Half a year had passed.
The characters for "Six Treasures Immortal Thief" had fully restored and no longer flickered. The "!" mark had also disappeared.
Not long ago, the "Curse of the Sea" had finally been completely decomposed.
Through experimentation, Charlie discovered that he no longer feared seawater and could even fight underwater while transformed into the Azure Dragon. Now he truly lived up to the saying: "Reaching for the moon in the heavens, catching turtles in the depths." Who else could claim the title of The Strongest Creature in Sea, Land, and Air but him?
As for Sea Stone, Charlie hadn't encountered any yet, so he couldn't test its effects.
Additionally, Charlie didn't dare attempt to consume a second Devil Fruit. What if only the weakness to seawater had been eliminated? It would be such a waste to die like that.
Besides, there weren't any suitable Devil Fruits available to eat at the moment.
For now, Charlie planned to keep his Devil Fruit abilities hidden.
After all, the Azure Dragon Fruit had been stolen from the Celestial Dragons. If this were exposed, it would bring him unnecessary trouble.
Moreover, Charlie had to guard against that madwoman Charlotte Linlin. Who knew if she might come charging back from the New World? The Red Line wouldn't be enough to stop her.
At the same time, hiding his Devil Fruit abilities served as Charlie's trump card, something that could turn the tables at critical moments.
To live long, having hidden cards was essential.
...
A short while later,
Under the watchful eyes of both new and old soldiers along with instructors, Charlie completed forty laps at an incredible speed. In contrast, the others hadn't even finished twenty laps yet.
"This..."
"Damn, where did this monster come from? Is he really a new recruit?"
"I give up. I won't compete with him anymore. He's just insane!"
The new recruits murmured among themselves.
Amid the discussions, Charlie gradually came to a stop, his face flushed and breathing slightly heavily.
"He still has energy left after forty laps? It seems forty isn't his limit. I bet he could run at least twenty more."
"More than that, right?"
"He looks quite young. What was he doing before? Some kind of training?"
"What a strong newcomer. The base is going to get lively."
Passing veterans also stopped to watch, whispering among themselves.
...
"Excellent!"
Colonel Whiteman walked up to Charlie, his eyes filled with appreciation.
"How about it? Want to run a few more laps? Let me see how long you can last."
"Here's the deal: if you can complete one hundred laps before sunset, from now on I'll personally train you. What do you say?"
Whoosh!
Upon hearing this, the veterans erupted in surprise. Everyone knew Colonel Whiteman had come from Marine Headquarters. Though holding the same rank as other colonels, his was worth more, and his strength surpassed that of colonels from other branches.
Not long ago, he had even defeated a notorious pirate with a bounty of thirty million berries!
In 1485, a thirty million berry bounty would be equivalent to at least double that amount thirty or forty years later. The fact that Colonel Whiteman could defeat such a pirate proved his considerable strength, meeting the standard of a Marine Headquarters colonel.
Now that Colonel Whiteman had actually declared he would personally train Charlie, this rookie, how could the veterans not be astonished? The colonel was usually extremely busy, and they rarely got chances to receive his guidance.
The rookies were even more shocked. If the 15th Unit were compared to a martial arts sect, with rookies being newly entered servant disciples, then Colonel Whiteman would be the sect master. What did it mean for the sect master to personally instruct someone?
While they were still servant disciples, this guy was about to become the sect master's personal disciple!
"Stay calm, didn't you hear the instructor? He has to complete a hundred laps first. In my opinion, no way!"
"True, it gets harder the longer it goes. Don't be fooled by how easy he looks now - he might not last until a hundred laps. I bet he definitely won't complete it."
The two rookies' schadenfreude-laced comments carried a distinct note of sour grapes.
However, those around them looked at the two as if they were idiots.
"You fools, you don't actually think that if he fails to run a hundred laps, the instructor won't still pay special attention to him, do you?"
"Haha, this is hilarious. Even if he doesn't complete the hundred laps, he's still a hundred times better than you two morons."
"Hey, who spilled the vinegar jar around here? It's so sour!"
"Hahaha..."
Faced with the crowd's mockery, the two rookies' faces instantly turned the color of liver, red and purple with humiliation, furious but not daring to speak up.
...
At this moment, Charlie seemed to have reached some kind of resolution. He took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Alright, I'll do my best."
"Haha, good lad, I hope you won't disappoint me."
Colonel Whiteman clapped Charlie on the shoulder and laughed heartily.
Then he suddenly turned to look at the two rookies, his expression instantly darkening as he shouted sharply:
"What are you two staring at? Who told you to stop? Have you finished your twenty laps yet?!"
Hearing this, the two rookies felt as if the sky had fallen.
Damn it, everyone had stopped, but Colonel Whiteman seemed to only have eyes for them.
Seeing this, the others immediately started running again. Suddenly, they weren't panting anymore, their legs weren't sore anymore, all terrified of incurring the instructor's wrath.
"Instructor, we were wrong, we'll start running right away."
"Slacking off - add ten more laps!"
Colonel Whiteman's voice came from behind them, causing the two rookies to stumble, nearly falling.
On the verge of tears but not daring to stop, they could only respond loudly: "Yes, instructor!"
"Serves them right for being jealous of others!"
"Haha, what a joke."
"Way to go, instructor!"
Everyone clapped and cheered.
"Good thing I didn't say anything inappropriate earlier, otherwise..." someone thought with secret relief.
...
"Forty-one," "forty-two," "fifty-five," "sixty-three," "seventy-seven," "eighty-eight," "..."
Time passed, and the rookies had unknowingly finished their twenty laps. They rested while watching Charlie, counting each lap he completed.
"Huff..."
Charlie panted and wiped sweat while glancing at the crowd from the corner of his eye. Acting was damn exhausting!
If he were running seriously, he would have finished long ago, and without even breathing heavily!
What panting? At this slow pace without any weight, the energy he consumed wasn't even keeping up with his recovery rate!
"Should I pretend to be exhausted after finishing the hundred laps?"
"Forget pretending to faint - that would be overacting. My acting skills are average anyway, what if I mess up and get exposed?"
Charlie thought to himself.
Finally,
Amidst the cheers, Charlie completed the "monumental feat" of one hundred laps.
Struggling, Charlie walked up to Colonel Whiteman, panting heavily as he reported:
"Reporting, Instructor. The mission is complete. I haven't let you down."
"Good! Good! Good!"
Glancing at the sun that had not yet set, Colonel Whiteman uttered three "goods" in succession.
He had initially thought Charlie would only finish by evening, never expecting him to complete it so quickly—once again surpassing his expectations.
"I keep my word. From now on, I will personally instruct you."
Then, Colonel Whiteman shifted his tone and added, "But you must be mentally prepared—I am very strict!"
"Today was just an appetizer. In the future, my demands on you will only increase. Can you handle it?"
"Yes! No matter what you demand, I can do it—as long as I can grow stronger and kill pirates!"
Charlie's slightly hunched back instantly straightened, his eyes resolute as he responded loudly.
At the same time, he appropriately displayed hatred for pirates on his face, as if he and pirates were mortal enemies.
Anyone unaware would have thought pirates had truly killed his entire family.