Chapter 26 — Tempering
When the news broke—the Navy's Chief Instructor ambushed, and all but two of his elite recruits lost to the sea—the already-turbulent world erupted into chaos.
Who could've dared such a thing?
Who would be so bold—no, so insane—as to attack the Chief Instructor of Marine Headquarters,
the man once known as the "Black Arm Admiral,"
and nearly wipe out an entire class of future Marines?
Was it one of the old monsters of the New World, sneaking back into the Grand Line?
Or perhaps… a terrifying new pirate had risen from the depths?
Some called it bravery.
Others called it idiocy.
After all, to challenge the Navy now, of all times—
when the seas were already in turmoil—wasn't that just begging for the world to burn faster?
Outside of those directly involved, no one knew the truth.
Speculation ran rampant.
Was it the work of a rookie?
Or one of the titans of the New World flexing their strength?
The newspapers didn't help much either.
They didn't print the whole story—just a single photograph:
the Marine Chief Instructor, kneeling on a shattered deck,
head lowered in anguish.
No names, no culprits.
Only one vague line beneath it:
"A mysterious ability user launches surprise attack on Marine Chief Instructor."
A deliberate choice, clearly.
Someone wanted to bury the truth—
or at least soften the blow.
Eiger chuckled under his breath.
"The World Government must've paid the World Economic News to throttle this one."
If they wanted to hide it completely, they could have.
But the paper's editor-in-chief was a man of… selective principles.
Sometimes he bent to power and profit;
other times, he just couldn't resist the allure of a juicy headline.
This time, it seemed he'd compromised—reporting just enough to stir the seas, but not enough to shake the world.
Elsewhere in the same paper, another article dominated the front page:
the final appointments of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
"Dracule Mihawk" and "Gecko Moria" had accepted the World Government's invitation,
officially completing the Shichibukai system.
The seven names now read:
Dracule "Hawk-Eye" Mihawk, Boa Hancock, Sir Crocodile, Jinbe, Gecko Moria, Donquixote Doflamingo, and Bartholomew Kuma—
each one a pirate whose name carried weight across the entire ocean.
The balance of power on the seas had shifted again.
The World Government had no choice now but to use pirates…
to keep other pirates in check.
---
Eiger folded the paper and exhaled slowly, relief softening his expression.
His name wasn't mentioned.
Neither was the 315th Marine Branch or the mission's success.
Whether it was because his power wasn't enough to make headlines,
or because someone had deliberately kept it quiet,
he didn't know—
but either way, it was a weight off his shoulders.
He knew his own limits better than anyone,
and staying out of the spotlight suited him just fine.
He reached for the worn book lying beside him—
the one Zephyr had given him before parting ways.
For days now, he had been studying it cover to cover,
and he couldn't help but marvel at how thorough it was.
It contained detailed training methods for both Rokushiki, the Navy's Six Powers,
and Armament Haki—
each section followed by Zephyr's personal insights, annotations, and reflections.
They weren't just technical notes;
they were lessons born from a lifetime of experience.
Each line peeled back another layer of understanding,
turning vague concepts into something tangible—something real.
Eiger couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
"No wonder this man trained half the legends of the Navy."
The later chapters covered more advanced topics—
brief notes on Observation Haki, Conqueror's Haki, and even Life Return.
While not as in-depth as the earlier sections,
they offered frameworks, theories, and Zephyr's own personal deductions.
And through them, Eiger began to see—
not just where his strengths lay,
but where his weaknesses hid.
For the first time, his path forward felt clear.
This wasn't just training anymore.
It was tempering.
He could feel it—
the quiet fire that comes before a storm.
The rewards from that last mission weren't just limited to Zephyr's training manual.
Colonel Enchi had also wired over Eiger's payment—a full 200 million Berries.
That included the 120 million bounty from Iron Fist's captain,
50 million from his first mate,
and another 30 million as Eiger's personal combat and escort bonus.
All added up, it came to two hundred million flat—
a full fifty million more than the colonel had originally promised.
