Pons swallowed hard at these words.
It seemed the training intensity might be even more grueling than he had anticipated.
Kizaru shifted the conversation: “But once you get used to the training and aren’t too sore to move anymore, if you get bored, you can head to the northwest corner of Marineford.
There’s a good fishing spot there…
I often go there myself.” Pons was genuinely surprised: “You’re allowed to fish at Marine Headquarters?” “Officially, no.
But I go secretly.
Most of the time, I get away with it.
Occasionally, Fleet Admiral Sengoku spots me, but at most he grumbles a bit…
there’s no real punishment.” Pons was speechless, ‘That was definitely a privilege of being an Admiral.
If I were caught fishing secretly, it would not just be a few grumbles…
there would certainly be consequences.’ Kizaru continued: “If you can sit still, there’s also a library at Marineford.
You can go there to read in your free time…
though that’s not really for someone like me.
But if you do go, you might run into Kuzan reading there.
Also, there’s a large store next to the dormitory area where you can buy all sorts of things…
puzzles, board games, that sort of pastime.
You know, Sakazuki actually enjoys playing chess with people… Oh, right…
Kuzan and Sakazuki are also Admirals here, codenames Aokiji and Akainu, respectively.” After saying all that, Kizaru glanced up at the sky: “Ah, it’s getting late.
I’ll be off now.
Maybe we’ll meet again, little Pons.” “Goodbye, Mr.
Kizaru.” After parting ways with Kizaru, Pons could not help but feel a bit amazed.
On his very first day at Marineford, he had already encountered one of the three Admirals.
What a strange twist of fate.
It was nearly dinner time, so Pons headed toward the cafeteria.
According to Maynard, it was on the east side of the dormitory area.
After some searching, he found it without too much trouble.
The cafeteria was quite spacious, capable of accommodating over a thousand people at once.
Of course, with over ten thousand Marines stationed at Marineford, long lines were inevitable at peak hours…
but that was only for the ordinary sailors.
The officers’ dining section was separate from the enlisted personnel’s section, so there was rarely any waiting.
Moreover, the menu in the officers’ section offered more variety and likely better taste.
Pons ordered a plate of curry rice, found a seat, and began eating slowly.
After a couple of bites, a tall figure sat down across from him and asked: “How are you settling in at Marineford?” Looking up, he saw that it was Doll…
the same woman who had greeted him upon his arrival.
Doll had ordered a grilled meat rice set and looked ready to dig in with enthusiasm.
Pons smiled and said: “I haven’t been here long enough to say whether I’m used to it or not, but I’m confident I can adapt to life here.” Doll nodded: “You don’t know Haki yet, and your physical conditioning is somewhat lacking, but your Devil Fruit abilities give you solid combat power.
You’ll probably be assigned to the elite training group and receive instruction from Zephyr-sensei and other Marine experts.
But I have to warn you…
the elite training is brutally exhausting.
I was transferred here from the G-14 Branch about a month ago, and during the first few days, I literally collapsed on the training ground.
I’ve only started getting somewhat used to it recently.” Pons’s apprehension grew.
This was yet another person warning him about the intensity of the elite training.
‘If even Doll…
who was physically stronger than me…
had collapsed, how would I manage?’ Still, he had no choice but to persevere.
Becoming stronger was his ultimate goal.
If he could not master Haki, then against powerful Haki users like Momonga, he would forever be on the losing end.
Meanwhile, Doll had already started devouring her grilled meat rice with large, hearty bites.
For a young woman, her eating manner was certainly “robust.” Seeing Pons watching her, Doll swallowed her food and smiled: “In the early days of training, you won’t be able to eat much at all.
Once you get used to it, though, you’ll eat as much as possible to replenish the energy you burn during training.” Pons made an acknowledging sound.
In a few days, he might very well be wolfing down large portions of meat just like her.
After dinner, Pons visited the bathhouse, then returned to his room to rest.
Carrying a mix of anticipation and anxiety about becoming stronger, he soon fell asleep.
Early the next morning, shortly after Pons woke up, a Marine arrived with a message: he was to report to the Second Training Ground before eight o’clock.
