Setting Sail!
23: Channeling Emiya Shirou!
Setting Sail!
Chapter 23: Channeling Emiya Shirou!
Setting Sail!
Doll was pissed.
Of course, it wasn’t because some brat had punched her square in the face, sent her spinning through the air, and made her crash face-first in front of her superiors and colleagues.
Nor was it because she’d been forced to appear before her future subordinates with half her face wrapped in bandages.
Well…
Those things definitely contributed.
But Doll firmly believed the real reason she was angry was that the brat had been far too arrogant.
He hadn’t taken her seriously at all!
He’d practically been playing with her!
Doll was furious.
Unfortunately, being furious didn’t mean she could ignore her job.
The Marine Guerrilla Unit had only just been assembled.
Its officers and soldiers had been transferred from different units across two separate bases, so most of them were complete strangers.
Personnel adjustments were only the beginning.
Training exercises and group activities were equally important for building coordination and trust between soldiers who had never worked together before.
As commander of the First Division, Doll also needed to spend time among the rank and file and earn their trust personally.
Only then could morale stabilize and a truly effective fighting force take shape.
Because of that, Doll woke extremely early.
The sky wasn’t even fully bright when she finished washing up and headed for the training grounds.
She intended to join the soldiers of the First Division for their morning exercises.
But while waiting for them to assemble, she suddenly noticed someone already training in a corner of the field.
Doll’s eyes narrowed.
‘That brat!’ Nate was jogging while carrying a massive barbell across his shoulders.
The weight plates on either end looked like two small mountains.
He’d clearly been running for quite some time.
Sweat poured from his body, his breathing was heavy, and his black hair had been soaked into damp strands plastered against his forehead.
Doll pursed her lips.
She had to admit that his physical strength was extraordinary.
At the very least, she knew she couldn’t possibly train while carrying that kind of weight.
Still, something about Nate’s expression seemed strange.
‘Why does he look completely vacant?’ ‘Like his soul isn’t even there?’ That was probably the best way to describe it.
Doll soon looked away as her soldiers arrived.
Morning training officially began.
None of them were recruits anymore, so exercises at this level were routine.
The entire session proceeded smoothly without a single soldier falling behind.
After dismissing the formation, Doll headed to breakfast with her troops.
Before leaving, she glanced back toward the corner of the training field.
Nate had finished running.
Now he was doing strength training.
The enormous barbell he’d carried earlier was being used like a dumbbell.
‘Does this guy seriously never get tired?’ The thought appeared in Doll’s mind despite herself.
…
G-1 Base permanently housed more than ten thousand Marines, so naturally it had several enormous cafeterias.
Doll and her soldiers entered the nearest one.
It was already crowded, and once her division poured inside, the entire place became packed.
Doll sat with several field-grade officers under her command, eating breakfast while discussing the tactical coordination exercises scheduled for later.
That was when she saw Nate walk into the cafeteria with surprisingly light steps.
Doll immediately frowned.
‘Wasn’t he practically exhausted a minute ago?’ Then she noticed something strange.
Her eyesight was excellent, allowing her to clearly see the muscles in Nate’s arms trembling continuously.
Anyone could tell that his body was completely drained.
‘His body is already at its limit, but he can still walk around like nothing happened?’ ‘Life Return?’ That made sense.
But even Life Return required tremendous willpower to force an exhausted body to keep moving.
‘If his body is completely spent, how can he still maintain this level of control?’ ‘Just how strong is this guy’s will?’ Naturally, Doll had never imagined the existence of someone as bizarre as Nate, whose body could be trained to complete exhaustion while his mental energy remained almost completely untouched.
Under the horrified gazes of the cafeteria staff, Nate ordered enough food to cover an entire table and immediately began devouring it.
The surrounding Marines stared in disbelief.
“Is his stomach a bottomless pit?” “I’m seriously worried he’ll finish all that and start eating us too.” “Huh?
Why would he eat me?” “We’re brothers!
If I get eaten, you’re getting eaten too!” Doll quietly looked away.
‘Yeah.’ ‘Definitely Life Return.’ His appetite was just as monstrous as the rest of him.
…
After breakfast came the morning drills.
Today’s exercise simulated encountering an enemy at sea, allowing the Marines to familiarize themselves with their newly assigned warship while also practicing coordinated combat procedures.
Doll stood at the bow of the massive ship and issued orders throughout the exercise.
Then she happened to notice three figures training in one corner of the plaza nearby.
One was the junior who had taken her to the infirmary yesterday.
Another was the male junior who always seemed to be beside her.
And the third—That infuriating brat.
Ain and Binz were clearly practicing the Six Powers.
Nate, meanwhile, was simply standing there without moving.
‘Is he spacing out?’ Doll didn’t get her answer until the exercise ended and she led her soldiers past the plaza.
Then she saw the Haki surging around Nate’s body.
The Commodore’s eyes widened.
‘He’s training Advanced Armament Haki?!’ Hadn’t Instructor Zephyr said Nate only awakened Haki during his year at the training camp?
And he’d already reached this stage?
Only now did Doll truly begin to understand what Zephyr meant when he called Nate one of his greatest students.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
That afternoon, Doll and another Commodore led their respective divisions through a mock battle.
During the exercise, she spotted that irritating brat again.
Somehow, he’d found an enormous block of iron.
Nate stood before it and punched again and again, striking the metal with his bare fists without using any Haki.
Doll had heard that Vice Admiral Garp liked using abandoned warships as punching bags.
‘Is he copying Vice Admiral Garp?’ Even after Nate’s fists became drenched in blood, he never hesitated.
Not once did his punches weaken or pull back.
Only after both hands looked absolutely miserable did Nate switch to Haki training.
From the way he behaved, it almost looked as though practicing Haki was his version of resting and recovering his stamina.
