"For the past year, you have all undergone rigorous training, and those of you who remain are the best among everyone," Zephyr began.
"But don't let that make you complacent, because no matter how good your test scores are, they're just theoretical."
"Today is your first class, and we won't be doing anything fancy. To better understand you and let you know what real combat is, I've decided to have two of you with real combat experience spar against each other."
Hearing Zephyr's words, Wood, standing at the back of the group, immediately felt a sense of foreboding. He quickly lowered his head, trying to blend in and reduce his presence.
However, Zephyr's sharp eyes swept over the group and finally landed on Wood, who was trying to stay as inconspicuous as possible.
"Wood, you're up. As for your opponent..."
Although most of the people here were considered elite students at the Navy academy and had experience in fights and brawls, very few of them had real life-and-death combat experience.
When Zephyr called out Wood's name, many of the students showed competitive looks.
Even though they had been classmates for a year and might not have interacted much, some of them still recognized Wood.
However, in their memories, Wood had always been a pretty average student, a typical background character. Could someone like him really have experienced real combat?
It wasn't just the students that Zephyr had initially brought to the academy on those two ships. Even those who had arrived at the Navy headquarters on the same ship as Wood believed, after witnessing his lackluster performance over the past year, that the pirates on Maple Leaf Island must have been killed by Zephyr himself.
"Report! Instructor Zephyr, I have also personally slain some pirates before joining the Navy academy, so I have some real combat experience as well.
I would be very willing to be Wood's opponent and demonstrate to the others what true combat looks like!"
After selecting Wood, Zephyr was initially troubled about how to choose his sparring partner.
After all, today was the first time he had met this batch of students. Aside from Wood, who had left a strong impression on him, he wasn't very familiar with the others.
Zephyr had been considering either stepping in himself or finding another Navy officer to spar with Wood. However, to his surprise, Gion suddenly stepped forward from the group and volunteered to be Wood's sparring partner.
"So it's you, Gion. Indeed, if it's you, your strength should be comparable to Wood's," Zephyr commented. "Alright then, Wood and Gion, step forward. You'll start a real combat sparring session now. You can choose your weapons and fighting style, as long as you fully display your abilities."
Gion, who had received Zephyr's permission, appeared visibly excited. She entered the training field and looked at Wood with eyes full of fighting spirit.
"I told you before that we'd soon have a chance to face off. Now that Instructor Zephyr has specifically asked us to spar, are you really going to refuse?"
Gion positioned the white-handled, red-sheathed sword "Kinpira" in front of her, exuding the sharp aura unique to a swordsman.
"I surrender! I'm just a bottom-tier student. Why would the top student want to spar with me? And besides, Gion, your 'Kinpira' is a famous sword known as the Sea Guardian. I don't even have a decent weapon. This match is too unfair."
While the others thought Wood would be stirred by the attention from Zephyr and Gion, and eagerly accept the challenge—after all, even losing would make Zephyr and Gion remember him—Wood, to everyone's surprise, surrendered before the fight even began!
Turning down a sparring invitation from a beautiful swordsman before even throwing a punch—could this guy even be called a man?
Upon hearing Wood's words, Gion looked surprised. "As a swordsman, you don't even have your own sword?"
Wood wasn't just a swordsman; at the very least, his swordsmanship was quite advanced. Gion was certain she wasn't mistaken.
But what shocked her was that someone like Wood, who could make her feel threatened as a swordsman, didn't even have his own sword!
"Of course not! Do you think famous swords are as common as cabbages? Not to mention the legendary Supreme Grade Swords, even the Great Grade Swords and Skillful Grade Swords are rare on the sea, and their value isn't far behind that of Devil Fruits."
After becoming a swordsman, Wood had naturally tried to get his hands on a decent sword.
He even explored the markets during breaks to understand the situation, only to find that famous swords were incredibly scarce. Even if they were available, they were far beyond his financial means.
Wood didn't have a sword of his own, and using "Kinpira" would definitely give Gion an unfair advantage. After a moment of hesitation, Gion planted "Kinpira" into the ground beside her and assumed a martial arts stance.
Though Gion was a swordsman, and she could sense that Wood had formidable swordsmanship, she still wanted to test her skills against him.
But if the conditions weren't equal, even defeating Wood wouldn't bring her much satisfaction—it would feel like an empty victory.
"Ridiculous! As a proud member of the Navy, if you were facing an enemy, would you choose to run away without a fight?
If you think the conditions are unfair, then I'll lend you a famous sword.
But if you come up with another excuse to surrender, I'll show you just how serious the consequences of disrespecting the Navy are!"
Zephyr was deeply devoted to the Navy, and that was why he continued to pursue justice in his own way, even after losing his family.
Wood had been one of the students Zephyr had high hopes for, and he wanted Wood to become one of the Navy's finest. But Wood's recent behavior had left him somewhat disappointed.
The Navy was the strongest force on the sea and controlled most of the sea's resources.
In the Navy headquarters' storage, there were indeed precious items like Devil Fruits and famous swords.
With Zephyr's rank as an Admiral, it wasn't difficult for him to requisition a famous sword.
So, after Zephyr made the request, it only took about half an hour before two Navy soldiers delivered a long sword with a blue hilt and scabbard, and a cherry blossom-shaped guard to Zephyr.