I returned to Marineford safely, clearing out several groups of pirates along the way and gaining a lot of prestige points.
I originally wanted to visit a nearby village, but Sengoku was too urgent, so I could only go back.
"Welcome back, Vice Admiral Garp!"
At the Marineford dock, two rows of Marines stood at attention, welcoming Garp's return.
"Vice Admiral Garp, you've worked hard!"
This display made Esdeath envious; although she had a reputation, it was only within the Marine academy.
"Hahaha, keep up the good work, Esdeath!"
Garp immediately started showing off to Esdeath, making her want to punch his old face.
"I'm going back; I haven't seen my comrades in a long time."
Spending every day with a bunch of old men was boring her to death; the fragrant scent of Tashigi and the others was much better.
"Go!"
Looking at Esdeath's departing back, a momentary look of loneliness appeared on Garp's face.
In the end, he still hadn't corrected Luffy and Ace's thinking; they still wanted to become the Pirate King.
"Roger! You've really messed me up!"
He sighed helplessly in his heart, straightened his back, and went to report to Sengoku; he had been away for some time, so there should be senbei in stock now.
"At this rate, they should still be training at the Marine training ground." Esdeath muttered to herself, her steps quickening considerably.
She arrived at the Marine training ground.
Empty!
The Marine training ground, which should have been bustling with training, was surprisingly empty.
"Damn it, no way!"
Remembering Zephyr's severed arm, Esdeath's heart tightened; she had already come to see Tashigi and the others as her own, could it be that Zephyr had already taken the Marines out to sea?
"I hope not!"
Her heart racing, she put away her previous smile, her face cold, and rushed towards the Marine barracks at full speed.
Before she even entered the door, she saw Tashigi and the others dressed and ready to go out, and her suspended heart finally settled.
"Lady Esdeath!"
Tashigi saw Esdeath rushing over at full speed first, dropped her backpack, and ran towards Esdeath, throwing herself into her arms.
"Mmm~ Lady Esdeath~"
Sadie also put down her package and walked over, looking very enthusiastic.
"Lady Esdeath."
Ain silently called out in her heart, not saying it aloud, just smiling slightly.
"Hmm, where are you all going?"
They weren't out at sea and not at the training ground; could it be a holiday? But how could that be, they had only been training for so long.
"Hehe, you don't know, Lady Esdeath."
"Teacher Zephyr is going to take us out to sea for training; originally, Sadie, Domino, and I weren't qualified to go."
"But we trained really hard for a long time, and that's how we convinced Teacher Zephyr to take us."
"The others are just going to see us off, so they're not training right now."
"Also, Smoker and the others graduated, and we also met a big sister named Hina."
Tashigi's little mouth chattered on, her face full of smiles.
She had thought it would be a long time before she saw Lady Esdeath again, but she unexpectedly returned at this time.
"It's too much of a coincidence!"
"Yes! