Chapter 28 - More Planning

-Two days later.

Marineford training ground.

All the damages to the training ground had now somehow been completely fixed, however, Borsalino still hadn't recovered from the injuries.

"I'd like to introduce a new member who will be joining this elite recruits' batch from today onwards." Zephyr spoke facing around a hundred or so younger looking men and women, who all stood in a neat formation.

In succession, Victor who stood to the right gave a nonchalant wave before saying, "hello dear colleagues. Let's take care of each other in the future."

At the same time, "hmm… apart from Borsalino and Sakazuki, I don't see anyone familiar from the manga." He thought.

The recruits in return did not say anything, however, Zephyr and Victor's keen ears clearly picked up the whispers of murmur that followed.

"New recruit?"

"Is he going to be graduating along with us?"

"He's hot…"

"I heard that's the guy who sent Borsalino to the infirmary…"

Ignoring, Zephyr continued on to say further, "I know you're all wondering why now? When it's only seven months from graduation.

Well, I assure you; he will be working twice as hard as you, and will be completing the entire two years theoretical education to take the exam alongside all of you. As for his strength… Well, you've all probably heard rumors of a battle here two days ago..."

One of the recruits who stood at the front raised hand, "Teacher, did he really beat Borsalino?"

"Yes… In the presence of me, the fleet admiral and a few other admirals." Zephyr explained.

The whispers became louder.

"Quiet!"

"…"

"Everything will proceed according to the program. This does not change anything.

You will all, including Victor here, take the graduation exam seven months from now.

One theoretical, and the other, combat!

Any questions?"

"No, sir." All the recruits answered in unison.

"Rokushiki class will resume from tomorrow.

Now, Dismissed!" Zephyr called out.

He wanted to get Victor acquainted with the others, so he did not stay longer, nor schedule anything for the day. He simply nodded at Victor then walked towards the exit.

Meanwhile, Victor had his eyes fixed on one individual who stood at the back. He was wearing an open red shirt and had a sword on his waist.

Walking in front of the said man, he spoke, "Sakazuki?"

"I saw your battle…" Sakazuki didn't beat around the bush.

"I know…" Victor answered.

The rest of the recruits stood surrounding them both, however, only listened to their weird conversation.

"I'm not as careless as him…"

"I know…" Victor's answer was the same.

"On the day of graduation, we will have our battle." Sakazuki said before walking towards the exit.

Sighing, "he's not much of a talker, isn't he?" Victor asked after Sakazuki had left.

The others were still surrounding Victor.

"Yes… Hello… My name is Jonathan, 21 years."

"Hello, my name is Eden…"

"Hello, nice to meet you… My name is Lilly, 20-years-old…"

Victor made good use of the opportunity to get along with everyone. He spent half the day answering everyone's questions while occasionally asking a few himself.

-The same day evening, Marineford, Zephyr's residence.

Zephyr and Victor sat opposite at the dinner table, quietly enjoying the food in front.

"Uncle, I need a favor…" Asked Victor, while slowly cutting a piece of meat on his plate.

"Hmm…" Zephyr gestured to continued.

With a sigh, and some embarrassment visible on his face, "I… I want to get a larger place as my residence. Preferably this size, with a large personal training ground."

Zephyr raised a brow. He did not expect Victor's request to be… that.

"I can pay… I have money saved from my bounty hunter days…" Victor quickly added. He did not want to give the wrong impression of a greedy person.

The whole reason he was going through with all this drama, impersonating as Zephyr's relative, was only to establish some background.

He could have easily gone to some random marine branch and applied directly.

But.

The disadvantages of that far out weight his current advantages. After all, the best resources, connections, and many more, such as his current request, could only be raised if you had the appropriate personal backing you.

"That's not the issue..." Zephyr responded before taking a moment to ponder, "can you… Tell me the reason?"

"I want to train, Uncle. I want to train at home, practice old man Nappa's techniques along with yours. And I need a large enough area for that." Victor explained quickly.

The actual reason was, of course, gravity training. He needed a large enough, closed area, to take out the spaceship for his time inside it, for training or anything else.

Zephyr showed a contemplative expression. "I will talk to Kong," he said.

"Thank you, Uncle. Please highlight that I would like to pay for the property…" He paused before adding, "no, tell him that I insisted on paying."

Followed by a sigh, Zephyr responded, "I will…" And after a momentary silence, "I got a sword for you…" He changed the subject of the conversation.

"Huh…" startled, Victor coked his head.

"You said you were collecting money to buy a sword, right?"

"Cough… yes… Uncle, you did say you'll get me one…"

Zephyr stood, then walked towards the room to his right.

"Wait here, I'll be back…" He added before walking inside the said room.

"Fuck… Just after I asked for a bigger house, he had to bring that up. Now I feel like a leacher…" Victor cursed in his head. He was truly feeling embarrassed this time.

Not long after, Zephyr came holding a sword sheathed neatly inside a beautiful scabbard.

"Here," he threw it towards Victor.

"Ah… Thank you, Uncle." Victor honestly did not know how to respond. He was genuinely grateful and knew Zephyr had done this out of care and thought.

"I will cherish this…" Victor spoke, eyes sparkling, observing the beautiful craft. He tried to act best appreciative, as a family member receiving a precious gift.

Simultaneously, "fuck… this is harder than I thought…" he again cursed in his head.

"One of the 21 Great Grade Swords. Its name is 'Rain.' It was a gift for me from a very close friend that had now passed away." Zephyr explained with melancholy.

"Uncle…"

"Don't be embarrassed… I want you to have it…" Zephyr said, assuming Victor's thoughts.

"…"

"I will find a good swordsman instruct—"

"No need, Uncle. For now, at least. If you can instead get me a training manual for learning swordsmanship, I would appreciate it." Victor cut in quickly. He did not want to trouble Zephyr with so much all at once. Moreover, he felt finding a manual would be less of a hassle than fining a personal trainer.

"Can you learn just from reading some instructions?" Zephyr asked in doubt.

"I can… Not to brag, but I'm very smart, uncle." Victor gave a thumbs up.

Followed by a *Sigh*, Zephyr responded, "if you say so... I'll send one for you tomorrow."

"If it's too difficu—"

"No… Getting a manual won't be any trouble." Zephyr said interrupting.

After a moment of silence, Victor stood and bowed sincerely, causing Zephyr to be confused. "What are—"

"I'm grateful, Uncle. I won't let you down. I will not use this sword for anything unjust. I promise."

"Haha…" Zephyr's momentary misperception turned in to a sincere smile, followed by saying "Finished your dinner and go to sleep. Your official training will start tomorrow."