"Are you sure you really want to fight me?"
Roya had initially been too lazy to pay attention to someone like Very Good, who looked simple-minded, but he was not some saint who could remain indifferent to every provocation.
Things had already reached this point… so he might as well beat the hell out of him!
"I'll give you three moves!"
Very Good snorted, looking at Roya with a face full of contempt, while signaling for the people around them to step back and clear some space.
However—
Just as the surrounding new recruits and veterans instinctively began retreating to make room, a cold shout suddenly rang out across the field.
"Very Good, is this what I taught you to use your strength for?!"
The shout came from Zephyr. At some point, he had suddenly appeared in the field, startling Very Good badly.
"I-Instructor Zephyr, sir!"
"If you've got that much energy, put it into training!"
"Y-Yes, sir."
Only a moment ago, Very Good had been as arrogant as a proud rooster. Upon seeing Zephyr, however, he immediately shrank into a quail, nodding submissively.
That said, challenges among members of the Elite Camp were permitted. Anyone could challenge anyone else at any time; as long as the challenged party accepted, a bout could take place.
Thus, Zephyr did not punish Very Good. After shaking his head, he ignored him and instead turned to Roya and the other new recruits.
"First—Roya. Come with me."
"Yes."
Compared to fighting a veteran like Very Good, what Roya cared about far more was obtaining the training methods for the Rokushiki, as well as Armament Haki and Observation Haki, from Zephyr.
There would always be time to fight. Training methods, on the other hand, needed to be acquired as soon as possible.
Zephyr led Roya to one side of the plaza and into a separate area that resembled a small training ground, then closed the door.
Only after seeing Zephyr take Roya into the private training area did Very Good finally breathe a sigh of relief. At once, other veterans began teasing him.
"Very Good, it's fine to toughen up the newcomers, but don't be so arrogant. See? You got scolded by Instructor Zephyr."
"Who would've thought Drake wasn't even stronger than that Roya? I heard Drake was supposed to be the strongest among the newcomers."
Shu, the one who had previously bet with Very Good, laughed and said, "Good thing that Roya didn't fight you. Otherwise, you might not have won."
"Bullshit!"
Very Good snorted disdainfully. "A rookie who just arrived at our Elite Camp beating me? Do you think he's Smoker?!"
When Very Good mentioned Smoker, the veterans exchanged smiles. When Smoker first entered the Elite Camp, he really had taken down quite a few veterans—but over the years, he had been the only one.
In reality, everyone present—including Shu, who had bet with Very Good—did not truly believe that rookies like Roya could compare to them. They were just joking around now that new blood had arrived.
After all, Very Good was not some bottom-tier member of the Elite Camp—he ranked squarely in the middle. Rookies like Roya were still far too green.
---
Inside the private training ground.
Only Roya and Zephyr were present.
"Garp should have already taught you many methods for breaking the limits of the body and tapping into human potential," Zephyr said as he stood in front of Roya, smiling slightly, with none of the airs of a former Marine Admiral.
Roya nodded slightly in response.
"Heh, don't think that just because you trained under Garp, there's nothing left to learn. Setting aside everything else, when it comes to guiding, Garp is no match for this old man," Zephyr said with a chuckle.
Compared to Garp, Zephyr truly was superior as an instructor. Roya fully acknowledged this. After all, the current Admirals—Aokiji, Kizaru, and Akainu—were all his students. In fact, more than half of the Marine's senior officers had once studied under Zephyr.
As for Garp… Roya vaguely remembered that in the original story, Garp's way of training Luffy was downright absurd—throwing him into ravines, tying him to balloons and sending him into the sky. Fortunately, he had not done anything like that to Roya.
As expected.
Zephyr briefly explained various methods for breaking physical limits and drawing out human potential, then went straight to the core.
It was not that Garp's teachings were wrong; rather, Zephyr's instruction was more systematic. His explanations of certain details also made things much clearer and more thorough for Roya.
Since Garp had already taught Roya a great deal, Zephyr only gave verbal guidance, reorganizing Roya's training into a more perfect sequence and supplementing it with explanations of finer points.
Even so, the benefit to Roya was substantial.
After Zephyr finished speaking and Roya had largely committed everything to memory, Roya took the initiative to ask about methods for training Haki.
In truth, as a transmigrator, Roya understood Haki extremely well—he simply did not know the concrete methods of training.
In this world, there were three types of Haki.
Observation Haki, used to sense enemies and their attacks.
Armament Haki, used to enhance power and defense, or to resist Devil Fruit abilities.
And Conqueror's Haki, used to intimidate enemies, even knocking them unconscious outright.
Among them, Conqueror's Haki was generally innate and could not be acquired through training. On the seas, it was also known as the qualification of a king. Even in the latter half of the Grand Line—where powerful figures abounded—those who possessed it were rare.
Observation Haki and Armament Haki, on the other hand, were far more common, especially in the New World. There, users were everywhere, and these abilities had effectively become standard power.
Upon hearing Roya inquire about Haki training, Zephyr's eyes flickered slightly, but he was not surprised. In his view, Roya was indeed qualified to begin learning Haki.
Thus, Zephyr explained the methods of training Haki to Roya in a straightforward manner.
Of course, Haki training could not be mastered through verbal explanation alone—it required step-by-step, hands-on guidance. For a student as exceptionally talented as Roya, and moreover Garp's nephew, Zephyr naturally did not mind spending extra time and effort to train him properly.
After explaining Haki training, Zephyr paused for a moment to give Roya time to remember and comprehend what he had just heard, then continued.
"Before you formally train in Haki, I suggest you first learn Soru and Geppo from the Rokushiki. The Six Powers represent the culmination of various forms of physical techniques. Even if you plan to pursue the path of swordsmanship in the future, Soru and Geppo will still be extremely useful abilities."