When Enchi called to confirm the transfer, he couldn't stop swearing about it,
saying Eiger owed him a feast next time or he'd come collect personally.
In short—this mission had been absurdly profitable.
It couldn't have come at a better time.
Nico had mentioned earlier that, according to her original distillery blueprint,
the 60 million they had planned to use wouldn't be enough to cover construction costs.
Some parts of the project would need to be delayed.
Eiger had decided right there:
no delays.
He poured in another 100 million Berries of his own money,
declaring bluntly that there was no need to wait—
the distillery would be built all at once.
That announcement had the village in uproar.
The villagers cheered, and old Marlin, the village chief,
nearly cried tears of joy.
After all— this was more money than any of them had ever seen,
except on wanted posters.
Still, Eiger had made it clear:
not a single coin was to be wasted.
"Every Berry goes to construction.
Anyone who touches it for personal use—I pull my investment and you deal with me."
Marlin and the other village heads had beaten their chests and sworn oaths right then and there.
"Anyone who dares misuse it," they said, "we'll sink them in the sea and pretend they never existed!"
Their fierce faces almost made Eiger wonder if he'd gone too far with the warning.
Still, even this much money wasn't much in the grand scheme of building an island infrastructure.
But for the once-poor villagers, it was a miracle fortune.
After handing over the money to Nico,
Eiger spent the rest of the winter sinking into a steady rhythm—
sleep late, train hard, rest early.
He followed Zephyr's written instructions meticulously,
constantly refining both his body and his Armament Haki.
He focused the Haki onto his right hand—
then let it spread gradually,
from right to left,
from his arms to his legs,
until he could almost coat his whole body.
Then he'd condense it again,
compressing the Haki tighter, denser,
forcing it to harden like forged steel.
Day after day,
he tempered his Haki while tempering himself.
For now, he could only fully coat his hands—
but progress was steady, and he could feel himself evolving.
He trained under the blazing sun until exhaustion took him,
and when the sun fell,
he'd shift into quiet concentration and internal control—
sensing, refining, learning.
He could feel his limits being pushed back, bit by bit.
Days slipped by.
Winter melted away.
And soon, spring came again to the Sibia Archipelago.
---
One morning, Eiger came down from the back mountain after another intense training session.
The snow was gone,
the air carried warmth once more.
He decided to take the long way home—
passing by the construction site of the new distillery.
There he saw Marlin, sleeves rolled up, shouting instructions at workers.
Eiger raised his hand in greeting, his single-bladed axe resting over his shoulder.
"Morning, Chief Marlin."
"Oh-ho! You finally done training, lad?"
The old chief wiped his brow and jogged over, his face half-serious, half-proud.
"Nico's still working. Don't go dragging your wife off home just yet,
let her finish her business!"
"…"
Eiger stared at him wordlessly,
then followed Marlin's gaze toward Nico in the distance—
directing workers, blueprint in hand,
pointing where to place walls, where to raise beams,
looking every bit like a true architect.
He sighed softly.
Alright—no interrupting her, then.
Every day after training,
he'd drop by the site,
wait for her to finish,
and walk her home.
"Got it," Eiger said, sitting down on a nearby rock.
"So, how's it going? You've been running around like crazy lately."
Marlin puffed up his chest with pride.
"Well, the distillery needs to go up, the docks need to go up—of course I'm running around!
If I don't keep watch, who'll stop those lazy bastards from slacking off?"
He folded his arms dramatically.
"Don't forget, I'm now one of the Five Permanent Village Chiefs of the Sibia Archipelago
and the Resident Construction Supervisor! How could I not oversee everything personally?"
"…"
Eiger just stared at him in silence.
What kind of ridiculous position was that supposed to be?
He could've sworn they never made that title up during the last conversation.
Rubbing his temple, Eiger was about to speak,
but Marlin suddenly turned serious again,
his eyes drifting toward the open sea.
"Eiger…" he said quietly.
"We're building this massive distillery and dock,
but… when it's all done—
do you really think we can sell the wine?"