Within the entire Sixth Officer Training Camp, Finn occupied a relatively unique position.
The rest of the students maintained their existing assignments while studying here. On days without classes, they'd carry out missions assigned by the Marines.
But Finn was different. He'd been transferred directly from the North Blue. On the journey here, he'd been injured in the line of duty and immediately hospitalized.
Originally, if he hadn't been hospitalized during that period, he would have been assigned to serve under a Rear Admiral upon arriving at Headquarters.
That hadn't happened.
So now, he'd become an unaffiliated member of Marine Headquarters. A Lieutenant Commander without a commanding officer.
For this reason alone, he had no mission assignments. Quite special indeed.
Whether Admirals Sengoku and Zephyr had forgotten about this matter or simply didn't care, no one had addressed the situation.
In these circumstances, Finn didn't interfere. Honestly, he preferred staying at Marine Headquarters for a while, quietly improving his strength.
It would be best to develop sufficient power to protect himself before heading out to enforce justice.
Therefore, recently, Finn had been living in the Officer Training Camp dormitory, honing his abilities step by step each day.
Relying on his gift of Iron Will, Finn woke at seven o'clock every morning without fail. After washing up and eating breakfast, he'd go to the training ground to refine his basic swordsmanship.
After noon, he'd take a short break, eat lunch in the training camp cafeteria, then continue physical conditioning on the training ground to prepare his body for eventually learning the Marines' Six Powers.
The training camp's dormitory building stood right beside the training ground.
At this moment, by a corridor window on the second floor, Momonga had just finished storing things in his room and came out to observe the scenery.
"Onigumo, what are you looking at?" Momonga noticed nigumo with a cigar clenched between his teeth, staring at the training ground through the window, and asked curiously.
Slowly exhaling smoke, Onigumo smiled. "Watching our roommate. I haven't had missions lately, so I've been living here. I've noticed that every day, our roommate appears on the training ground at exactly the same time to do these repetitive exercises..."
As Marine Headquarters, Marineford naturally had no shortage of accommodations for personnel. In fact, after being selected for the Officer Training Camp, basically all members would move their lodging here.
They understood very well that those selected here were all elite Marines with potential and talent. As long as they didn't die prematurely, their futures looked promising.
Therefore, living together was conducive to deepening relationships. It could be considered a small networking group.
"Really?" Momonga muttered, also moving to the window to look.
Sure enough, he saw Finn running laps around the training ground.
The dormitory Finn had been assigned was a triple room shared with Momonga and Onigumo.
However, on regular days, Onigumo and Momonga often went out on missions, so Finn usually lived alone.
All told, the three were roommates.
Whether Momonga or Onigumo, both possessed justice in their hearts and were relatively upright and cheerful people.
Especially Onigumo, who had a very steady personality. He'd taken good care of Finn during this period. The relationship among the three was quite good.
Looking at Finn, whose white tank top was soaked through with sweat, Momonga asked, "Which lap is this?"
"Forty-two. If it's the same as usual, he still has eight laps to go," Onigumo said with a smile.
"Running fifty laps every day? That's quite a lot of exercise. Seems Finn really wants to become stronger," Momonga observed with approval.
"No, this is just the beginning. In the morning, he practices kendo with high-intensity exercises. After running laps, he rests for fifteen minutes, then does basic strength training like push-ups and weightlifting. He conducts high-intensity training every day, from dawn until sunset," Onigumo said calmly.
Momonga looked surprised. "Every day?"
"Well, there was a heavy rainstorm the day before yesterday, but he still didn't alter his schedule at all," Onigumo nodded.
After speaking, he stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Ah, today is Wednesday. After dark, he'll go to the fighting gym for free sparring. How about it? Interested in matching up with him?"
The Officer Training Camp had various activities. For example, there was a fighting competition every Wednesday. Though called a competition, it was actually just informal exchange matches among trainees.
If they had no missions, many people participated on that day.
On Fridays, there'd be kendo exchange competitions. Weekends featured smaller events like wrestling and shooting. Overall, quite lively.
Often, these informal exchange competitions weren't just attended by current students, but also by previous graduates who'd come watch if they had free time. It served as a small social club for officers from the Officer Training Camp.
"You know, I'm actually quite interested. I don't know how strong he is, but judging from his training regimen, if it's really as you described, he must be extremely powerful in terms of pure physical fitness alone," Momonga mused.
Onigumo glanced at Momonga. "He is strong."
"Huh? Have you watched him fight before?" Momonga asked curiously.
He'd been very busy these past weeks and rarely returned. Today was his longest break, and in a few days, Instructor Zephyr's class would resume.
Hearing Momonga's question, Onigumo showed no embarrassment and said naturally, "I lost to him last week."
Momonga's eyes widened. ???
So you two had already fought?
"Was the gap large?" Momonga asked, eyes gleaming with interest.
"In terms of technique, I should be slightly better. Unfortunately, that guy is incredibly tough. In other aspects like stamina and physical conditioning, I was completely outmatched. In the end, I collapsed and couldn't get up," Onigumo said with a wry smile.
He was genuinely good-natured. Even when discussing his defeat, he showed no jealousy or resentment.
