"You also...like the sea?"
Yoriichi turned his head at the sound and saw a tall man standing beside him.
The man was nearly three meters tall and wore round sunglasses.
He wore a blue round hat with a snow-white seagull embroidered in the center. He wore a long black cloak, also embroidered with a snow-white seagull on the chest.
Although his clothes bore obvious naval insignia, his attire was neither like that of admirals like Garp and Zephyr, who wore suits and Justice Cloaks, nor like that of ordinary lower-ranking naval officers in sailor uniforms. He exuded a
sharp and serious aura.
Such attire on a warship was strange—as strange as Yoriichi's loose kimono.
"Aokiji!" Yoriichi recognized the man the moment he saw him, thinking to himself.
Aokiji slightly turned his head, and seeing that Yoriichi didn't reply, he ignored Yoriichi, gripped the railing with both hands, and continued looking at the sea, saying to himself,
"My code name is Aokiji."
"You're a captain from the Marine Headquarters. "
Yoriichi was somewhat puzzled upon hearing this. Why would a captain like Aokiji be on Garp's ship? Normally, a captain from the Marine Headquarters would be able to lead a warship independently and wouldn't be on someone else's ship.
"Hello, my name is Yoriichi Tsugikuni, uh, a civilian."
Yoriichi replied, even though he wasn't actually a Marine yet.
"Haha, I know."
"Vice Admiral Garp sent me here."
"Vice Admiral Garp asked me to teach you combat during this time at sea."
Aokiji didn't hide anything and said with a smile.
Yoriichi looked at Aokiji strangely upon hearing this.
Yoriichi thought Garp brought him on board to teach him himself, but well, who knew he would just be dumped on Aokiji like this. Fortunately, Aokiji was honest.
If he were more difficult, would he have needed a captain to teach him? Yoriichi didn't object to Garp's arrangement. He might have objected to others, but Aokiji was perfectly acceptable. Aokiji would undoubtedly
be a top-tier fighter in the Navy in the future, and even though he was only a captain now, he was more than capable of guiding Yoriichi at this stage.
However, Yoriichi was still curious why Aokiji, a captain, wasn't leading his own sortie but instead being drafted by Garp.
"Captain Aokiji, how come you're on Vice Admiral Garp's ship?"
"I have some understanding of the Navy's rank system. If you're a captain, you should be able to lead your own sortie, right?"
Facing Yoriichi's question, Aokiji didn't hide anything, replying with a smile,
"I was notified that I'll be promoted to commodore this year. My family arranged for me to study, and my teacher is Vice Admiral Garp." "
My family" was Aokiji's way of referring to the Navy Headquarters. He had previously rotated through a special unit within the Navy, where headquarters was referred to as "home," which is why Aokiji developed this habit.
In that unit, all Navy personnel concealed their names and addressed each other by code names, and his code name was Aokiji, meaning "blue pheasant." Ironically, the code names of the other members were mostly things like "dog" and "monkey," lacking any real imposing presence.
Aokiji couldn't stop smiling when talking about his promotion; the young man clearly valued his position highly. He was also very happy to be able to learn under Vice Admiral Garp.
In the entire Navy, there were very few captains qualified to learn from Vice Admiral Garp.
Yoriichi had been sent to Versailles...
Aokiji was only in his early twenties, still a greenhorn, but he was already a captain at headquarters and would be promoted to commodore this year.
It's worth noting that when Smoker was 34, he was only a captain stationed in Loguetown. Although it took him two years to climb from captain to vice admiral, that was because he benefited from the Straw Hat Pirates' achievements.
Otherwise, Smoker would have needed to be at least 40 to reach the rank of vice admiral at headquarters.
But now, Aokiji is only in his early twenties and is about to become a commodore—the fastest promotion in the history of the Navy.
After a moment of silence, the beautiful sea view suddenly lost its appeal to Yoriichi.
"Captain Aokiji, are you free now?"
"Since Vice Admiral Garp asked you to guide me, I think we shouldn't waste any more time."
