Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
The Marine Academy at Marine Headquarters is known as the cradle of admirals. The current head instructor of the academy was a retired admiral known as Black Arm Zephyr.
During his years of teaching at the Marine Academy, Zephyr trained a series of outstanding naval officers and soldiers, including Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Kuzan, who are now active on the front lines of the Navy.
Today, Head Instructor Zephyr welcomed a close friend who gave him a headache.
"Hahahaha!"
"Zephyr, this kid is in your hands for now!"
"The Roger Pirates have entered the New World, and I don't have time to take care of kids right now. This guy is yours."
"Here, this is some new tea I brought back from the East Blue. Quickly get out your senbei and try this tea!"
In Zephyr's office, Head Instructor Zephyr was formulating the training plan for the students tomorrow when Garp, without even knocking, led a red-haired kid in and greeted Zephyr directly.
Zephyr, sitting in his chair, turned his head and saw Garp enter the office, one hand on the shoulder of the boy beside him, the other carrying a small packet of tea.
Zephyr's gaze fell on the tea in Garp's hand,
"How could I possibly have senbei here? I'm not a child."
Zephyr put down his pen, crossed his arms, turned to Garp, and said with a smile, his gaze then falling on the red-haired boy beside Garp.
"Huh?!"
"Haha!"
"It's alright, I brought my own. Go make some tea."
Garp casually handed the tea to the boy beside him, then pulled out a packet of senbei from his pocket, grabbed a handful, and popped it into his mouth.
The boy beside Garp was none other than Yoriichi.
After being knocked unconscious by Garp on Dragon's Roar Island that day, he had become Garp's "trophy." When he woke up, Garp had already taken him on a ship and left Dragon's Roar Island.
Under the investigation of Garp's men, Yoriichi's "temporary residence" on Ryugin Island was naturally discovered. Garp, combining the environment of the cave with Yoriichi's attire, naturally pieced together Yoriichi's background.
A genius boy who had been orphaned in the wilderness since childhood, after witnessing the atrocities of pirates, unleashed unprecedented power.
As for other suspicious points about Yoriichi, such as his swordsmanship and his exquisitely crafted sword, Garp ignored them.
There were countless people with family traditions on the high seas, and many with exceptional talent; Garp was already used to such things.
Of course, most importantly, under Garp's witness, Yoriichi single-handedly slaughtered an entire pirate crew with a total bounty of 11 million Berries.
In the East Blue, controlled by the Navy, before Roger ushered in the Great Age of Piracy, there were very few pirate crews with that bounty.
That day, half the sky was dyed red by flames.
The swordsmanship he displayed while charging through the pirates was magnificent, and the boy, like a demon, left a deep impression on Garp.
Furthermore, this exceptionally talented boy didn't object to joining the Marines, which was very important. Moreover, Yoriichi didn't mind Garp knocking him unconscious without explanation; compared to the benefits Garp could bring him, suffering a little grievance was trivial.
As an adult, his standards for judging things were no longer simply based on likes and dislikes, although he was somewhat annoyed by Garp's behavior.
The tea was tossed to Yoriichi, who glanced speechlessly at Garp beside him and then looked at Zephyr.
Considering Garp's intention to recommend him to the Marines, Yoriichi had long forgotten the punch Garp had thrown at him. Over the past few days, Yoriichi and Garp had become somewhat familiar, and Yoriichi wouldn't refuse Garp's occasional "orders."
However, this was Zephyr's territory, and Yoriichi wasn't so naive as to be oblivious to social niceties.
"There's boiling water over there."
Zephyr smiled at Yoriichi when he saw him looking at him, pointed to the tea table beside his desk, and watched Yoriichi walk past him. Zephyr scrutinized Yoriichi from head to toe before turning to Garp and asking,
"Is this the kid you brought from the East Blue?"
The Dragon's Roar Island incident in the East Blue was quite a commotion; after all, an entire branch was wiped out. Although the Navy had suppressed the news, the incident still had a significant impact within the Navy.
