You can read ahead up to 15 chapters on my Patreon: https://www.p*treon.com/darkshadow6395
That's right.
By now, Roy had a clear understanding of this. Of all the armed forces subordinate to the World Government, the Marines were undoubtedly the strongest.
However, the Marines were by no means the only military force under the World Government.
Aside from the Marines, the World Government also possessed several other elite forces, and the famously renowned Chief Commander of the Three Forces, 'Steel Bone' Kong, stood at the top, commanding them all.
These included the National Guard Forces, who were responsible for suppressing bandits, defending the territories of various World Government-affiliated nations, and dealing with bandits and members of the Revolutionary Army.
Then there was the Sky Guard, whose duty was to defend the 'Roof of the West Heavens' and ensure smooth aerial routes between the Sky Islands.
Then there were the Red Line Patrol Forces, whose duty was to inspect the Red Line and ensure the safety of Mary Geoise.
Naturally, these forces were far weaker than the Marines and were not well known to the world at large.
Nevertheless, they contained no shortage of powerful individuals.
As for the World Government's directly affiliated forces, there was no need to elaborate; the reference was obviously to the intelligence agencies that report directly to the World Government. CIPHER POL, commonly known as CP.
According to Smoker, all of these factions would be sending representatives to participate in the 'Three-Forces Martial Exercise.'
Roy was genuinely surprised at this news.
He had never expected using a clone to rob the Heavenly Tribute to trigger developments on this scale.
"Hah… yeah." Smoker exhaled a cloud of smoke, then nodded. "That's why the scale of this exercise far surpasses previous ones. I hear the rules are special too."
There was even a hint of excitement and anticipation in his voice.
"And the rewards are just as astonishing. Although it can't compare to the World Military Draft that directly selects Admirals—this time, the champion can be exceptionally promoted to an Admiral Candidate!"
"As for the top five, they can be directly promoted to Vice Admiral or Commodore!"
Admiral Candidate—just as the name implied.
Although their official rank was still "Headquarters Vice Admiral," they held a special status, could bear an Admiral-exclusive title, and wielded considerably greater authority.
Moreover, after an Admiral retired, as long as there wasn't a World Military Draft to directly appoint a new one—
The Admiral Candidates would automatically be next in line for promotion.
And as long as someone was a man, they would inevitably yearn—at least to some extent—for fame and power.
Even Smoker was no exception.
He believed his strength was sufficient to make a name for himself in the Three-Forces Martial Exercise.
And as he spoke, he glanced at Roy.
"…Hey. You're not thinking of getting promoted to Commodore or Vice Admiral, then making me your subordinate, are you?"
Roy instantly sensed the other man's sinister intent.
"Hah. I'm not dead set on it."
Smoker didn't deny that the thought had crossed his mind.
"After all, this is the Three-Forces Martial Exercise. The monsters participating will definitely be far more numerous than usual."
"Relax. I won't let you make the top three."
Roy said flatly.
Smoker let out a cold laugh.
"Then try and stop me."
Just as the two were bickering—
"Senior Smoker."
A voice suddenly rang out.
Roy snapped out of his thoughts and only then realized that, without noticing, they had arrived at a Marine training field.
Patrolling Marines surrounded the area in large numbers, and unit after unit stood in orderly formation—clearly elite troops.
The person who spoke was a man.
Dressed in ninja attire, he had unusually long limbs. He held a tree branch in his hand and carried a green field katana and an enormous kunai on his back.
Were it not for the Marine uniform, Roy would have thought he was an infiltrator.
But at that moment...
[Devil Fruit User Detected: "Binz"]
[Devil Fruit Identified: Paramecia — Mosa Mosa no Mi (Grow-Grow Fruit). Analysing and storing in 'Fruit Encyclopedia'.
[Ability: Accelerates plant growth and controls vegetation.
[Ability Effects by Level]
[LV1: Minor effect; slightly increases plant growth speed (×3)]
[LV2: Partial effect: greatly increases growth speed (×10). Requires 80 million / 330 million for permanent/temporary unlock]
[LV3: Full effect; plants instantly mature and can be controlled. Requires 500 million / 200 million Beli for permanent/temporary unlock]
[LV4: Deep development; allows fine-form manipulation, creation of "plant clones," and shared sensory perception. Requires 1.2 billion / 400 million Beli]
[LV5: Awakening — Lush Vitality. Grants plant-like resilience, limb regeneration via plant growth, absorption of surrounding water and life force for healing, and massive plant overgrowth. Requires 7 billion / 2.3 billion Beli]
[Analysis Progress: 0%. Upon completion, LV1 enhancement will be obtained.
Information from the Fruit Encyclopedia confirmed the man's identity and revealed who Smoker had brought him here to meet.
