Volume 1 Chapter 17

The end of another year meant Ezra had to review his growth.

His regular sparring and combat experience had provided the stimulation for improvement that Ezra needed. Ezra had noticed an increase in the amount of seawater he could control as his understanding of the Umi Umi no Mi (Sea Sea Fruit) grew. He had made a lot of progress with the body transformation, but the seawater requirement was not something that he could easily solve for now. The main gain this year was understanding the effect of his power in the sea and against other devil fruit users. This would be the foundation of his development and his greatest asset as a marine.

The atmosphere at the end of the second year was very different from the first. Petty Officers roamed the grounds, some rejoiced amongst themselves while others were still solemn. Ezra was amongst the latter, he felt happy that he made it back but sad for all those who left with him but could not return.

Everyone in the yellow scarf decided to take the three months off away from the academy. Ezra especially wanted to return to the temple ruins, to relieve his mental stress. When the departure day arrived, 600 petty officers made their way to the harbour. Dispatch papers were already issued to the departing officers, however, goodbyes were taking a long time, as most would not be seeing each other again.

Onboard the ship Ezra found a corner to relax as he watched the ripples in the sea rocking the ship. He remembered one of the wise sayings of his master "life is full of ups and downs, good times and bad times. In chasing your dreams, you will encounter the best of life and the worst of it."

Ezra could not help but think about his master and his current whereabouts.

Various lifeboats were launched into the sea as Officers made their way off the transport ship. There were different galleons anchored outside the West Blue Marine Division awaiting the arrival of their newly assigned Petty Officer.

The hustle and bustle on the ship at this point was enough to allow Ezra to sneak into the water quietly.

Ezra who had left the marine ship was now swimming towards the deserted island. He had not been back to this island in 2 years, he was looking forward to relaxing here away from everything and everyone.

The vegetation on the island had grown since Ezra was last here. The ever-growing jungle of vines had made a canopy that hid what lay beneath. The sound of birds filled the air, and the gentle waves lapped against the shore of the sandy beach.

Coming out of the water he could feel a dense threatening aura being thrown in his direction from different corners of the island.

'It looks like they think I am prey' he thought to himself while taking off his boots, allowing the millions of grains of sand to tickle his toes and the cool breeze caressing his face.

He made his way to the old hut where his master stayed when he trained on the island. Only to find that the forest had also claimed this area. Moss had now completely covered the wooden hut, making it unrecognisable and plants had taken over the surrounding areas. A large snake was coiled up as it laid lazily on the roof of the hut basking in the sunlight.

As Ezra approached, the snake hissed as it uncoiled itself making its impressive form known. A dangerous aura radiated from it as it widened its jaws showing two large, deadly fangs.

Ezra did not pay attention to the snake, even though he was just a 14-year-old boy, he was no longer a rookie to be easily threatened by a snake of this size.

The snake began to leap off the roof in an attempt to capture Ezra only to collide with a sharp dart-shaped drop of water, which without mercy pierced straight into its skull killing it in the process.

As Ezra walked into the building, the limp body of the snake rolled off the roof as it laid dead at the doorway.

Noticing that the hut had remained untouched during the 2 years he was at the academy, all hopes of finding his master were lost.

'He really was serious about me not looking for him,' he thought.

"I should go see Poseidon," Ezra said as he carried the sizeable, heavy snake up the mountain.

The unruly vegetation had also claimed the ruins, it was barely visible with all the plant's vines and tree branches intertwined with one another. As the snake and its scent came closer, various animals began to abandon their homes as they fled in the opposite direction.

Setting the snake down in the corner, Ezra went to the Poseidon statue to have a monologue with it. He sat down, legs crossed as he told the statue about his time in the academy, about his discovery and his plans to relax at the ruins for the next 3 months. He also mentioned that he would try to renovate the temple a bit so it is protected from the weather. Even though the Poseidon statue could not respond Ezra felt it was the right thing to do.

He went back to the corner to set up camp. It was easy enough to find the materials to build a fire. The smell of roasted snake, filled the air as the meat sizzled over the burning fire. Ezra could now relax knowing that food was abundant for the next couple of days.

In the following days, a zen Ezra started working on renovating the interior part of the ruins. He transported chopped trees into the ruins, hammering each pole adjacent to one another into the ground. Then reinforced it with strong vines until he had built 3 secure walls and a door on the front and the sides of the statue.

Ezra had always been entranced with the man on the waves and so he had never taken time to look at the back of the statue. Normally the back of the statue is meaningless. The intricate designs and carvings are normally placed on the front to capture the audience's attention.

Ezra had to finish the wall on the backside of the statue to completely secure the room. He began to beat the wood with all his strength into the ground. The arduous work began to make him sweat. He dropped his hammering stone and rested his arms. As he sat next to the pole, he took a glance at the back of the statue and he couldn't help but notice a small engraving. Curiously, he stood up to examine and was pleasantly surprised to find a map.

'This is the map of the World,' Ezra thought as he compared this map with the map he stored in his memory.

There were 2 locations clearly marked on this map.

In the first location, there was an arrow pointing downwards on the left side of an island on the outskirts of the West Blue, a few months from here by boat. 'Is that not near the former Amagus village? Why is it marked on this map?' he thought as he continued looking.

The other mark was somewhere on the Grand Line on the other side of the world with a note 'Merfolk - Fishman Island' inscribed next to it.

'It looks like I was right, there should be some relationship between my power and the merfolk's and possibly Poseidon's ancient weapon' Ezra could not help thinking.

Ezra's mind started racing with excitement, what would he find at these marked locations? The thrill of a new adventure took over him but as he thought about it further, reality hit. It would be impossible to get to Fishman Island at the moment. One, he was not strong enough to venture into the Grand Line and secondly, time was not on his side. He had two and a half months left of holiday. He glimpsed back at the map, there was still hope of an adventure as he stared at the second location marked. There was enough time left to explore the seas by Amagus Village before he had to return to the academy.

With the thought of the adventure that lay waiting for him his excitement grew and his strength returned as he rushed to complete the last wall.