"Now, begin practicing!"
Shuzo's command cut through Aiden's thoughts.
The entire training hall was instantly filled with strange thuds and muffled groans of pain.
The recruits began repeatedly punching their own bodies.
They were trying to find the feeling of muscle hardening.
The gap in talent became painfully clear at that moment.
Most of them only ended up bruising themselves until they were grimacing in pain.
Their skin turned blue and purple, but they made no real progress.
T-Bone was a natural physical powerhouse.
He relied on his incredible willpower and his precise control over his body.
After only half an hour, he let out a low growl.
He successfully hardened his forearm.
He used it to snap a wooden stick an instructor was using to test him.
This drew a wave of gasps from the others.
Smoker relied on the powerful body granted by his Logia Fruit.
He also grasped the trick quickly.
Although he was still unrefined, he could already harden parts of his muscles for a short time.
Hina showed the kind of precise control women were often better at.
She did not try to defend a large area.
Instead, she quickly learned how to harden only her calves or forearms.
She looked clever and efficient.
Rosinante was still clumsy, but he worked harder than anyone else.
He did not just keep hitting himself like the others.
He kept trying again and again to move the power through his entire body.
As a result, he either overdid it and ended up with muscle cramps, or rolled around on the ground in pain.
Sometimes his breathing rhythm got thrown off, making his face turn bright red.
But he did not give up.
His stubborn determination made many of the recruits who had laughed at him before look at him with respect.
As for Aiden, he perfectly played the role of an ordinary student working hard.
It wasn't until the class was almost over that he finally managed to harden for a brief moment!
During lunch after training, Aiden noticed something strange in the cafeteria.
The amount of leftover food was at least three times higher than before.
The recruits were all staring at the "protein rations" on their trays with miserable expressions.
Many of them only took a few bites before leaving with their trays still nearly full.
It was obvious that after tasting Aiden's "heavenly cooking" on the deserted island, their standards had changed.
They were now far less tolerant of cafeteria food that had absolutely no skill put into it.
"It seems the saying 'it's hard to go back after getting used to a better life' really is true everywhere," Aiden thought.
Aiden finished his own portion of rations expressionlessly.
He felt nothing at all.
In the afternoon, they went to the swordsmanship training ground.
When the sword instructor appeared at the entrance, the entire training ground erupted with excitement.
A woman in a sharp black kendo uniform walked in slowly.
The fitted uniform outlined her balanced figure.
Her soft black hair was tied into a high ponytail.
It swayed rhythmically behind her with every step.
Her fair face had light makeup, which made her look even more striking.
The most eye-catching thing about her was her slightly lazy-looking eyes.
When her gaze swept across the room, every recruit who met her eyes seemed to stop breathing.
Their hearts started pounding wildly.
Her appearance instantly captured the attention of every male soldier present.
"Oh my god! We actually have such a gorgeous instructor?!"
"I think I'm in love..."
Instructor Shuzo stepped forward and introduced her loudly.
"Starting today, this is your specially appointed swordsmanship instructor, Headquarters Commodore, Lady Gion!"
Gion!
Aiden was standing at the back of the line.
The moment he heard that name, his heart skipped a beat.
"Gion... no way, right?"
He immediately remembered the pirates' conversation before they died, about a "female Marine who used a sword."
"What is going on? I just cleaned up the mess, and now the person in charge is here as my instructor?"
He immediately adjusted his expression.
He made himself look just like the other dazed male soldiers around him.
Gion slowly walked to the front of the group and gave a brief self-introduction.
Then she began explaining the most basic way to hold a sword.
"Swordsmanship begins with your feet. Your lower body is the foundation of your strength!"
She personally demonstrated a standard middle-guard stance.
She held the sword with both hands, its tip pointed straight ahead.
Her aura instantly sharpened, like a blade that had just been drawn.
"Now, everyone, hold this posture! Feel your feet rooting themselves into the ground like a tree!"
"Your sword is an extension of your arm!"
All the recruits immediately copied her movements and took the stance.
Half an hour later, Gion began inspecting the lines.
She walked down the rows, casually tapping the recruits' blades with the scabbard of her sword, "Kinpira."
Their swords trembled slightly from holding the stance for so long.
"The hand holding the sword must be steady! Don't rely on brute force!"
"Lower your center of gravity! Is your lower body made of noodles?!"
Every time she tapped, a recruit's sword let out a sharp "clink."
Their bodies would wobble, exposing the flaws in their posture.
Soon, she reached Aiden at the back of the line.
Aiden was just like everyone else.
He kept his head lowered, looking nervous and full of admiration.
His arms trembled slightly on purpose.
He hid himself perfectly in the crowd.
Gion's scabbard moved just like before, lightly tapping Aiden's shaking sword.
At the moment of contact,
"Clink."
A sharp sound rang out.
Aiden controlled the muscles in his wrist just enough to make the sword tremble slightly, exactly how a "talented recruit" should.
Not too much, not too little. It was perfect.
However, Gion's footsteps suddenly paused.
It was such a subtle pause that almost no one noticed it.
She drew back her scabbard and let her gaze linger on Aiden's face for a moment longer.
"Hmm?"
A small ripple rose in Gion's heart, but it had nothing to do with swordsmanship.
"This recruit... is actually pretty handsome."
Aiden immediately felt that sharp, blade-like gaze lingering on him for too long.
"Oh no!"
His mind instantly filled with panic.
"Was I exposed?! Where did I slip up? Was it my stance?"
"Or did she see through my 101 Power Level disguise? Or did she connect me to what happened on the island?!"
"This woman's intuition is way too sharp!"
But his expression did not change in the slightest.
He still looked "admiring" and "nervous," perfectly playing the role of an ordinary recruit.
Gion looked away.
Her expression remained unchanged as she continued walking forward, as if nothing had happened.
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