"This…"
Sengoku froze, then remembered the part that always gave him a headache.
"If we can, we should fight for a fresh allotment from the World Government."
Zephyr offered the obvious. Sengoku did not hold out much hope. He knew enough to know the Government's purse was thin. Why else keep cutting Marine budgets. This age was running hot, tribute from member nations was shaky under pirate pressure, and a slice of profits had to be peeled off for Ozz.
Wait.
Ozz.
Follow the string of problems and you still ended up at the same man.
"What a nuisance."
…
Ozz could feel the eyes on him from far off, but he ignored them. It was class time.
After Vergo and Doll, it was the turn of his newest favorite. The most promising animal he had met to date.
The Seagull King.
"Do not let me down, bearer of a king's title."
Ozz watched the bird beat its wings, eyes burning with fighting spirit. He smiled. Whether it was the New World in its blood or a freak among its kind, this gull was not like the rest. It shrugged off the weight of Conqueror's and its speed and strength were a cut above. More Ozz or Big Mom than bird.
With a lazy flick Ozz kicked it out of the air. The Seagull King crashed, shook off dust with an indignant flap, and took wing again as if nothing had happened.
"Interesting."
He cracked the air with invisible lashes, space snapping like a whip. Even a Seagull King buckled under that unseen assault. It was swatted from the sky again and again, bled, maybe cracked a bone or two. The officer candidates went pale. This gull was absurdly strong and terrifyingly stubborn. Every time it rose again.
At last Ozz's casual lash sent it skidding and coughing blood. After what felt like a thousand sit-ups on the ground, the bird suddenly broke through. It carved loops through the air, slipping past one invisible strike after another. When a blow could not be avoided, black lacquer spread across its wings, blunting the force.
"You are kidding me."
"A seagull awakened Observation and Armament?"
"I have lived all these years and I am worse than a bird."
Minds cracked all over the yard.
"As expected of my number one pet."
Ozz laughed, beckoned, and the blood-soaked Seagull King popped into his hand. It stood at attention, badly hurt but refusing to sag. He rubbed its head. One finger snap, and grime vanished. Wounds knit closed.
"From here on, you train them for me."
Tier-zero Teacher Ozz had had his fill. He would leave the drill work to his favorite and go slack off a little.
He lounged on a chair he conjured out of nothing, legs crossed, offering the occasional cue on teasing Haki out of the body. For this he had even coined a new move, an idea stolen from a very useful underling named Donquixote Doflamingo.
Ozz lifted his hand and crooked a finger, as if tugging strings.
"Spatial Control, World Puppeteer."
The Seagull King, mid-flight, startled for half a heartbeat as its body went light and responsive in new ways.
"Gaa?"
A glance at Ozz's hand settled its nerves.
Its attacks grew vicious. Marines who had been managing to hang in against the newborn Haki user suddenly drowned under pressure.
What happened.
Ozz sat there twiddling his fingers.
One by one, the Seagull King blackened eyes and noses and drove people to the brink. Many did not awaken Haki that day, but body and spirit both leveled up under the brush of death. Only a handful with solid foundations broke through the way Vergo and Doll had, unlocking at least one color.
Much later, Ozz stretched and looked over the field of bodies.
He waved at the medics already waiting at a distance and pointed at the blood and the sprawled students.
"Marines. Cleanup."
Medics sprinted in, sweating, and began hauling people off on stretchers.
The Seagull King fluttered down to Ozz's shoulder.
"Capable as ever, my Seagull King."
He scratched its head.
"Gaa."
The bird snugged its camera strap, chirped with pride, then lifted into the air. It framed Ozz, Teacher of the Hour, standing before his class, and clicked the shutter.
…
Three days later, at Marineford.
The Shichibukai had already departed for their territories. Master Ozz left as well, to tearful thanks and heartfelt reluctance, waving jauntily from the deck of the Oro Jackson as it eased away. Doll was there among the well-wishers. For all her iron heart, she shed a few hot tears when they parted.
The mood did not last. Sengoku summoned her to his office.
"Rear Admiral Doll, reporting."
"No need to be so stiff. Sit."
For a heartbeat the marshal saw another face in hers, a shade of Tsuru's youth, and his smile softened.
"Relax, Rear Admiral. I called you in to ask one thing." He paused, measuring his words. "What do you make of your instructor, Ozz. What is your relationship."
He led with the word instructor on purpose, probing, then he would season the dish. Doll's answers pleasantly surprised him.
"Ozz. He is very strong, and he taught me a lot, not just Haki. He made me think about what justice means."
"As for us…"
"I would say we are friends."
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