The party was small, an internal affair. Nothing like the year-end celebrations. Just the senior officers of Marine Branch 16 gathered to celebrate Zephyr-sensei’s fresh start.

No, ’Academy Director’ Zephyr now.

Zephyr-sensei was Director of the New 16th Branch Marine Academy.

He’d embraced his new lease on life with both arms. He drank with his students and laughed uproariously with the other Marines. He even demonstrated his Armament Haki to cheers from the crowd, sparring with everyone. Kuro and Daz Bonez received personal pointers from him too. The advice paid off immediately, as both were deep into their own Haki training.

As for Kuma, he was still visiting family in the Sorbet Kingdom.

In the end, with tears in his eyes, Zephyr-sensei raised his glass, roared a toast, and drained it in one go. It was as if he were bidding farewell to yesterday and welcoming a brand-new life.

--**--**

Dante really hadn’t expected him to embrace that new life this fast.

Yawning, Dante stared at Zephyr. The old man looked nothing like seventy, he was bursting with energy. "If I’m not mistaken, we’re still on break. What did you drag me out here at the crack of dawn for? You think I get vacations like this often?"

"You’ve got nerve talking about vacations." Zephyr shot back. "I asked your secretary. Ever since you became Captain of this branch, you sleep past noon every single day. Your secretary handles the work. A break makes no difference to you."

"I oversee the big picture. Without me, Marine Branch 16 would crumble!" Dante defended himself, then pivoted. "So? Why’d you bring me here?"

He surveyed the deserted island designated as the new academy grounds.

An edge of disbelief crept into his voice. "Didn’t expect the trees to be cleared this fast. Don’t tell me you forced the workers through the year-end period?"

Zephyr stared at him, exasperated. "Of course it went fast! You dumped one engineering crew on me and vanished. One crew for a site this massive, how would that be enough? Ain, Binz, Shuzo, and... Kuro and the others brought the cadets over to help." He looked out at the bare island. "The Marines cleared it while training."

"Is that so? Good. Didn’t expect to save on labor costs."

Before Zephyr could voice his disbelief over Dante penny-pinching, Dante spoke again.

"With Zephyr-sensei watching over it, I can rest easy!" Dante tried a motivational tone, but noticing Zephyr’s tightened jaw, he sighed. "The academy construction plan’s already set. Just handle it however you see fit."

"This academy belongs to the Marines. Take it seriously." Zephyr shook his head. "I’ve had time to observe the training methods used here. It’s incredibly sloppy!"

True, Dante had copied the HQ training approach. But Marine HQ was a different beast. Their instructors were elite Rear Admirals backed by decades of educational theory. Outstanding graduates received personal mentorship from flag officers.

And Branch 16’s instructors? Before Dante showed up, every last one of them had been a pirate. Once HQ methods passed through pirate hands, the result was crude.

They taught with genuine dedication, though. Kuro was slippery, but meticulous with the kids. They called him the Ghost Instructor. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

But their teaching materials were a complete mess. They crammed Rokushiki, swordsmanship insights, and brutish pirate combat arts together. They even had an instructor versed in hypnotism running ideological guidance for the cadets, firing them up with pep talks.

Marine HQ didn’t even have anything like that. But for an instructor named Jango to achieve this much was quite something. Not to mention the Aqua Ursa...

However, Branch 16 offered the same pay as island garrisons, rotating assignments so kids were sent out without real combat experience.

"Can’t be helped, you know how the East Blue is," Dante said. "Combat practice here barely makes a difference. This level of training already does the job. Though..." He rubbed his chin. "The cadets dispatched to Alabasta went through multiple live engagements. The pirates there are fresh arrivals to the Grand Line, perfect for training. But the casualty rate, while modest, was higher than here."

Zephyr was silent. Something in Dante’s words seemed to stir a memory. He sighed, his voice reflective.

"It weighs heavily, there’s no getting around that. But it’s a necessary part of this life. The sea is full of danger. Our duty as teachers is to let those children glimpse that danger, understand it, and refuse to be ruled by it. We protect them until they become fine Marines."

Saying it was one thing. Doing it... was it ever that simple?

