"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 average adult male who has received some training only has a Douriki value of 10!"
"And an 80 Douriki value is practically superhuman for an ordinary person!"
At this point, Zephyr couldn't hide his pride any longer, laughing heartily.
Despite being a seasoned former Marine Admiral, when talking about students and schools, he was like a child showing off his report card, his face full of pride and excitement.
"Come on, come on, I'll show you around!"
As he spoke, Zephyr led Yoriichi to the edge of the training ground, gazing out at the view while introducing the place to Yoriichi.
"Look, that's the shooting range. Everyone who graduates from our marine academy is a sharpshooter!"
"Look, that training ground is for hand-to-hand combat training. Everyone who graduates from our marine academy is a fighting master!"
"Look, that building is a dojo. There are specialized kendo instructors. Everyone who graduates from our marine academy..."
Before Zephyr could finish, Yoriichi interrupted, "Everyone's a great swordsman?!"
Zephyr, who was excitedly introducing the marine academy to Yoriichi, suddenly choked upon hearing this. After a pause, he stroked his chin and said somewhat awkwardly,
"No, not quite. Not all of them are great swordsmen."
The next second, Zephyr continued with a chuckle,
"They've all laid the foundation to become great swordsmen!"
"Hahahaha!"
Zephyr laughed loudly.
Yoriichi couldn't help but glance at Zephyr sideways. It was the first time he had realized that Zephyr was actually the kind of person who liked to boast. If he hadn't retained some rudimentary understanding of the power rankings in the One Piece world, he would have been completely fooled by Zephyr's grandiose promises.
A great swordsman?
There are only a handful of great swordsmen in the entire world?
As far as he knew, there probably wasn't a single one in the Marine who could be considered a great swordsman!
However, Yoriichi wasn't annoyed at all by Zephyr's boastful talk. This middle-aged man, brimming with a sense of belonging and pride in the Marine, was painting a picture of the "future" for a boy who aspired to be a Marine, giving Yoriichi a sense of peace he had never experienced before. He had never felt this way in the Demon Slayer world.
Even after being interrupted by Yoriichi, Zephyr continued to introduce everything about the Marine Academy to Yoriichi, his spirited demeanor causing Yoriichi to momentarily lose his composure.
After listening for a while, Yoriichi noticed that Zephyr's speech had slowed down. He pointed to the kendo dojo Zephyr had mentioned earlier and said,
"Zephyr-sensei, can we go take a look at that kendo dojo?"
Upon hearing this, Zephyr glanced down at Yoriichi beside him, saw the long sword in Yoriichi's hand, and nodded with a smile:
"Of course! Let's go!"
"Perfect, you can test your kendo power there."
"I also want to see what kind of kid Garp would personally take back to Marineford."
As they spoke, the two crossed the training ground and headed towards the kendo dojo in the distance. The two figures, one big and one small, attracted the attention of many students who were training.
"Hey! Who's that kid with Zephyr-sensei? I've never seen him before!"
"Is he a relative? Or a new student?"
"Idiot, Zephyr-sensei doesn't have any relatives. Besides, the enrollment period is over! And that kid is so young!"
Ignoring the students' discussions, Zephyr led Yoriichi directly to the kendo dojo.
Although the kendo dojo appeared small from a distance, Yoriichi realized he had misjudged it when he actually stood before it.
The dojo, covering an area of several thousand square meters, was quite large. After removing his shoes and entering, he saw rows of long shelves along the walls, displaying countless bamboo swords—at least a thousand, by his estimation.
The dojo was a modified version of traditional Japanese architecture, with its supporting pillars dividing the vast space into smaller, more intimate sections of several dozen square meters each. This dojo could easily accommodate 300 people training simultaneously.
Yoriichi hadn't stepped into such a dojo for countless years; ever since he left the Tsugikuni house hold, to hunt demons, he hadn't entered one.
Looking at this dojo, both strange and familiar, Yoriichi was somewhat stunned.
Zephyr, assuming it was Yoriichi's first time seeing such a large dojo, looked somewhat proud. He casually picked up a bamboo sword from the doorway, walked into the center, and suddenly said to Yoriichi,
"Yoriichi, interested in sparring?"
"I heard from Garp that you're quite good with a sword!"
"My swordsmanship is so-so, but it's passable. How about a match?"
Yoriichi was pulled back to reality by Zephyr's words. Seeing Zephyr's interest, Yoriichi was naturally happy to spar.
To be honest, he hadn't been in this world long and didn't have a clear understanding of his own strength.
Back on that island, he had easily killed a giant beast, but Yoriichi also knew that killing a giant beast was not a reliable measure of strength.
He vaguely remembered that Luffy, fresh off the coast, could easily defeat a sea king.
His second attack was against Garp, where he was knocked down with a single punch.
The third was during the attack on that pirate ship; according to Garp's assessment, his strength was comparable to a captain. But such an assessment was utterly inadequate as a standard for judging strength.
A captain? The difference in strength between a strong captain and a weak captain is like heaven and earth! Even among captains of the same rank, the difference in strength is immense.
You might not believe it, but Smoker and Morgan are both captains.
And in the previous battle against the pirates, Yoriichi hadn't even used his full strength.
"If I were to fight Zephyr-sensei, I would clearly know my current strength in the One Piece world."
"He shouldn't be able to knock me out with one punch like Vice Admiral Garp, right?"
Thinking this, Yoriichi casually leaned his sword against the wall, grabbed a bamboo sword, and approached Zephyr. Without a word, he held the sword up with both hands and said,
"Master, I will go all out. Please be careful."
Hearing Yoriichi's words, Zephyr smiled, casually gripping the bamboo sword, and said,
"Attack!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Yoriichi adjusted his breathing, and his entire aura changed drastically. If a moment ago Yoriichi was like a calm lake, like an ordinary person, then now, Yoriichi was like a raging sea, radiating an aura that no young boy could possess.
And Zephyr, standing before Yoriichi with his sword, was full of openings in Yoriichi's Transparent world!
"Huh?!"
Zephyr's expression hardened upon seeing Yoriichi's sudden change in aura. His bamboo sword, previously pointed at the ground, instantly rose to his chest. The next second, Yoriichi's body vanished from his spot.
Inside the dojo, a strange, illusory mist rose, filling the entire space in just two breaths.
"What is this?!"
"A Devil Fruit ability?!"
"Garp never told me this kid had this ability!"
"No, wait, it doesn't feel like a Devil Fruit ability."
"Just swordsmanship?"
Zephyr, his Observation Haki activated, frowned slightly, muttering to himself.
The next second, Yoriichi's figure suddenly appeared from within the illusory mist, appearing to Zephyr's right, his bamboo sword sweeping horizontally towards Zephyr's abdomen.
"Mist Breathing - Horizontal Flow Slash!"