The spring chill lingered, and the morning light was faint.
It was March, but Marineford still retained a wintery feel.
Before the sun had risen, Yoriichi stepped out of his room, looked at the empty courtyard before him,
and let out a soft sigh. Just yesterday, through Garp's introduction, he became a student of Admiral Zephyr of the Marine Headquarters. However, due to his age, Yoriichi couldn't directly enroll in the Marine Academy; instead, he moved into Zephyr's house.
Zephyr, now 47 years old, experienced a devastating tragedy five years ago: his family was killed by pirates he had once pursued. After that, this "non-killing" admiral stepped down from his frontline position.
Zephyr originally intended to give up being a Marine, but persuaded by Fleet Admiral Kong and his friend Garp, he remained in the Marines, albeit in a less prominent role, as an instructor at the Marine Academy, responsible for teaching and training the next generation of Marines.
Marineford is a vast, multi-faceted island. It's not only the headquarters of the Marines, but also the residence of the families of Marine officers, undertaking important military tasks.
At the island's center lies the Marine's family compound.
As a high-ranking admiral, Zephyr was allocated a sizable compound, but after his family's tragedy, he had mostly slept in his dormitory at the Marine Academy until yesterday, when he led Yoriichi back to this "long-lost" home—a home that held so many fond memories for him.
But now, this "home," or rather, this house, felt rather desolate.
Yoriichi was well aware of Zephyr's plight. Even after living in the Demon Slayer world for so many years, seeing Zephyr yesterday brought back vivid memories for him.
Yoriichi admired this benevolent admiral who didn't kill, and he felt deep regret for Zephyr's fate. At the same time, it gave him a direct and clear understanding of the cruelty of this world.
Such a righteous Marine commander met such an end...
Yoriichi turned back to look at the room he had just come from. This room, which should have been Zephyr's child's room, still had many baby toys on the table.
Zephyr rarely stayed at home, but this room was very clean, without a speck of dust. It was clear that Zephyr often tidied it up; he had never let go of the death of his wife and child.
"Oh! Up so early, good, saves me from waking you."
"Your habit of waking up early is very good. To become an excellent Marine officer, a good schedule is essential!"
"Did you sleep well last night? I haven't tidied up, the room is a bit messy, don't mind."
Just as Yoriichi was lost in thought, Zephyr walked through the corridor and came to Yoriichi's side. Seeing the early-rising Yoriichi, he smiled.
"Zephyr-sensei." Yoriichi turned his head to look at Zephyr, smiled and greeted him, and shook his head slightly upon hearing Zephyr's question.
"Teacher, you're joking. A wild man like me has never lived in such a nice place before."
"The room is clean and tidy, I like it very much, thank you for the arrangements, Teacher Zephyr."
Yoriichi's words were somewhat polite, and Zephyr, upon hearing this, felt a slight sense of distance.
However, Zephyr didn't mind; it's normal for a child to be instinctively wary and distant when suddenly placed in an unfamiliar place.
"I'm glad you like it, you can stay here from now on."
"Garp is often on missions and rarely at headquarters, so you'll live with me from now on, I'll take care of you."
"Come on, let's go have breakfast first."
"I'm going to the Marine Academy later, you can come with me. Although you can't enroll directly now, you can do some training on your own when you have time."
"The facilities are all open, you can use them when no one is around."
Zephyr came to Yoriichi's side, placing a hand on Yoriichi's shoulder, the warmth of his palm dispelling the morning chill.
"Okay, teacher."
Yoriichi felt the care from Zephyr's words and actions, a feeling he hadn't experienced in decades.
Yoriichi, who became a monk at a young age, had long forgotten what it felt like to be loved. In his previous life, his mother died early, his father was a snobbish man, and his foolish older brother was completely incapable of expressing such emotions.
All Yoriichi possessed were endless demons and the ever-growing path of swordsmanship.
Zephyr watched the compliant Yoriichi, then turned and took a deep look at the room his child had once lived in. After a moment of silence, Zephyr suddenly said in a deep voice,
"Yoriichi..."
