"Armament Haki? Full-body coverage?"
Enel frowned slightly. He immediately understood what this was about — they wanted to test whether Marianne's ability could be affected by Armament Haki.
So he nodded.
The next moment, his entire body was covered in a dark purple armor of Armament Haki.
Across that armor, streaks of lightning patterns crackled and flashed.
"You even went and made it stylish?"
"A full-body cover with no blind spots — you look ridiculous."
Enel rolled his eyes, then stretched out his hand again. "Here, draw."
"...Alright."
Marianne frowned as she looked at Enel's now completely purple-black form. This time, instead of using black, she switched to yellow.
Soon, a wildly grinning cat face appeared on the back of Enel's hand.
"Yellow? What does yellow represent?" Enel muttered, but then the corners of his mouth stretched uncontrollably wide, as if that question had hit the funniest nerve in his entire being. He clutched his stomach and burst out laughing.
"Hahahaha! This is— hahaha! Too funny!"
"The Laughing Yellow — it makes you laugh uncontrollably."
Marianne looked toward Michael expectantly, but found him staring back at her with a stunned expression.
"Vice Admiral Michael, did I… do something wrong?"
"Wrong? No, no! Not at all!" Michael quickly shook his head, suppressing the urge to laugh out loud. "I just think… your ability is truly priceless."
Could it not be priceless!?
Damn it — she could actually ignore Armament Haki!
That instantly made her ability far more versatile!
Sure, against people with complex minds or strong willpower, the effect would weaken a lot. But as long as it caused even a slight influence, that was already a huge advantage in a battle between equals!
Hearing Michael's praise, Marianne could feel his genuine appreciation. The self-confidence that had nearly vanished within her suddenly swelled again.
"However… you still can't neglect your physical training. You can't always rely on your comrades to protect you, right? What if you get separated?"
"...Yes, sir."
...
After some time, everyone finally finished their five laps.
It was worth mentioning that Luffy's ten laps were completed even faster than some people's five.
Just from the running, Zephyr — the old veteran — had already completely assessed everyone's approximate physical level and natural talents.
"I have to say… they really are astonishing geniuses," Zephyr said quietly. "Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if this class produces several future Admirals."
"Hah, that would be something far in the future." Michael waved his hand casually. "But since you're so satisfied, I'll leave these kids in your hands."
"Don't worry, Michael." Zephyr's eyes gleamed with hope and anticipation for the future. "I believe the seas ahead will move closer to peace because of them."
"Let's hope so."
"Michael, as my disciple, I need to tell you something..." Zephyr shook his head and said, "If you want to do something, then do it. Right or wrong — sometimes, that's not what matters most."
"...Zephyr-sensei." Michael looked at him — no wonder teachers always understood their students best. Zephyr hadn't guessed his exact intentions, but he had clearly sensed something.
"I firmly believe that everything I'm doing is right."
"That's good to hear."
Zephyr gave Michael a long, deep look, then nodded and walked toward the young recruits.
"I'm the Chief Instructor of the Navy's new recruits — Zephyr!"
"From today on, you are all my students!"
...
Cross Guild — Mobile Sea Base.
"Yaaawn—" Gaban rubbed his sleepy eyes as he walked down the corridor. "No idea what's going on — why the hell are they sending urgent intel in the middle of the night?"
"It's a turbulent time," Rayleigh said with a faint smile. "All the great powers are starting to stir again… especially the Revolutionary Army. We thought they'd gone quiet after taking control of the four seas — turns out they were just regaining strength, building up power."
"I don't really get you smart people and your schemes," Gaban muttered, smacking his lips. "But honestly, I think the Revolutionary Army's not bad. If they'd appeared a few years earlier, I probably wouldn't have joined Roger's crew at all."
"They're… certainly people with ideals and ambition," Rayleigh said, shaking his head. "But the world is still in the hands of the World Government. Even though their authority has been taking hit after hit… the distance to their downfall is still far off."
"...Speaking of which, when is Gloriosa coming back? I've been doing her work for ages!" Gaban grumbled. "Amazon Lily's already on the right track — that girl Boa Hancock has really made a name for herself! 'The world's most beautiful woman,' they call her..."
As the two talked, they pushed open the door to the office belonging to the three founders of the Cross Guild.
At that moment, the woman standing in the center of the room turned around to face them.
"You two old geezers gossiping about me again? I'm back, aren't I? What, can't stand doing a little extra work, Gaban?"
"Oh, Gloriosa! You finally decided to come back!" Gaban exclaimed excitedly, stepping forward. "I'm telling you — you owe me at least one month's… no, two months' worth of shifts! I'm taking a vacation!"
"Vacation? Forget it for now." Gloriosa's expression wasn't pleasant. "I just came back from Shakky's with top-secret intel."
"Top-secret intel?" Rayleigh blinked. "Funny, we came to the office because we also received an urgent report."
"Then let's check the urgent one first…" Gloriosa said as she unfolded the document on the desk. But after just one glance, her face turned pale.
"Michael… is with the Revolutionary Army."
"The Revolutionary Army? Michael?" Gaban's jaw dropped. "It sounds absurd… but thinking about it, he did show up often in the seas near the Revolutionaries' territories."
Rayleigh seemed to realize something. He reached out his hand toward Gloriosa.
"The top-secret intel — have you read it yet?"
"Not yet. I hurried straight back." Gloriosa shook her head. "Why?"
"I've got a feeling… this intel will give us an even bigger surprise."
Rayleigh opened the report Gloriosa handed over.
There was only one line written on it:
"Michael — Founder of the Revolutionary Army."
"...Gloriosa, who did Shakky get this intel from?"
"From a banished Celestial Dragon — Figarland Garling."
---
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