One Piece: New Century Hextech Warriors

Sith strode forward, and the marines guarding the shore couldn't help but take a step back, their eyes wide as if they had seen a ghost.

He single-handedly dived into the sea and destroyed a mechanical octopus—and he's only 20?!

"Commander Zephyr! Admiral Kizaru!"

Sith approached the two men and bowed.

"What a terrifying guy! Who knows, he might become a general someday!"

Kizaru stroked his chin and sighed softly.

Zefa let out a soft breath, suppressing his inner excitement, and asked:

"Uriel Sith, how did you do that?"

His face was ashen, but his heart was pounding in his throat.

how many years.

I haven't encountered such a "monster" in years!

Although that mechanical octopus is still just an experiment, it is still a terrifying weapon. Even a lieutenant general from headquarters wouldn't be confident of dealing with it one-on-one.

As it turned out, the kid was done in just over ten minutes after jumping down!

Zefa thought about it and realized that none of his students, including the three generals, had such strength when they were 20 years old.

No, even he and those old guys like Sengoku and Garp were playing in the mud when they were 20!

Zefa tried his best not to appear too excited, for fear that Sith would get carried away.

However, Sith showed no arrogance befitting a powerful person of his age; instead, he spoke calmly:

"Commander Zefa, it was all luck. I'm a good swimmer and a little stronger, so after falling into the water, I swam to the mechanical octopus, intending to use my self-created Ripple Fist to blind it. I didn't expect to accidentally blow it up."

"It's just good luck."

He gave the reason he had already thought of.

It's a bit outrageous, but not unimaginable.

After all, even a small sea monster could bite off the Pirate Emperor's arm, so it's quite reasonable for him to accidentally destroy a mechanical sea monster!

Anyway, he transformed into a giant in the deep sea, so no one would notice.

As for the Ripple Fist, although he used it on Dio when he robbed the Celestial Gold, now that Dio is gone, no one would associate it with the Revolutionary Army's "Clown".

Ultimately, it's because the "Newcomer Joining" feature is just too useful.

Zephyr didn't say anything, which was considered an acceptance of Sith's reasoning.

He suspected that Sith must have some special bloodline, not only possessing superhuman strength, but also appearing to have grown a bit larger after climbing out of the sea.

Is it because of giant blood?

However, Zephyr didn't care about that; he only cared about strength.

At this moment, Zephyr's admiration for Sith reached its peak.

Not only does he possess such strength at such a young age, but he is also very calm and humble, showing the qualities of a great general!

He couldn't help but glance at Borsalino, his eyes filled with a "look at him, and then look at you" expression.

Borsalino was peeling another banana with his head down, pretending not to see it.

Meanwhile, the other test participants also came ashore one after another. Sith glanced at them and found that only a dozen or so people had passed in the end.

Their eyes were filled with awe and shame as they looked at Sith. They had previously thought Sith was a relative, but now they realized that was not the case.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Zefa said loudly:

"Congratulations on passing the test and officially entering the Navy Elite Class!"

"As for the Sith—"

As he spoke, he looked at the boy in front of him, a rare, bright smile appearing on his face.

"As an instructor for the elite class, I don't have much to teach you."

"You've already graduated!"

Graduated immediately after being selected – the fastest graduate in the history of the elite class!

But no one exclaimed in surprise; from Kizaru to Smoker, everyone acted as if it were perfectly normal.

They all have the strength to rival a lieutenant general in headquarters, so what's the point of teaching them?

Before Sith could speak, Zephyr continued:

"Although from the perspective of an elite class instructor, I don't have much to teach you."

"But from a teacher's perspective, I still have a lot to teach!"

These words finally surprised everyone, and even Kizaru glanced at Sith with a sidelong look.

This means that Zephyr wants to take the Sith as his disciple!

They all knew that although Zefa offered elite classes to teach students every year, these were only short-term students. After a month of elite training, they would go their separate ways and it wouldn't have much to do with Zefa.

But the disciples are different.

Since Zephyr became an instructor, only three people have been qualified to be called his "disciples": Akainu, Aokiji, and Kizaru.

Sith was also somewhat surprised, not expecting the old man to admire him so much.

At this point in time, Ain and Binz haven't become Zephyr's students yet. In other words, he is the first person chosen by Zephyr after the three admirals.

"Commander Zepha, it would be my honor if you could be my teacher."

Sith spoke slowly.

Just as Zephyr was about to reach out his hand to him, Sith suddenly changed the subject:

"But I refuse!"

