It was night, cloudless, with a bright moon hanging high and stars twinkling.
On the deck of the dog-headed warship, a silver-haired young man in a naval uniform was facing the gentle sea breeze and constantly waving the Autumn Leaf Sword in his hand to practice basic swordsmanship.
He had persisted in swinging the sword thirteen thousand times a day for twenty-five days.
It was a very dull and monotonous process, but for him, the harvest was not bad.
On the tenth day, he grasped the flexible sword-holding technique, and on the twentieth day, he mastered how to swing the sword better.
Next, he wanted to make using the sword an instinct...
Crunch! Crunch! ...
Garp, wearing a white cloak symbolizing justice, walked out of the cabin with a pack of senbei in his hand, munching on the senbei in his mouth.
Behind him was his ever-present adjutant, Bogard.
"Aha ha ha! Sephiroth, you little guy is quite hardworking, isn't he?"
"Vice Admiral Garp, Lieutenant Commander Bogard."
Sephiroth stopped his movements, nodded to the two of them, and greeted them.
"Bogard, go and have a few rounds with him," Garp said with great interest.
Hearing this, Bogard raised his hand to adjust his cap, then slowly drew out the long sword in his left hand from its scabbard and assumed a starting stance towards the silver-haired young man.
Sephiroth didn't say a word. He also raised the Autumn Leaf Sword in his hand, with the tip of the sword pointing directly at the other person.
At this moment, the silver-haired young man felt like having a thorn in his back, as if he had been targeted by a ferocious beast ready to devour someone.
In his heart, he even had a hesitation about where to start.
Whoosh!
A flash of sword light.
He didn't move, but Bogard was the first to swing his sword and stab at him from an extremely tricky angle.
Sephiroth's eyes flashed red. He instantly activated Observation Haki and predicted the opponent's attack trajectory, then swung his sword to block it.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
...
Bogard's attacks became more and more fierce with each strike, but he remained calm and blocked them all with Observation Haki.
But...
On the contrary, he couldn't find any opportunity to counterattack.
Seeing this, Garp paused in the middle of eating his senbei and raised his eyebrows slightly.
The silver - haired young man's footwork was really messy. He was simply a novice in combat, yet every time he blocked an attack, he remained so calm... Observation Haki?
As an experienced master swordsman, Bogard also noticed the opponent's problem after several rounds of careful probing.
So, during the attack, he deliberately showed a not very obvious flaw.
The next moment.
As expected, the silver-haired young man, who finally found an opportunity to attack, immediately swung his sword without hesitation.
However...
Shave!
Bogard's figure suddenly flashed and disappeared from Sephiroth's sight.
When the young man still swung his sword down due to inertia, the opponent had already placed the back of his sword on his neck from behind.
Garp chomped on senbei (a type of Japanese rice cracker), making a "crunch crunch" sound and commented:
"Great talent, but lacks combat experience and skills."
"Bogart, I'll leave this kid to you for training."
After saying that, he casually turned around and walked into the cabin.
"When you're in a fight, you need to learn to judge when is the right time to attack and when the enemy is deliberately showing a flaw..."
"Although Observation Haki can make it easy for you to anticipate the enemy's attack moves, you have to know that Observation Haki can also be deceived...
The enemy can use fake moves and last - minute changes in moves to make your Observation Haki misjudge..."
As Bogart was explaining, he also demonstrated a few basic moves to help him understand.
...
"During a fight, unless there's a huge gap in strength between you and the opponent, making a probing attack is a very necessary move..."
Bogart didn't like to beat around the bush.
Therefore, what he said and the moves he showed were basically the key points of the skills, so Sephiroth listened very attentively.
Compared to the Boa sisters, who were talented in combat but didn't know how to teach others, Bogart had a very systematic way of guiding. It allows Sephiroth to achieve twice the result with half the effort in learning.
After the explanation, the silver - haired teenager sparred with Bogart a few more times before the latter turned around and left the deck, preparing to go back to the cabin to sleep.
Sephiroth finished the remaining sword - swinging moves before walking into the cabin. After taking a shower, he lay down on the bed in the cabin's dormitory and fell into a deep sleep.
...
The next day, at noon.
Guided by the permanent log - pose, the Dog - Head Battleship arrived at Navy G3 Branch.
This was an island of more than ten square kilometers. There were only naval base buildings on it and no ordinary civilian houses. Unless one used a permanent log - pose or a Vivre Card to navigate, it was impossible to find this island using a normal log - pose.
In this way, the concealment of the naval base was maximally guaranteed.
On the contrary, if pirates used a similar island as their base, it would be very difficult for the Navy to find their lair unless they accidentally discovered it during a patrol.
In this world, the reason why pirates were so rampant was not only that nearly ninety percent of the planet's surface was covered by the sea, but also because of the extremely chaotic magnetic field in the Grand Line.
In the Grand Line, once the enemy's ship is out of sight. If they use a permanent log - pose to sail towards an island while you don't know their final destination.
In this situation, therefore, continuing to chase would be like looking for a needle in a haystack, a complete waste of effort.
So, over time, many pirates either actively or passively entered the Grand Line, this safe haven. And Roger's last words before his death caused the number of pirates to skyrocket, increasing the influx of pirates into the Grand Line...
When the Dog - Head Battleship sailed into the base's port, lines of naval soldiers were already standing on the pier.
"Vice Admiral Garp, you've worked hard!"
Among the soldiers, a military officer with a moustache saluted respectfully towards Garp, who was walking down the gangway.
This time, Garp wasn't asleep or acting like an old joker. Instead, he said seriously with a straight face:
"There are over three hundred pirates and a Devil Fruit user detained on the warship. Take them off the ship and handle them properly.
Moreover... seven soldiers died in this battle. Go and make the arrangements."
"Yes! I guarantee to handle it properly."
Hearing this, the moustache officer also replied seriously.
After Garp left, recruits like Sephiroth were gathered on the dock, waiting to be assigned.
Apart from them, there were also recruits who had enlisted from other islands, gradually disembarking from different warships.
After waiting for over half an hour, a young man in his early twenties, wearing the standard naval uniform, stood in front of Sephiroth and the others.
He had two inverted moustaches on his face, two scars on the left side of his forehead, and one scar around his left eye socket.
"I'm Corporal Kong Ming. From now on, I'll be your squad leader for the new recruits." The scar - faced man said seriously.
Sephiroth: "..."
Could this guy be the Vice - Admiral of the Navy Headquarters who will almost wipe out the Straw Hat Pirates with his strategies in the future...?