent and imposing figure slowly walked onto the training ground, his short purple hair blazing in the sunlight.
"Zephyr-sensei!"
Everyone was startled, quickly putting away their own thoughts, forming a neat line, and saluting Zephyr solemnly.
Zephyr's tiger-like eyes swept over them one by one, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"I won't waste any time. I'm sure everyone has already heard about the arrangements for this training camp..."
He suddenly frowned.
"Why is one person missing?"
Zephyr counted the number of people again, looking surprised.
"Where's that kid Magellan?"
Everyone looked at each other and shook their heads.
"Zephyr-sensei, Magellan has diarrhea and said he'll be a little late."
Arthur raised his hand and said.
Zephyr's mouth twitched slightly.
Magellan's abilities were unique, so the training camp had even arranged a separate dormitory for him.
"Um... Zephyr-sensei, I'm over here."
A weak voice came from a short distance away.
Everyone froze and turned their heads.
They saw a pale young figure crouching in the shadows far away.
Behind him were a pair of huge black wings, and atop his head were two black devil horns. He was crouched there, hugging his knees, looking over with a pitiful expression as he waved his hand weakly.
As he spoke, wisps of purple gas could be seen faintly leaking from his mouth and nose.
"I'm fine here. I'm afraid I'll harm the other students."
Magellan said bitterly.
Zephyr: ...