23 Chapter 23 - Planning for the Future

A/N: Hey guys, I need some help. I have some plans down the line using the current admirals, at this point, Sakazuki, Kuzan, and Borsalino are all still Vice-Admirals. There's no information about who the Admirals were at this time, so I want to ask you guys to give me some ideas about what kind of people I should make them and what fruit they should have. It won't really affect my story at all, I can come up with something by myself, but I wanted to give you guys an opportunity to insert something into the story. Comment on this paragraph with your ideas.

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On the deck of Zephyr's ship, Terumi sat with his teacher after having had a nice shower and dressed in new clothes.

Terumi told Zephyr about his training the past month, his struggles, and his gains, leaving out only the details that pertained to his breathing styles.

"Hmm, I see. So you slew both the lord of the forest and sky huh..."

Terumi raised an eyebrow at the titles of the beasts he battled.

"The gorilla beast and the wyvern?"

"Aye. Those two have been reigning supreme for the past few years. Worry not though, another will take up their place. The harsh environment on Hell Island is a breeding ground for powerful beasts, that's why I use it as a training ground for recruits."

Terumi nodded, the island did much for his growth, even more than he could have ever imagined.

"So, did anything happen back in Marineford while I was gone?"

Zephyr thought for a moment before speaking.

"A new pirate was added to the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Pirate Empress Boa Hancock. Other than that, nothing exciting really."

Terumi was surprised to hear the familiar name.

'Boa Hancock, if I recall correctly, it has been two years since Fisher tiger raided Mary Geoise and freed all of the slaves. I remember reading about it on the news. He's still at large to this day, but it shouldn't be too long before the events of Foolshout Island. Should I do something about it? I would need to graduate with sufficient rank and get a crew that I can sail with.'

Terumi was deep in thought, pondering his next steps. Seeing his expression, Zephyr decided to tease him.

"What? Are you interested in her famed beauty as well?"

Broken from his train of thought, Terumi hurriedly answered.

"Huh? No no, I was just thinking about something random. Say, Zephyr-sensei, do you know what rank I would need to be able to sail with some autonomy?"

Zephyr looked at Terumi curiously but proceeded to answer his question.

"Hmm, the minimum rank needed to command a ship for patrol would be Captain. You would have a relative amount of freedom for when you wanted to patrol depending on which base you were assigned to. Past that, a Rear-Admiral would have the sufficient permissions you seek."

"I see..."

Terumi nodded, now pondering about how quickly he can become a captain.

Seemingly being able to guess what Terumi was thinking, Zephyr spoke further.

"If you want to become a Captain, the fastest way would be to apply for Field Training. If I'm being honest, you already almost have the necessary strength to patrol the first half of the grand line. Though you still need to work on your physique. The next opportunity will come six months from now. During the field training, you will be temporarily given the rank of Lieutenant Commander, and given a small squadron of infantry to hunt pirates on the grand line. The training period will last four months. Depending on well you perform in leadership, and how many pirates you capture, you may apply for graduation after, and be given a rank based on your performance."

Terumi carefully listened to Zephyr's words, happy to hear about the opportunity. Seeing his smile, Zephyr smirked.

"Don't get too ahead of yourself. You've yet to learn any commanding skills. Being a commissioned officer isn't just about strength. You have to be able to lead. Being strong is the bare minimum expected of you as a trainee in my camp."

"Yes sensei, I understand. I just have one more question, I heard the Marines have a martial art called the Rokushiki, what do I have to do in order to learn it?"

Hearing this, Zephyr's expression lit up.

"Oh? You want to learn the Rokushiki huh? Gahahaha! Well luckily for you, a normal Marine would have to purchase the right through merit, but I am allowed to teach it to who I want in the camp. However, most people can barely learn one skill in their lifetime, never mind all six. Currently, I've been teaching it to Ain, Binz, Gion, and Hina. Drake and Smoker both have no motivation to learn it. I should warn you though, out of your four other trainees, only Gion has been able to make progress on mastering the techniques."

"Yes! I would very much like to learn them!"

Zephyr smirked, and then grinned widely.

"Okay, I'll teach it to you. But first, you need to improve your physique. The minimum requirement would be completing morning training with a 150-ton shirt. Although you're quite well trained, compared to your classmates that have been attending for quite some time now, you're still behind. You need to work twice as hard in order to catch up. If you're still determined on learning, I'll adjust your afternoon and evening training schedule."

Terumi nodded without hesitation.

"Yes, I look forward to your instruction, sensei!"

Zephyr nodded in approval, seeing Terumi's determination.

