The medical room door slammed shut with a bang.
In the corridor, Zephyr's chest heaved violently. He was now regretting why he had been blinded by that outstanding physical test report and recruited this troublemaker into the Elite Camp.
Knocking someone unconscious was one thing, but then carrying them through the streets for public display?
Public display was bad enough, but then making the freshly awakened person faint again from anger?
What kind of human being would do such things?
"Teacher Zephyr..."
Kane stood in the shadows of the corridor, still holding the medicine spoon, his face filled with innocence.
"Sakazuki's psychological defenses are simply too fragile."
Kane sighed, his tone full of concern for his comrade's future: "As marines, we'll have to face ruthless pirates in the future. If he can't even handle this level of 'care' from his comrades, how will he establish himself in the New World?"
As he spoke, Kane stepped forward, his eyes sincere:
"Teacher, I have an immature suggestion. To strengthen our comrades' pressure resistance, I propose adding a 'Pressure Resistance Psychological Counseling Class' to the Elite Camp curriculum."
"Although I'm quite busy with training myself, I'm willing to sacrifice my personal rest time to serve as an unpaid instructor, specifically responsible for..."
"Shut up!!"
Zephyr's roar cut off Kane's spellcasting.
"You want to be an instructor? Do you want to turn all the new recruits into scoundrels like you?!"
"All for Justice, teacher!"
"Talking back?!"
Zephyr pointed toward the end of the corridor, his finger trembling.
"Get to the port! Board my warship! Scrub the deck! If it's not spotless before dinner, you can go catch fish in the sea to eat!"
Kane immediately snapped to attention, his heels clicking sharply.
"Yes! Mission guaranteed to be completed! I won't fail your deep affection, teacher!"
"Get out!!!"
Zephyr kicked at the air.
Kane used the momentum to turn and flee, faster than a rabbit.
"Huff... huff..."
Zephyr gasped for breath, feeling his blood pressure rising.
After calming himself slightly, his gaze swept across the corridor.
"Kuzan!"
Kuzan, who had been sneaking along the wall, froze completely.
"Y-yes, sir!"
"Do you want to stay and provide care?" Zephyr sneered. "Or do you feel yesterday's 2,000-kilogram weighted run wasn't enough?"
"Report, teacher! I suddenly remember I have unfinished training! I request to return for additional practice!"
Kuzan's survival instincts kicked into high gear as he bolted away.
Joking at a time like this would mean certain punishment—warriors like Kane were rare after all.
In the blink of an eye, the corridor stood empty.
Only at the far end of the bench remained one figure who showed no intention of moving.
Borsalino sat with his legs crossed, his brown sunglasses reflecting cold light as he held a nail clipper.
"Clip, clip."
Even with Zephyr's rage permeating the air, this man remained as steady as Mount Tai, even raising his freshly trimmed nails to the light for appreciation.
"Wow~ my nails are trimmed a bit too short~ How strange~"
That lazy tone, paired with his annoyingly lecherous expression.
The nameless fury Zephyr had just suppressed surged up again instantly.
"Borsalino."
Zephyr walked over with a grim expression, his tall figure casting a shadow over the monkey-like youth.
Snip.
Borsalino's hand twitched, and the nail clipper cut into his flesh.
Hiss—
He sucked in a sharp breath, turning his signature sly face toward Zephyr. Behind his brown sunglasses, his eyes blinked, and he pouted as he spoke:
"Zephyr-sensei~ Did something happen~? You're blocking the light~"
Zephyr stared at that face, his fists clenching.
"You have too much free time, don't you?" Zephyr gritted his teeth. "While your comrade is lying in a hospital bed, you're out here clipping your nails?"
Borsalino tilted his head and spread his hands. "But sensei~ I can't really help with medical stuff~"
"Can't help?"
A ferocious smile spread across Zephyr's face.
"Then go do something you can help with! Kane can't scrub that warship alone, so you go help him! If the two of you don't finish cleaning it by dinner, your meat rations for the week are canceled!"
"Huh~?"
Borsalino froze.
The nail clipper in his hand clattered to the floor.
I was just watching the drama!
"Sensei~ That's not fair~" Borsalino tried to protest. "It was that monster Kane who knocked Sakazuki out~ I was just passing by~"
"Don't want to go?" Zephyr sneered, his Haki faintly stirring around him. "Would you rather spar with me here instead?"
Borsalino shot to his feet, moving as fast as a primate.
"So scary~ I'll go, okay~? Zephyr-sensei is way too strict~"
…
The midday sun blazed overhead.
Zephyr's personal warship was a massive vessel, docked in the harbor like a steel mountain. The dark, sprawling deck felt utterly daunting.
Kane stood in the center of the deck, holding two buckets. He glanced up at the scorching sun, then at the tall, lanky figure beside him, who was holding a mop with a "Who am I, where am I?" expression.
Borsalino, though not yet the seasoned veteran with the "pay me enough and I'll take down a Four Emperor" attitude of a future Admiral, was already showing signs of his laid-back nature.
