[A/N: Things are gonna slow down a bit to show Cain and others' progress with their powers and friendship.]
-
[Inside Zed's Office]
Zed sat at his desk, which was piled high with stacks of papers. Most were progress reports of some of his promising recruits, while others documented the duels and sparring matches of these trainees. He went through the papers one by one without taking a break, working steadily since morning.
Knock Knock Knock.
"Come in."
The door opened, and Zed's assistant, Lola, walked in. She saluted before reporting, "Instructor Zed, Recruit Cain is here as you requested."
"Hm, let him in."
"Yes, sir."
Lola turned and opened the door wider, signaling for Cain to enter. Zed looked up to see his most promising recruit.
"Thank you, Lola. You may leave, and do not disturb us until I'm finished speaking with Cain."
"Yes, sir." Lola gave a final salute and exited.
"So, why did you want to meet me, Instructor Zed?" Cain asked, his tone relaxed, with a casual smile on his face.
Zed sighed, rubbing his forehead. "I know you remember the protocols for saluting when addressing a superior officer."
Cain just shrugged, maintaining his casual smile.
"Anyway," Zed continued, "I called you here because, according to the reports I have, it seems the other instructors in charge of your training have nothing left to teach you." His voice held a hint of pride.
"Thank you, Instructor Zed."
"And how's your training with the Sea-stone going?" Zed asked, eyeing the bracelet on Cain's wrist.
Cain glanced at his wrist and replied, "The progress is slow, but as you can see, I can now handle a 30% purity level Sea-stone without feeling any weakness."
"Hm. That's actually fast progress. Borsalino and Sakazuki are still at 15%, so your advancement is impressive. The purer the Sea-stone, the harder it is to resist," Zed said, his voice carrying a note of amazement at Cain's rapid adaptation.
'Is his body special somehow? Only Garp has shown such adaptive characteristics before,' Zed thought to himself.
"Well, I do wear it all the time, even during fights. Borsalino and Sakazuki don't do that since they need to focus on training their Devil Fruit abilities," Cain said casually.
"And you don't need to?" Zed asked, already knowing the answer through his report.
"I train my abilities once a week. That's enough for now. As my overall stamina grows, my output increases too. In a way, I'm killing two birds with one stone," Cain said with a teasing grin, raising his wrist.
Zed couldn't help but chuckle softly at the pun. "Good to hear. Now, onto the main reason you're here. You've seen some of the assistant instructors move at superhuman speed and run on air, haven't you?"
Cain frowned slightly. During training, he had indeed noticed some instructors using techniques that allowed them to move with exceptional speed and fly. Though they didn't usually pose a threat to him due to his own speed and battle awareness, it had occasionally taken him by surprise.
"Yes, I have. I even asked around, but they just told me to wait until my body develops further."
"They said that under my orders. The technique you're referring to is a martial arts ability unique to the Marines, accessible only to those with a strong body and disciplined training. Most of your batch still needs time and muscle before we attempt it, although you and a few others are exceptions. For now, I'm going to teach it to you, to prepare you for using Haki in the future."
"I'm honored, Instructor Zed," Cain said, his genuine eagerness to learn something new showing on his face.
"Alright, then. Let's talk about Rokushiki, the Marine Martial Arts…"
-
It was a new day at the training ground. Every recruit stood in perfectly straight lines, hands behind their backs, facing Zed, who stood on a rocky stage. They listened attentively as he began to speak.
"Starting today, I'll be teaching you all about the Marine martial art known as Rokushiki," Zed announced. "I've already taught a few of you who reached the minimum physical requirements. The rest of you have also met those standards, albeit a bit late, so congratulations. Learning Rokushiki means you have the physical qualifications of a Marine Captain—at least."
"To begin, you should know that Rokushiki consists of six basic techniques: Geppo, Soru, Rankyaku, Shigan, Kami-e, and Tekkai," he continued. "You'll learn them one at a time, and only after mastering the basics will you be allowed to move on to the next, or perhaps develop your own fighting style using these techniques."
"Of course, it's possible to learn all six, but I don't recommend trying to master them all at once—at least not yet."
Zed paused and then said, "Now, I'll explain each technique while demonstrating, so watch and listen carefully."
