Chapter 51: That's a huge change...or not...

Next day, before even the first ray of sunshine.

"Brush, Brush, Brush..." A tired-looking Edam was looking at his own reflection in the mirror as he brushed his teeth plainly.

In normal time he would have woke up about two hours from now on but the thing was...

He was informed by Zaz that today he had to go to this so called training camp.

Apparently, the training camp started very early.

'Is it grandpa Z who made this schedule ?' An annoyed expression on his face.

He then first brushed his teeth, took a shower, washed his tail, put on some clothes and then ate his breakfast in company of Stella who was already up even before him as she had cooked some pancakes.

"See you later big sis...!" Edam waved his hand to her and then departed.

...

He then reach to Marineford town where he caught a a glimpse of something that caught his attention. As he was walking, when he turned his head around he in fact saw Zaz. He was sitting in front of a restaurant's counter waiting for his food to be cooked it seems.

"Yo, where is grandpa Z ?" Edam approached and greeted him with a strange clapping-hands ritual.

"Oh Edam... he's already gone, he had some matter to attend to, while I stopped by to take something to eat, I didn't ate anything." Zaz pat his belly while scratching his head and said waiting eagerly for his snack to be ready.

"Oh alright, then I will wait with you." Edam took a sit and began to chat idily with him.

"You have a bird now ?" Zaz asked as he looked at Edam's right shoulder where a tiny black looking bird was sitting on.

It was of course the black twin-bird that he got at Sabaody Archipelago.

"Oh him...? it's a twin-bird, you know~ they are famous for their speed and endurance." Then a mischievious expression appeared. "I've named him, Zaz in honor to you."

"...what...! You-..." Just as some beautiful words were going to come out of his mouth Edam said in advance.

"...It's a joke, a joke..." Edam waved hid hands in "repentance" and laughed softly.

Zaz's face twitch as he asked. "Then what is it then ?"

"Black Snow...simple..."

"Black snow huh... and who did you gave the other bird your brothers... ?" As Edam had already talked about Ace and Sabo to Zaz, the latter already knew who they were.

"Hum... Nope I gave it to a girl named Hancock, as she has named her own bird "Snow" for it's white color, I called mine Black Snow for its-..." He didn't even get to finish as Zaz cut him off before and said.

"Heh~...a girl huh~... wouldn't have thought that you were already into that..." Zaz looked at him with a teasing face drawing out a deadpan expression on Edam's face.

"Shut up..." he said softly while looking aside annoyed.

"Haha..."

...

Five minutes or so later, the food finally arrive.

Zaz had ordered a sandwich made out of eggs piled up on some slices of beacons along with one piece of melting cheese and wrapped in two soft and smooth slices of bread generously buttered with a hint of spice sauce to finish it all in a beautifull and so... Ahhh words can't even describe this.

...

"..."

...

Edam's jaw was wide open as he looked at this.

The thing was literrally glowing to show how much it was divinely delicious.

Just thinking and looking at this masterpiece of snack sufficed to made Edam drool profusely.

"Gulp..."

"Grumble !" No need to say that his stomach couldn't resist this temptation at all.

After looking at that he of course couldn't let his buddy go to "war" all alone right ? If they had to die, they would die together !

With this "broterly" thought in mind he decided to join in this fight and buy one too, as they then made their ways to the camp.

...

Edam and Zaz then walk through the town to go to the north enjoying their snacks complimenting their food here and there.

As they walked and walked they were rapidly surrounded by some homes and stores as the streets were more like an alley where people were doing their business in peace.

They after a bit of walk reach the giant wall surrounding all Marineford. (A/N/ just think of it as Attack of Titan's wall.) At the bottom of the wall was a sort of huge door with the inscription "Discipline" written at the top of it. Standing in front of it were three soldiers guarding it.

On the way, there were already kids of about the same ages as them and some others older ones in a single file, one by one showing a card to the soldiers as they were then given access to the camp.

'Whoa, there's really a lot..." Edam marvel at the relatively massive amount of kids there were as he and Zaz joined the line to enter it.

"Hum..." Zaz thought for a bit and then said. "This is nothing, inside there are even more."

