"That feeling just now."
"Was that Observation Haki?"
Doll stared at her own hands in disbelief. It was like a new, invisible eye had opened, sensing what sight could not. Ozz had been pressing her without a word, again and again forcing her into danger until the power finally sparked. It was still raw, on and off, but the door was open. With practice she would one day react to bullets.
"Great."
Overjoyed, Doll hopped up and promptly buried Ozz's face in the surf of her own making. Breath cut off, he had to blink-teleport a pocket of air into his mouth before it eased.
"All right, Doll. Your body is not as robust as Vergo's, so Armament will take time. Getting a foothold in Observation this fast is already very good."
Watching her glow, Ozz felt a quiet satisfaction. For him, basic Observation and Armament had been practically innate, the sort of thing a prodigy picks up as a boy. These officer candidates were not monsters like he was. Without the right shove, that next step might take years. So Teacher Ozz, for once, was genuinely doing them a favor.
Up on the high gallery, several silhouettes watched in silence. All were senior Marines attached to the training program: Sengoku, Zephyr, Kuzan. The strange method, the way the students buzzed with excitement, the speed of their progress, surprised even them.
Sengoku had not expected the concession he had grudgingly signed off on, Ozz as a guest instructor, to pay off this well. If officers grasped Haki in short order, the Navy would gain mid to high tier combat power in short order too. His plan to expand base coverage across the seas would be halfway done.
"Excellent. We are going to see a wave of new rear admirals and vice admirals. We will finally have base commanders to spare."
Beside him, Kuzan turned from Sengoku's excitement and looked back down at the tall figure on the field.
"It is Ozz, after all. Our files say the monster awakened Observation from birth and had the physique to touch beginner Armament by twelve. With talent and experience like that, his teaching was bound to be unusual and effective."
He rattled off Ozz's history with clinical ease, and for once there was no killing frost in his voice. Sengoku did not look surprised; he even looked pleased. He already knew Ozz and Kuzan had crossed paths earlier and, instead of fighting as feared, had held a conversation worth a century.
"Ozz, you keep the reins of the world and call the sea your playground. I will be the one who watches you."
Sengoku let the words roll through him, eyes closed. He agreed with Kuzan and admired the resolve. In handling Ozz, he felt the same: control him, anticipate him. He could do too little under the World Government's leash, but Ozz was still young. The Navy would need a future Fleet Admiral who held that line. Kuzan was his first choice.
Sakazuki could do it on paper, but he did not wrestle with Ozz the way Kuzan did. Under Government pressure, Sakazuki might weigh the uniform first and compromise with a pirate who had washed ashore. As for Borsalino, next topic.
"Yes. Whatever Ozz's motive, impulse or design, the result is a stronger Navy. Our grip on the seas will tighten."
The old fox acknowledged Kuzan's thinking, and he did not plan to put all his eggs in one basket. Just as he had never relied on a single lever at Marineford, he would not rely only on hard checks now. If Kuzan was the hard brake on Ozz's excesses, then there should also be a soft one.
For example, if Ozz fell for a righteous Marine, that tie would tug. He would not suddenly grow a conscience, but he might hesitate before setting the sea on fire. If it worked, it worked.
Call it what it was. A honey trap.
His gaze drifted to the pretty rear admiral who seemed to get on with Ozz. How to persuade her.
On the gallery, while Sengoku and Kuzan rode their private storms, a broad-shouldered man with purple hair watched stretcher after stretcher go by and smiled from the gut. Zephyr hated pirates, and yet even he had to admit it: for the growth of new Marine strength, Ozz had been a boon. As chief instructor, he was happy to the bone to see his pupils bloom.
He took a pull of rum, then wandered over to his old comrade.
"Oi."
The bottle nudged Sengoku out of his thoughts.
"Zephyr."
They clinked. Their "kid" Kuzan looked on, starry-eyed. In his heart, it was unbearably cool.
"Sengoku, I know what you are plotting. With what these kids will be, they can run bases one day, no problem. But expanding bases across the seas…"
Even Zephyr, who hated fussing with anything but training, could connect the dots today.
"You will need money. Lots of it."
Sengoku blinked, a beat behind.
"Budget, Sengoku. Budget. Building and upgrading bases eats coin, and Headquarters has been cutting salaries."
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