Chapter 9

Loya peered down to see a recruit in a T-shirt, toothbrush in hand, glaring up at him.

"Oh, crap," Loya muttered, noticing his room was soaked from the melted ice coffin. He'd slept through the whole mess.

"My bad! I'll clean it up right away!" he called down. Then, eyeing the distance to the lake, he grinned. "Hey Xi, watch this!"

With a grunt, he hurled the remaining ice chunk out the window. It arced beautifully, splashing into the lake and drenching several unsuspecting recruits.

"Who did that?! Come out, you coward!"

"Uh-oh," Loya winced, quickly shutting the window and drawing the curtains.

At morning assembly, the instructor's face was stormy. "Last night's freak hailstorm damaged buildings, injured soldiers, and even hit the Fleet Admiral's prized goat! Who's responsible?"

"Loya did it!" the seventh team chorused, throwing him under the bus.

Loya stepped forward, bewildered. "Wait, what goat?"

The instructor loomed over him. "Well?"

"Would you believe me if I said it was all a big misunderstanding?" Loya offered weakly.

His punishment came swiftly: toilet duty for a month and copying safety regulations 1,000 times that day.

Donning an apron and grabbing a mop, Loya sighed. "I really didn't mean to..."

"Less talking, more scrubbing!" the officer barked.

A recruit deliberately tracked mud in, smirking. "Oops, sorry Loya. Didn't see you there."

"No worries, I'll get it," Loya replied blandly, tapping his toe to coat the floor in a thin sheet of ice.

Moments later, chaos erupted as recruits slipped and slid.

"Ow! Watch where you're aiming!" "Sorry, sir! I can't control it!"

Loya grinned, moving to the next floor. "Wonder if I could turn this into a real technique? 'Ice Rink Ambush' has a nice ring to it."

The regulation-copying went surprisingly quick. Loya rigged up an ice contraption to hold multiple pens, writing dozens of words at once.

Two hours later, he presented several filled notebooks to the stunned instructor.

"You're done already?" The instructor flipped through them, shaking his head. "We used to be up all night with these... and here you are, making it look like child's play!"

Loya just shrugged, trying not to look too pleased with himself. "Just trying to be efficient, sir."

Loya grinned smugly. "What can I say? I'm a genius."

The instructor eyed him suspiciously, unable to figure out how Loya had finished so quickly. "Well, as agreed, you can rest after cleaning the toilets today."

"Thanks, sir," Loya replied, heading out.

Later, the instructor brought Loya's work to Zephyr, who flipped through it with raised eyebrows. "How long did this take him?"

"Just under two hours," the instructor sighed. "He must have cheated, but I can't prove it."

Zephyr examined the pages closely, then suddenly slammed his fist on the table. "That little sneak!"

He pointed out identical typos and handwriting in two notebooks. "He copied the same book multiple times!"

The instructor's face reddened. "I'll go find him right now-"

"Hold on," Zephyr said, shaking his head. "He's probably destroyed any evidence by now. We can't punish him without proof." A small smile played on his lips. "That kid is... interesting."

Meanwhile, Loya was happily munching on a meat bun as he left the mess hall. He spotted Kuzan leaning against a wall, eyes covered.

"Mr. Kuzan!" Loya called, trotting over.

Kuzan pushed up his blindfold, blinking sleepily. "Oh, you're here. Let's go."

"Where to, Mr. Kuzan?" Loya asked cheerfully.

Kuzan's eye twitched. "Don't call me teacher. And it's time for some special training."

Kuzan led Loya to a smaller training ground near Marineford Fortress. Elite recruits were scattered about - some sparring, others meditating, and one massive guy squatting with an enormous iron block.

"Kuzan... I mean, General," Loya caught himself, "who are these guys?"

Kuzan yawned. "The elite camp. Cream of the crop."

Loya's eyes widened, recognizing the significance. These were future admirals in the making.

As they approached, the elites snapped to attention. "General Green Pheasant, sir!"

Kuzan waved lazily. "At ease. Just brought this kid for some training."

Loya's stomach dropped. What's this guy up to?

The giant recruit glowered at Loya. "This runt?"

Kuzan's lips twitched. "Yep. His fruit ability needs space."

Loya bristled internally but kept his tone cheerful. "That's right! Mr. Kuzan's teaching me to develop my powers."

The elites gaped. "Teacher?!"

Kuzan winced. "Not exactly. Just giving him some pointers-"

"But Mr. Kuzan," Loya interjected innocently, "doesn't anyone who teaches you become your teacher? Even nature itself is our teacher for things like fire and tools. So you're my teacher for fruit abilities, right?"

Kuzan's eye twitched as he found himself cornered by his own scheme. The elites looked on, confused and slightly amused by the verbal sparring match unfolding before them.