"Hey! Has anyone seen Luffy?!"
The Junior Class members charged across the battlefield.
As the Angel Alliance's top-priority project for the next generation, the Junior Class surpassed even the former SWORD forces in status.
Their unconventional nature made them difficult to manage
Michael allowed them to roam the battlefield, assigning no specific combat zones or missions.
This was where the Junior Class thrived.
They excelled at independent action and struggled to coordinate with others.
Take Luffy, for example: his fighting style was impossible for anyone outside the Junior Class to adapt to.
And now...
That idiot Luffy had wandered off to who-knows-where!
Heaven have mercy!
Even the directionally-challenged Mosshead hadn't left the group!
"Seriously? Is your Observation Haki just for show?" Monet, now a swirling blizzard, materialized mid-air.
"You're letting that idiot run wild on his own?!"
"Monet... even if our Observation Haki could cover this vast battlefield, the sheer number of people makes finding him impossible!" Sugar sighed, nestled in Monet's arms.
"But do we need to be so worried? He's Luffy, after all... Among the Junior Class, apart from Ace, is there anyone who can hold him back? And even Ace is likely to be surpassed by Luffy soon enough."
"Ahahaha, Sugar, your impression of Luffy remains as favorable as ever," Sabo chuckled, carrying his signature pipe as he used Moonwalk beside them.
"But you two only ever talk about Ace and Luffy... It makes me a little sad, you know? I'm their brother too, after all."
"Pah! You playboy!" Monet retorted, her cheeks flushing. "You're the last person who should be talking, with over three hundred girlfriends in a single year!"
"Wait... how has this rumor gotten out of hand?" Ace kicked the Celestial Dragon before him to the ground, drawing his sword to finish him off.
"If Sabo could find a girlfriend, why would he keep hitting on people every day?"
"Could it be that Sabo's flirting is what started these ridiculous rumors?" Law mused, observing the battlefield.
"With those rumors spreading, every girl sees Sabo as a playboy and stays away. The more he tries to find a girlfriend, the harder it becomes. Isn't that ironic?"
He kicked a stone beneath his feet, swapping places with a girl in the distance using Shambles.
"Lami, you wandered off from the group again..."
"Ah! Big bro, why did you pull me back?!" Lami protested, gripping a long sword that resembled Law's Kikoku.
"How could I have wandered off? I was right behind Zoro the whole time!"
"Lami..." Kuina and Tashigi flanked a Celestial Dragon, their swords piercing his throat and heart from opposite directions.
"The moment you started following Zoro, you lost your way."
"Yeah, why follow him of all people? The guy's a walking compass error."
Even the two women who had grown up with Zoro struggled to comprehend the inner workings of that moss-headed, directionally challenged man's brain.
Back at the Marine Headquarters' Junior Class base, he could get lost walking from his dorm to the training grounds—a single turn was all it took!
"Haven't you guys gotten used to it by now?" Sanji shrugged, clad in his signature Stealth Black Raid Suit.
"Green-haired guys tend to have a few screws loose anyway."
Yonji, Monet, and Sugar: "Hey! What's your problem with green hair?!"
"You..." Reiju sighed, patting Sanji's shoulder. "There were plenty of green-haired kids in the Junior Class... You'd better watch yourself, my foolish little brother."
"Hey! Is this the time to be arguing about hair?!" Nojiko perched high in a tree, her sniper rifle scanning the surroundings.
Every few moments, she fired, claiming another life.
"Where's Nami?! I swear I just saw her a minute ago!"
"Sigh... this team is getting harder to manage," Reiju murmured.
...
"Hey! Luffy, you idiot! Slow down!" Nami clung to Luffy's back, her hair whipping in the wind like a madwoman's as he sprinted forward.
"My image! It's ruined!"
"Hey, Nami, this is a battlefield, you know... Does image matter right now?" Luffy twisted his neck 180 degrees, using the Rubber Fruit's flexibility to look at Nami behind him.
"But are you sure your plan will work? If I go this way, will we really run into the strongest fighters?"
"Are you asking me that?" Nami rolled her eyes. "Isn't it obvious? The Angel Alliance's siege is closing in from the outside, so the World Government's elite forces must be guarding the inner core!"
"Oh, right. That makes sense." Luffy nodded.
He might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but he knew Nami was brilliant, and he trusted his friends.
He followed her instructions without question.
"But first, let me make this clear... We can fight, but no reckless battles! If the risk is too high, our top priority is escape!"
"Huh? Why?! A fight's a fight! I refuse to be a coward who flees in the face of battle!"
"Idiot! We've infiltrated the World Government's headquarters—Pangaea Castle!" Nami punched Luffy on the head, leaving a visible lump.
"Ow! So when did you learn that move from my grandpa...?"
"Learn it? You just watch and pick it up!" Nami scoffed. "Conqueror's Haki or whatever..."
"That doesn't change the fact that you're still a weakling..."
"I can beat you up! Idiot Luffy!"
At that moment, the two of them were hiding in a massive flower bed, suppressing their auras.
Pangaea Castle had descended into chaos.
Officials affiliated with the World Government scurried about in a panic, desperate to hide.
They feared that if the castle fell, they would be hung on the walls and left to bake under the sun for one hundred eighty days, roasted to a crisp, their flesh dried and salted for a grotesque feast.
They're not a disorganized mob...
More like useless.
But then...
A red-haired man appeared.
With a swift motion, his blade flashed, decapitating several fleeing officials.
"I am Figarland Shamrock of the God Knights!" he roared. "Everyone... get back to your posts!"
"Any disruption of morale will be met with death!"