Two days later.
Angel Island. Harbor Coast.
One kilometer away, a massive Marine warship slowly approached from the distance, parting the sea as it came, sending rings of ripples across the calm surface.
Splash… splash…
The seawater was clear.
The current was pleasant.
Not long after, the warship successfully arrived at Angel Island's harbor.
It docked.
Dropped anchor.
And came to a stop.
The flag was taken down.
With that, the Marine banner that had been flying high above the ship was fully lowered.
On deck, more than seventy elite Marine cadets were visibly excited, their faces full of anticipation.
That included Smoker and Tina.
After spending a full week at sea, they had finally reached the destination of this graduation trial:
Angel Island.
There had been some unexpected trouble along the way, of course.
They had crossed paths with a top-tier pirate like Whitebeard's "son."
But in the end, that encounter had only cost them a bit of time.
It had not caused any lasting damage to the warship itself.
"So this is the island where we're supposed to complete the graduation trial?"
"The place where the Cerberus Pirates were recently sighted?"
"Do you think we'll really find them here?"
One cadet after another spoke with excitement, fists already clenched as though they could hardly wait to storm the island and capture the Cerberus Pirates.
Off to the side, Kai stood quietly at the railing, looking at the overexcited cadets with an amused expression.
Most of the people here had never killed anyone.
When they really met a pack of vicious pirates face-to-face, he only hoped they wouldn't piss themselves.
There was no denying it—
anyone who had survived a year and a half inside Zephyr's training camp had already been forged into an elite Marine.
So every cadet here was strong.
Very strong.
But what they lacked was real combat experience.
The experience of life-and-death battle.
The moment they faced pirates who truly fought to kill, they might not be able to bring out their full strength.
Kai already felt like he could see it coming.
"In the end…"
"not everyone has the same kind of violent streak I do."
"The first time I killed someone, I didn't feel uncomfortable at all."
"If anything, I felt excited."
Kai shook his head and laughed softly.
Compared to the others—
he really did seem more like the monster.
"Kai, how are the injuries?"
Zephyr walked over and asked.
"They've healed."
Kai answered honestly.
Two more days had passed since Weevil was handed over to Vice Admiral Gilmie for transfer to Impel Down.
And even two days ago, Kai's injuries had already mostly recovered.
Only a few lighter wounds had still remained.
Now, after another two days of treatment—
his body had basically healed completely.
He was back in top form.
On top of that, during those few days, Kai hadn't just rested.
He had continued his daily training as well, improving himself through the same dull and repetitive regimen.
The increase in strength wasn't dramatic—
but it was there.
At the very least, compared with the day he fought Weevil, Kai was now clearly a bit stronger.
If he had to fight Weevil again now, he wouldn't be forced into such a close, bloody contest, nor would he need to rely on sheer willpower at the very end to barely pull out a win.
"Since your injuries are fully healed, I'm going to leave the safety of the cadets to you as well."
"I'll be protecting all of you from the shadows."
"But…"
"I can't guarantee I'll be able to keep an eye on everything at once."
"So I'll need you paying attention too."
"These cadets are the elite talents of the Marines' new generation. Losing even one would be a serious blow."
Zephyr lowered his voice as he spoke to Kai.
He had no worries about Kai's personal safety.
What concerned him was the cadets.
Though each of them was strong, they were all green. The moment they ran into a group of vicious, desperate pirates, they might fail to use their strength properly and end up getting hurt—or worse.
To prevent that, Zephyr naturally wanted Kai helping him keep watch over them, stepping in to save them if their lives were truly at risk.
Kai's strength required no explanation.
He was a genuine Vice Admiral-tier fighter.
He had even captured a top-tier pirate like Weevil.
So leaving the cadets' safety partly in his hands was entirely reasonable.
"Don't worry, Teacher Zephyr. I know."
Kai nodded.
Naturally, he hadn't come here to handle the pirate crew personally.
If he really made a move, then Smoker and the others might as well lie down and wait for the mission to be declared complete.
That would defeat the entire purpose of the graduation trial.
And that wasn't what Zephyr wanted.
"With you here, and with me protecting them from the shadows…"
"they shouldn't run into any real danger."
Zephyr finally relaxed a little.
Every single cadet here had consumed a huge amount of Marine resources to train.
Losing even one would be a heavy blow.
So Zephyr's bottom line was simple:
they could get hurt—
but under no circumstances were they allowed to die in this final trial.
A moment later, Zephyr turned toward the excited cadets, his face darkened, and he barked:
"Quiet!"
"What kind of disgraceful noise is this?"
"Are you Marine elites or market vendors?"
"This graduation trial is your final exam!"
"It will determine whether you pass, and it will also decide what kind of posting you receive after graduation."
"Look at the way you were acting just now. Anyone seeing you would think you were here for sightseeing, not a mission."
"You're embarrassing yourselves."
Seeing the cadets so relaxed—laughing and joking instead of taking the mission seriously—immediately irritated Zephyr.
Yes, it was a graduation trial.
But they were still about to engage in a real clash with pirates.
If they still had the mood to act carefree, then in Zephyr's eyes, they were simply asking for disaster.
"If you keep carrying yourselves like this…"
"I can guarantee at least half of you will die in this trial."
"The people you're facing are vicious pirates!"
"They murder, burn, plunder, and butcher without blinking."
"With your current attitude, you'll be lucky if you don't wet yourselves the first time you meet them."
Zephyr's voice was merciless.
Instantly, the cadets lost their excited expressions.
One by one, they lowered their heads, looking ashamed and nervous.
Even Smoker and Tina bowed their heads and listened.
They had indeed become too careless.
Even if this was "only" a graduation trial—
that didn't mean they could afford to be relaxed.
After Zephyr's scolding, the cadets finally forced themselves back into the proper mindset.
Then Zephyr asked sternly:
"You all remember the mission target, right?"
Smoker answered first.
"The target is the Cerberus Pirates."
"A notoriously vicious pirate crew. Their captain is a Zoan user—Dog-Dog Fruit, Model: Cerberus."
"Their crew numbers nearly three hundred men."
"They're infamous throughout the first half of the Grand Line and have committed countless atrocities."
"Several villages—close to ten thousand people in total—were slaughtered because of them."
"They are real monsters of the sea."
Hearing that, the anger in Zephyr's face eased slightly.
Not bad.
At the very least, they remembered who they were up against.
"Since you know the target, I won't waste time repeating the basics."
"But before the mission begins, I need to remind you of one critical thing."
"The people you are about to face…"
"are pirates at the very worst end of the sea."
"They are evil to the core."
"So I suggest you bury your pity right now."
"When you deal with this kind of scum, you must not show mercy."
"Otherwise, the consequences will be severe."
"Any carelessness or hesitation can cost you your life."
"These bastards are full of dirty tricks. The slightest slip, and you'll be dragged into a situation you can't recover from."
"I need you to keep the right mindset."
"And that means no useless pity."
"Yes, Teacher Zephyr."
Smoker, Tina, and the rest nodded immediately.
But whether every one of them could actually live up to that once the fighting began—
that remained to be seen.
Based on Zephyr's many years of experience, it was unrealistic to expect every cadet to perform flawlessly.
"All right."
"Move out."
"Disembark."
Zephyr didn't dwell any further.
At his order, Smoker, Tina, and the rest of the cadets jumped down from the warship one after another.
Soon, they all landed safely on Angel Island.
Seeing that, Kai stepped forward as well.
The moment both his feet touched the ground—
he arrived on the harbor coast of Angel Island.
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