"Zephyr, for my sake… train like your life depends on it!"
Zephyr looked surprised, glancing at his old comrade. "Some old grudge?"
Garp squeezed out three words through his teeth. "Grandson."
Zephyr's surprise deepened. Grandson? Train him like his life depended on it?
"He's causing trouble day and night, insisting on becoming the Pirate King."
Zephyr remained silent for a moment, then patted Garp's shoulder. "Leave him to me."
In this new "Great Navy Era," led by Sengoku and enforced by the iron-willed Hawk and Sakazuki,
A brash little kid shouting about being the Pirate King?
That wasn't a dream.
That was a death sentence carved in stone!
"Zephyr, I'm counting on you."
Garp nodded heavily, then turned and strode onto the dog-headed warship.
The anchor was raised, and the ship cut through the waves.
G-3 Branch, Central Training Grounds
The training of nearly ten thousand Marine soldiers continued without pause.
Zephyr led Luffy, Koby, and several hundred other new recruits to a remote corner of the grounds.
"From today onward…"
Zephyr's roar, lion-like and commanding, rose above the distant sounds of training, reaching every recruit's ears clearly.
"Your identity is one! You are Marines!"
"Now! All of you, prostrate yourselves on the ground and feel this land beneath your bodies!"
"Until I say stop!"
Without hesitation, everyone dropped to the scorching ground.
Only Luffy, thrown onto the earth, remained unconscious.
Zephyr ignored him. The training had officially begun.
The first exercise was the purest test of obedience.
Minutes ticked by.
Luffy slowly stirred awake.
The first sensation to hit his mind was not pain but hunger.
A hunger so intense it clawed at him.
He shook his head, struggling to sit up, his vision slowly coming into focus.
And then he froze.
Before him sat a massive bucket of clean drinking water and a huge platter piled high with roasted meat, the aroma intoxicating.
His throat rolled uncontrollably, saliva flooding like a dam breaking, spilling from the corners of his mouth.
He reached for the meat, trembling, hand outstretched.
But it froze mid-air.
He couldn't eat.
If he ate, he would be surrendering to his grandfather.
If he ate, he would betray his dream.
His stomach roared, a thunderous protest against its master's stubbornness.
Dane, observing the recruits from a short distance, noticed the commotion.
He walked over calmly. "Eat."
"Even if you eat, it doesn't mean you're joining the Marines."
Luffy looked up at the man in the Marine Rear Admiral uniform, his aura calm and resolute.
Dane nodded. "Only after you're full will you have the strength to think about anything else."
His stomach growled one final ultimatum.
Luffy's resolve crumbled instantly.
No more hesitation. He lunged at the platter, hands flying, devouring everything like a whirlwind.
Within minutes, the platter was empty, the water bucket drained.
Satisfied, Luffy let out a burp, feeling alive again.
A tall shadow then fell over him.
"Full, Straw Hat Kid?"
Zephyr stood before him.
Luffy wiped his mouth and asked, "Where's my grandfather?"
"From now on, I'm fully in charge of your training."
"I don't want to train!" Luffy immediately protested, neck stiff. "I want to set sail!"
"I'm going to be…"
"Pirate King?"
Zephyr interrupted, letting out a short, cold laugh filled with disdain and ridicule.
"There will be no more Pirate Kings on this sea."
"The only true path to kingship is the way of the Marines."
Luffy's mouth opened. "I don't want to be a Marine!"
Zephyr's lips curved into a meaningful smirk. He gestured toward Dane. "I can let you go."
"Your grandfather and I are the old generation. If we fight you, you won't accept it."
"This is Dane, a Rear Admiral at Marine Headquarters, your peer."
"Among the new generation, he ranks around fifth in strength."
"Beat him, and I'll personally convince your grandfather."
"But if you can't even defeat Dane, you will train obediently."
Zephyr turned to Dane, voice cold. "Dane, give him a proper lesson."
"Show him the chasm between dreams and reality, a chasm called despair."
Dane's gaze fell on Luffy, steady and calm. "Yes, sir!"
He drew his sword, Yoru.
"You're going to fight me?"
Luffy instantly lit up, fists clenching. "I'm strong!"
If even the Near Sea King couldn't match him, this Marine, barely older than him, was certainly no match either.
Win here, and he could return to being a pirate!
"Gear Second Pistol!"
Luffy's right arm shot back like a cannon, his fist charged with tremendous momentum aimed directly at Dane's chest.
Dane stood perfectly still.
Just as the fist was about to strike, a sharp, crystalline sound split the air.
Dane had drawn his sword.
"Ittoryu Iaijutsu: Awakening Lion, Sky Cleaver!"
No one saw his movements clearly only a brilliant flash of silver that vanished instantly.
"Pft! Pft! Pft!"
Dozens of precise cuts erupted across Luffy's body, each avoiding vital points but delivering excruciating pain.
The force slammed him violently, sending him rolling across the ground for several dozen meters before coming to rest.
Before he could recover, a cold steel pressed against his neck.
"If you were a pirate, you'd be dead right now."
Luffy stared blankly at the blade at his throat, mind empty.
What just happened?
He… had been defeated in a single move?
"Straw Hat Kid."
Zephyr's voice rang cold and merciless.
"Dreams are powerless in the face of absolute strength."
He stepped closer, towering over Luffy. "Now… tell me!"
"What kind of king do you want to be?"