At Marine Headquarters, on the training grounds of the Marineford Military Academy, a streak of blue lightning and a burly man with purple hair were locked in fierce combat.
Although the speed and power of their exchanges were astonishing, both sides were clearly holding back, keeping their destructive output within a controlled range.
At the edge of the training field stood rows of young, inexperienced elite Marine recruits.
Just like Raleigh and the others back in the day, they often gathered to watch the battles of the upper echelon.
Crackle!
The air was filled with Enel's electric sparks, countless hair-thin lightning bolts dancing wildly around the arena.
The figure being relentlessly attacked by Enel showed no panic, remaining calm and composed as he swung his arms steadily.
Clang!
Enel's golden spear struck Zephyr's arm, but the flying sparks indicated it had caused absolutely no damage to Zephyr's flesh.
"Kid, if that's all the power you've got, it won't do anything to me."
Zephyr reached out, his massive hand clamping down to grab Enel's spear.
However, having learned from past mistakes, Enel knew all too well how terrifying Zephyr's grip strength was.
Without a second thought, he used the power of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit to superheat the gold, melting it instantly, before transforming into lightning to escape Zephyr's attack range.
"Gold Reshaping!"
Enel gathered the molten gold in his hands, using electromagnetism to stretch and reshape it.
In no time, an elegant longsword materialized in his grasp.
The blade was immediately coated with Armament Haki and crackled with the thunderous power of his Devil Fruit.
Enel gripped the longsword tightly with both hands, assuming a specialized stance.
"Teacher Zephyr, try this move of mine!"
Enel shouted, his body transforming into a jagged bolt of blue lightning as he charged toward Zephyr at blinding speed.
"One-Sword Style: Thousand Birds!"
The sound of high-voltage electric currents once again echoed across the training grounds, screeching like a thousand birds chirping in unison.
Enel instantly appeared before Zephyr, thrusting his long blade toward the instructor's chest.
Seeing such recklessness from Enel, Zephyr sighed—it had been a long time since he encountered such a straightforward student.
Then, Zephyr's body underwent a transformation. A layer of thick, pitch-black Armament Haki enveloped his entire frame.
Clang!
Enel's blade scraped against Zephyr's chest, showering the ground in sparks, but Zephyr remained completely unharmed.
"Let's end this here."
Zephyr was already quite satisfied with Enel's progress and felt the battle was no longer necessary.
Immediately after, Zephyr's hand, hardened by Tekkai, loomed over Enel's head.
Enel's face twisted in panic, and his body began to turn translucent, attempting to elementalize to escape the blow.
Thud!
Before Enel could fully elementalize and flee, Zephyr's heavy fist struck his head.
The next moment, however, the "Enel" that was struck exploded into chaotic, scattered currents of electricity.
"Hmm? What went wrong?"
Zephyr suddenly realized that the Enel he had defeated was merely a Lightning Clone, which greatly surprised him.
Moreover, through his Observation Haki, he sensed an intensely bright aura appearing directly behind him.
Enel had already circled to his blind spot.
Zephyr tried to turn and block, but the electric shock from shattering the lightning clone had left his muscles momentarily paralyzed.
It would cause only about 0.5 seconds of stiffness, and with Zephyr's physical prowess, there was no worry of him being immobilized for long.
However, in a battle of speed, 0.5 seconds is an eternity.
Just as Enel was about to succeed in his sneak attack, Zephyr abruptly torqued his body, defying momentum, and grabbed the long blade in Enel's hand.
Crack!
Enel's blade, forged from gold and coated in Armament Haki, ultimately proved no match for Zephyr, known to the world as "Black Arm."
With unparalleled strength, Zephyr twisted and shattered the golden blade.
The battle was essentially over at this point.
After all, this wasn't a life-or-death duel but a practical combat exercise within the academy.
Zephyr rarely smiled, but now a grin tugged at his lips.
Enel was the most talented and satisfying student Zephyr had encountered since Raleigh's batch.
Many of his previous students had ignored Zephyr's teachings.
Sakazuki's views were too absolute and clashed severely with Zephyr's ideals.
Borsalino never adjusted his Haki and physical techniques as Zephyr advised, relying excessively on his Devil Fruit abilities instead, which greatly displeased the old instructor.
As for Raleigh and Kuzan, Zephyr still considered Kuzan slightly better for now regarding pure duty.
But with Enel's emergence, Zephyr found himself thoroughly satisfied in every aspect.
Especially in Haki—when Marine Headquarters learned that Enel's Observation Haki (Mantra) could cover an entire island, they were utterly stunned.
"Enel's test results show a 90% pass rate," Zephyr announced proudly.
But when he turned to look for Enel, the young man had already vanished.
"Sigh—damn it!"
Enel lamented from the sidelines, deeply regretting that he hadn't lasted longer this time.
"Long time no see, Raleigh-sama! What brings you here to see me?" Enel walked over to the spectator area and asked warmly.
Raleigh scratched his head and said, "I just wanted to see how familiar you are with the environment here? It seems you've adapted quite well. Also, I never knew you had those sword skills?"
Enel didn't expose Raleigh's thoughts, especially since the Vice Admiral had already started using devices to guard against mental intrusion via Mantra.
Enel scratched his head and said, "Raleigh-sama, there's something I need to tell you—Dr. Vegapunk has something to discuss with you."
Raleigh nodded.
He was actually quite curious why Vegapunk would seek him out at this time.
Theoretically speaking, Vegapunk should be under strict guard by the World Government.
"Raleigh-sama, let's go to Vegapunk's base together."
Enel skillfully led the way, taking Raleigh aboard a large ship that could leave Marineford discreetly.
Since this wasn't an official mission, using a standard Marine warship might attract unwanted attention.
While Enel found a place to rest on the ship, Raleigh sat alone, holding the latest newspaper and carefully reading through its contents.
There weren't any particularly special major events.
The most influential news was still the aftermath of the great battle between the Golden Lion's Flying Pirates and the Roger Pirates.
Secondly, there was news about Kuzan.
As an outstanding youth of the Marines, he was making his first real mark on the world stage.
From now on, Kuzan would no longer be someone who just took the blame for others!