The sea breeze carried the scent of salt and freedom. It had been a full year since Kuzan joined the Marines under Instructor Zephyr's command.
The once-lanky recruit now stood tall and sharp, his lazy eyes hiding a quiet confidence. His Observation Haki had matured, and after months of Zephyr's "hands-on" beatings, his Armament Haki had finally awakened.
He still got flattened regularly, of course — but at least now, he could land a few hits before getting sent flying.
Even so, he'd begun to feel stuck. No matter how hard he trained, something inside him refused to move forward.
When he mentioned it to Zephyr, the instructor thought for a long moment, then nodded.
"Then it's time you test that strength for real. Books and drills won't make a Marine. The sea will."
Two days later, their Marine warship sliced through the waves under cloudy skies. Zephyr stood at the prow, arms folded, while Kuzan leaned lazily on the railing, watching the horizon.
"Teacher, where are we heading again?"
"An uninhabited island near the West Wind Current," Zephyr replied. "You'll hunt wild beasts there. It'll push your Haki further."
"Beasts, huh?" Kuzan yawned. "Sounds like I'll need a nap afterward."
Zephyr gave him a sidelong look. "You'll be lucky if you have the strength to stand."
Before they reached the island, a lookout shouted from the crow's nest.
"Enemy sighted! Pirate vessel dead ahead — twenty nautical miles! Jolly Roger matches the Bloodfang Pirates! Captain is a Zoan-type user — bounty: 460 million berries!"
Zephyr's eyes narrowed. "Bloodfang Rude, huh… a brutal one. Slaughtered an entire village last month. He's not walking free again."
"Permission to engage?" a lieutenant called out.
Zephyr crossed his arms, considering. "No… I'll let the kid handle this."
Kuzan blinked. "Wait— what?"
"You said you wanted real battle experience. There's your chance." Zephyr's tone was calm, but his gaze was sharp. "Just don't die. That would be disappointing."
Kuzan chuckled nervously. "No pressure, right?"
On the Bloodfang Pirates' ship, the crew was in the middle of a raucous feast when a lookout shouted, "Captain! A Marine warship's headed straight for us!"
Captain Rude, a burly man with crimson fur sprouting from his arms and fangs glinting from his jaw, spat out a bone and laughed.
"One warship? Must be a delivery. Hah! Let's rob them blind!"
Moments later, his laughter died as he spotted a single figure descending from the clouds — a Marine in a standard uniform, walking on air.
"…The hell? One guy?" Rude snarled. "He must be insane!"
"Fire the cannons!"
The pirate ship erupted in smoke and thunder as cannonballs tore through the air — but they passed harmlessly through Kuzan's body as he walked, his form flickering with mist.
When he landed lightly on their deck, not a single cannon had touched him.
He brushed the dust off his uniform and sighed. "So noisy… and I just cleaned this jacket."
"Who the hell are you?!" Rude roared, transforming midair. His body expanded, covered in blood-red fur, muscles bulging, claws extending. "You're looking at the great Bloodfang Rude — bounty, 460 million berries! Now die!"
He lunged.
The first punch shattered the deck where Kuzan had been standing. The second grazed his cheek — if he'd had one. The blow went straight through as Kuzan's body liquefied into shimmering water vapor.
"Zoan type, huh?" Kuzan murmured. "Too bad… You bite harder than you think."
The pirates opened fire wildly, panic rising as their bullets tore through their own allies instead. Screams filled the air as the deck became a mess of gunfire and splinters.
Kuzan sighed. "Alright, enough playing around."
He raised his palm. Frost crept outward, coating the deck in glittering ice. Within seconds, the ship, the sea around it, and every pirate aboard were frozen solid — statues of fear caught mid-motion.
Only Rude, half-encased in ice, still twitched, his eyes wide in disbelief.
"W-what… are you?"
Kuzan tilted his head. "Marine… Third Class, Kuzan."
Then he flicked Rude's frozen shoulder. The pirate shattered into glittering shards.
"Guess that's that."
When Kuzan returned to Zephyr's ship using Moonwalk, he dropped the frozen pirate's remains onto the deck with a dull thud.
"Mission accomplished, sensei."
Zephyr glanced up from his newspaper, completely unfazed. "Hmph. Took you long enough."
"The guy was loud," Kuzan said with a shrug. "Had to cool him off."
Zephyr gave a faint smile. "Keep that arrogance in check. The sea's full of louder men."
Kuzan leaned on the railing, eyes on the fading ice field behind them. "Then I'll just freeze them too."
Zephyr chuckled, turning back to his paper. "We'll see."
The warship sailed on under the afternoon sun, its white flag shining bright against the endless blue — the faint crackle of ice still echoing over the waves.
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