Borsalino couldn't help but remind him:

"Hey, kid, do you know what you're saying?"

Smoker couldn't help but shout:

"Are you an idiot?!"

Zephyr, however, did not appear angry and calmly asked:

Why?

Why? Of course, it's because it's preventing me from making money.

Sith thought this, but of course didn't admit it aloud.

He looked at the word "Navy" on the wall of headquarters in the distance and slowly said:

"Commander Zephyr, to be honest, Vice Admiral Garp also invited me to his ship before, but I declined, for the same reason as now."

"Being by a hero's side is certainly a great honor, but it also means I'll lose the opportunity to fight pirates everywhere!"

Whether he stays with Zeff or Garp, he will lose a lot of freedom and therefore no opportunity to make money.

Smoker shook his head and chuckled:

"Ha, this kid!"

Sith had rejected him for a similar reason before, and he thought it was because Sith had high ambitions and looked down on him, a colonel. He never expected that even Garp and Zephyr had been rejected.

Although he was somewhat annoyed by Sith, he simply couldn't hate this stubborn guy!

Zephyr raised an eyebrow and continued to ask:

"So, you probably don't want to be a branch chief either?"

Sith answered without hesitation:

"Yes."

Most students graduating from the elite class will be appointed as officers of a branch in the Grand Line. Although this is the fastest path to promotion, it also means that they will be bound to the branch base.

Sith's reply was tantamount to both rejecting Zephyr's invitation and refusing to accept the elite class assignment.

Zephyr didn't say anything more, just silently watched him. Kizaru and Smoker were secretly worried for Sith, afraid that Zephyr would get angry and beat him up.

"Hahahahaha!"

Zefa suddenly burst into deafening laughter, leaving everyone stunned.

He stretched out his huge hand and pressed it firmly on Sith's shoulder, no longer hiding his admiration.

"Uriel Sith, I've checked your parents' records. They were in the hunting force and died in the line of duty while fighting against underground slave traders."

"You don't want to be a branch chief, because you want to follow in their footsteps, right?"

Upon hearing his parents' voices, Sith's eyes softened considerably.

"Yes...that's right."

He wanted to act freely, partly to make money, and partly due to his parents' influence.

The navy has many subordinate agencies, but they can be broadly divided into two categories: naval branches and hunting units.

A naval branch is responsible for maintaining peace in a certain sea area. It is easy to establish relations with neighboring kingdoms, and the danger is not high. Any sane navy officer would want to become a branch officer.

The hunting squad has a tough job, as they have to act as firefighters in various sea areas. It's extremely dangerous, and there's not much money to be made. Only a few brave sailors choose to join, and Tina, who recently went to the North Sea, is one of them.

However, joining the hunting party was a better fit for Sith.

Naval branches can only profit from the surrounding areas, but guerrilla navies have the opportunity to profit from the whole world!

Moreover, if you want to stand at the top of this ocean, staying in the branch and working behind closed doors won't work; the future Smoker will be a prime example.

That guy possessed the powerful Smoke-Smoke Fruit, yet he wasted many years in Loguetown and remained only a colonel with mediocre strength. It wasn't until he went to the Grand Line to chase after King Luffy that he became a vice admiral in just one or two years.

Zefa said understandingly:

"Alright then, you'll remain my disciple, but I'll recommend you to join the hunting force and give you your own warship."

"Come to Marineford and learn from me during your breaks from missions. I also have a lot of things to do myself, so I can't keep you by my side all the time and delay your fight against pirates."

"How is it?"

Borsalino clicked his tongue in amazement. He had known Zefa for so many years and had never seen Zefa persuade someone like this.

Zefa really wanted this student.

Strength is secondary; the most important thing is a righteous heart.

His family was killed by pirates while on vacation because there was no support from the Navy branch in the nearby waters, and by the time he arrived, it was too late.

If more people had the same heart as Sith, actively joined the hunting party, and fought pirates at any time, perhaps his family wouldn't have died!

Since Zefa had already said that, it would be impolite for Sith to refuse again.

"In that case, I'll leave it to Professor Zephyr!"

Borsalino clapped his hands.

"Keep it up, Sith! I'm really looking forward to you becoming a general soon!"

"Ah, it's definitely not because I want more people to help me with the workload or anything like that."

Sith glanced speechlessly at the guy who was rumored to be his second uncle, and thanked him as well.

Kizaru transformed into a golden light and went to find Vegapunk. Zephyr glanced at the resting students and revealed a cruel smile.

"Rest time over, training begins immediately!"