Chapter 28: Incorrect Numerical Values
Alvis's words left a deep impression on the class.
Almost everyone here had some connection to the Marines. Most were the children of Marine officers, while a few were survivors rescued from villages ravaged by pirates. They had grown up hearing stories of justice, of duty, of the sea being stained by blood and greed. For them, becoming a Marine was not just a career path. It was a point of pride.
And after watching that recording, the feeling only deepened.
They wanted to uphold justice.
They wanted to crush the pirates who brought horror to innocent people.
They wanted to become strong enough that no one would ever have to suffer like that village again.
Seeing the effect his lesson had on them, Alvis gave a slight nod of approval and stepped out of the classroom, leaving the students a short time to think on their own.
Not long after, he returned.
The moment he entered, he said only one thing.
"Special training begins now."
A miserable groan immediately rose from one of the students.
"Eh...?"
The voice carried obvious fear.
Alvis did not even spare him a glance. He simply turned and strode toward the door. The message was clear.
Complain if you want.
You are still coming.
As the class got up and shuffled after him, Axel took the chance to lightly tap Ain's shoulder.
"What exactly is special training?"
Ain turned around. After confirming it was him, she lowered her voice and explained, "It is a separate course arranged by Alvis sensei himself. Normally, it only happens once a week. This is already the second time this week, so everyone was shocked."
Axel nodded. "And what do we actually do?"
Ain's face turned a little pale.
Her answer came out in a faint mutter.
"It is better if you do not know in advance. You will understand soon enough."
The training ground was relatively empty.
Other classes were still in session, so only their group had come outside. The wide field, the running track, and the training equipment all seemed unusually quiet beneath the afternoon light.
Then the training started.
And Axel immediately realized that Ain had exaggerated.
Or rather, for him, it was not frightening at all.
Special training was simply high intensity physical exercise designed to push the body to its limits and force out latent potential. The likely reason it was only done once a week was because the students were still children. Their bodies had not fully matured, and doing that kind of training too often could cause lasting damage.
Not everyone was like Luffy.
Garp could throw Luffy into absurd death defying situations because the boy's rubber body was ridiculously durable. Most normal children would simply break.
Still, the training itself was brutal enough.
It did not faze Axel.
Using vector manipulation, he could lighten the burden on his body and adjust the force around himself. He could run with much less effort than everyone else, which meant that while the others gradually wore down, he barely consumed any stamina at all.
After about an hour, several students were already sprawled on the ground gasping for breath.
Only two people still looked relatively composed.
Axel was one of them.
The other was Binz.
Binz's situation was easier to understand. Every time he ran, small saplings and wooden growths sprang from the ground beneath his feet, helping propel him forward and making his movements lighter and more efficient. On top of that, the power of the Grow Grow Fruit had already accelerated his physical growth. Though he was still technically a child, he looked closer to an adolescent than anyone else in class.
That, combined with his strange appearance, naturally made the other students keep their distance from him.
As for Axel, his easy performance puzzled everyone even more.
Ain, panting heavily, struggled her way over until she was running beside him.
Her breathing was uneven, and her face was flushed from exhaustion.
Then, between breaths, she asked, "What you said yesterday... about being told to drop out... that was a lie, right?"
Axel glanced at her.
He understood immediately why she was asking.
From her perspective, his endurance alone proved that he was far above ordinary students. Someone who could keep up with this level of training without even changing expression could not possibly be lacking in talent.
So she had come to a very simple conclusion.
He must have lied.
Axel answered plainly, "I was not lying. Alvis sensei really did tell me to leave."
Ain's expression became complicated.
She stared at him for several seconds as though trying to see through him.
After all, what she saw with her own eyes contradicted that answer completely.
"You..." She hesitated, then let out a helpless breath. "You really are strange."
Axel said nothing.
His stamina here was, in truth, a kind of false stamina. He was not enduring the way the others were. His ability simply allowed him to reduce the burden to a ridiculous extent. In pure physical terms, he was still far behind what his performance suggested.
Ain, of course, had no way of knowing that.
Nor did the others.
Many of the students who were still struggling to hold on could not help glancing at Axel as they ran, their expressions a mixture of confusion, disbelief, and unwilling admiration.
Binz did not surprise them much.
He had eaten a Devil Fruit and looked older and stronger already.
But Axel?
He looked smaller. Lighter. More delicate.
And yet he ran as though the training meant nothing at all.
At the edge of the field, Alvis observed everything in silence.
He had been recording each student's performance while also quietly watching Axel the entire time.
Eventually, he reached into his coat and pulled out Axel's enrollment record again.
His eyes settled on the number written there.
Doriki: 0.
A faint, humorless laugh escaped him.
When no one was looking, he crumpled the sheet into a tight ball and shoved it into his pocket.
Zero?
What kind of joke was that?
Even if he were blind, he could see now that the number was wrong.
Have you ever seen someone with zero Doriki endure training close to the level of an ordinary Marine recruit without even showing visible strain?
Impossible.
There was obviously something unusual about this child.
Alvis narrowed his eyes.
Not weak at all... interesting.
When the students finished the final lap, he finally called for them to stop and assemble.
Even then, because they were exhausted children rather than disciplined adults, the formation came together slowly and unevenly. Some staggered over. Some dragged their feet. Some looked like they would collapse if they stood still for too long.
Alvis did not particularly care whether they respected him or feared him.
Fear was enough.
Respect could come later, or not at all.
As long as they grew strong enough to uphold justice, he did not mind being hated.
Once everyone had lined up, Alvis spoke without mercy.
"Your performance today was poor."
Several children lowered their heads immediately.
"The speed of your assembly was far below my expectations."
His gaze swept across the line.
"With this level of performance, I would rather you never become Marines at all. You would only embarrass your parents."
That sentence hit hard.
Most of the children here admired their parents deeply. To be told they would bring shame to them was far harsher than a simple insult.
Heads dropped all across the line.
Only after seeing the desired reaction did Alvis shift his gaze.
This time, he looked straight at Axel.
"Among all of you," he said, "there is one person whose recorded Doriki is zero."
A stir ran through the students.
Zero?
That made no sense.
Several children instinctively looked around in confusion. A few glanced toward Axel, but quickly dismissed the idea. After all, they had just watched him move through the training with ease. Someone like that could not possibly have a Doriki of zero.
Then Alvis shattered that assumption.
"That student is Axel."
The training ground fell silent.
Alvis's voice remained cold and steady.
"He was able to enter this elite class only because he is Vice Admiral Garp's grandson."
This time, the reaction was entirely different.
The children's eyes changed as they turned to look at Axel.
Shock.
Curiosity.
Disbelief.
And something close to awe.
Garp.
Among Marines, that name was almost sacred.
The Hero of the Marines.
The man who had cornered the Pirate King.
For many of these children, he was not just famous. He was someone they had heard about in reverent tones since they were old enough to understand what justice meant.
And now Alvis had casually revealed that the white haired new student standing among them was his grandson.
Axel slowly raised his head.
His crimson eyes fixed on Alvis, sharp and unreadable.
He did not understand why Alvis had chosen to throw him so directly into the center of attention.
.....
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