"Really? Then I absolutely must try fighting him tonight," Momonga said, competitive spirit igniting.
At that moment, both Momonga and Onigumo seemed to notice something. They both stuck their heads out the window out of curiosity.
"Hey, what's this about? Is he familiar with Gion too?" Momonga raised his eyebrows with a knowing smile.
Onigumo also widened his eyes and clicked his tongue. "I don't know, but from what I've observed during this period, it seems the two of them haven't had much interaction."
That's right. The reason both men were so excited was because they'd discovered that Gion, the "campus beauty" of the Sixth Officer Training Camp, had actually taken the initiative to approach Finn.
Gion was quite considerate. She didn't rely on her good looks, excellent figure, and popularity to act arrogantly and directly interrupt Finn's training.
Instead, she sat down on a bench beside the training ground and waited quietly for Finn to finish his laps.
In fact, just like Onigumo, Gion had been observing Finn, the newcomer, for several days.
She also knew Finn ran fifty laps here daily. He'd already completed forty-eight laps, with only two remaining, so waiting a bit was fine.
Finn naturally noticed Gion, but he didn't stop what he was doing. He continued running laps silently.
After waiting a few minutes and finishing two laps, Gion stood up, preparing to approach Finn.
Suddenly, she found that Finn didn't stop. He was still running.
This surprised Gion somewhat. She halted mid-step.
"Did I count wrong?" Onigumo looked at this scene with some surprise.
But soon, he shook his head. "No, that guy's increasing his training load!"
"What do you mean?" Momonga asked.
"I heard at the beginning, he only ran thirty laps a day!" Onigumo said in a low voice.
The tank top on Finn's body began dripping water like a wrung cloth, but he still didn't stop.
After running sixty laps steadily, he walked another lap around the training ground. Only after calming his breathing and rhythm did he finish this run.
A crisp sound came from nearby. Finn turned and saw a water bottle flying through the air.
He reached out and caught it smoothly.
The person who'd thrown the water bottle was Gion.
"Thanks," Finn nodded his appreciation to Gion.
Then, without hesitation, he unscrewed the cap and drank in large gulps.
Gion slowly walked to a spot not far from Finn.
"Sixty laps. Your endurance is stronger than before," Gion said with a smile.
"My level isn't that impressive," Finn replied modestly.
But he was speaking honestly. It genuinely wasn't that impressive compared to what he needed to achieve.
He was also slightly surprised at this moment. Though he'd lived here for a while, honestly, he'd had almost no interaction with Gion. Why was this woman suddenly talking to him today?
Holding the water bottle, Finn even suspected his charm might be more outrageous than he'd thought. Had he somehow attracted Gion?
"I've been observing you for a while," Gion suddenly said.
Finn froze momentarily. Here it comes. These words were usually the prelude to a confession, right?
Could it be that after years in this world, spring was finally arriving for him?
But he had zero experience in this area!
"Uh..." Finn hesitated, uncertain how to respond.
However, before he could speak, Gion continued, "You seem to have a solid foundation in kendo. Are you also a swordsman?"
At this point, Gion turned to look at the bench beside them where Finn had placed his belongings. She pointed and continued, "That sword, if I'm not mistaken, should be one of the twenty-one Great Grade blades... Sōzai, right?"
"That's correct," Finn nodded.
Seems like I misunderstood something?
"It's an excellent sword," Gion said with genuine appreciation.
Finn didn't overthink it. He looked at the sword hanging at her waist and returned the compliment. "Your Konpira is also very good. A famous blade."
Hearing this, Gion's eyes lit up. "You have a good eye. Not many people can recognize Konpira at first glance."
He didn't actually understand these things deeply. He only knew from his previous life's knowledge.
"Anyway, I came to invite you to participate in the kendo exchange competition on Friday. I'll be participating on stage this time and hope to cross swords with you!" Gion said with a serious expression.
Finn was stunned for a moment, scratched his head. "To be honest, I haven't achieved much in swordsmanship..."
He wanted to refuse. But seeing Gion's enthusiastic eyes, he thought participating would be fine. Treat it as training. In the end, he nodded. "Alright."
"Excellent!" Gion's smile brightened considerably. "I look forward to our match, Finn."
As she walked away, Finn stood there with his water bottle, processing what had just happened.
From the dormitory window above, Momonga and Onigumo exchanged glances.
"Well," Momonga said slowly, "that wasn't quite what I expected."
"She just wants to fight him," Onigumo observed with amusement. "Gion's dedication to the sword is absolute. She probably sees him as a worthy opponent."
"Poor Finn," Momonga chuckled. "He looked like he thought she was about to confess feelings."
"Wednesday for you, Friday for Gion," Onigumo said, taking another drag from his cigar. "Our new roommate is going to have an interesting week."
Down on the training ground, Finn resumed his fifteen-minute rest period, then began his strength training.
Push-ups. Pull-ups. Weighted squats.
The sun climbed higher in the sky. Sweat poured. Muscles burned.
But Iron Will meant he barely registered the discomfort. Just data. Just feedback on his limits.
And those limits? They were steadily rising.