"Really ?" Edam asked a bit surprised. There was already about a hundred of people going in, so the idea that there were even more in there was quite unbelievable.

"Of course, there are some who were chosen for various reasons, while some others just didn't have any choice because they lived too far away, and so to help them a bit, they were given a place to live in." Zaz explained to Edam.

"Hum..." Edam nod in understanding.

"Weird I always believed that Marineford was moon shapped..." Edam commented as he looked at the door in the wall, a wall which should've been the end border of Marineford. Meaning that beyond this door there was nothing...apart from the sea and the fishes.

"Well it was a shock for everyone, me included... I mean who would have thought that they would build a moving island right behind it... Grandpa never told us what it was like after all..." Zaz wondered about it still not capable to accept it fully.

But it was a fact ! That just beyond this door was a moving island only reserved for the newly recruits or those future recruits-to-be to be instructed.

...

Quickly enough it was their turn to show their cards.

Zaz was the first to go as he took out from his pocket a white card with a marine emblem on it alongside his identity and then showed it the guard who looked at it and at a list name and said.

"Checked, next !"

Then it was Edam's turn, he stepped forward and just as he was going to showed his card, a guy from behind pushed him lightly aside and stepped forward and then showed his own card. The guy had blond hair and was really well dressed.

"Heh..." a little snort sounded from the guy when he looked at Edam quite arrogantly clearly looking down on him as the blond guy strived forward.

"..." Edam looked at the fifteen years old guy with what seemed to be an indifferent expression.

Meanwhile Zaz who was at the front, beyond the door, he turned around at the sound of this ruckus but when he saw what was going on his face seemed to change slowly and turn into an awfull one... his hand was stretch as he was going to intervened but after thinking for a bit he gave up.

The three guards too seemed to be disapproving of the guy's behavior but didn't say anything apart from...

"Checked, next !"

Edam then calmly approached the checking guard as he too took out his own card from his pocket and showed it as the latter glanced at it briefly before saying in the same voice.

"Checked, next !

Then Edam walked a bit and then he finally step in his new training place.

Well it was astonishing how this island was really well done, if he didn't know that it was an added island, he would never have notice it apart from the fact that...

The island was in contrast to Marineford civilisation-like landscape it was more forest-like and the island was quite big, stretching out dozen of kilometers, truly big.

Then Edam just walked up to Zaz and asked. "Well, what are you standing there for ?"

Zaz in response just looked at him weirdly and said. "Now that's a huge change..." The Edam he remembered was excessively difficult to approached and even he his own childhood friend had put a lot of efforts to finally become friend with him.

Without stating that Edam from before was no, but really no pushover, Zaz remembered that at any grievances no matter how small it was, Edam would have beat the shit out of anybody who just had the thought of pissing him off but now... he was really wondering if his buddy became a spineless lamb ?

Edam just looked at Zaz by the corner of his eyes and replied calmly. "Oh really..." he then continued to walk while Zaz observed him from behind.

As he was walking in front, Edam's eyes were flickering a faint and absolutely near imperceptible pale yellow light with an even fainter red dot of light in the depht of the yellow color that vanished as fast as it appeared.

In front of him the blondy guy was chatting laughingly to some of his friends as they walked up to who know where.

Looking at him quietly Edam slowly took back his gaze to then looked at his hand as he stretch out his index and middle fingers out.

Slowly a tiny and fiery looking ball of light slowly began to take form on the end of his fingers. It was about the size of an egg.

At first the sphere of light was a fiery burning red light but it slowly changed into a clear state just like a bubble of air or a bubble of water.

As Edam then lifted his head and gazed at the guy, he then violently flicked his middle finger as it propelled the bubble of air like a cannon ball righ toward the back of the guy's head.

"Swish...!!!"

And...

"Pah...!!!" The bubble seemed to explode at the touch of the guy's head and,

"Splash...!!!" The poor guy violently ate the mud of the forest without understanding what happened as differents kind of reactions sounded from the curious onlookers.

"..."

"Hey-... hey are you alright...?"

"Pfff..."

"Hahaha..."

"He doesn't know how to walk or what ?"

...

"..." Zaz just looked wrily at Edam's silent back and shrugged his shoulders before catching up to him.

...