Punk Bones #70

Several months later

Marineford

The training grounds

Cedric waited for the last moment before swaying his shoulder to dodge Zephyr's fist as the latter charged him. He managed to avoid the attack, and the former admiral merely grinned as he attacked with his other hand.

Despite his age, Zephyr's speed was astonishing as he attacked, and the young marine barely had time to dodge or block. The punch hit him in the shoulder, but instead of flying back or staggering, he moved with the attack and twisted his body to match its momentum.

Cedic quickly recovered, and under Zepyr's approving gaze, he suddenly vanished, only to appear above him. "Shigan," He muttered as he pointed his index finger at his teacher and rapidly thrust his hand forward, unleashing a hail of compressed air bullets flying toward him.

Zephyr nodded in satisfaction at his student's display of skill as he leaped back to dodge the attack, causing it to hit and crack the ground. In response, Cecric vanished from the air and appeared some distance away from his teacher, his body already spinning.

"Rankyaku," The young marine muttered as he kicked at the air, creating a flying slash of compressed, sharp wind that flew straight toward Zephyr, and the latter reacted quickly by slapping it away.

The flying slash flew to the former admiral's right and cut a decorative stone pillar in half, but the student and teacher pair didn't spare the hapless decoration so much as a glance, locked in and focused as they were.

Zephyr said nothing as he suddenly vanished and appeared in Cedric's face, giving him a taste of his medicine as he punched at the young marine's chest.

Again, the former marine's incredible speed denied any chance to dodge, and Cedric could only grit his teeth and cross his arms in front of his chest. "Tekkai," He muttered as the attack hit him and sent him flying back.

"Looks like I didn't break any bones this time around..." Zephyr said with a grin as he watched Cedric wince in pain and relax his guard. "You're improving very quickly... now you only need to learn Geppo, and you'll be a bonafide Rrokushiki master..." He added, nodding in satisfaction.

"That will come in time... but that's enough for today..." The former admiral said as he turned around and walked away without waiting for a reply. "Be sure to swing by tonight," He concluded as he waved Cedric away from behind his shoulder.

"Alright... I'll see you then, Z-sensei," The young marine remarked as he watched his teacher leave before inspecting his body for any wounds, only to smile once he realized there were no injuries.

...

"Cenataurea at the brink of civil war, and a meeting will be held in Marijoa, eh...?" I muttered as I read the headline of the newspaper in my hand. "If I remember correctly, it has something to do with Dragon and the revolutionary army..." I added, scratching my head as I tried to recall the finer details.

"Oh, well... who cares? it's none of my business anyway..." I said with a shrug as I threw away the newspaper, taking off my shirt as I headed for the shower.

It's been six months since I returned from my first deployment, and I was progressing nicely in my training and studies. I had already mastered all the Rokusiki powers except for Geppo, and I reckon it'll only take another month before I learn that one too.

My mastery of the Method didn't lag either since I officially joined Marineford's medical team four months ago. I also went on five more deployments (all of which were a success), enabling me to study 'human anatomy' and inflict violence on unsuspecting pirates to my heart's content.

As usual, my missions were to catch one pirate or the other, but none of my targets were worth mentioning compared to General Gasparde. They were more of an attempt to improve my leadership skills rather than a test of capabilities, so it wasn't that surprising.

Much to my chagrin, the higher-ups assigned Isuka to be my second in command for all the said deployments, and she was just as much of an uptight buzzkill as ever.

And speaking of uptight buzzkills, Ain tagged along for two deployments, but she was content to let me do as I liked without too much nagging after the first mission, which was a blessing as I honestly couldn't take that much nagging.

My physical strength grew as steadily and gradually as my mastery of the Method and the Rokushiki six powers did. If I had to rate my strength, I'd say I was on the level of Marine HQ rear admiral. I'd even go as far as to bet on myself if I had to face one in a fight to the death.

Naturally, I didn't neglect my studies despite having little time for them. Although I still wasn't good enough to navigate around the Grand Line, I could probably last for a couple of days at the sea without drowning.

Overall, my time in Marineford has been great so far. Though the island lacked my type of entertainment, I could find my own fun on missions, and the training was doing wonders for my growth.

I still had a couple of complaints, such as how every person I got along with would suddenly transfer to the G-5 marine base, but that's just because I tended to befriend scumbags like Pike, who taught me how to pick locks.

'The security should be pretty lax, what with the upcoming meeting...' I mused as I walked out of the shower, leisurely drying my hair with a towel. 'I should be able to steal some more of that aged wine...' With that thought in mind, I smiled as I wore some clothes and headed outside.

...

South Blue

Four Clover Island

Standing shoulder to shoulder with Killer and his other gang members, Kid couldn't help but grin without bothering to hide his glee as he looked at the ship docked at the port.

The ship was an impressive sight, with bright orange color and skeleton-themed design that brought to mind the stages of heavy metal bands. The figurehead was a gigantic yellow dinosaur skull looming over the front of the vessel while dinosaur ribs ran along its underside.

Two masts towered above the ship, with the front mast sporting an enormous black sail adorned with a fiery design, proudly displaying the Kid Pirates' jolly roger. Above that was a smaller orange sail, fluttering in the wind.

A lookout was stationed atop the front mast, watching out for any dangers that might lie ahead. The back mast had a smaller orange sail, but was no less impressive than the front mast.

The ship's deck continued the heavy metal theme, with a bizarre skull prominently displayed behind the figurehead. It was a fitting tribute to the band-like energy that Kid and his crew exuded, and it made a statement that was impossible to ignore.

"Are you sure you don't want to tag along?" Kid asked, reluctantly turning away from the ship and toward the tomboyish girl beside him. "You're bound to grow bored of Four Clover sooner or later, Vicky..." He added, trailing at the end of his sentence as he waited for a reply.

"I'm pretty sure..." Vicky replied with a firm nod. "The sea isn't for me... besides, someone has to stay here and take care of the business in case your boys ever decide to come back," She added with a smile, causing Kid to sigh.

"So... what are you going to call the ship?" Vicky asked, changing the subject as she alternated her gaze between the redheaded gang leader and the gigantic ship.

"Punk Bones..." Kid replied, grinning as he shook away his disappointment at Vicky's answer. "We'll call her Punk Bones... and she'll carry us to the end of the sea..." He went on, dramatically spreading his arms.

...

Marineford

The training grounds

"Come all ye young sailor men, listen to me..." I hummed, grinning from ear to ear as I walked toward Z-sensei's residence with a bottle of aged fine wine in my hand. "I'll sing you a song of the fish in the sea..." I went on as I walked up to the door and gave it a knock.

"Come on in, kiddo. It's open..." Z-senseis's voice came from behind the door. That was all I needed to hear as I opened the door and walked inside without hesitation, still humming as I did.

"And it's windy weather, boys. It's stormy weather--" I muttered, only to pause halfway through my sentence once I saw Vice Admiral Garp sitting on the couch and looking at me with an amused expression.

"Ah... shit..."

...

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