"What kind of king do you want to be?!"
"..."
Luffy lifted his head, gazing up at the azure sky.
His mind was a storm of thoughts.
The sky was still as free as ever.
But he... he felt anything but free.
He had to admit, ever since he set out to sea, everything... had gone terribly wrong.
No crew.
No food.
The only companion he had, a red-nosed clown he'd stumbled into while fleeing the Marines, had vanished under the shadow of his grandfather's colossal fist.
Before leaving, he had sworn—to the sky, to the villagers, to Shanks' straw hat.
That he would become the Pirate King.
That he would become the freest man on this sea!
But reality had slapped him hard in the face.
As a pirate, was he free?
No.
Not free at all!
The Marines would hunt you down, forcing you to scurry about.
Hunger would torment you, driving you to fight tooth and nail for just a loaf of bread.
Exhaustion would eat away at you, leaving even sleep restless and uneasy.
And the Pirate King—the one who stood above all pirates, the one called the freest man of all...
What awaited him was the harshest pursuit from the entire world!
"..."
Luffy's gaze fell on Dane.
Commodore Dane. He wasn't the strongest of the new-generation Marines at G-3.
But with just a single swing of his blade...
The rubber body he was so proud of had been slashed open, leaving him covered in wounds.
The sensation of the blade's edge against his neck still lingered.
That was the touch of death.
That was the helplessness of being unable to resist.
If not for his grandfather's protection... he truly would have died!
And besides... if he couldn't even defeat a Marine Commodore, what talk was there of freedom?
Of becoming Pirate King?
Get stronger.
He had to get stronger!
Stronger than Dane. Stronger than his grandfather. Stronger than everyone!
Only with absolute strength would he be qualified to speak of dreams, qualified to choose his own path.
Pirate King...
He would think about that again once he was strong enough.
Luffy leapt up from the ground, meeting Zephyr's gaze.
"I don't want to be some king! I want to get stronger!"
His voice echoed across the training ground, carrying both unwillingness and unshakable resolve.
"Hmph—!"
Zephyr looked at him, the corner of his mouth curling into a faint smile.
Good.
The first step was complete.
He suddenly bellowed, "Then get over there and lie down!!!"
"!!!"
Luffy's body trembled. Without the slightest hesitation, he sprinted toward the line of recruits.
"Bang—!"
He dropped heavily to the scorching ground beside Koby.
"Mm."
Zephyr nodded in satisfaction.
Deep within, an enormous "teaching plan" was just beginning.
Straw Hat boy...
Every strong man's conviction came from absolute confidence in his own strength.
But when you realized that everything you prided yourself on was fragile as paper before true power...
Your conviction would collapse!
And then, just like now, you would cast aside illusions and hunger for strength.
You would train desperately, grow rapidly, and rebuild your confidence.
"But... did you think it ends there?"
Zephyr turned his head, his eyes seeming to pierce through space, falling upon a man in Impel Down.
When you think you've grown strong enough, when young Hawke returns from his trial in Impel Down...
I'll throw you to his side!
So you can see with your own eyes what kind of monsters his subordinates are.
So you can see with your own eyes what kind of terror Hawke himself, that super-monster, truly is!
The confidence you rebuilt through training would be crushed once again, without mercy.
At that time...
Only then would you truly reflect...
In this new era ruled by the Marines, is the path of piracy nothing more than a dead end?
"Ha—"
The corners of Zephyr's lips slowly rose.
After serving so many years as Instructor of the Marines, he knew all too well how to handle these stubborn youths.
Relentless beatings and suppression would only fuel their defiance.
To deal with people like this...
You had to strike at their hearts!
...
Impel Down.
Level 5, the Freezing Hell.
The bone-chilling wind cut like knives, and the air was thick with the frost of despair.
Everything here was buried beneath a thick layer of ice.
"Crack—"
Hawke stepped into this white hell, the ice beneath his feet snapping crisply.
Not far away, two battles raged fiercely.
"Clang—!"
Zoro's Wado Ichimonji clashed violently with Shiryu's Thunderstorm, sparks flying.
Shiryu was drenched in blood, yet his bloodthirsty eyes grew ever more frenzied, every strike filled with lethal intent.
Zoro's fighting spirit blazed, his blade coated with Armament Haki.
In this life-or-death duel with the former chief jailer, he could clearly feel his swordsmanship advancing at a terrifying pace.
Every slash, every block—
Each was a step forward.
Exhilarating!
So damn exhilarating!
Elsewhere, Sanji was locked in battle with his own opponent.
Behind them, Kuma stood silently, a mountain of a man looming still and immovable.
"Mm."
Hawke paused, watching for a while, then nodded.
For now, Zoro and Sanji's strength was not too far apart.
But both had a great deal of room to grow.
Leaving aside pure swordsmanship and kicking techniques, Zoro had yet to master his demonic aura or Conqueror's Haki.
Sanji had not yet awakened his genetic lineage factor.
Even so...
During their time with him, through Marine training systems and nonstop real combat, their strength had already surpassed that of Headquarters Captains.
After enduring Impel Down's trial, they would be ready to step into the rank of Admiral-level combatants.
Their current ranks—one Captain, one Commander—were somewhat too low.
No rush.
After the Summit War, his own rank would surely rise again.
By then, he'd "persuade" old Kizaru with some Belly to personally guide Zoro's swordsmanship and Sanji's kicking techniques.
And at the same time, he'd nominate them for promotion.
"Tap—"
Hawke shook off his thoughts and strode deeper into the Freezing Hell, finally stopping before a solitary cage.
In the shadows of the cage, Vergo still looked much the same as when he'd first been imprisoned. Sengoku had been too busy with the Marine independence matters to visit him.
But he had entrusted Hawke with a message.
Hawke spoke lightly, his voice carrying clear through the icy wind.
"Vergo, feeling lonely?"
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku asked me to deliver a message."
'Don't worry. Once I'm done with this, Doflamingo and the entire Donquixote Family will be locked up here to keep you company!'
"!!!"
Vergo lifted his head, eyes brimming with complex emotion as he looked at Hawke.
"Blood Hawk"—Hawke.
The leading figure of the new generation of Marines.
Those two monstrous Marines currently training in the Freezing Hell were his subordinates.
From their occasional quarrels, it wasn't hard to tell...
Hawke was a man capable of going toe-to-toe with the great pirates of Level 6.
"Sigh..."
Vergo let out a faint sigh.
He didn't know exactly what had gone wrong, leading to his exposure...
But with a leader like this, it was clear.
Doflamingo and the entire Family would be wiped out!
Was their whole family really destined to reunite here in the Freezing Hell, together?
"..."
Hawke looked at Vergo, the corner of his lips curling into a mischievous grin.
"By the way, do you like reading the newspaper?"
"What?"
"Hah, nothing."
Hawke chuckled, shaking his head, no longer paying him any attention.
Just then, a mountain of ice formed from stacked prisoner corpses suddenly shifted.
"Poof—!"
A massive, absurdly painted face burst out from the pile of the dead.
A purple afro, thick lashes, and that signature sharp chin.
"Whoosh—!"
Kuma vanished from his spot in an instant, reappearing before that giant face, his Armament-coated paw raised high!
"Kuma?!"
The owner of that face cried out in shock as the paw came within inches.
Kuma froze mid-strike.
"Ivankov?!"
Ivankov.
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