The ordinary days turned quietly, page after page. Summer bled into winter, light clothes into layered uniforms, sandals into boots—but Kuzan's hunger for training never slowed.
Fengjuro had taught them relentlessly. Morning to night, sword drills, haki refinement, and sparring that left even stone walls scarred. They had stopped attending normal military lectures altogether—General Zephyr had long accepted that the two of them were past textbook learning.
Kuzan had mastered every fundamental sword form Fengjuro could teach, and now he could release flying slashes at will.
Gion's Armament Haki had climbed to the advanced level, but her Observation still lagged—without real life-or-death battles, her senses could only grow so far.
Kuzan was hitting a different kind of wall—both his haki types were already high-tier. What he lacked now wasn't training, but war. Only repeated battles against monsters could push him to the next stage.
Boa, however, was in a league of its own. Having been beaten senseless every day by Kuzan, Zephyr, and Gion, the serpent's body and Haki were now terrifying. Its Armament Haki had already reached top-class—one iron-tail strike could level a boulder. Even Kuzan didn't dare take it head-on anymore.
When Boa sparred with Gion, it didn't even fight back—one serious hit and she'd be hospitalized. All it did was act as a living haki punching bag… and somehow it enjoyed it.
Zephyr watched it all and could only mutter:
"If that thing grows any more, it'll become another Kaido…"
Boa, meanwhile, was proudly being punched every day, like it was living its best life.
The three-year term of the Naval Elite Academy was ending. In a few days, cadets would be officially assigned.
But for Kuzan and Gion, the decision had already been made.
Kuzan would be sent under Vice Admiral Garp to engage in real pirate combat.
Gion would be placed under Vice Admiral Tsuru to sharpen her command skills and haki control.
No one in the upper command objected—these placements were already approved at Fleet Admiral Kong's level. Garp and Tsuru wouldn't even bother picking other students.
The rest of the top officers would draft from the remaining cadets.
For this selection event, Major General Borsalino and Major General Sakazuki arrived in person.
Both of them were curious—this "rookie" Kuzan was graduating with the rank of Major General.
When they graduated, they had only received Rear Admiral. Even after years of frontline combat and countless pirate hunts, it had taken both of them a long time to reach Major General.
The fact that Kuzan earned that rank before graduation was beyond shocking.
He must have accomplished something extraordinary—yet the fight against Baroque Redfield had never been made public, so neither of them knew why.
Their true purpose wasn't to choose recruits.
It was to test Kuzan—to see what kind of monster the Navy was raising.
They all knew the truth:
"The next generation of Admirals will come from us three."
They needed to measure each other.
"You or me?" Sakazuki asked flatly as the two walked through Marineford.
Borsalino shrugged lazily, hands in his pockets.
"Mmm… you're too destructive. If you swing that magma fist around, the Headquarters will file a repair bill. Better let me go first—light is cleaner, ya know?"
Sakazuki nodded. That part was true.
They headed straight toward the training grounds—no hesitation.
Inside the Marineford surveillance room, Vice Admiral Garp casually chewed senbei while watching the live feed.
Other high-ranking officers were gathered behind him, arms folded, eyes locked on the screen.
They already knew those two monsters were going after the third, and they were just as curious what kind of sparks the collision would create.
Garp was the first to break the silence.
"Hey, Sengoku… between those three brats, who do you think takes the win right now?"
Sengoku answered without a moment's pause.
"Kuzan."
Garp turned toward Tsuru next.
"What about you, Little Crane?"
Tsuru thought longer before responding.
"Borsalino. His speed is overwhelming, and the Pika-Pika no Mi makes him nearly untouchable."
Zephyr finally spoke, firm and absolute.
"Neither Borsalino nor Sakazuki could defeat Kuzan in a real fight right now."
The room quieted.
Zephyr continued, voice low but certain:
"If either of them had been the one to face Baroque Redfield, they would have died. Even Borsalino—at best, he could escape, and that's assuming Redfield didn't read his movements before the light even formed."
Everyone fell silent at that.
Baroque Redfield was one of the few pirates who could stand equal to Roger or Golden Lion alone. His haki let him read the mind of his opponent before they moved—a single-combat monster whose bounty now sat highest in the world since Rocks fell.
No one argued. No one needed to.
They turned back to the monitor, waiting for the moment the three future Admirals met on the same field.
And the fight was about to begin.
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