"Who the heck are you?"
Nao snapped, uncharacteristically embarrassed. He swung his bamboo sword up and pointed it fiercely at the figure sitting atop the wall. "It's creepy for someone to suddenly start talking out of nowhere early in the morning, you know?!"
"Ah, sorry."
The man ruffled his messy hair. "I must've dozed off. I just woke up, didn't think much of it. My bad."
"At least you're honest. Fine, I'll forgive you this once," Nao said, lowering his sword. His gaze remained suspicious as he studied the man. "Just woke up? Don't tell me you've been sleeping on the wall all night?"
"Well, not the whole night."
The man yawned again, muttering, "I only got back to Headquarters around 3 a.m., and I was too tired to bother finding my room, so I just crashed here for a bit."
What a weirdo.
"Well, now that it's morning, maybe you should head home," Nao said, exasperated. He pointed toward the exit of the training grounds. "I don't like having strangers watching while I practice swordsmanship."
"Fair enough."
The man stretched lazily as he leapt down from the wall. "I'll be going, then. Oh, by the way, where would Zephyr-sensei be at this hour?"
"Probably just up. He's likely in the cafeteria… Wait, are you one of Zephyr-sensei's—"
Nao's words cut off as the man emerged from the mist, and recognition dawned on him. His expression shifted, surprised.
"Vice Admiral Kuzan?"
Out of the fog stepped the man, wearing a black coat, a purple headband embroidered with the Marine scales of justice, and messy black curls. His face was unmistakable—he was none other than the future Marine Admiral known as Aokiji.
Of course, he didn't yet hold that title. At twenty-eight years old, Kuzan was still young and currently a Vice Admiral.
"Ah la la, didn't think I'd be recognized."
Kuzan gave Nao a curious look, scratching his head. "For even a recruit who hasn't graduated yet to recognize me… I guess I've made a bit of a name for myself, huh?"
His tone was still easygoing, but Nao knew better than to act casually now that he recognized who was in front of him.
"That's too modest, Vice Admiral Kuzan."
Nao stood up straight, giving him a crisp salute before speaking solemnly, "Zephyr-sensei considers you a point of pride. He's used your example more than once to inspire and motivate us."
"Pride, huh..."
Kuzan repeated the word softly, and for some reason, memories he thought he'd buried resurfaced after months of dormancy.
Images flashed through his mind: a refugee ship exploding under cannon fire, Sakazuki's cold profile, the cries of civilians, the despair in a little black-haired girl's eyes… and the wild, carefree laughter of a fallen comrade, still echoing in his ears.
"I wouldn't call it something to be proud of."
Kuzan's mood suddenly darkened. He lost all interest in conversation and, glancing at Nao's puzzled face, sighed and waved a hand. "…Thanks for the directions. We'll talk again another time."
With that, he turned and walked away from the training grounds, his silhouette swallowed by the mist.
Judging by his direction, he was probably heading straight for the cafeteria to find Zephyr.
"What's with that guy…"
Nao watched Kuzan's retreating figure in confusion. This wasn't how he'd expected the encounter to go. He'd been a little excited to bump into such an illustrious senior, hoping for some casual conversation.
When the exchange ended abruptly, he simply shook his head, picked up his bamboo sword, and refocused on his sword training.
He began, as always, with standard practice swings at a steady rhythm of one stroke every two seconds, continuing for a full half-hour.
After a short break to stretch his sore wrists, he switched to dual-wielding with two bamboo swords, reviewing his dual-blade techniques.
Dual-wielding.
This was one of the few skills Nao had reached a basic level in even before gaining his system—after over ten years of sword training since childhood, he had long since mastered the fundamentals.
In terms of basic swordsmanship alone, he ranked among the top in the elite camp, standing toe-to-toe with any of his fellow recruits.
Why dual-wielding? Maybe it was because his father, Captain Natsuya, had been an exceptional dual-wielder himself.
But if Nao were honest, he'd have to admit it was also due to his past life, where his love of manga had ingrained the notion that dual-wielding was the epitome of cool—flashy, stylish, and overflowing with "trend points."
Kenshin's Saito, Kyoraku Shunsui, Miyamoto Musashi… even Levi and Kirito could be considered living examples.
"Hah…"
After repeating his sword forms several times, the exertion caught up with him. Nao let out a deep breath, snapping himself out of the focused trance he'd fallen into.
He glanced at his battered bamboo sword, realizing that at the rate he was wearing them out, he'd need a replacement in a few days.
In less than a year at Headquarters, he'd already gone through twenty or thirty training swords just from personal practice.
"I wonder if the system's shop ever refreshes with famous blades…"
Nao mused as he packed up his jacket and headed for the cafeteria.
"If it does, how many points would it take to exchange for a named blade of the Meito rank?"
Hopefully not too expensive—or else he might as well wait until graduation and earn one himself.
…
While Nao was finishing his morning sword training and heading to breakfast…
In a spacious office located in the northeast corner of the elite camp, Zephyr, the chief instructor of the Headquarters recruit program, was meeting a special visitor.
"Sherry from the Kingdom of Orpheus in the North Blue?"
Zephyr accepted the two bottles of wine from Kuzan, his eyes lighting up at the sight of the "Sherr" label. He grinned.
"I like it! I'll gladly accept this gift. You've got good taste, Kuzan—always knowing what I like best!"
"As long as you're happy, sensei."
Seeing his long-missed mentor, Kuzan's earlier melancholy eased a bit. He managed a faint smile and said softly, "I confiscated half a crate of this from a pirate crew earlier this year. They're over twenty years aged. Next time, I'll bring you the rest for a proper tasting."
"Deal!"
Zephyr laughed heartily, but as he set the bottles aside and returned to his desk, his expression turned serious.
"You've been gone from Headquarters for months now. Sengoku issued a recall order, but you said you had business and went drifting through the Four Blues instead…"
Gazing across at Kuzan, Zephyr sighed. "Still can't move past that incident, can you?"