One Piece: Starting with God Valley, intercepting the Dark-Dark Fruit

However, Princess Otohime could not see it; she had already been escorted away by the golden-armored guards. Only Shirahoshi remained in the hall, wiping her eyes and sobbing softly.

Bai Xing's youthful face and her figure were quite mismatched, creating a strong sense of contrast.

Lucia slowly walked up to Shirahoshi, looked at the six-year-old girl who was taller than her, and said...

"Stop crying, come with me to see the young master, Lord Jigsheng."

No one knows what Otohime said to Shirahoshi, but upon hearing Lucia's words, Shirahoshi immediately sniffed hard and then nodded obediently, looking quite adorable.

Lucia glanced at Shirahoshi's pink fishtail and asked instinctively,

"Are you able to stay on land for extended periods of time?"

"Lady Lucia, I, I can do it."

"You don't need to call me sir. You're being fostered here, and there's no superior-subordinate relationship between us."

Bai Xing placed her hands on her lower abdomen and said somewhat reservedly,

"Then, can I call you Sister Lucia?"

A look of surprise crossed Lucia's face. She remembered that was how Giger had called her when they first met as children.

Recalling the scene of her first meeting with Giger, Lucia couldn't help but smile, a rare occurrence for her, and her tone when speaking to Shirahoshi became gentler.

She reached out and took Bai Xing's hand, speaking softly.

"Let's go."

......

In the year 1513 of the Kaiyuan calendar, at the Naval Headquarters...

Zephyr looked at Kizaru and Akainu in front of him, somewhat bewildered, and said,

"You want to come with me to sea to train trainees?"

Kizaru and Akainu both nodded seriously. Zephyr frowned, looked at Akainu, and asked,

"Sakazuki, Borsalino is one thing, but are you that free too?"

Upon hearing this, Kizaru curled his lip in disgust, and before Akainu could speak, he said...

"Hey, Professor Zeffa, Sakazuki and I are both Admirals now. Does he think he's busy while I'm not?"

Zephyr was still somewhat puzzled and wanted to be more cautious, but Akainu interrupted him, saying...

“Alright, Professor Zephyr, Borsalino and I have been free lately, so we thought we'd check out the abilities of this year's students. If we find any promising talents, we can arrange for them to join us after they graduate.”

Zefa nodded upon hearing this. This reason sounded much more reasonable. In every class he trained, there were always a few hot commodities who were noticed by generals even before graduation. After all, who wouldn't want to take on a capable subordinate?

Moreover, Kizaru and Akainu in front of him were among his most prized students since he became the head instructor. If there were any promising talents, he would definitely think of them first.

After a moment's thought, Zephyr said,

"There are three outstanding newcomers this year, two of whom are Devil Fruit users, both of them being Paramecia-type. You can keep an eye on them. Their names are Ain, Binz, and Shuzo."

Kizaru was more of a Zen-like person and wasn't particularly interested in such things, while Akainu silently memorized the three names.

Zephyr took out photos of the three people from the drawer and showed them to Kizaru and Akainu. He pointed to Binz's photo and said,

"He is Binz, a Paramecia-type Lush Fruit user. I'm already planning to assign him to Aramaki's team. Their two fruits complement each other well."

Then, Zephyr looked at Ain's photo and said with a hint of helplessness,

"This is Ain. Her Devil Fruit is related to time, and its development potential is the greatest. However, it might be difficult for you to recruit her as a subordinate."

Kizaru, who had been lost in thought, craned his neck curiously upon hearing this, gestured towards Ain's photo with his lip, and asked curiously,

"Oh? Professor Zephyr, this girl has high aspirations, doesn't she? She doesn't even look down on a Marine Admiral?"

Zefa shook his head and said,

"Ain has a good personality and doesn't look down on the Admirals. It's just that the Admiral she admires is Giger, and she wants to become Giger's subordinate."

Speaking of Gigg, Zephyr sighed softly and said,

"I wonder when this kid will wake up. His name is almost becoming a legend."

Kizaru spoke up,

“Professor Zephyr, Sakazuki and I visited Giger in Mary Geoise last month, and Vegapunk said he’s about to wake up.”

