The training ground fell utterly silent.
Only the sound of wind stirred the yellow dust, sweeping across the empty space.
Darren's fist remained pressed against Zephyr's abdomen. The instructor's body was locked in place, the corners of his eyes twitching ever so slightly. Neither of them moved a muscle.
"...Zephyr-sensei, are you okay?"
Darren blinked innocently, looking at the frozen expression on Zephyr's face. He slowly retracted his fist, the clink-clink of the Seastone cuffs on his wrists cutting through the silence.
Zephyr's expression twisted, as if trying to suppress something. Blood vessels began to creep at the corners of his eyes.
Then, he drew a deep breath and looked at the young commodore before him, his voice low and filled with disbelief.
"Seastone... doesn't work on you?"
Darren scratched his head, replying with honest confusion:
"When I was captured by Kaido, his subordinate 'Plague' Queen used Seastone cuffs on me. I used the opportunity to do some resistance training."
"I couldn't use my Devil Fruit, of course—but I could still move normally. I could even fight decently."
He gave the cuffs on his wrists a shake and added, slightly disappointed:
"Though honestly... the Seastone cuffs we use in the Marines seem a little weak in comparison."
His chest heaved. His fists clenched and relaxed, clenched again.
Internally, he was screaming:
Of course Marine Headquarters' Seastone cuffs have low purity! That's normal!
We don't depend on these things to catch pirates!
The high-purity ones? Sure, they exist—but they're all allocated to Impel Down!
Zephyr stared at Darren with a blank face.
"...Why didn't you say so sooner?"
Darren raised both hands innocently.
"I was going to! But you kept interrupting me, saying I had to hit you."
"What else could I do? I mean, sure—it's a weird order—but you're Zephyr-sensei. As a Marine, my duty is to follow orders."
He straightened up, face solemn.
"And besides... I figured with your strength, I wouldn't hurt you even if I didn't wear the cuffs. So I just went for it."
He pressed his lips together, voice rasping slightly:
"...Very good. You did well."
"It was my mistake. I didn't expect you to have trained for Seastone resistance."
Darren nodded. "Then... what did you think of that punch, Zephyr-sensei?"
"I felt really weak under the Seastone suppression, but I used the technique Vice Admiral Garp taught me."
"...Though I know I'm still far from mastering it."
He opened his mouth, throat hoarse.
Only then did Darren relax, smiling.
"Thank you, Zephyr-sensei. Should we begin training now?"
"...Wait here a moment."
Zephyr turned away, expression unreadable. He walked toward the edge of the training ground.
Hands braced on his knees.
The motion was smooth, practiced.
A thick splash of yellow-white fluid hit the dirt.
Zephyr, still facing away, wiped his mouth, then returned as if nothing had happened. His voice calm.
"...The food at the camp might not be fresh."
"Prepare yourself. Training starts now."
Zephyr's voice was hoarse, but Darren caught something else behind the words—something ominous.
Then, Zephyr pulled out a Den Den Mushi and said coldly:
"Gion. Gather everyone at the training ground. Now."
Less than thirty seconds later, Tokikake, Gion, Kuzan, Yamakaji, and the other cadets had assembled. They glanced curiously between Zephyr and Darren.
"Yo, Darren!" Kuzan waved. "What's with the cuffs?"
"Is this some new kind of training method?"
Spotting the Seastone cuffs, his eyes suddenly blazed.
"That's so freaking cool!!"
Zephyr scanned the group, voice steady:
"Darren is currently wearing Seastone cuffs. His Devil Fruit powers are sealed. His combat ability is severely suppressed."
"Now, I'm giving you a mission. Use any method. Any means. If you can land even a single hit on him—you get one merit point. These points will directly impact your graduation evaluations."
"If you fail to earn any points, your training load will be doubled for the next ten days."
He then stepped aside, arms behind his back, teeth clenched as he muttered:
"Beat him into the ground."
"Wait—Zephyr-sensei—!"
But he didn't even get the words out before he felt the eyes of starving wolves turn toward him.
A chill crept down his spine.
He turned stiffly toward the others and gave a nervous laugh.
"Hey, we're all classmates here... comrades..."
"Hehehe... never thought I'd see the day," Tokikake muttered, cracking his knuckles.
Kuzan's eyes were burning. "Awesome! I finally get to fight you again!!"
Darren's mouth twitched. He turned to Gion in desperation.
She paused, then slowly drew her blade, smiling sweetly.
"I've been waiting a long time for this."
He looked toward Yamakaji.
The latter gave an apologetic chuckle. "Sorry, Darren. Orders are orders."
The others offered pitiful glances—but then their eyes gleamed with fire as they drew their blades. The atmosphere surged with intensity.
Was it his imagination... or was that excitement?
They'd waited far too long for this.
Darren's monstrous strength had towered over them all—untouchable.
Many of them had been humiliated by him before.
Now, a rare chance had come—one where they could legally beat the crap out of him.
No one could resist that temptation.
"Hey, you're not serious—are you? Damn it!!"
Darren's body tensed as he dropped into a defensive stance.
They charged him all at once!!
Far off, under a beach umbrella, Zephyr sat and listened to the cries of pain echoing across the training ground.
A contented smile curled on his lips.
Lighting a cigar, he leaned back and murmured to himself with a grin:
"Darren... this is for your own good."