Marine Officer Training Camp.
After a brief orientation, promising Marines from every sea gathered on the field. These were the future pillars of the Navy, assembled to receive instruction a tier above ordinary drills.
If you wanted to become a real rear admiral or even a vice admiral and actually clash with the brutal monsters of the New World, you needed Haki, swordsmanship, and advanced combat arts. Without them, marching out was no different from marching to your death.
Doll stood among them. Unlike the junior officers beside her buzzing with excitement, she had her arms folded, lost in thought.
Around her, lieutenants and commanders chattered like swallows.
"Too lucky. To train under former Admiral Zephyr and get a fast lane to power."
"Right. They say several top brass are coming to show us how to cultivate Haki."
"If I could get personal pointers from Admiral Zephyr, I bet vice admiral is not far off."
"Exactly. Vice Admiral Garp and Admiral Sengoku are swamped. They do not have time to coach newbies like us."
Others set their sights on the next generation of leaders.
"The Monster Trio of vice admirals are terrifying already. Once their resumes are thick enough, they can step right up to the top combat tier as admirals."
The debate burned hot. Who best represented Marine might. Which instructor would forge them into steel. Then a shout cut through the noise.
"The instructors are here."
Like a classroom jolted by a single cry of Teacher is coming, the field snapped to silence.
A purple-haired, scar-laced hulk of a man strode in. His very frame said he had survived a hundred battles.
Former admiral. Now the chief instructor of the officer academy.
Black Arm Zephyr.
A man who could stand against top pirates with nothing but martial arts and Armament Haki.
He scanned the rows with a dark, unreadable look. Not disappointment, not quite. More the weight of experience. He stopped in front and spoke in a low, even tone.
"First, welcome to Marineford for officer training."
He went through the rules, the objectives, the discipline. Finally, the instructors.
Sakazuki. Borsalino. Kuzan. Nods and murmurs. All as expected.
Then the last name. Zephyr hesitated. His face gave nothing away.
"Last, a special instructor sent as a courtesy from the World Government."
Heads craned. An honored guest, saved for last. Only Doll was smiling already, eyes bright, as if she knew exactly who would appear.
"Dotor Ozz-sei."
Zephyr swallowed the taste the word pirate left in his mouth and reminded himself to stay calm.
The name hit like a shock grenade.
It was not only the trainees. Sakazuki and Kuzan both stared at Zephyr in open disbelief.
A pirate would teach Marines.
Aside from Doll, Borsalino, and a very few, everyone was stunned. Officers from the Blues, the Grand Line, even the New World knew that name too well. In every region they had garrisoned, Ozz's reach had seeped in one way or another. Mercenary outfits. Pirate crews. Legitimate enterprises. A legend you could not ignore.
They had heard the rumors that the Black Emperor had attended the Warlords ceremony and was lingering in Marineford.
No one imagined the man would walk into the academy yard.
With Zephyr's introduction, a figure stepped into the light. He alone wore no coat of justice.
Doll's eyes flashed. In her head the words still echoed.
Want to learn Haki. I will teach you.
A tall man with a gentle expression and a seagull perched on his forearm stood before them. Two gazes among the crowd were openly hostile, their bodies faintly tinting with elemental light. Most eyes were curious.
So this is the Black Emperor.
He looks less terrifying than the stories.
In the ranks, a man in sunglasses with a smudge of mochi on his cheek flinched. Ozz-sama. Why is he here.
…
Training began. Most did not understand why Ozz had appeared, but very few truly rejected him. The new generation had not lived through the decade when the Navy danced to his tune. To them he was a former pirate who later became a Celestial Dragon. Half friend, half question mark.
More than his reputation, they wanted the power the rumors promised.
When Ozz's turn came, the field held its breath. The man some said could press the Sea Emperors and make the Fleet Admiral yield raised an arm. The seagull hopped off and glided to perch among the trainees.
"Fresh eggs of the Navy, I am your Haki instructor, Professor Ozz."
Hands behind his back, he tasted the odd pleasure of teaching. It reminded him of the first lessons Rayleigh had given him.
"Haki is easier to cultivate than you think."
He extended his right hand.
A dull chime rang. Red-black Armament rippled over his forearm, the pressure rolling off him so strong that eyes went wide.
"How do we learn that," someone blurted, unable to hold it in.
Ozz smiled, remembering a certain boot that had once knocked him out cold.
"Simple."
"You learn by getting hit."
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