"Your uniform slipped, Alice."
Laurentina turned her head toward the open field.
"Eh!?"
Alice froze.
She looked down and realized her loose Marine train uniform had slid halfway down — revealing far more than she would ever want.
A cool ocean breeze only made the embarrassment sharper.
"D-Don't look!"
Her face turned crimson.
Flustered, she scrambled to tug her clothes back into place, her watery blue eyes swirling like cartoon spirals of panic.
She tried to step away — but her foot slipped, balance vanished, and she fell forward once again—
—straight into Laurentina's arms.
A perfect cliché moment straight out of a corny CEO romance drama.
Time seemed to pause.
"Eh…?"
Alice jolted like a startled kitten, her entire body trembling.
Steam practically puffed out of her head as she backed away in a tiny panic, cheeks burning and thoughts short-circuiting.
Is it even possible… to be THIS unlucky?
Laurentina tilted her head, genuinely curious.
Elite Training Continues
Training remaind strict — strength conditioning paired with Rokushiki practice.
Elite recruit training was dry, repetitive, and exhausting.
But Laurentina had been doing things like this since childhood, so none of it fazed her.
Aside from long-distance running, the boys and girls were separated for certain exercises.
Push-ups by the hundreds, rope climbing by the dozens…
Especially the rope climbing — because that one tended to attract… unwanted attention.
Right now was Zephyr-sensei's swordsmanship class.
"Laurentina! Your center of gravity! I said center of gravity! Always the center of gravity!"
Zephyr barked, jabbing a finger at her trailing posture.
"If you want your sword and body to move as one, your weight must follow the strike!"
"Is this wrong? Wavebreaker Slash!"
Laurentina pulled her body back, starlight gathering along her regulation sword like shimmering surf.
She swung—
A massive golden wave of compressed air blasted forward.
BOOOOM—
Trees in the distance were sliced clean through.
Under the shade, Garp shot awake, his donut snapping perfectly into a semicircle in his hand.
Garp: ???
Who stole half my donut!?
A flying slash?
Her peers gasped.
Zephyr removed his glasses slowly… rubbed them… then stared again.
He said nothing.
His face darkened as if dipped into coal.
He had never seen that technique.
Certainly not during her fight with Bastille.
For a moment, he wondered if life had become pointless — decades of experience, rendered useless on this girl.
Whether it was martial arts or swordsmanship, the fundamentals refused to restrain her.
The sense of defeat hung heavily over him.
"…Anymore?" Zephyr sighed, exhausted.
"All the sword techniques you know. Show me."
"That was the only one, haha."
Laurentina tucked her hair behind her ear, smiling innocently.
Indeed, she only knew Wavebreaker Slash.
"…What."
Zephyr blinked.
He checked again.
She wasn't lying.
A beat later—
He smiled like a kind old grandfather.
His old face regaind ten years of youth.
And then—
He roared:
"THEN TRAIN PROPERLY!"
Summoned by Tsuru
"Vice Admiral Tsuru, you wanted to see me?"
Laurentina was summoned after training.
Entering the office, she was greeted by the plaque "Pure Justice."
Under it sat Tsuru, chin resting on her hands, smiling gently.
"Are you adjusting well?"
Tsuru rose to pour tea, pushing a tray of small pastries toward her guest.
"Thank you for your concern, Granny Tsuru. I'm really happy here."
Laurentina bowed slightly.
In the short breaks between classes, recruits often whispered about high command — but Tsuru was universally admired.
Knowledgeable, stern, fair.
Beloved by all female Marines.
Laurentina, too, genuinely liked her.
Aside from her intimidating Devil Fruit ability, she was the picture of a kind grandmother.
After a bit of small talk, Tsuru went straight to the point.
"That day… during your battle.
Was that your second personality?" Tsuru asked, offering snacks with an encouraging smile.
"…Mm."
Laurentina tensed.
Her origins were complicated — and she wasn't sure whether Tsuru's powers could affect her.
"You're not quite human," Tsuru continued softly.
"Not merfolk, not giant, not one of the rarer Red Line tribes.
You're… not from this world, are you?"
Her tone was elegant and dignified, like a noblewoman from a bygone century — but her eyes were sharp.
She slid a report forward — her evaluation:
Marine Recruit Laurentina
Combat skill: Exceptional
Physical endurance: Exceptional
Capable of destroying hard targets and large objects with non-human efficiency.
Overall evaluation: Perfect.
The report felt weightless — but the silence afterward felt heavy.
"…No." Laurentina exhaled, shoulders drooping.
There was no point lying.
Even if Tsuru knew the truth — what then?
She couldn't exactly lead the Marines to war against another dimension.
"What an astonishing discovery…"
Tsuru's eyes shimmered with an unreadable light.
"You're… not planning to dissect me, are you?"
Laurentina lowered her gaze.
That light — she knew it too well.
Cold steel, surgical blades, glowing injections, masked experimenters —
her memories clawed their way up, dragging nightmares with them.
Her hands trembled.
Tsuru's Wash-Wash aura brushed her mind, and she felt it instantly:
A crushing, suffocating sorrow — trauma so heavy it rattled the soul.
"Oh, child—"
She stepped forward—
But the words never finished.
A familiar black mist spiraled around Laurentina.
Her eyes went hollow.
Her lips curled into a too-calm smile.
"You awakened me…"
A violent pressure exploded outward, ripping the office door from its hinges.
The plaque "Pure Justice" rattled on the wall.
WHOOOM—
Sengoku appeared instantly, ready to subdue her despite his confusion—
"Wait. Let me handle her."
Tsuru stepped in front.
In a blink, she appeared before Laurentina and extended a finger.
Pure instinct made Laurentina recoil—
but she was far too slow against a veteran.
Ripple-like waves flowed from the top of her head down to her boots.
Her body slackened—
stripped of strength.
She hung like a beautiful garment on a hanger.
Tsuru's eyes narrowed.
"…Who are you right now?"
Laurentina's lips curled.
"Hehe… you may call me…
Ghost Shark."
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