After closing the front gate, Michael looked coldly at the group of children who had just arrived on the island and were now running laps.
Zephyr stood silently on the side without saying a word.
In a way, what Michael was doing was absolutely right...
But why didn't the guy close the front gate earlier?
Was this… baiting them on purpose?
Zephyr gave Luffy a slightly sympathetic look, only to see the kid blankly nod before turning and starting to run.
But soon, Zephyr relaxed.
Of course—he was Garp's grandson.
For him, running ten laps around the island was nothing compared to Garp's training.
Thinking this, Zephyr silently lit a stick of incense in his heart for his students.
Their "good days" were truly about to begin.
...
"Achoo!!"
Monkey D. Garp, who had taken over Zephyr's position as the temporary instructor of the elite training camp, suddenly sneezed loudly.
He rubbed his nose, then looked at the group of Marines all lying flat on the ground, laughing boisterously.
"Wa-hahaha! You little weaklings! Zephyr's way of teaching you is way too soft! You can't even handle a single punch from me!? And I already held back! Forget about me—at this rate, you probably couldn't even handle one kick from my disciple!"
"M-May I ask… who exactly is this disciple of yours?" Binz, who was already lying on the ground and couldn't even move a finger, forced himself to lift his head and ask.
"Oh, right now, I'm talking specifically about Marine Headquarters Captain—Boa Hancock!"
"You also know she's the 'Empress'!" Ain said helplessly to Garp. "Even within the Secret Special Force SWORD, 'Empress' Boa Hancock is one of the most gifted people there!"
"That's right… your talents are indeed not on the same level as Hancock's," Garp nodded without hesitation, then continued, "But don't think I'm belittling you, and don't feel discouraged… Being able to clearly understand your own abilities and talents is also a kind of strength. Having self-awareness already puts you ahead of many people in this sea."
After hearing this, everyone fell silent.
To be honest, deep down, they felt uneasy.
Their generation of elite recruits just happened to coincide with the rise of the Secret Special Force SWORD.
As the most talented elite recruits in the Marine, they inevitably compared themselves to SWORD's members.
But the more they compared… the more hopeless it felt.
Other than realizing their own weakness, they learned nothing useful from those comparisons.
But from Garp's words, they suddenly understood—they'd been getting stuck on the wrong thing.
Lacking talent didn't mean they couldn't contribute to the Marines.
All they needed to do was recognize reality and find their place.
The members of SWORD were destined to be the main fighting force in the high-level battles of the future.
But the Marines also needed those with decent but not exceptional talent like them to fill the core of the mid-level forces.
Each level of strength has its own role.
Those pirates with bounties in the tens of millions of Belly still had to be taken down by Marines at their level.
The right strength for the right task—that was the most effective way for the entire Marine force to work together.
"If you can stand here, it means you're not idiots," Garp said with a laugh, clapping his hands. "Which means it's time to move on to the next stage!"
"What!? There's still a next stage!?"
"This is nothing! The training I put my grandsons through at Marine Headquarters is way harsher than this!"
"...Being your grandson must be so 'lucky.'"
...
"Ahhh, Luffy, you idiot! How could you be so careless!" Ace scolded his dumb brother while running. "You've known Michael-san for so long! Don't you see he's obviously baiting you on purpose!?"
"Huh? Baiting? What kind of fish? Can I eat it?" Luffy, who was sprinting beside him, suddenly turned his head, drool instantly dripping from his mouth.
"But can we eat fish while running?"
"Ugh, you're never this dumb normally!" Sabo sighed from behind them. "Luffy! Ace wasn't talking about actual fishing! It's baiting for enforcement! In this case, you're the fish!"
"No, no, I'm a human!"
Luffy shook his head hard, causing everyone around to suppress their laughter.
Reiju, who was a little older, sighed, glanced at the dumbfounded Luffy, then looked at her four brothers.
"Ichiji! Stop pushing me!"
"I wasn't pushing you! Niji ran into me!"
"It's not my fault… Sanji and Yonji started fighting again."
"You curly-browed bastard! I'll kill you!"
"Bring it on, you moss-headed idiot!"
In a way, these four little brothers weren't much smarter than Luffy either.
Reiju thought so helplessly.
...
"Uwaa, Nojiko, it's so noisy up there!" Nami scratched her ear and complained, "Don't tell me we're going to have to team up with those idiots from now on?"
"What do you mean 'team up'... Our mom's a Marine, we grew up in the Marines, and you're out here talking like some gangster," Nojiko said helplessly, looking at Nami's orange hair fluttering in the wind. "How many times has Mom scolded you for this already?"
"Yeah, yeah, but don't you think it sounds cooler this way?" Nami turned her head with a sly grin.
"And most importantly… it's way more stylish, don't you think?"
"No, there's absolutely no use for that kind of 'style'!" Nojiko sighed. "I'm telling you, don't try anything stupid. Mom originally wanted to keep you in Alabasta—you barely got out of that! Don't go looking for trouble!"
"Who said I'd do something stupid! I'm going to be Michael's best navigator!"
...
"Whoa, so many people."
At the very end of the line, Trafalgar Law and his little sister, Trafalgar Lami, were calmly following the group.
They were the only two who joined the youth class as "Marine recruits."
Although Michael had already completely cured their amber lead poisoning, the damage the illness had done to their bodies back then still left some traces.
Even though Michael had helped them recover, their physical strength still fell a little short compared to the other members of the youth class.
But that didn't matter.
Their only goal was to follow in Michael's footsteps.
This wasn't something that could be achieved overnight.
"Yeah… with so many people, there must be plenty of interesting ones."
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