Before this, Kizaru and Akainu had already told Zephyr that Giggs was a Celestial Dragon. Zephyr was naturally shocked when he first heard it, and it took him quite a while to process this explosive news.

Zefa crossed his arms and said,

"Vegapunk always says this, but he never gives a specific time... I recently heard that the World Government is going to transfer the Air Admiral, so Sengoku will probably take over the position."

At this point, a hint of regret appeared on Zefa's face.

In his view, his student Giger could have become the youngest admiral in history, given Giger's military achievements and his terrifying background; this was a fact that was beyond doubt.

Akainu said in a deep voice,

“Teacher Zephyr, both the Air Marshal and Sengoku’s sense of justice are too conservative. I believe that if Gigg were here, those so-called sea emperors would have been eliminated long ago.”

Zefa naturally agreed with this, as his sense of justice had long leaned towards the hawks.

But since Sora was his former superior and Sengoku was his friend, he couldn't comment much and could only say...

"Alright, let's talk about these things after Giger wakes up. Now I have to take the trainees out to sea. You can come along if you want."

After saying that, Zephyr pushed open the door and went out, and Kizaru and Akainu followed without hesitation.

The three teachers and students arrived at the training ground, where the trainees had already lined up and were waiting.

Upon seeing Kizaru and Akainu, the trainees gasped in surprise, some of the quicker ones already saluting and shouting.

"General Akainu!"

"General Kizaru!"

Zefa raised his hand and pressed it down, saying,

"You don't need to be so reserved. These two were once students here just like you. They'll be coming with us on this sea voyage. Just treat them like your seniors. Alright, let's go!"

Chapter 256 Bring the ship closer! (Barbie Hsu version)

On a calm stretch of sea,

Zephyr was standing at the bow of the warship, giving instructions to the group of trainees. Ein, Binz, and Xiu Zuo, the three top students, stood at the front of the line, listening attentively.

Ayn stood between the two male students, Binz and Xiuzuo. She had dark blue curly hair, a pretty face, and gave off a well-behaved girl vibe.

Suddenly, she spoke up.

"Professor Zefa, could you tell us about the first time Senior Giger went to sea with you?"

Binz and Xiu Zuo, who were standing nearby, exchanged a glance upon hearing this. Binz whispered,

"Ain is here again. I remember Giger studied... uh, Teacher Zephyr has already mentioned the Black Dragon General's story more than once, hasn't he?"

Xiu Zuo nodded and responded in a low voice.

"Hey! Who doesn't know that Ain is a die-hard fan of the Black Dragon General? She wishes Teacher Zephyr would tell the Black Dragon General's deeds eight times a day!"

Zefa smiled slightly upon hearing this. He knew that he had mentioned this matter more than once, but the current situation was indeed suitable for bringing it up again.

He cleared his throat and began to vividly recount how Giggs and the others had supported Garp and fought against Whitebeard.

Ai Yin listened intently. Even though she had heard it several times before, her pretty face would still turn red and she would subconsciously clench her fists whenever she heard the key parts.

......

Admirals Kizaru and Akainu leaned against the mast at the back, chatting idly.

Kizaru glanced at Zephyr, who was talking over there, and sneered.

"The old man is still so talkative."

Akainu raised his hand to adjust the brim of his military cap, but didn't answer. Kizaru, however, continued speaking to himself.

"It's a bit boring. We're almost at the return voyage, and nothing particularly remarkable seems to have happened."

Akainu crossed his arms, raised his head, and said in a deep voice,

“Since Giger has entrusted this matter, he must have his reasons. We should just carry it out.”

"Hey, hey, hey! Sakazuki, what do you mean by that? I wasn't questioning Gig! I was just making a random comment out of boredom!"

"Yes, so focus on this. Things aren't over until this warship returns to Marineford."

"I know, I know~"

Kizaru straightened up, shrugged his shoulders, and looked much more serious.

Not far from the warship, a small boat was slowly approaching it.

Inside the cabin of the small boat stood two figures, one tall and one short.

The larger one was a giant, with a round upper body and a pair of disproportionately thin legs. There were stitches on its neck and forearms. It was extremely ugly and looked like an idiot.

Looking at the warships ahead, he, with snot running down his face, looked down at the short old woman beside him and asked,

"Mom, that looks like a navy warship!"