Graduation

On an unnamed island near Mary Geoise:

Inside a nicely furnished office with many works of art and trophies on display, a man knelt in front of a wooden desk.

"S-sir, we've lost contact with CP9. They already infiltrated Marine Headquarters a month ago and were supposed to make contact once they completed their mission but I haven't heard from them since…" Prostrating on the marble floor, Spandam, the chief of CP9, was shivering in fear as he reported to his boss.

*Bang*

"WHAT?! Why do I only hear about this now??" Slamming his hands on his desk in anger as he sent the files and stacks of documents on it flying, a huge white man with a deeply scarred face and bald head stood up to yell. The black suit and shiny white tie he wore created a strong disturbing contrast.

Spandam's face instantly paled even further while he stuttered "I-I didn't know s-something was wrong, I thought they were just laying low to gather intelligence on their mission before they act… B-but even though I still haven't heard anything from t-them or about the target, there is still a chance they ca-"

Spandam didn't get a chance to finish his sentence as a big shadow covered him. The huge bald man arrived in front of Spandam instantly and his strong hand clutched his throat tightly, he pulled Spandam up roughly to his face.

Watching the scarred face in front of him, Spandam's eyes bulged as a strong sense of fear gripped his heart uncontrollably.

"You piece of worthless shit!! Why *Bang* Didn't *Bang* You *Bang* Report *Bang* Sooner?!?! *Bang* *Bang* " It seems the bald man has serious anger issues as after every word he said he punched Spandam to a bloody pulp. He only stopped hitting when he noticed Spandam wasn't breathing anymore so he released his hand from his neck, letting Spandam mutilated corpse fall on the floor.

The room was silent for a few seconds before a small man wrapped in black rags from head to toe that obscured his body fully suddenly materialized from the shadows like a specter. The only thing visible on his face covered by a red demon mask was eerie green eyes. He also walked barefoot for some reason, and on his back were 2 exquisite short swords. His voice was jarring as he spoke "You really shouldn't beat your subordinates to their death, you know… Poor Spandam simply followed your orders, I heard people call that loyalty or something hehe"

"Don't mess with me, Ghost!! it's none of your business how I deal with my men"

Pulling a cloth from his inner pocket, the bald man cleaned the bloodstains on his face before he returned to sit in front of his desk "Instead of worrying about my subordinates, you should be more concerned about what we're going to say to 'Him' about this screw-up... How did this happen anyway?? Rob Lucci is quite powerful himself and has high mastery in the martial art style Rokushiki while the rest of the members in CP9 aren't a bunch of incompetents either. Not to mention I even gave them a few special devil fruits I saved in my private stash so they could complete this specific mission without a hitch. What a total waste of my devil fruits!"

The man called Ghost was silent for a few seconds while he watched how Spandam's crimson blood stained the bald man's white tie with red dots before he replied "We didn't receive any report that an attack occurred on Marineford island, so it must mean the kid took care of CP9 alone. And probably without any problems as he did it without alerting anyone else as well... At first, I thought you were too paranoid when you sent all CP9 assassins after a fifteen-year-old kid but it seems we have underestimated him... If 'He' asks about this, you answer I will take care of this personally this time!" Saying this, the barefoot man stepped into the shadows and vanished inexplicably.

"Good"

Although the bald man wasn't particularly fond of Ghost, he still recognized his strength and he had no problem with Ghost taking on this task himself. With this, at least he could be certain nothing would go wrong again.

...

Marineford island, Special Training Camp:

"So let me get this straight sensei. If I have a one-on-one fight with Garp, you will not only teach me Haki but this will also be considered as my graduation exam?" Eragon asked to make sure he understood correctly as he stood in front of Z after they finished their usual spar in their training spot in the woods.

"That's right, but not accurate" Z confirmed "You are also allowed to use your devil fruit abilities and one weapon of your choice. And as for the matter of your graduation, let's face it kid, you were already qualified to apply for it after your first week here and you would undoubtedly have passed it if you did..."

Z watched Eragon sitting on the ground to rest as he leaned his back on a tree. And even though he did his best not to let it show, but the proud smile on his wrinkled face couldn't be mistaken.

Over the last month he trained Eragon, the old teacher came to really like the kid as he considered Eragon the best student he ever taught in his long life. The progress Eragon showed from lesson to lesson still shocked him deeply as he couldn't believe someone can improve so fast. It was like a jet flying speedily towards the sky, climbing higher and higher with no end in sight.

"Is it possible for me to just learn Haki without graduating?" Eragon suddenly asked.

Z took a moment to consider before he replied.

"I'm afraid not. It doesn't matter if you win or lose tomorrow as I'm still gonna kick you out of this camp by next week. There is only so much you can learn from a spar with me, you must venture into the vast seas and struggle against the mighty and treacherous natural forces of nature, have life and death battles that leave you only as a fine hair's breadth away from dying. Only like that can you truly grow into a powerful powerhouse" By the expression on Z's face, Eragon could tell he was speaking from personal experiences.

"let me give you some motivation for tomorrow. Although I don't expect you to win, on the off chance you do manage to win, I will do my best so the Marine give you the highest rank possible for a graduate student" Z added

"Sweet! I really can't wait for tomorrow then" Eragon replied with a smile of his own. If you must graduate then at least do it with style, no?

"Good. The fight will be at the camp's stadium at 8:00 a.m. so don't be late" Seeing Eragon finally getting fired up for the upcoming fight, Z nodded to himself in satisfaction.

