At this moment, Saint warcury felt completely isolated.
He could not rely on Saint saturn, who was clearly standing on the same side as Figarland Garling, and the remaining Three Elders offered him no real sense of security either.
Saint Nusjuro had already resumed polishing the long sword resting across his arms, the slow, deliberate motion irritating Saint warcury to no end.
In that instant, Saint warcury genuinely wanted to shove that sword straight into Saint Nusjuro's mouth.
Saint saturn continued pressing the issue without mercy.
"Saint warcury," he said calmly, "what do you mean by remaining silent?"
Saint warcury clenched his fists beneath the table.
His voice, when it finally emerged, sounded as if it were being forced through gritted teeth.
"I merely felt that it was inappropriate for Lloyd, as the heir of the Figarland Family, to remain in the Navy for such a long time," he said.
"So I sent someone to observe him. Ideally, I wanted to find an opportunity to bring him back to Mary Geoise."
The excuse was crude and poorly disguised.
The other Elders frowned almost in unison, clearly dissatisfied.
Figarland Garling, however, let out a quiet laugh.
"Then I suppose I should thank you for showing such concern for my nephew," Garling said lightly.
Saint warcury was openly mocked, yet he did not dare to retort.
He chose silence instead, his jaw tight with restrained fury.
Garling did not pursue the matter further.
He had already vented his anger, and today's events had served their true purpose, a warning to Saint warcury to never again entertain ill intentions toward Lloyd.
Rising from his seat, Garling waved his hand casually.
"Perhaps it truly was a misunderstanding," he said.
"However, from this point onward, you will not concern yourself with my nephew, Saint warcury. If a similar misunderstanding occurs again, it will not end so gently."
With that, Garling turned and walked toward the exit.
Just as he reached the doorway, he paused and looked back with a faint smile.
"Oh yes, Saint warcury. The man you sent into the Navy, his name was Aramaki, correct? My nephew holds him in fairly high regard, and Aramaki himself intends to swear loyalty. Let him remain in the Navy. The seas are in chaos right now, it would be a waste to discard capable talent."
Without waiting for a response, Garling stepped forward and vanished from the doorway in a flash of motion.
The remaining four Elders glanced briefly at Saint warcury, exchanged perfunctory farewells, and departed one after another.
When Saint warcury was finally alone in the council hall, he slammed his palm heavily against the table.
"Damn Aramaki," he growled through clenched teeth.
"What a waste of the Mori Mori Fruit…"
...
Inside the Navy training school.
"Achoo!"
Aramaki, who was sparring with Aokiji, suddenly sneezed.
Aokiji failed to stop his momentum in time, and his punch landed squarely on Aramaki's face, sending him staggering backward and nearly dropping him to the ground.
"Arara," Aokiji said hurriedly, snapping to attention.
"I am really sorry, Aramaki. I did not mean to do that."
Aramaki shot him a fierce glare.
With an irritated wave of his hand, he lashed out with a vine, whipping Aokiji away as he cursed inwardly.
"Damn it. What kind of rotten luck is this, running into this idiot?"
Mid-curse, Aramaki suddenly felt a chill creep up from his feet.
He looked down to see his legs frozen solid to the ground.
Ice spread rapidly outward, and from it emerged a humanoid ice figure that quickly resolved into Aokiji, whom he had just sent flying.
Aokiji stood with his hands on his hips and immediately scolded him.
"Aramaki, we are doing physical training. How can you use your Devil Fruit abilities?"
Aramaki rolled his eyes, shattered the ice around his legs with a sharp shake, and stepped forward.
His fist, coated in Armament Haki, slammed into Aokiji's stomach, causing Aokiji's eyes to widen in shock.
Before Aokiji could recover, Aramaki's punches rained down relentlessly.
"Training, training," Aramaki barked as he struck.
"You want physical training, right? Fine. I will satisfy you today."
Aokiji had not yet mastered Armament Haki and was quickly beaten until his face was bruised and swollen.
"Stop, stop," Aokiji shouted desperately.
"I do not know Armament Haki yet. This is not fair!"
Aramaki had no intention of stopping.
He continued his assault while sneering.
"Fair? That is the word I hate the most. Go talk about fairness with that idiot Dragon."
Whoosh.
A powerful gust of wind swept across the training ground.
In the next instant, Dragon appeared directly behind Aramaki, his voice cold and sharp.
"Who are you calling an idiot?"
Aramaki raised an eyebrow and turned around.
When he saw Dragon, he sneered openly.
"Oh? If it is not the ever calm Dragon. Judging by your face, you seem to have recovered pretty well."
Dragon narrowed his eyes.
He glanced briefly at Aokiji, who was clutching his face and panting, then looked back at Aramaki.
"What skill is there in bullying a newcomer who does not know Armament Haki?" Dragon said.
"How about you and I have a match instead?"
The humiliation from that day, combined with hearing Aramaki insult him the moment he arrived, caused the frustration he had been suppressing to erupt all at once.
Aramaki lifted his chin arrogantly.
"Fine. To be honest, I wanted to deal with you the day I joined the Navy."
"Same here," Dragon replied.
The moment those words fell, violent winds surged around Dragon.
Aramaki's expression twitched as the pressure distorted his features in an almost artistic way.
Crack, crack, crack.
The ground split apart as thick tree roots burst from the fissures, winding tightly around Aramaki's feet.
The clash between two Logia users immediately escalated in scale, drawing the attention of every student on the training grounds.
Aokiji stared at the scene in confusion.
"What is happening," he muttered.
"Why did these two suddenly start fighting?"
Before he could think further, a powerful force pulled him backward.
With a sharp snapping sound, his back pressed against a solid palm.
Aokiji turned his head and saw Lloyd standing behind him, a faint smile on his face.
"Senior Lloyd," Aokiji said quickly, "Aramaki and Dragon are about to fight for real. This is not training anymore. Please stop them."
Not long ago, after Lloyd's battle against those two, his strength had already been acknowledged as sufficient for a Vice Admiral.
Zephyr had granted him authority to guide other students, and in Zephyr's absence, all matters within the school were temporarily placed under Lloyd's control.
Whether it was physical combat or Haki mastery, Lloyd had already proven his qualifications.
Moreover, he held the rank of Rear Admiral, and the students naturally respected him.
With Lloyd present, Zephyr felt far more at ease.
Even Kong, however, would not allow such a powerful asset to remain idle, occasionally assigning Lloyd missions beyond the school.
Although Zephyr had once been considered a retired Admiral, being drawn back into service alongside Lloyd and this new generation of students had restored much of his spirit.
He accepted the missions willingly.
Today, Zephyr was not at the school.
As the de facto second-in-command, Lloyd naturally assumed responsibility.
Lloyd glanced at Dragon and Aramaki, who were locked in confrontation.
He calmly patted Aokiji on the shoulder.
"Do not panic," Lloyd said evenly.
"I want to see how much Dragon has recovered first."
Aokiji froze, clearly startled by that response.
"But they are already using their Devil Fruit abilities," he said hesitantly.
"The training ground will be heavily damaged, and when Zephyr Sensei returns…"
"Relax," Lloyd replied, his expression stoic and unreadable.
"I will observe for now. If they go too far, I will intervene."
____
Milestones
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200 Power stones = 3 Bonus Chapters
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