Even he could not promise to protect every student in every live-fire exercise. At that thought, Zephyr’s spirits flagged, but he shook it off fast. The hatred had not dissipated. One day, he would settle that score himself.

"Enough. I’ll discuss all that with everyone later. Let’s move on to other matters."

This is the sea! A sea in an age of chaos! If you wanted to get stronger, you couldn’t avoid casualties. The East Blue pirates were mostly small-timers, and combined with a shortage of instructors, Branch 16 just made do.

But now that Zephyr-sensei was here, Dante could leave it all to him.

Of course, that wasn’t why Zephyr-sensei had called him out. The main issue was the new academy’s construction. They needed advanced equipment, training warships, and pharmaceuticals.

Since Branch 16 had the resources, they ought to pursue this seriously. Even a small edge was worth it. Especially the Aqua Ursa pills, they had to at least meet the daily training needs of the recruits! While the pills eventually stopped working at a certain level, they were a divine artifact for rank-and-file marines.

Even so, the pills couldn’t fully cover current needs. They were mostly used as incentives. Dante thought it over. With the Tontattas growing the herbs, raw materials wouldn’t be an issue. If he pushed Vegapunk, they could boost production.

With recent developments, Branch 16 wasn’t short on much anymore. In fact, they had enough combat power to roll into the New World and claim a spot among the Emperors.

Hearing Dante’s take, Zephyr was satisfied. With expanded production, he’d stick to the reward system, motivating cadets and building up the mid-tier fighting strength.

The incentive system needed a rework, and the instructors needed retraining too. Naturally, Dante left that entirely to Zephyr. He did briefly mention Daz Bonez’s outsourced status, which earned a very strange look from the old man. But Zephyr nodded and promised to think it over.

Just when Dante figured they were done, Zephyr revealed another request.

Zephyr had heard about the Gravity Chamber Vegapunk was researching. He wanted to build a large-scale version in the new academy.

No argument there. Approved!

Evasion Training Machine? Approved!

Speed Training Machine? Approved!

"Wait, wait!" Dante stared at Zephyr, who was buzzing with excitement under his free-spending approval. "When did Vegapunk come up with so many inventions? How come I didn’t know?"

"I only found out after a chat with him yesterday. None of it exists yet." Zephyr chuckled heartily. "But Vegapunk said as long as the funding is there, he can whip up all these gadgets."

Vegapunk usually researched terrifying weapons. No one ever said he could build training aids. Maybe that was just something he only thought to build here, away from the World Government’s strict oversight. The World Government had no use for things like this.

"Enel is yours now anyway," Dante sighed. "Go talk to Vegapunk directly and figure out how we should build up the new academy."

"Fine. I’ll ask him, then report back."

"Go on. Oh, right, as for Enel, figure out the teaching approach yourself. He’s an arrogant brat. If nothing else works, see if your fist does."

"Rest assured. I guarantee I’ll train him into an Admiral! I’m off!"

Dante watched Zephyr practically sprint toward the Laboratory Island, shaking his head with a faint smirk. "Is this what they call a second wind?"

Dante strolled back toward his office. He’d been busy all night and was still tired.

Lying down, he glanced over the documents Robin and Viola had prepared.

Construction on the various islands was underway. Orders from every sea had poured in, meaning some factories would need to expand. Dante skimmed the papers, then froze.

"An order from the Big Mom Pirates?"

"Yes." Robin nodded, her expression twisting slightly. "They want to order an Aquabliss Foot Spa. And they specified it needs to be very large. Preferably bigger than the Whitebeard Pirates tub."

Had the Big Mom Pirates heard about the Whitebeard crew’s family foot-soak sessions?

Dante’s mouth twitched. "Did they pay?"

"Already paid. It’s a gift for their mother’s upcoming birthday." Robin sighed. "They added that if they’re not satisfied, they’ll smash the factory. The factory sent the inquiry straight here."

"The Big Mom Pirates really do have more family members... and they’re all her biological children." Dante rubbed his forehead. "Fine. Tell the factory to think it through carefully. I’ll send over the crew’s member profiles."

He set the order aside. Stretching, he lay back down. His eyes flickered.

By now, Zephyr should have met Enel. How would he try to persuade him? That rookie was incredibly stubborn.

===============

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