"Thanks for the lesson today sensei, I'll take my leave now" Waving his hand goodbye, Eragon left for his private training place in the woods.

'Don't worry kid, even if you don't win I'll still make my absolute best to make sure you will at least receive your own ship and crew' Z thought to himself as he watched Eragon's back disappear between the trees before he left as well.

After training for several hours Eragon called it a day and left for his dorm. Every night he would leave a shadow clone in his room before he sneaks out.

On his way to the student dorms, he noticed people sneaking glances at him as they whispered between themselves quietly. Shrouding his shoulders Eragon ignored them and moved on until he heard someone calling his name behind him.

"Eragon! Wait up!"

Turning around he could see the only other person in the camp he knows besides Z running in his direction.

"Oh hi, Chuck, what's the rush that you run like that?" Eragon asked as he stopped to wait for his fat friend to catch up and moved on when he did.

Chuck didn't have any other friends in the camp as everyone seems to distance themselves from him due to his eccentric personality and weird dressing style, calling him names such as sexual deviant or fagot. Everyone except Eragon that is. So whenever he spotted Eragon he would always try to hang out with him to smooth his lonely soul.

Eragon on the other hand lived in the digital age in his past life where information was easily accessible. Which made Eragon more open to such men than the people of this world. Although Eragon still made sure Chuck understands he is straight as a ruler and has zero interest in men in a romantic way, much to Chuck's apparent disappointment…

"Humf~ Humf, it's because you walk so damn fast, you jerk!" Chuck cursed as he panted "But never mind that. There are fliers all over the camp stating you are gonna fight a vice-admiral tomorrow morning before you leave the Special Training Camp as you already graduated! Is this true??"

"Mmm, it must have been teacher Z doing… Most likely that's also why everyone was whispering earlier' Eragon thought to himself as he answered Chuck "That's right, if you want to see a vice-admiral get his ass kicked then be sure to come tomorrow to watch. This kind of opportunity doesn't come often so you best seize the chance or you will regret it later"

"You are insane! That's not some random vice-admiral we are talking about, it's the "Hero of the Marines" Monkey D. Garp! He will destroy you after one blow!!" Chuck exclaimed loudly.

"We will see" Was Eragon's calm reply.

"Suit yourself, just don't come crying later when vice-admiral Garp humiliates you in front of the entire camp!" From what Chuck knows about Eragon from the last month, he knows there was no point trying to convince him not to do something once he already made up his mind. So he didn't waste his breath and changed the subject.

"I just got the results from my written test… Just like the last 24 times before, I didn't pass…" Chuck said in a sad voice.

"Again?! I really don't know how you keep doing that. It takes real talent to fail 24 times in a row. How much did you score this time?…" Eragon inquired in surprise. The written test was supposed to be the easiest part of the graduation exams after all.

Following his words, there was an awkward silence. Chuck looked away as he turned red in embarrassment. As much as a black person can turn red i.e.

"Come on, it can't be that bad. Even a broken clock is right twice a day, and you already took the test 24 times… At least tell me this, is it below C level?" Eragon asked.

At this Chuck finally snapped "You're damn right it's below the sea level! Why the hell will I keep that stupid exam with me??"

A trace of suspicion flashed past Eragon's eyes 'What is he talking about?'

It took Eragon a few moments before he understood Chuck misinterpreted his question. Looking at his friend's angry face in sympathy, he finally comprehends how someone can fail 24 times in a simple test, Chuck is just that stupid!!

"So what are you going to do now?" He eventually asked curiously.

"I honestly don't know. All my life I wanted to be an officer in the Marine, but it doesn't look like this is going to happen now…" Chuck shook his head and sighed "My instructor said he won't allow me to take another test and I only have 2 more weeks before 1 whole year will pass since I arrived at the Special Training Camp. They're probably going to expel me any day now"

Looking at Chuck's despondent face, Eragon felt sorry for his friend. After contemplating for a moment he suggested "Why don't you come with me? You don't have to be a graduate from the Special Training Camp to be an officer. Come serve in my crew and I will give you an officer rank"

Chuck's face immediately exhibited a pleasant surprise as he looked at Eragon's face "You will really do that for me?"

"Sure. What's the reason to have friends if not to help one another" Eragon replied with a smile.

Touched, Chuck's eyes moistened as he spread his arms wide intending to give Eragon a tight hug.

"Hug me and you're dead!!" Immediately taking a sidestep, Eragon growled.

"Haha don't worry bro, it's cool, totally understandable hehe" Wiping the tears on his cheeks, Chuck still laughed happily and started blabbering nonstop.

During their little chat, they already reached Eragon's room. So he immediately entered and shut the door in the face of the human chattering box to get some peace.

'Finally some quiet… Maybe it wasn't the best idea to offer him to a spot in my crew…' Massaging his throbbing temples. Eragon waited for a few more minutes to make sure Chuck left before he made a shadow clone to sleep in his bed while he sneaked outside of the training camp.

Eragon spent the night in the mansion with his women, doing things only lovers will do. The morning the next day he took a brisk shower and got dressed before leaving to the camp's stadium.

When he reached the stadium he was taken aback as the place was filled to the brim with students and many marines.

'I expected people will come to watch but this is insane, there must be hundreds of people here…'

He eventually spotted Z in one of the front seats so he approached him to ask what's going on.