The next morning, everyone was up bright and early again. But this time, when they arrived at the training grounds, they found that Zephyr was already there waiting for them.
"Not bad, didn't make me wait too long," Zephyr said, arms crossed, looking at the group of trainees like they were a flock of obedient little lambs.
"I'm not going to waste time talking today. Let's get straight to training. Line up and run fifty laps around the field! Boys and girls—no exceptions!"
Everyone was stunned. The training camp's field was practically a massive square—one lap was easily over a kilometer long. But since Zephyr had given the order, no one dared to complain. One by one, they lowered their heads and started running.
Kaito was the first to take off. He understood how important physical conditioning was. In the world of shinobi, most battles relied heavily on taijutsu. Even later, when everyone started pulling out giant mechas, it still came down to close-range hand-to-hand combat in the end.
One lap… ten laps… twenty laps...
Even though people in the world of pirates had strong physiques, they were still human. Gradually, some started falling behind, the distance between runners growing.
By the thirtieth lap, someone had already collapsed on the track from exhaustion. Medical personnel immediately rushed over, placed the unconscious trainee on a stretcher, and carried them away.
"Huff… huff…"
Ain gritted her teeth and pushed on. She was the only girl still holding out on the track. Physically, she was already at a disadvantage compared to most of the other trainees, so making it to thirty laps was an impressive feat. Even Zephyr took notice of her determination.
"That girl's name is Ain, right? Say what you will, but just from her willpower alone, she's got what it takes to become an outstanding Marine."
Zephyr silently praised her in his heart and gave a heads-up to the medics nearby to step in the moment she couldn't keep going any longer.
"I can't stop now... There's still less than half left... I have to keep going!" Ain was a fiercely determined girl. She didn't want to do fewer laps just because she was a girl and be okay with that.
But eventually, even her body reached its absolute limit. She staggered—and just as she was about to collapse, a hand caught her.
She struggled to turn her head to thank whoever it was, and when she saw who it was, her eyes widened. She recognized him, even if he probably didn't recognize her.
It was Uchiha Kaito.
He only had two laps left to complete the fifty-lap challenge. When he saw a girl still pushing herself even though her steps were unsteady, he couldn't help but feel a deep respect.
No one disrespects someone who gives their all.
Seeing that she was about to collapse, he quickly stepped in to steady her.
"You okay? Don't force yourself anymore. Everyone saw how hard you tried. If you've hit your limit, go rest. It's not worth hurting yourself."
Kaito's kind tone sent a wave of warmth through Ain's heart.
"Thank you… I got it. You're Uchiha Kaito, right? You're amazing… You've been running all this time, and you don't even look tired."
"Haha, not at all—I'm totally dead on my feet," Kaito said with a laugh. "But since I ranked first in the entrance exam, I've gotta keep up appearances, right? I've actually been wanting to collapse just so I could go see the pretty nurses in the infirmary."
He covered his mouth playfully, like a kid caught doing something naughty.
Pfft. Ain couldn't help but smile. The exhaustion in her body seemed to lift a little. She knew Kaito was just trying to cheer her up by acting silly, but she didn't mind at all—in fact, she found it charming.
"Thank you, Kaito." Ain thanked him sincerely, then stopped pushing herself and went to rest.
Kaito waved her off and continued with his remaining two laps.
...
Off to the side, Ain sat on the ground, watching Kaito run across the track in a daze. Suddenly, she felt a tap on her shoulder—her roommate had come to find her.
"Don't stare too hard, Ain. That one's a hot commodity. He's way out of your league," her roommate teased with a grin.
Ain's face flushed red. She swatted at her roommate, then got up to leave with her. As they walked off, she couldn't help but glance back at the track. Kaito noticed and waved at her mid-run. She quickly turned her head away and hurried after her friend.
On the way back, thinking about everything that had happened that day, Ain couldn't stop the corners of her lips from curving up. She murmured to herself,
"Kaito, huh?"
"He really is... a good person."
Her roommate, walking beside her, heard her muttering but didn't catch what she said.
"Ain, you okay? Feeling sick? Did you push too hard during training?"
Ain waved her hand to show she was fine, then gave her roommate a mischievous smile and grabbed her hand, pulling her forward faster.
Her roommate stumbled along behind her in confusion, grumbling,
"Hey hey, what's gotten into you? You've gone totally loopy. Must've run yourself dumb!"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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