The bounty for the wiped-out pirate crew was only 11 million, but that was only because the Navy hadn't updated the bounties promptly after the Dragon's Roar Island incident.
If the bounties had been updated promptly, the wiped-out pirate crew would easily have had a bounty of over 100 million.
On the surface, it was Iron Fist Garp who dealt with the culprits of the Dragon's Roar Island incident, but a few high-ranking officials knew that the person who slaughtered that pirate crew was actually this red-haired boy before them.
Zephyr, also an insider, had been informed by Fleet Admiral Kong last night.
"Ah! It's that kid."
"His name is Yoriichi Tsugikuni." "Come on, kid, say hello to your future teacher, Admiral Zephyr!"
Garp introduced, beckoning to Yoriichi. Yoriichi, having already prepared tea, walked over to Zephyr and Garp,
placing two cups on either side of the desk. He straightened up and introduced himself:
"Hello, Professor Zephyr, my name is Yoriichi Tsugikuni. Nice to meet you."
Yoriichi was dressed in a standard marine uniform, a long sword at his waist, his posture upright, and a flame-shaped marking on his handsome face.
Zephyr looked at the boy before him, one hand on the teacup, the other lightly tapping the desk, seemingly deep in thought.
Seeing Zephyr's expression, Garp raised an eyebrow and yelled at Yoriichi Tsugikuni,
"Hey, kid, speak louder!"
"I can't hear you!"
"Trying to operate a warship so quietly?!"
Garp's words made Yoriichi turn his head, not because Garp was loud, but simply because Yoriichi felt he'd heard Garp's words somewhere before. For a moment, he thought he was surfing the internet.
"Hello, Zephyr-sensei, my name is Yoriichi Tsugikuni,"
Yoriichi said, his voice louder as he regained his senses.
Only then did Zephyr seem to make a decision, nodding slightly and taking a sip of tea.
"Zephyr, I'm leaving this kid in your hands."
"Hey kid, when I get back, I'll let you try my punches again, don't disappoint me!"
"Zephyr, I have something to do, I'm leaving now."
"Here, this packet of tea and this packet of senbei, consider it my thanks."
After saying that, Garp threw the half-eaten packet of senbei on the desk, then grabbed the teacup and turned to leave the office.
"..."
Zephyr looked at the half-eaten packet of senbei on the desk, the small packet of tea leaves on the tea table, and the tea set missing a cup, his forehead veins throbbing.
After a long while, Zephyr turned to look at Yoriichi, his expression softening.
"From today onwards, you are my Student."
"And from today onwards, you officially join the Marines."
"I don't care what you did before, or what your past experiences were like, now that you've joined the Marines and become my student."
"Then, becoming an excellent Marine officer is your goal!"
"How old are you this year?"
Zeffa looked at Yoriichi in front of him and asked.
Looking at the youthful, inexperienced face before him, Zephyr felt a moment of disorientation.
"About 13, I guess."
For some reason, Yoriichi had a vague sense of his own age.
"Hmm."
Zephyr looked at Yoriichi's face, nodded, and continued,
"You're still too young. You're not suitable to be a member of the Marine Academy yet."
"Those training there are all mature elites, drawn from across the seas."
"Our Navy wouldn't send a child your age to the battlefield."
Hearing Zephyr's words, Yoriichi's face showed a hint of surprise. From Zephyr's conversation with Garp, he knew that Zephyr knew his abilities.
It wasn't that Yoriichi was bragging; in the few days he'd been at Marine Headquarters, he'd been able to roughly judge the strength of some Marine officers using his Transperent World ability. Without considering Haki or Devil Fruit powers, he considered himself much stronger than many of the Marine's "elites."
But from Zephyr's words, he couldn't enter the Marine Academy because he was too young?!
"Don't make that face."
"No matter how strong you are, you're still just a child."
"Until you come of age, you'll stay by my side, and I'll train you personally."
"From today onwards, you are my student, Yoriichi!