Yoriichi placed his left hand on his sword and asked excitedly.
He suddenly felt that time had become so precious. There would be plenty of time to enjoy the scenery later; the most urgent thing was to focus on improving his strength.
Yoriichi had a premonition that if Garp led his team back to Marine Headquarters, he probably wouldn't have another chance to fight.
"Oh? So eager?"
"Sure, since you're so motivated, it's fine to start now." "Vice Admiral Garp asked me to teach you the Six Powers of the Navy. To be honest, I haven't mastered them very well."
"But since Vice Admiral Garp said so, I will try my best."
"Do you know the Six Powers of the Navy?"
Aokiji asked seemingly casually, his gaze slightly shifting to Yoriichi.
"No."
Yoriichi answered decisively, shaking his head.
Aokiji nodded and continued, "I think you wouldn't understand even if I explained the principles directly to you."
"Let's use combat, the most direct way, to experience the Six Powers of the Navy."
Aokiji walked towards the center of the deck. Garp's dog-headed warship was very large, and the other Marines were all at their posts, so the deck was very spacious.
"Okay!"
Yoriichi responded decisively, drawing his long sword from his waist as he spoke.
He was actually quite curious about the Six Powers of the Navy. Although he had some impression of the principles, principles are principles, and trying to replicate the Six Powers of the Navy through those so-called principles was no less than creating the Six Powers of the Navy from scratch—too far-fetched.
To learn, one needs a teacher to guide them.
Aokiji is perfectly suited to be that mentor.
"Then I'll begin, Captain Aokiji, pay attention,"
Yoriichi kindly reminded him, gripping his swords tightly in front of his chest, speaking earnestly.
However, Aokiji waved his hand dismissively, saying casually, "Well, it's alright, come on."
It wasn't that Aokiji underestimated Yoriichi, but rather that Yoriichi looked far too young. Moreover, Aokiji was a Logia-type, unlikely to be injured in ordinary battles. Therefore, he didn't take Yoriichi's warning to heart.
Yoriichi nodded, then without hesitation, pushed off the ground and leaped towards Aokiji. His incredible speed startled Aokiji, and the next second, the tip of Yoriichi's sword was already at Aokiji's chest.
Sun Breathing—Seventh Form—Sunflower Thrust.
The sword tip thrust forward, precisely piercing Aokiji's chest.
Aokiji clearly hadn't anticipated Yoriichi's speed; it was a speed far beyond what a teenager could possibly possess.
As the blade approached, Aokiji instinctively used his Devil Fruit ability, turning his chest into ice. The blade pierced him without any real sensation of flesh being cut.
The next second, Aokiji retreated, and when Yoriichi looked up, Aokiji had vanished.
"This is... Navy Six Powers—Shave."
Aokiji's voice suddenly came from behind Yoriichi. Just as Aokiji was about to properly "introduce" his "skill," a long sword swiftly slashed towards his waist.
"You reacted?! You even countered?!"
Aokiji stared at Yoriichi's actions in astonishment. He hadn't expected Yoriichi to react so quickly, and in the short time it took him to speak, the long sword was almost at his waist.
Although Yoriichi didn't know the Six Powers of the Navy and wasn't as fast as Aokiji, his combat awareness was exceptional, allowing him to anticipate Aokiji's movements.
"Crack!"
The sword struck Aokiji's waist with a remarkably crisp sound. Aokiji's waist was completely covered in ice, and Yoriichi's strike had actually been blocked by this ice—ice far harder than steel!
"Iron Body...it can't even completely block this kid's strike."
"My Six Powers of the Navy, I guess I haven't practiced them very well after all."
Aokiji glanced down at his waist, sighing inwardly. He looked up, ready to explain his "Iron Body" technique to Yoriichi, but was surprised to find that Yoriichi had already vanished before him.
"Hmm?!" Aokiji's pupils constricted, and he quickly turned to look behind him.
A moment later, Yoriichi's voice came from behind him:
"Shave...not difficult at all."
"Not bad technique."