"Today, come with me to the Marine Academy."
"If you don't like it, you don't have to join the Marines."
Zephyr turned to look at Yoriichi, whose youthful face made him feel somewhat dazed.
If his child hadn't died, he would be eight years old now. Garp had said that Yoriichi was exceptionally talented, but this youthful face constantly reminded Zephyr that Yoriichi was just a child.
There were many choices for the future! Becoming a Marine member wasn't necessarily a good choice!
Wasn't living a simple, ordinary life a kind of happiness? If his child could…
Yoriichi, upon hearing Zephyr's words, was somewhat puzzled as to why the other party suddenly brought this up.
A Marine Admiral, now actually persuading a young man who wanted to become a Marine not to?
"Is he testing me?"
Thinking this to himself, Yoriichi decisively shook his head and said:"I won't dislike it, I've made my decision."
"I really dislike this world. No matter what others think, I'm determined to make some efforts to change it."
Yoriichi Tsugikuni's gaze was firm. Zephyr looked at the boy beside him, slightly taken aback. He didn't know how someone so young could have such determination.
"how can a boy have such thoughts?"
"Our Marines really haven´t done enough!"
"Damn it!"
Zephyr suddenly felt a pang of guilt, but in front of Yoriichi, he suddenly burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha!"
"Good, very ambitious!"
"Come on, let's go to the Marine Academy. I'll show you how excellent marines are trained!"
Zephyr patted Yoriichi on the back and said happily.
When Zephyr and Yoriichi arrived at the Marine Academy in Marineford, the naval cadets had already begun their training for the day.
On the training ground, the morning chill had not yet dissipated, but the marines training were already drenched in sweat.
"Yoriichi, these guys are all elites from all over the world."
"Marine Academy isn't a place just anyone can join."
"Everyone training here is a top talent who has stood out from their branch."
"And those who graduate successfully from here will become Commanders directly after being assigned out."
As he spoke, Zephyr led Yoriichi towards the training ground, pointing to the students running laps around the perimeter of the training ground, his face full of pride.
"Running...it's a bit different from what I expected. I thought the training at the Marine Academy would be different."
"Teacher Zephyr, if it's just running, I think I can join too."
Zephyr smiled noncommittally upon hearing Yoriichi's words, casually beckoning to an instructor in charge of supervising training and loudly asking,
"Report! How long have you been training?"
The instructor, after saluting Zephyr, puffed out his chest and reported, "Reporting, Chief Instructor Zephyr."
"One hour and forty minutes of training."
"Twenty minutes until the end of warm-up!"
Hearing his subordinate's report, Zephyr looked at Yoriichi with a smile and explained,
"Running is just a simple warm-up."
"It's not really training."
"Running one lap around the training ground is one kilometer."
"Their daily warm-up is forty kilometers!"
"After the simple warm-up, the cadets will have other training! Including but not limited to learning nautical knowledge, firearms handling, hand-to-hand combat, marine history, and so on."
"What you see now is just the tip of the iceberg,"
Zephyr said with a chuckle, his tone brimming with pride.
In the early days, the marine academy was far less comprehensive than it is now. Back then, cadets would learn a few hand-to-hand combat techniques or swordsmanship and then be assigned to fight pirates. But since Zephyr became the head instructor of the marine academy, the training curriculum has become much more detailed and comprehensive.
And each graduating class has produced many outstanding officers.
Yoriichi, listening to Zephyr's introduction, couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, quite surprised.
This marine academy was far more mature and complete than he had imagined. He had thought it was just a place where naval personnel were taught the Six Styles of the Navy and Haki. But now it seemed that it was more than that; it was truly a school specifically for training admirals.
"Yoriichi, the entrance requirements for the Marine Academy are extremely strict."
"Only those with a Douriki value of 80 or higher are qualified to study at the Marine Academy."
"Do you know what 80 means? An ordinary adult male Marine officer who has received some training only has a Douriki value of 10!"