Chapter 19: The Strong Girl

The next day, everyone woke up early again, but this time when they arrived at the training ground, they found Zephyr already waiting for them.

"Not bad, didn't keep me waiting for too long," Zephyr crossed his arms and looked at the students below as if they were a flock of obedient lambs.

"I won't say much today. Let's start the training directly. Line up now and run fifty laps around the training field! It's the same for both men and women!"

The students were amazed. After all, the training field in the base was like a large square, and one lap alone was already over a kilometer. However, since Zephyr had given the order, no one dared to complain and started running with their heads down.

Chika was the first one to run out. He knew the importance of physical fitness. Most of the battles in the world of ninjas relied on physical combat, even if everyone else was piloting giant robots in the later stages. In the end, it always came down to close-quarters combat.

One lap... ten laps... twenty laps... Although the people in the One Piece world have outstanding physical fitness, they are still humans. Gradually, some people began to slow down and fell behind the group.

By the time they reached thirty laps, some students were exhausted and collapsed along the way. A group of medical personnel rushed over and put the fainting students on stretchers to carry them away.

"Hoo... hoo..."

Ain gritted her teeth and persevered. As the only female student still holding on in the field, she already had a physical gap compared to most of the students. It was impressive for her to reach thirty laps, and even Zephyr noticed this determined girl.

"That girl's name is Ain, right? Setting aside everything else, just looking at her determination, she will become an outstanding Navy officer in the future."

Zephyr admired her internally and instructed the medical staff by his side to pay attention and provide immediate assistance when Ain couldn't hold on any longer.

"No, there's still less than half the distance left. I must persevere!" Ain was a strong-willed girl. She didn't want to run fewer laps just because she was a girl.

Finally, her stamina reached its limit. She stumbled, and just as she was about to fall, a hand supported her. She turned her head laboriously to express her gratitude, and she saw the person supporting her. She actually recognized him, although he might not know her.

The person supporting her was Uchiha Chika. He was only two laps away from completing his fifty-lap task. Seeing a girl struggling to even walk but still persevering, he couldn't help but feel admiration.

No one would fail to respect someone who works hard. He quickly came forward to support her when he saw that she couldn't hold on any longer.

"Are you okay? Don't force yourself anymore. Your efforts were seen by everyone. Since you've reached your limit, go rest for now. Pushing your body too hard won't be worth it."

Chika's concerned words brought a warm feeling to Ain's heart.

"Thank you, I understand. You must be Uchiha Chika, right? You're amazing. Even though you ran for so long, you don't look tired at all."

"Haha, no, I'm exhausted too. But since I have the reputation of being first in the entrance exam, I can't afford to fail. I've been wanting to faint and go to the infirmary to see the pretty nurses."

Chika covered his mouth playfully, behaving like a mischievous little thief.

Ain chuckled, and some of her fatigue seemed to dissipate. She knew that Chika was using humor to comfort her, and she didn't dislike it. On the contrary, she liked it.

"Thank you, Chika." Ain sincerely thanked Chika, and then she stopped insisting and went to rest.

Chika waved his hand and continued to run the remaining two laps.

Sitting on the ground, Ain watched Chika running on the field. Suddenly, her shoulder was tapped, and it was her roommate who came to find her.

"Don't stare, Ain. He's quite a catch. You can't handle him, you know." Her roommate teased Ain with a playful smile.

Ain blushed and playfully tapped her roommate before getting up and following her roommate to leave. Before leaving, she took another look at Chika on the track. Chika noticed and waved at her. She quickly turned her head and left with her roommate.

On the way back, thinking about everything that happened today, Ain couldn't help but smile. She murmured to herself,

"Uchiha Chika, huh? He's really a great person..."

Her roommate beside her couldn't hear what she said since Ain was talking to herself. She asked, not catching the words,

"What are you saying, Ain?"

"Ain, are you feeling unwell? Did you push yourself too hard during the training earlier?"

Ain waved her hand to indicate that she was fine, gave a playful smile, and grabbed her roommate's hand, picking up the pace.

Her roommate, looking bewildered, was pulled along and said,

"Hey, what's gotten into you? You suddenly went crazy. You must have gone mad from all that running!"