Because once that finished—He went straight back to physical training.
The sun eventually sank toward the horizon, painting the sea orange as warm light fell across the sweat-soaked young man.
Watching him train, Doll finally began to understand why Nate possessed such extraordinary strength.
It wasn’t merely talent.
He also possessed a will stronger than almost anyone else’s.
After finishing her own duties, Doll stood at a distance for quite some time.
Nate was performing frog jumps with an enormous iron block strapped to his back.
Every landing made the ground tremble slightly.
‘Even a monster like him works this hard.’ ‘Maybe I’ve really been slacking off.’ Her gaze lingered on him.
‘And…’ ‘He actually looks pretty handsome when he’s serious.’ …
That evening, Nate was happily stuffing himself in the cafeteria after spending hours slacking off in the Dream World while remotely controlling his body through another round of training.
A tall figure walked past his table.
“I admit it.” Doll didn’t stop.
“I really did lose, Major Nate.” “Huh?” Emiya Nate looked up in confusion, still chewing automatically.
He stared at Doll’s retreating back for several seconds before the corner of his mouth twitched.
“What a weirdo.” Nate had absolutely no idea what Commodore Doll’s problem was.
Still, her attitude toward him had definitely changed.
At the very least, whenever they crossed paths afterward, she no longer stared at him like she wanted to eat him alive.
…
The Marine Guerrilla Unit continued training for another week.
After the final full-scale exercise concluded, Zephyr finally gave a satisfied nod.
“Training is complete!” His voice rang across the assembled troops.
“We’re ready to set sail!” That very day, the five enormous warships were loaded with supplies and officially departed G-1 Base.
Starting now, this independent Marine force would travel between Marine bases throughout the New World, actively pursuing and destroying dangerous pirate crews.
Naturally, their highest-priority target remained the Impel Down fugitives.
Unfortunately, more than a week had passed without a single confirmed sighting anywhere in the New World.
They couldn’t pursue a target that had completely vanished.
Therefore, the kind-hearted Nate decided it was finally time to provide a clue.
‘Tomorrow, G-1’s stationed Admiral rotates from Kizaru to Akainu.’ ‘Kizaru will return to Marineford.’ The corner of Nate’s mouth lifted faintly.
‘Perfect.’ Punk Hazard wasn’t particularly far from G-1 Base.
But once Sakazuki had only just arrived to take command, there was no way he’d be able to react quickly enough.
‘Time to begin.’ …
The five warships spread out across the sea in a V-shaped formation.
The lead ship occupied the center position.
It belonged to the First Division, commanded by Commodore Doll, and had been designated Ship No.
1.
It also served as the headquarters of the entire Marine Guerrilla Unit.
Inside one of its spacious briefing rooms, Zephyr slapped a wanted poster onto the blackboard.
“Our first operation targets this man!” Because his rank was too low to merit a seat at the table, Nate could only lean lazily against the wall.
He glanced toward the poster.
A thick-bearded middle-aged man with a vicious face stared back at him.
“Black Axe Leonard.” Zephyr tapped the wanted poster.
“Bounty: five hundred and sixty million Berries.” “The Leonard Pirates under his command are a large pirate fleet consisting of twenty ships and more than three thousand pirates.
They’ve occupied the Ruens Kingdom for years.” “Ruens isn’t a World Government member nation, so the Marines previously left Leonard alone.” Zephyr’s expression hardened.
“But we’re different from ordinary Marine forces.” “Our targets are exactly these kinds of lawless scum.” Deputy Commander Simon folded his arms and nodded slightly.
“The Leonard Pirates, huh?” He smiled faintly.
“We’re starting with a serious opponent.” Pirates with bounties exceeding five hundred million were uncommon even in the New World.
Even a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral couldn’t casually defeat an enemy of that level.
“Isn’t that perfect?” Rear Admiral Marcus spoke calmly.
“Destroying them will announce to the entire New World that we’ve arrived.” “They’ve occupied the coastal port region of the Ruens Kingdom for years.” Zephyr looked around the room.
“Although Ruens isn’t a member nation, we still need to minimize civilian casualties.” He pointed toward the map.
“My plan is for the fleet to launch a frontal diversion while a smaller force infiltrates using Geppo and carries out a decapitation strike.” “Sounds reasonable.” Simon nodded.
“Instructor Zephyr, are you planning to handle Leonard personally?” “I’ll participate.” Zephyr slapped the wanted poster again.
“But this man—” His eyes shifted toward Nate, who was still lazily leaning against the wall.
“Nate.” “Are you confident?” “What?” Doll, who had been listening seriously, thought she’d misheard him.
“Instructor Zephyr, you mean…” She turned toward the sleepy-looking Nate.
‘You’re sending him?’ No matter how talented he was, he was still only seventeen.
“Instructor Zephyr!” Simon hurriedly spoke as well.
“Isn’t this a little too soon?” “We all recognize Major Nate’s strength, but putting him against a pirate at this level already—” “Nate.” Zephyr ignored him and repeated the question.
“Are you confident?” Nate’s drooping eyelids slowly lifted.
For once, a sharp light appeared in those usually sleepy eyes.
“I’ll take care of him.” He paused.
Then solemnly added, “For justice.” ‘Instructor Zephyr really does understand me.’ Nate’s Advanced Armament Haki training had already reached a crucial point.
He was only missing one final push.
‘Unlike these other two.’ ‘They actually think I can’t handle it.’ Doll stared at Nate’s confident expression.
She looked as though she wanted to say something, but eventually remained silent and quietly lit a cigarette instead.
‘So this is what they call…
the fearless spirit of youth?’ She slowly exhaled the smoke.
‘If it’s this guy…’ ‘Maybe he really can do it.’ … …