It was not yet 6:30, so he had plenty of time.
Pons washed up, went to the cafeteria for breakfast, and then headed to the Second Training Ground.
He deliberately did not eat too much, afraid that he might throw up during the rigorous training ahead.
The day before, he had only been to the First Training Ground, but the Second was right next to it, so it was relatively easy to find.
When Pons arrived at about 7:45, quite a few people were already waiting in the grounds.
Looking around, nearly everyone here was an officer, with a few sailors who had apparently been identified by senior leadership as having potential.
“Morning, Pons!” Not long after he entered, he saw Doll waving and calling out to him.
Since this was elite training, it was naturally co-ed…
men and women trained together.
After Pons walked over to Doll, she said to him: “We’re both Lieutenant Commanders now, so let’s do our best here together…
and aim for promotion to flag rank soon.” Pons nodded: “Of course.
I believe we can both achieve that.” Several others were also eyeing Pons with curiosity.
Word had spread that a new recruit would be joining today, and it appeared this young man was him.
He certainly did not look very imposing, and a number of people began to doubt whether he really was the newcomer.
Others, who were more well-informed, knew that Pons was a Devil Fruit user and had even sparred with Vice Admiral Momonga the previous day.
‘But even so, with his frail-looking body, could he withstand the intense training Zephyr-sensei put us through?’ Pons also spotted Drake among the group.
Drake noticed him too, but only gave a slight nod of acknowledgment…
he did not come over to chat.
Pons figured that since Drake had recommended him, he probably wanted to avoid any appearance of favoritism.
Besides, Drake was not exactly the talkative type.
After a while, Zephyr walked into the training ground, followed by two men and a young girl.
Pons recognized them…
they were Zephyr’s subordinates from the movies: Shuzo, Binz, and Ain.
Shuzo was a master of the Rokushiki and Haki; Binz was a Grow-Grow Fruit user, capable of accelerating plant growth; and Ain was a Return-Return Fruit user, who could rewind the state of a person or object to an earlier point in time.
Both the Grow-Grow Fruit and the Return-Return Fruit were highly practical, but when Jewelry Bonney’s Age-Age Fruit appeared later, they would be overshadowed.
Pons also took note of Zephyr’s right arm, which had been replaced by a massive mechanical limb.
If he remembered correctly, Zephyr had lost his arm to a powerful pirate at age sixty-five, with many of his students killed in the same incident.
At seventy-three, he learned that the Marines intended to recruit that very pirate as a Warlord.
Furious, he left the Marines with a core group of followers and formed the “Neo Marines.” One year later, at seventy-four, he died in battle against Kizaru.
‘Given that he had already fitted the mechanical arm, Zephyr was at least sixty-five…
possibly older.’ Zephyr noticed Pons as he entered the grounds but did not address him directly.
His gaze lingered on Pons for only a couple of seconds before moving on.
Zephyr called out to the assembled group: “Everyone, fall in!” At his command, the somewhat loose formation quickly straightened out, with everyone aligning themselves precisely.
Zephyr then continued: “As usual, we’ll start with warm-ups.
Run ten laps around the training ground.” Pons was taken aback, ‘Ten laps?
Though this training ground was not as large as the First, each lap was still about five hundred meters…
ten laps meant five kilometers.’ Running five kilometers alone was not an issue if he paced himself properly, but Zephyr had called it a “warm-up”…
meaning even more strenuous training would follow.
Then Zephyr added: “Same as always…
you must finish within fifteen minutes.
No using techniques like Soru.
Everyone runs with their own feet.” Pons felt as if he had been struck by lightning, ‘Fifteen minutes?
To run five kilometers?’ He usually took about twenty-five minutes to run five kilometers…
the fastest he had ever managed was still over twenty minutes.
Even in a world where people were practically monsters, a fifteen-minute target seemed absurd for a “warm-up.” But complaining was useless.
Zephyr pulled out a stopwatch and prepared to start timing.
The Marines in the training ground moved to the track one after another.
Shuzo, Binz, and Ain also joined the lineup.
“Ready…
go!” At Zephyr’s signal, the assembled elite Marines began running around the track.