"Binz, why are you the only one here? Where's Ain? Where's Zephyr Sensei?"
Smoker's words matched Roy's conclusion perfectly.
Zephyr...
Former Marine Admiral and legendary Chief Instructor of Marine Recruits.
He enlisted in the Marines at the same time as the Marine hero Garp, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, and the great Marine Staff Officer Tsuru, they were comrades of the same generation.
Once famed across the seas for his overwhelming Armament Haki, Zephyr had hunted down countless pirates and earned the title "Black Arm".
Later, after his wife and children were murdered in retaliation by pirates, his heart was utterly crushed. He resigned from his position as an Admiral and instead devoted himself to training Marine recruits, cultivating a vast number of powerful Marines.
For example, the current Three Admirals… Aokiji, Akainu, and Kizaru, had all once been his prized students.
As a side note, Smoker had also been his disciple, whereas Roy had not. After recruit training ended, only a portion of elite recruits were selected to undergo Zephyr's instruction.
At the time, Roy had proactively applied to serve in the Marine Detention Unit, so he had missed the opportunity to be taught by Zephyr. But clearly, Vice Admiral Biros was now giving Roy a chance to make up for that regret.
"Ain went out on a mission. As for Zephyr Sensei, he went to the SSG (Marine Special Science Group). He should be back shortly."
The man named Binz answered Smoker's question while looking at Roy.
"This must be Lieutenant Commander Roy, right?"
"Yes." Roy snapped back to his senses and said hesitantly, "So the instructor Vice Admiral Biros found for me is Admiral Zephyr? But as far as I know, he should have already…"
He didn't finish his sentence, but both Binz and Smoker clearly understood.
Four years ago, the trainee ship Zephyr was leading had been attacked by pirates during a mission. Most of the disciples he had painstakingly trained were killed. Zephyr himself lost an arm and suffered grave injuries.
From that point on, he had completely withdrawn from the front lines.
"Yes. After that incident, Sensei hasn't trained recruits for a long time." Binz spoke in a low voice.
He was one of only two Marines who had survived that ship.
"However, he and Vice Admiral Biros are old friends, so he accepted the request as a special case."
Binz gave a brief explanation.
"Follow me."
He turned and walked toward the depths of the training field.
Roy and Smoker naturally followed close behind. Before long, they arrived at a clearly unusual training ground. There were no ordinary training facilities around it. Instead, the area was surrounded by massive iron walls. At the far end stood a building bearing a distinctive "Z" emblem.
"Zephyr Sensei asked you to wait here. He should be back very soon."
After saying that, Binz immediately sat down cross-legged and fell silent.
Seeing this, Roy and Smoker followed suit.
"Don't mind him. Binz is a good guy… he just doesn't like talking much because of what happened four years ago." Smoker actually offered an explanation for once.
He was someone who hated authority, but he was genuinely grateful to Zephyr.
"Understood." Roy naturally didn't mind such small things.
To be precise, he was actually quite pleased.
"The Grow-Grow Fruit… that's a pretty decent ability. It could be extremely effective in certain terrains."
"It's just a shame Ain isn't here, I remember that girl's also a Devil Fruit user, and her ability is downright terrifying."
As he watched the steadily increasing numbers in the Fruit Encyclopedia, Roy recalled…
Ain, the other survivor of the attack four years ago.
Her Devil Fruit was the Modo Modo no Mi (Return-Return Fruit), an ability that caused anything she touched to regress in age, one of the very few Devil Fruits Roy knew that touched upon the domain of time.
And just as Roy was thinking that he definitely had to acquire the Modo Modo no Mi (Return-Return Fruit)'s ability someday…
"Oh? You're already here!?" An aged yet still heroic voice echoed across the training field as a figure strode into the grounds.
His features were resolute, his build tall and powerfully muscular. He wore a dark purple sleeveless shirt and a Marine coat draped over his shoulders.
Time and battle had carved deep marks into his body, yet they had done nothing to diminish the aura of a top-tier powerhouse.
What stood out most was his right arm.
It was severed cleanly at the shoulder, replaced by specialized metal components.
That man was…
"Black Arm" Zephyr.
"Admiral Zephyr." Upon seeing the former Admiral, Roy instinctively stood up, preparing to salute.
But before he could speak…
"You're the kid Roy, right?"
He saw Zephyr's face already split into a grin.
"I've heard about you from Biros. He told me you're the most promising young man in the entire Marine Detention Unit."
"But… I don't believe in words!"
As he spoke, Roy saw the former Admiral's figure vanish from where he stood with a sharp shua.
That was Soru…
And it was faster than anything Roy had ever seen before!
Then…
"The rule here is simple…"
"We speak with our fists!"
Roy felt a violent rush of wind explode past his ear.
(End of Chapter)