"You brats, who told you that you can use your Devil Fruits here?!"
BANG!!
Raiden found himself flying back faster than he arrived, skidding for over 100 meters before coming to a halt.
An enraged, rugged old man stood in his place, wearing a scowl on his face.
He was very muscular, with bright purple hair and flashy sunglasses. One thing that stood out from the rest was his arms.
They looked like they were built like a tank, adding to the imposing factor.
Raiden recognised him immediately. It was the most famous teacher of Marines, "Black Arm" Zephyr, a former Marine Admiral.
"Weak!!! Way too weak!!! With such weak bodies, you dare to flaunt your Devil Fruits in front of me?! Give me 10,000 pushups right now." The man yelled at him, and Smoker, who also stood up from his ditch with a big bump on his forehead.
"Yes, Zephyr-sensei." Despite wincing in pain, he didn't say a word in protest and dropped down to start doing push-ups, clearly familiar with the temperament of this older gentleman.
Raiden, on the contrary, did not comply immediately. He began yapping instead. "Are you Admiral Zephyr?! I've been such a big fan of you, I particularly admire your way of-"
He never got to finish the flattering speech he prepared in the hospital for all the higher-ups in the Marines, as he found himself tasting dirt instead and as another growing pain formed on his head.
"Did I ask you to talk so much?! Start doing pushups, right now!! As for the rest of you, are you waiting for my engraved invitation?! Who asked you to stop running?!" Zephyr said, who appeared behind him faster than he could see.
"Yes, Zephyr-sensei!!!" A chorus of voices responded as the rest of the Marines began running, most of them carrying various amounts of weight, as far as Raiden could see.
"Are you deaf, boy?! Do you want to taste hell?!" A growling voice sounded behind him, which immediately snapped him out of his stupor.
He got into a push-up stance and started doing them. One. Two. Three—
THUD.
Something impossibly heavy crushed down onto his back. His arms buckled. The ground rushed up to meet his face before he caught himself, every muscle screaming.
Zephyr had sat on him. Casually. Raiden felt like he was a park bench.
'How much does this old man WEIGH?!'
"Did I ask you to stop, boy?" Raiden immediately began his push-ups again despite the growing strain.
"Now tell me about yourself, boy. Your name, your Devil Fruit power, its limitations, and what do you think you should focus on the most in the future?" Zephyr, now sitting on top of him, asked in a casual voice.
"Replying to Zephyr-sensei, my name is Raiden D. Shigaraki. My main Devil Fruit power lets me enhance my strength and all my body functions. It's only limited by the strength of my body. My powers have a big, crucial drawback. If I use more power than my body can handle, I'll end up maiming that body part or worse, blowing up from within. My main focus in the future should be on my body. In this world, all other powers are secondary; your body is the main foundation."
Zephyr nodded in recognition. The boy was smart enough to understand what future path he should follow.
"Good!! Your situation is more or less similar to that of Borsalino, where his body is holding him back. But unlike that stupid brat, you are much more teachable and smarter than he ever was. You said you couldn't use too much of your Devil Fruit. How much are you using right now?"
Raiden had just hit 100 pushups and started to struggle already. But he knew he couldn't stop now if he wanted to create an impression on Zephyr.
He had a massive plan in mind, which, if successful, could switch and change the situation of the whole Marines completely. But he needed a lot of support for it? As for how to get support? The simple answer was connections. Connections get you everywhere.
"I can use 2% at most...sensei." He replied, a little out of breath.
"With such a weak body, it's no wonder you can only use 2%. Keep doing the pushups!!" Zephyr replied, but inwardly he was very surprised.
'His Devil Fruit has a lot of potential. Much more than we realised. I got to make sure he stays on the right path in the future, unlike that Borsalino.'
Pretty soon, all the other recruits gathered around him and Zephyr-sensei, looking at him and started chattering about him.
"Is he the famous 'Enemy of all Womenkind?' He kinda looks weak."
"No shit, I thought someone who was brave enough to peak on Vice Admiral Momousagi would be much bigger. He looks like a twig."
"I heard he got in through backdoor, using connections."
"I heard about that, too. I also heard he is actually a love child between Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Miss Tsuru-san."
Zephyr, who was sitting there, started getting stress tick on his forehead, hearing all this nonsense.
"You damn brats!! Don't you have something better to do? Give me 100 laps around Marineford right now. If you don't finish by sundown, none of you are getting any dinner!!" He roared, scaring everyone away.
Meanwhile, Raiden had crossed over a thousand pushups and already started to see blurred. He had no other thoughts in his mind; he had just one thought.
'Can not fall now. My future, my dream, it all depends on this. Got to make the best first impression.'
A 1,000!!
2,500!!
5,000!!
9,000!!
9,999!!!
By now, Raiden had just darkness in front of him, and he was running on willpower and pure stubbornness alone.
His hands trembled, his body shivered, burning up from within, as he did one final push for that 10,000 mark.
"I will not give UP HERE!!!!"
10,000!!!
As soon as he completed it, his body gave away and fell down, taking his consciousness with it.
Zephyr, who was sitting on his back silently, gave an appreciative nod. The most important thing, according to him, was not talent, body or Devil Fruit. It was willpower, a willpower of a powerhouse. And this boy clearly had some nascent signs of it already.
He turned towards Smoker, who had finished his pushups already, standing a short distance away.
"Let him rest for 15 minutes, then bring him to dinner. I will see you both tomorrow in the morning at 5 AM. Dismissed."
With that, he walked away, leaving behind a grumpy Smoker.