One piece: Dark Smoker

Zephyr looked at the cadets, who were scattered all over the floor.

"Get up! What's with all this whining just from a few minor injuries? Line up!!"

The cadets shot him resentful glares, but no one dared to argue.

One by one, they quickly got up and formed a neat line, despite their aching bodies.

Smoker noticed that the spot at the front had been left open and immediately understood. Without hesitation, he walked up and took his place.

Once everyone was in position, Zephyr issued a new command.

"Everyone, take off your shoes and socks!!"

"??!!"

The cadets were confused but obediently took off their shoes and socks, tossing them aside to stand barefoot on the cold, metal floor.

The air quickly became thick with an unpleasant smell.

A few of the female cadets almost gagged…

Zephyr, however, seemed oblivious to it.

"Do you know who this special training room was built for?" he asked, grinning maliciously.

"… It's for you, the Devil Fruit users!"

With that, he smiled slyly and pressed a button on the remote he pulled from his pocket.

Suddenly, the floor beneath them shifted, and silver-white protrusions emerged everywhere.

The cadets immediately felt their bodies weaken, with some stumbling and falling to the ground.

Smoker's face changed. That familiar feeling... It was Sea-Prism Stones, no doubt!

As expected, Zephyr grinned and continued, "This is the masterpiece of the Navy's science division!"

"The entire training room is embedded with Sea-Prism Stones, and even better, the purity can be adjusted…"

"Right now, the purity is set to 8%. In 30 seconds, you'll start running laps. Anyone who can't get up, can go home!!"

Zephyr then walked up to Smoker and Hina, narrowing his eyes and staring at them with a half-smile.

Smoker and Hina closed their eyes in pain, realizing there was no escaping it.

They gritted their teeth, pulled out their Sea-Prism Stone necklaces, and put them on, instantly feeling the weight of their powers draining away.

"Alright, little brats, start running! Don't stop until I say so. Even if you pass out, you'd better keep running!"

"Understood!"

The cadets groaned, but they forced their legs to move, beginning to run.

Under the influence of the Sea-Prism Stones, even these elite cadets were struggling to keep up, moving slower than rookie recruits.

Zephyr stepped aside, leisurely smoking his cigar while watching them.

Whenever someone slowed down, he'd pull out a gun and fire a shot at their behinds, forcing them to speed up with a yelp.

The older generation of powerful Marines weren't as interested in Devil Fruits—they trusted in the strength of their own bodies.

Karp and Zephyr didn't consume Devil Fruits, and Sengoku ate a Zoan-type Fruit to enhance his physique. Even though Tsuru ate a Fruit, it wasn't for physical strength.

Back then, Marine veterans were often named after their physical prowess.

But things had changed by the next generation.

The younger Marines were enamored with Devil Fruits, hoping for a powerful fruit that would help them rise to the top, neglecting their physical training and Haki mastery.

Especially with the three little monsters, whose powers from the Magma, Flash, and Ice Fruits made them nearly as strong as the older generation.

This made the younger Marines envious, but they only saw the flashy Fruits, ignoring the strong bodies and Haki the little monsters possessed.

The older generation was displeased by this and decided to invest a lot of resources into building this training room to force the Devil Fruit users to build their physical strength.

"Hang in there, kids! This training will benefit you for a lifetime…" Zephyr mused, puffing on his cigar.

Meanwhile, the cadets had no choice but to keep running. Without any orders to stop, they were forced to keep going.

One lap, two laps... five laps... ten laps... thirty laps...

Eventually, someone couldn't take it anymore and collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Zephyr raised his hand, and the medical team quickly entered, expertly carrying the cadet away on a stretcher.

One by one, more and more cadets fell out of the training, their strength exhausted.

Smoker was no exception. Despite wearing Sea-Prism Stones with a higher purity, he was weaker than the others. His only advantage was his hardened willpower.

His mind was blank, and each breath felt like fire in his chest. His legs were heavy, moving mechanically as though they weren't his own.

After what seemed like an eternity, Smoker finally couldn't keep going. He collapsed onto the ground. In his fading consciousness, he saw that no one else was standing in the training field.

By now, Zephyr had a pile of cigarette butts at his feet.

From that point on, the cadets were trapped in a hellish cycle.

During the day, they were tortured by their instructors, and at night, they were pushed through brutal special training.

Some of the regular cadets, lucky enough to obtain Devil Fruits during missions, were persuaded into joining, only to be dragged into the hellish training.

A few Devil Fruit users sacrificed themselves during missions at sea, and others couldn't handle the extreme training and eventually left.

Still, the training camp kept a group of about twenty cadets, and Smoker's position as the top cadet remained unshaken.

One evening after training, Smoker and Hina invited Zephyr for a late-night meal.

Zephyr, a man of few words, didn't usually socialize, but for some reason, he enjoyed going out with Smoker.

Maybe it was because he genuinely liked the two of them, or perhaps because if his son were alive, he'd be about Smoker's age now…

Zephyr drank a bottle of liquor, visibly tipsy.

"You two are too obsessed with the Six Powers. When you fight, you look like fools! What's the point?!"

Smoker and Hina were both confused.

What was wrong with the Six Powers?

At 13, Luffy had mastered the Six Powers and was called a genius by CP9. So why were they being called fools for it?

Zephyr opened another bottle of liquor.

"The Six Powers are training techniques. They're like push-ups and squats, designed to improve strength, speed, endurance, evasion, and even recovery. They're not meant to be used as combat techniques!"

"Shave—why bother kicking the ground dozens of times when you could just take a step?"

"Finger Gun—why use your finger when you could use your fist? Are you training just one finger?"

"Iron Block, don't get me started. It's a technique to help you feel your inner strength, helping with the mastery of Armament Haki, not for standing there taking hits!"

"Paper Drawing, Moonwalk, and Storm Legs are useful, but only as support techniques. The only one that really matters is Life Return…"

Smoker was still confused. "But what about the World Government's agents...?"

Suddenly, Zephyr's grip tightened, and Smoker fell silent when he saw Zephyr's half-smile. His mind raced with thoughts… So, the World Government's training methods had gone off course.

The higher-ups in the Navy knew this but turned a blind eye…

The Navy wasn't blindly obeying the World Government. They were holding back at every turn…

Smoker lowered his voice.

"Zephyr-sensei… What exactly is the relationship between the World Government and the Navy?"

Zephyr's eyes grew cold. "The relationship… Hmph, heh…"

He swirled the liquor in his hand and downed it in one go.

"It's time to go. Thanks for the hospitality…"

"Everything I said tonight was just the ramblings of a drunk man. Don't take it seriously."

"When the time comes, you'll know what you need to know."