"Hah... Hah... Hah..."
Heavy panting echoed continuously as consciousness grew blurry.
In Raleigh's observation haki, they appeared like candles in the wind, ready to collapse at any moment.
Thump!
Miles and Betty fell first.
Being younger, their physical endurance couldn't match Gion and Tokikake who had trained for years.
"Still... five laps... I... must persevere..."
"To become strong like Big Brother Raleigh... for our dreams..."
The two children struggled to get up and continue, but... thud!
They had expended too much energy - even wanting to stand up, they lacked the strength.
"Aaaaah!"
"I... haven't gotten stronger yet... get up quickly..."
Whoosh!
A figure appeared before them as Raleigh reached out to stop the two children trying to rise.
"Hmm, well done, Miles, Betty."
"Sorry, Master. We didn't complete the plan you set."
Tears welled in the children's eyes, as if failing the plan meant disappointing Raleigh's efforts.
"You've both done very well."
"When I was your age, I wasn't as strong as you. I couldn't even complete ten weighted laps."
Raleigh smiled, comforting the two children before him.
"You've surpassed many children your age... you're both excellent marines..."
Raleigh's comfort seemed effective for Miles and Betty as they looked up at him:
"Master... are we really excellent marines?"
"Of course! When have I ever lied to you?"
Raleigh pointed at himself, then at Gion and Tokikake, and said.
"Not just me, even Gion and Tokikake think you are excellent marines."
"However, now you need to get some proper rest."
Raleigh extended his finger and gently tapped the back of Miles and Betty's necks.
The two, already exhausted, instantly fell unconscious.
He waved his hand, and two marines who had been waiting on the deck immediately came over, carefully carrying Miles and Bello Betty away.
"Take these two back to rest first."
"Yes, sir!"
Raleigh's figure instantly appeared beside Tokikake.
The moment he appeared, Tokikake seemed to reach his physical limit as well.
His body suddenly slumped toward the deck.
Raleigh grabbed the lead weights on Tokikake with one hand and held his collar with the other to prevent him from hitting the deck face-first.
A group of marines quickly gathered and carried Tokikake away.
Raleigh looked at the only remaining figure on the deck - the stunningly beautiful one.
"Gion, are you done?"
"Just a moment more, six more strikes."
"9995...9997...9999...10000."
After executing the final sword swing, Gion's right arm was severely strained.
Konpira slipped from her hand.
Raleigh instantly appeared beside Gion, one arm wrapping around her slender waist while the other caught Konpira's hilt mid-air.
"I really don't understand why you all train so desperately."
"One after another pushing yourselves to the point of unconsciousness - I truly can't comprehend it."
Raleigh complained to Gion in his arms.
"The one who's hard to understand should be you, Raleigh!"
"Always slacking off, yet your strength remains unfathomable. What kind of monster are you..."
"I..."
Before Raleigh could answer, Gion, like the others, fell unconscious.
This time, however, Raleigh didn't call for marine assistance.
Instead, he carried Gion in a princess carry back to her room.
––––––––––––
Raleigh lay on the sun lounger, comfortably enjoying life.
More than a week had passed since he last instructed their training.
They no longer needed Raleigh's guidance now.
"System, check attributes."
[Host: Christian Raleigh]
[Affiliation: Marines]
[Technique: 4]
[Physique: 7]
[Wisdom: 7]
[Haki: 5]
[Speed: 5]
Since departing from East Blue, Raleigh's luck seemed to have improved considerably.
A few days ago, he drew the Armament Haki advancement card from the lottery again, having already elevated his Armament Haki to the third level - the emission stage.
This stage is what the Land of Wano calls Ryuo.
Due to the enhancement in Haki, Raleigh's Haki and Physique attributes each increased by one point.
His comprehensive data had now reached 28.
He was no longer a rookie among the Rear admirals.
According to these stats, he should be an elite Rear admiral.
Though without a Devil Fruit, his offensive methods were somewhat limited compared to Devil Fruit users.
But Raleigh didn't mind.
After all, he was someone who would absolutely avoid taking action if possible.
As for strength, as long as he could keep slacking off, it would naturally improve.
"Report, Raleigh-sama! We're approaching the transfer port at the Red Line."
"Good."
Raleigh sat up from the sun lounger and gazed at the towering Red Line in the distance, unable to hold back a sigh.
No matter how many times he had seen it, standing before the Red Line always filled him with immense astonishment at such terrain.
No one would ever imagine that there could be such a tall, ring-shaped continent in the middle of the ocean.
Together with the Grand Line, enveloped by the Calm Belt, it equally divided the planet's seas into four oceans.
Between the East Blue and the North Blue lay the insurmountable Red Line.
In this era, the Marines could only transport people and limited supplies to the top using elevator-like devices.
They would then take a vertical elevator down the other side, leaving their warships behind.
However, these vertical elevators were extremely inefficient, which was why Marines, upon reaching the rank of commodore, were typically assigned to the Grand Line.
Only a few vice admirals, serving as admirals of the four seas, would return from the Grand Line to the four blues.
This was also why the Marines in the four seas were relatively weaker and why the Marines' control over these regions was insufficient.
"Alright, pack your things. We're getting ready to depart on the vertical elevator."
Raleigh announced this to the group and began gathering his belongings.
The soldiers on their warship would not be accompanying them to the North Blue.
In fact, these soldiers were from the East Blue branch.
They had been assigned to escort Gion and Tokikake when the two transferred from the Grand Line.
Soon, Raleigh and his companions finished packing and left the warship.
At a small port controlled by the Marines at the base of the Red Line,
Gion handed their passes to the captain in charge of guarding the area for inspection.
"Master, are we going up on that thing?"
Miles pointed at the somewhat rudimentary vertical elevator on the Red Line.
"Yes, if we want to reach the North Blue, this is the only way to cross the Red Line."
"Then why don't they dig a tunnel instead of going over the Red Line?"
Raleigh patted Bello Betty's head gently and said softly.
"I'm not sure about that, but you can search for the answer when you have the chance in the future."