"First is Geppo." With that, Zed jumped and kicked the air, suspending himself midair. "Geppo allows users to push off the air with superhumanly strong kicks, letting them stay airborne for an extended period. It essentially mimics flight."
"Next is Soru," he said, vanishing from one spot and appearing instantly in another. "Soru enables the user to move at incredible speeds, allowing them to dodge attacks or strikes that can be avoided. The key to this technique is kicking the ground at least ten times in the blink of an eye."
He then moved on to Rankyaku, swiftly kicking toward a nearby tree, creating a slicing projectile in midair. "Rankyaku is a powerful projectile technique. The user kicks at high speeds, generating a compressed blade of wind, known as Kamakaze, which can cut through objects and cause severe damage. Depending on the strength of the kick, it can even slice a building in half."
"For the fourth technique, Shigan," Zed demonstrated by using Soru to reach another tree in a second and pierced a hole through its trunk with his finger. "Shigan is a close-quarters combat technique in which the user stabs the target with their finger at high speed, leaving a wound similar to a bullet hole. It pairs well with Soru's speed and agility for rapid and precise strikes."
He then introduced Kami-e, where an assistant used Soru to approach Zed and attempted a Shigan attack. Zed dodged effortlessly. The assistant continued trying, but Zed evaded each strike with ease. "Kami-e allows the user to relax their body, taking on the characteristics of a piece of paper. This flexibility lets you avoid attacks and even float on the wind, bending and contorting your body."
"And the final technique is Tekkai." This time, the assistant attacked again, but Zed blocked it without taking any damage. "Tekkai hardens the user's muscles to the level of iron, allowing them to withstand attacks and nullify damage. It can also enhance one's own strikes. The strength of Tekkai varies based on the user's physical condition, with stronger muscles providing greater defense. Though the offside is that your can't move while in this state."
"There is one more technique more powerful than all six combined, but I'll only teach it to those who master these techniques as naturally as breathing. Classes will begin in an hour, so you're dismissed until then."
-
Cain had already learned the six techniques during his lessons with Zed. Although he didn't need Soru, Rankyaku, or Shigan since his lightning-based powers provided similar speed, slicing, and piercing abilities, Zed insisted he learn them. By the time these techniques were introduced to the camp, Cain had already mastered Soru, Shigan, Rankyaku, and Geppo, even enhancing them with his Devil Fruit powers.
While most recruits were just starting, he was four steps ahead. Though Cain wasn't the only one making progress, as Sakazuki, Issho, Momonga, Kasla, and a swordsman named T-Bone had begun training weeks earlier. Interestingly, Borsalino, who was ranked third, started with the main group.
To make the training more efficient, Zed divided the recruits into groups based on their fighting styles, focusing more on the top ten due to their promising potential. T-Bone, ranked sixth, was the only swordsman besides Issho, so they trained together in both swordsmanship and martial arts.
Initially, Sakazuki and Borsalino were paired for sparring, but they weren't compatible. Cain was added to balance their sparring sessions, which became more interesting and challenging. Cain's Devil Fruit gave him exceptional agility and destructive abilities, allowing him to counter Sakazuki's magma fist with his own electric fist. While he couldn't move at the speed of light like Borsalino, he could manipulate currents to react quickly, making Borsalino's attacks predictable.
As time went on, both Sakazuki and Borsalino rapidly improved. Sakazuki learned to combine Shigan and Soru with his Devil Fruit powers, becoming even more dangerous—though this would mostly affect normal people.
The goal wasn't to harm each other; it was to score points by landing hits during their spars.
Cain consistently led in points, with Borsalino close behind. Sakazuki struggled since his opponents were unnaturally fast, but they eventually developed a pattern. Whenever Cain pulled ahead, the other two would temporarily team up to close the gap, making their sparring more competitive.
To keep pace with them, Cain started developing his own variations of Shigan, Soru, and Rankyaku. He also progressed in Kami-e as Borsalino adapted and copied to Cain's "[Thor's Hammer]" attack and began using a sword made of light. Dodging both of them made Kami-e invaluable, but to surpass his limits, Cain had to take risks.
Occasionally, they would engage in mock battles against Zed, who easily overpowered them, forcing them to learn Tekkai. Despite his progress, Cain still felt unsatisfied with his performance.