"That's more like it. I've always tried to teach my students the Rokushiki in order to expand their battle versatility and physique, but so many of them gave up halfway. I had high hopes for Drake, but he gave up too. Devil fruit users rely way too much on their fruit. Smoker especially has a bad case of overconfidence. I've never seen someone so lazy since Kuzan and Borsalino."

Zephyr sighed in exasperation.

"Vice-Admiral Kuzan and Vice-Admiral Borsalino?"

Terumi asked in confirmation. Zephyr nodded.

"Yeah, damned Logia brats. All of them are the same. Compared to them, I'd rather train students like you who listen and work hard."

"Ahaha, I'll do my best, sensei."

Terumi smiled wryly, remembering how strong the future would-be Admirals will be.

'I don't know when they will be promoted, but it can't be too many years away. Should I try to fight Sakazuki for his spot? I've never been a fan of his absolute justice mentality, but that would mean I need to get strong enough to beat an Admiral-level opponent in a few years. I would also need to build enough prestige and merits in a short amount of time in order to get promoted quickly. I want to assemble a group of subordinates that follow moral justice alongside me as well.'

Terumi thought quietly about the future, seeing him deep in thought, Zephyr decided to leave him alone and got up to go inside the cabin.

'It's about time I thought more about my future. Challenging Mihawk for the title of the world's strongest swordsman is one thing, but what do I do after? I'm resolved to complete my goal, but I don't want to stagnant. Now that I'm a resident of this world, I don't want to just turn a blind eye to the way things work. Garp is loyal to the Marines, and is one of the strongest people in this world for sure, despite his age, and even he is not able to change how things work. I need more than just strength, I need allies.'

Terumi then thought about all the potential people he could recruit.

'Drake is in the camp with me, I know he will eventually form SWORD, although I never learned what their goals were, with Koby being in it, and their name being an obvious hint, I can safely guess that their goal is to free the Marines from the grasp of the world government, so he's someone I can count on. Next would be some of the other classmates, Gion, Smoker, and Hina all follow moral justice, I can get them on my side with some work. Kuzan as well, I know he has a good heart, though I don't know about Borsalino. Finally, it would be the revolutionary army. Dragon was a former Marine, I'm sure he would like to see the Marines separated from the world government as well. Though until I can confirm that fact, I'll only count them as a potential ally for now.'

'So, either way, in order to achieve the status and power to do what I want, I need to become an Admiral.'

Terumi sighed, a mixture of resolution and nervousness on his face.

'If I become an Admiral I might get forced to defend world nobles, but there might be an easy way around that. I remember Kuzan always used his time to go bicycling around, they can't blame me if I don't help if I'm not there. Borsalino usually always stayed at Marineford, as he's able to respond to any threat quickly. I can just leave the dirty work to him. Having Admiral status would allow me a lot of freedom outside of emergencies to do what I want. I can use that freedom to gather and train my allies. So, it's not all bad.'

Terumi nodded to himself, trying to convince himself of the viability of his plan.

'Well, worst-case scenario, I'll just defect and wait for Dragon to do everything. I can lend him my aid at that time.'

Terumi smiled wryly once more, wondering about the unsure future.

'No use thinking about it too much for now. In order to do anything, first I need to get stronger. Completing my goal of beating Mihawk should be my number one goal, after all, I have to keep the promise I made to myself, my mom, and everyone back in Shimotsuki village. I'll gather allies as I go and work towards a better future, but that's a long-term goal. In the meantime, I want to enjoy this new life, see the sights, explore the world.'

At that moment, Terumi then remembered the beautiful visages of the last arc of the One Piece anime he got to watch.

'I want to see my homeland, Wano as well. The last episode I left on was 'that' scene. The legendary Paradise Totsuka by Oden's subordinates against Kaidou. Although I don't have that many attachments to Wano, I truly respect their samurai spirit and determination to free Wano. It's truly a sad state the beautiful country has become after Kaidou took it over, if there's something I can do about it, I want to try my best. But it's one thing to become an Admiral, killing or even beating Kaidou is another thing altogether.'

Terumi sighed once more.

'So many things, so little time. Let's just do it one step at a time.'

Resolved with his plans for the future, Terumi opened his eyes, stood up, and walked towards the front of the ship.

Grasping Asahi tight in his hand, and patting Amaterasu with the other, he called out to them.

"I'll show you guys the whole world, and together, we're going to do so many great things. This I promise. I hope you guys will stay with me and help me out."

Asahi vibrated strongly, while Amaterasu mewed cutely, but Terumi could understand what they were telling him.

"Haha, let's do this!"

Fueled by the affirmations of his eternal partner and new companion, Terumi was filled with newfound determination for the future.