After pulling the front door shut, Michael watched with a cold expression as the group of children who had just arrived on the island began their laps.
Zephyr, meanwhile, remained silent.
In a way, Michael was right...
But why was his fly left open?
Could this be entrapment?
Zephyr cast a pitying glance at Luffy, only to see the boy nod blankly before turning to start running.
But he quickly understood.
Of course, this was Garp's grandson.
For him, running ten laps around the island was probably child's play compared to Garp's training.
With that thought, Zephyr silently lit another incense stick in his heart for his students.
Their "good days" were truly about to begin!
...
"Achoo!!"
Monkey D. Garp, who had taken over as the temporary instructor for the elite training camp after Zephyr, sneezed loudly.
He rubbed his nose and laughed heartily at the marines lying on the ground.
"Wahahaha! You bunch of weaklings! Zephyr's way of teaching you was way too soft! Can't even handle one punch from me!? And I was holding back! You guys probably couldn't even take a single kick from my disciple!"
"If... if I may ask, who exactly is this disciple you're referring to?" asked Binz, who was lying on the ground too exhausted to even move a finger, straining to lift his head.
"Oh, right now I'm specifically talking about Marine Headquarters Captain, codenamed 'Empress' Boa Hancock!"
"You do realize she's the 'Empress'!" Ain said helplessly to Garp.
"Even among the SWORD Special Forces, Boa Hancock is one of the most talented individuals!"
"That's true... your talents do fall short compared to that Hancock," Garp nodded without hesitation before continuing.
"Don't think I'm belittling you, and don't feel inferior... Being able to clearly recognize your own strength and potential is also a form of success. Having self-awareness already puts you ahead of many in these seas."
Everyone fell silent upon hearing these words.
To be honest, they had been feeling uneasy.
Their elite training camp for new recruits happened to coincide with the emergence of the SWORD Classified Special Forces.
As the most talented marines among their peers, they naturally wanted to compare themselves to the members of SWORD.
But the more they compared... the more despair they felt.
All they gained was a sense of their own weakness, with no useful insights.
Yet from Garp's words, they realized they had been overthinking things.
Lacking talent didn't mean they couldn't contribute to the Marines.
It simply meant recognizing reality and finding their proper place.
The members of the SWORD Special Forces were meant to be the main players in high-level battles.
The Marine, however, had to rely on people like them—those with some talent but not extraordinary gifts—to fill the ranks of its middle-tier forces.
Different strength levels had different uses.
Those pirates with bounties in the tens of millions still had to be dealt with by people of their caliber, didn't they?
Matching one's abilities to the task at hand—that was the best way for the Marine to operate cohesively now.
"If you're standing here, it means you're not fools," Garp said with a laugh, clapping his hands.
"So, let's move on to the next part!"
"What!? There's more!?"
"This is nothing! The training I put my grandsons through at Marine HQ is way tougher than this!"
"...Being your grandson must be a real blessing."
...
"Ahh, Luffy, you're way too careless!" Ace scolded his idiot brother as they ran.
"How long have you known Uncle Michael!? Can't you tell he's obviously setting a trap!?"
"Huh? A trap? What kind of trap? Can I eat it?" Luffy, sprinting alongside him, suddenly turned his head, drool instantly dripping.
"But can you eat while running?"
"Ugh, he's not usually this clueless…" Sabo sighed from behind Luffy.
"Luffy! Ace isn't talking about fishing! He means entrapment! In this case, you're the fish!"
"No, no, I'm a person!"
Luffy shook his head vigorously, drawing stifled laughter from those around them.
The slightly older Reiju sighed, glancing at the clueless Luffy before turning to her four younger brothers.
"Ichiji! Stop shoving me!"
"Big sis! Who'd want to shove you!? Niji's the one who bumped into me!"
"Not my fault… Sanji and Yonji started fighting again."
"You damn curly-browed blond! I'll kill you!"
"You're the one who's gonna die, you moss-headed bastard!"
'In a way, these four weren't much smarter than Luffy.' Reiju thought to herself.
...
"Ugh, Nojiko, it's so noisy up ahead!" Nami complained, picking at her ear.
"Are we really gonna have to team up with these idiots from now on?"
"Teaming up…? Mom's a Marine, and we grew up in the Marine. Why do you keep using underworld slang?" Nojiko gave her orange-haired sister a resigned look.
"How many times has Mom scolded you for this?"
"Well… doesn't it sound cool?" Nami smirked.
"And most importantly… it makes me stand out, right?"
"No, what's the point of standing out like that!?" Nojiko sighed.
"Listen, don't even think about causing trouble. Mom originally wanted to leave you in Alabasta—she only let you come along reluctantly! Don't push your luck!"
"Who'd want to push their luck!? I'm gonna be the best navigator under Michael's command!"
...
"Wow, there are so many people, brother."
At the very back of the group, Trafalgar Law and his sister, Trafalgar Lami, followed leisurely.
They were the only two members who entered the youth training class as 'Marine recruits'.
Although amber lead disease had long been completely eradicated by Michael, the physical damage caused by the illness still lingered.
Even with Michael's help in treating and restoring their bodies, their physical condition would still be slightly inferior to the others in the youth class for a while.
But none of that mattered.
Following in Michael's footsteps was the sole goal of the siblings.
This wasn't something that could be achieved overnight.
"Yeah, with so many people... there must be plenty of interesting characters, right?"
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