Wearing his brown sunglasses, he pouted and sighed as he looked at the enormous deck.
"Yare yare~ What bad luck, having to do this kind of manual labor under the noon sun."
Borsalino slowly planted his mop on the deck, leaning against it limply, with no intention of actually working.
Clang!
Kane casually tossed his buckets aside and plopped down in the large shadow behind the main turret.
He pulled two golden oranges from his pocket and tossed one to Borsalino.
"Catch. Cool yourself off."
Borsalino instinctively caught it, feeling a slight chill from the orange's skin. His eyes brightened behind his sunglasses, but then he hesitated.
"Yare? Kane-kun, Zephyr-sensei is really angry right now. If we get caught slacking off, we might really get thrown into the sea to feed the fish~ That's truly terrifying~"
"Slacking off?"
Kane tossed a segment of orange into his mouth, the juice bursting with flavor.
He looked at Borsalino as if he were an alien.
"Borsalino-kun, your mindset is seriously flawed."
"Oh? How so?" Borsalino grew interested, leaning against the railing and crossing his long legs as he began peeling his orange.
"Think about it," Kane said, tossing an orange segment into his mouth and speaking indistinctly. "What is the Navy's duty? To capture pirates and protect civilians, right?"
"Exactly~"
"Now imagine if a group of extremely vicious pirates suddenly appeared—say, Golden Lion or Whitebeard launched an attack."
"And you, Borsalino, having just spent three hours scrubbing the deck under the scorching sun, are exhausted and sore, your energy completely drained. As a result, at the critical moment, you're just 0.1 seconds too slow and get cut down by the enemy..."
Kane paused, his expression suddenly turning deadly serious as he pointed at Borsalino's nose.
"Then you'd be a criminal of the Navy! You'd not only have failed yourself, but also all the civilians waiting for you to save them!"
Borsalino's hand, holding the orange, froze mid-air.
Hiss...
Although something felt off about this logic... why did it somehow make perfect sense?
"So you see,"
Kane spoke with profound sincerity, pressing his own peeled half of the orange into Borsalino's hand.
"Us sitting here eating oranges right now is to preserve our energy for any potential fierce battle that might occur at any moment."
"We're taking responsibility for the Justice of the future!"
Kane raised a finger, wagging it solemnly before Borsalino's eyes.
"This isn't called slacking off—this is called 'Ambiguous Justice'! Finding the optimal solution between action and inaction—that is the Justice of the wise!"
[Ding! Successfully instilled "fallacious doctrines" into a future Admiral, establishing a "slacker logic closed loop" and accelerating the formation of the future Admiral's worldview.]
[Subversion level being determined... Logical genius! Violation Value +800!]
Just like that?
Kane was inwardly overjoyed, though outwardly he maintained the appearance of someone deeply concerned for the nation and its people.
Borsalino stared at the orange in his hand for a long time, the sleazy curve of his mouth gradually widening until it transformed into a knowing smile, as if he had finally found a kindred spirit.
He plopped down beside Kane, imitating his posture by stretching his long legs straight out and leaning comfortably against the artillery mount.
"Kane, my boy~ you're truly terrifying~."
"I've learned something~ This kind of Justice... I quite like it~"
He stuffed the orange into his mouth, mumbling indistinctly, clearly completely won over:
"But~ as reasonable as it sounds~ we still have to scrub the deck, right? If it's not clean, Instructor Zephyr with his terrible temper would really throw us into the sea to feed the fish~"
"Who said we have to scrub it ourselves?"
Kane tilted his head back slightly, gazing at the seemingly cloudless blue sky above, a mysterious smile curling at the corners of his mouth.
The noon sun remained dazzling, with seagulls circling overhead.
But in Kane's perception, enhanced by his original body's top-tier Navigation Skill, the surrounding air humidity had reached a critical point.
"System! Upgrade Navigation Skill!"
[Consumed 5000 Violation Value points! Skill infusion in progress...]
In that instant, the world transformed in Kane's eyes.
The direction of the wind, subtle changes in air humidity, the color at the base of distant clouds... all this data converged in his mind to form a precise meteorological chart.
He detected a damp, stifling earthy scent carried by the sea breeze—the precursor to an approaching storm.
On the southeastern horizon, a barely visible dark line was rapidly advancing, while the atmospheric pressure was plummeting dramatically.
"Borsalino, do you know how to make tea?" Kane suddenly asked.
"Huh? I know a little~ I do enjoy drinking tea in my spare time~"
Kane pointed to a shady corner on the deck. "Did you bring any tea utensils?"
"Huh?"
"If not, it's fine. The captain's cabin must have some. Follow me." Kane revealed a meaningful smile.
Borsalino looked at Kane's confident back, then glanced at the vast, messy deck, hesitating for a moment.
Soon, a sly and expectant grin spread across his old face—the excitement of finding a kindred spirit.
"Sounds interesting~"