Three days later, dawn broke.
At the edge of the horizon, the sky bloomed with purple-red light, pushing away the last traces of sea mist.
Sunlight surged upward like molten steel, flooding the sky in a wave of brilliant blue.
Seagulls soared overhead, circling curiously above a massive Marine battleship slowly sailing out of Marineford's port, en route to the various branches along the Grand Line.
Aboard the ship were the elite recruits from this year's class—including Nao.
Accompanying them were over a dozen instructors responsible for evaluating their performance… as well as former Admiral Zephyr himself.
With his students now leaving HQ to begin their internships at various bases, Zephyr couldn't just sit still. He insisted on personally escorting them partway along the journey, staying aboard until each of them was safely delivered to their assigned destination.
Of course...
That was all he could do. Once every recruit had been dropped off, Zephyr would return to HQ with the ship—then, three months later, come back to pick them up.
And when that time came, it would be inevitable—there would be farewells, and possibly deaths.
After all, an internship wasn't the same as a training exercise. Each branch would only send a single accompanying instructor per group. Gaps in supervision were bound to happen.
Just like every year before, there would be a few recruits who wouldn't make it back alive.
Zephyr hated that part more than anything.
But what could he do?
He'd walked the battlefield for decades, fought more pirates than he could count. No one knew the cruelty of war better than him.
If they wanted to become true Marine officers in the future, then for these not-yet-graduated students, this internship—no matter how difficult—was a road they had to walk.
A fledgling bird sheltered under its parent's wing will never truly learn to fly.
———
First floor of the ship. Training hall.
Nao, as usual, was deep in his own brand of hellish training.
The steel wall in front of him was battered—covered in dents, fist marks, and sword gouges. The entire surface looked like it was ready to crumble at any moment.
Boom!
Another punch slammed into the wall. It shook violently, rattling like a sheet of tin. The shockwave rippled through half the ship.
In the kitchen next door, a chef was in the middle of chopping vegetables. The tremor made his hand slip—and the entire counter shattered. Furious, he swore loudly.
"Hah… more progress."
Nao flexed his arm, satisfied with the force of his blow. The thick, ink-black Haki coating his forearm quickly faded.
After weeks of brutal training, he'd finally mastered Armament Hardening. He could now coat any part of his body at will, with 100% success. Not only that, the density and power of his Haki had clearly risen since last month.
If he were to face Onigumo again right now...
Even if the guy took it seriously this time, Nao was confident he could crush him within ten minutes—just by relying on his newly reinforced body.
But—
Nao relaxed his fist and looked down at the two swords at his waist, a smile tugging at his lips.
The biggest breakthrough this month wasn't his Haki.
It was his swordsmanship.
After a full month of round-the-clock practice, the bottleneck he'd been stuck at finally shattered—and he officially stepped into the Realm of the Swordsman.
Now, with a single thought, he could release powerful, high-pressure sword aura at will.
Even Shiryu, who hadn't yet reached this level, was clearly envious.
Of course, both of them knew that Shiryu was already on the verge. It would only take a month or two at most—definitely before the internship ended—for him to reach the same level.
"From here on out, I can't slack off on Haki or body techniques… but I need to shift focus more toward Observation and Moon Eclipse."
Nao gazed at the pitted steel wall, deep in thought.
Moon Eclipse was currently his most polished sword technique—powerful, lethal, and capable of temporary blindness through sheer shock. He valued it highly.
Thanks to relentless practice, he'd now fully mastered the technique. The next step was infusing it with Haki to amplify its already terrifying impact.
As for Observation Haki...
Even though he hadn't spent much focused time training it, his awareness had still improved. With enough concentration, he could now detect movement within a 20–30 meter radius.
Otherwise...
He wouldn't have been able to so easily shake off Shia's shadowing every time he went to secretly meet Gion.
Speaking of which...
Nao turned his head and looked out the porthole, gazing toward the horizon where Marineford had already vanished from view. His expression softened with a trace of regret.
Last week, Gion had been urgently reassigned to the South Blue. She hadn't even had time to say goodbye in person.
Otherwise...
That proud little bunny would definitely have waited at the port until his ship departed—only turning away reluctantly once he was gone.
See you in three months, Bunny.
Nao rubbed his face and exhaled slowly, pushing the thoughts aside. He pulled up his system interface and checked his stats.
[Name: Natsuya Nao]
[Age: 19]
[Strength: 22]
[Agility: 22 (+2)]
[Stamina: 23]
[Intelligence: 9]
[Charm: 13]
[Current Points: 134,900]
[Standard Skills: Dual-Wielding Swordsmanship (Intermediate), Rokushiki (Intermediate), Firearms (Advanced), Hand-to-Hand Combat (Basic), Discipline (Master), Armament Haki (Intermediate), Observation Haki (Basic), Drawing (Advanced)]
[Passive Skills: Radiant Smile, Thick Skin (Intermediate), Limb Regeneration]
"Huh, gained one point in three different stats again…"
He stared at the data, eyes flickering.
"Tch. Feels like I just finessed another 150,000 points out of the system for free."
Most notable was still Stamina.
Nao estimated that at his current level, he could probably keep up nonstop training for over half a month without sleeping.
His sheer physical resilience might be the highest in Elite Camp history.
Even the future Marine Admirals—guys like Akainu, Kizaru, and Aokiji—hadn't reached this level back when they were recruits.
"At this rate, by the time the graduation exam rolls around, my power level will be more than enough—I've got nothing to worry about."
Closing the interface, Nao stared out at the vast, rolling ocean and grinned.
"Now I just need battlefield merit…"
Three months isn't too long—or too short.
To the other recruits, this internship meant following branch fleets into a few skirmishes, maybe taking down a couple mid-level bounties. That alone would be enough to earn a decent year-end ranking.
But—
Nao was different.
Neither Zephyr-sensei, nor his close friends like Shiryu, had yet realized…
When a monster who can train nonstop for over ten days without sleep decides to go all-in on farming combat merit—
What kind of terrifying storm will that unleash?