"Yoriichi, the entrance requirements for the Marine School are very strict."
"Only those with a Doriki of 80 or more are eligible to study and advance at the Marine School."
"Do you know what 80 means? An ordinary adult male who has received some training only has a Doriki of 10!"
"And a Doriki of 80, for an ordinary person, is practically a superhuman!"
Speaking of this, Zephyr could no longer hide his pride, laughing heartily.
Despite being a former Marine Admiral who had weathered countless storms, when talking about his students and the school, he was now like a child showing off his report card, his face full of pride and excitement.
"Let's go, let's go, I'll take you to see for yourself!"
As he spoke, Zephyr led Yoriichi Tsugikuni to the edge of the drill ground, looking out and starting his introduction to Yoriichi.
"Look, that's the shooting range. Everyone who graduates from our Marine School is a sharpshooter!"
"Look, that field is for unarmed combat practice. Everyone who graduates from our Marine School is a master of combat!"
"Look, that building is the dojo. It has specialized kendo teachers for guidance. Everyone who graduates from our Marine School..."
Before Zephyr could finish, Yoriichi Tsugikuni interjected: "Are all Great Swordsmen (大剑豪)?!"
Zephyr, who was enthusiastically introducing the Marine School to Yoriichi Tsugikuni, suddenly choked on his words. He paused, rubbed his chin, and said with slight embarrassment:
"Not exactly, not all of them are Great Swordsmen, that's a stretch."
The next second, Zephyr immediately chuckled and continued:
"But they all lay a solid foundation for becoming a Great Swordsman!"
"Hahahaha!"
Zephyr burst into laughter as he spoke.
Upon hearing this, Yoriichi Tsugikuni couldn't help but glance sideways at Zephyr. It was the first time he realized Zephyr had such a boasting personality. If he hadn't retained some rough impression of the power hierarchy in the One Piece world, he really would have been fooled by the grand vision Zephyr was painting.
Great Swordsman?
How many Great Swordsmen were there in the entire world?
As far as he knew, there seemed to be... maybe not even one person in the Marines who could truly be called a Great Swordsman!
However, Yoriichi Tsugikuni was not at all annoyed by the exaggerating Zephyr. This middle-aged man, full of dedication and pride for the Marines, was describing the "future" to a child who yearned for the Marines, giving Yoriichi Tsugikuni a sense of peace he had never experienced before.
He had never experienced such a feeling in the Demon Slayer World.
After the interruption by Yoriichi Tsugikuni, Zephyr continued to introduce everything about the Marine School to Yoriichi, his animated manner briefly causing Yoriichi to lose himself in thought.
After listening for a long time, Yoriichi noticed Zephyr's pace of speaking slowing down and pointed to the kendo hall Zephyr had introduced earlier, saying:
"Teacher Zephyr, can we go see that kendo hall?"
Zephyr heard this, looked down at Yoriichi Tsugikuni beside him, saw the long sword gripped in Yoriichi's hand, and nodded with a smile:
"Of course! Let's go!"
"Perfect, you can also test your Doriki there."
"I also want to see what kind of kid Garp would personally bring back to Marineford."
As they spoke, the two walked across the drill ground towards the distant kendo hall. The sight of the tall man and the short boy attracted the attention of many cadets who were currently training.
"Hey! Who is that little kid with Teacher Zephyr? Never seen him before!"
"A relative? Or a new cadet."
"Idiot, where would Teacher Zephyr have relatives left? And enrollment time has already passed! Plus, that kid is so small!"
Ignoring the cadets' chatter, Zephyr led Yoriichi Tsugikuni directly to the front of the kendo hall.
From a distance, the kendo hall didn't look very big, but once Yoriichi arrived, he realized he had been mistaken.
This dojo spanned an area of several thousand square meters. After taking off his shoes and entering, he looked around. Along the walls, there were rows of long racks lined with bamboo swords, seemingly no fewer than a thousand of them.
The dojo was a modified Japanese-style building, with orderly distributed support pillars that divided the several thousand square meters of open space into many smaller "dojo areas" of dozens of square meters each.
This dojo could probably easily accommodate 300 people training simultaneously.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni hadn't stepped into a dojo like this for decades. Since he left the Tsugikuni family and began hunting demons, he hadn't entered such a place again.
Looking at this strange yet familiar dojo, Yoriichi was momentarily lost in thought.
Zephyr thought Yoriichi Tsugikuni was seeing such a large dojo for the first time, and his face showed some pride. He casually picked up a bamboo sword by the door, walked to the center of the floor, and suddenly said to Yoriichi Tsugikuni:
"Yoriichi, interested in a practice session?"
"I heard Garp say you're pretty good with a sword!"
"My swordsmanship is just so-so, but I can manage. How about it? Want to spar?"
Yoriichi Tsugikuni was pulled back to reality by Zephyr's words. Seeing that Zephyr was interested, Yoriichi Tsugikuni was naturally happy to spar.
To be honest, he hadn't been in this world for long and didn't have a clear understanding of his current strength.
Earlier, on that island, he easily cut down a giant beast, but Yoriichi Tsugikuni knew that killing such a beast was not a valid standard for judging strength.
He vaguely remembered that even the newly embarked Luffy could effortlessly knock out a Near Sea King.
His second use of strength was against Garp, which resulted in him being knocked out with a single punch.
The third time was during the attack on the pirate ship. According to Garp's assessment, his strength was comparable to an officer. However, such an evaluation could not serve as a definitive measure of power.
An officer? The difference in strength between a strong Colonel and a weak Lieutenant Commander is immense! Even Colonels of the same rank can have vastly different strengths.
You might not believe it, but Smoker and Morgan are both Colonels.
Yes, that Ax-Hand Morgan who once chopped down Hero Garp with an axe...
Furthermore, Yoriichi did not use his full strength in the earlier battle against the pirates.
"If I fight Teacher Zephyr, I can clearly understand my current strength in the One Piece world."
"He shouldn't knock me out with one punch like Vice Admiral Garp, right?"
Thinking this, Yoriichi casually leaned his katana against the wall, picked up a bamboo sword, and approached Zephyr. Without any unnecessary talk, he immediately held the sword with both hands and said to Zephyr:
"Teacher, I will go all out. Please be careful."
Hearing Yoriichi's words, Zephyr smiled, gripped his bamboo sword, and said:
"Come at me!"
As soon as he spoke, Yoriichi immediately adjusted his breathing, and his entire aura changed drastically. If Yoriichi Tsugikuni was a calm lake a second ago, like an ordinary person, he was now a surging wave. The aura emanating from his body was something no mere youth should possess.
And Zephyr, who stood before Yoriichi Tsugikuni with his sword, was full of openings in his See-Through World vision!
"Hmm?!"
Zephyr's expression turned serious when he saw Yoriichi's aura suddenly change. The bamboo sword that had been pointing towards the ground was instantly raised to his chest. The next second, Yoriichi Tsugikuni's body disappeared from its original spot.
Within the dojo, a perplexing mist (霞) strangely began to rise. In just two breaths, the mist filled the entire dojo.
"What is this?!"
"Is this a Devil Fruit ability?!"
"Garp never told me the kid had this kind of ability!"
"No... no, it doesn't feel like a Devil Fruit ability..."
"Just swordsmanship?"
Zephyr unfurled his Observation Haki and muttered to himself, his brow furrowed.
The next moment, Yoriichi Tsugikuni's figure abruptly materialized from the confusing mist, appearing on Zephyr's right side. The bamboo sword swept horizontally, slashing towards Zephyr's abdomen.
(End of Chapter)
Note: I have deleted some chapters due to errors in them.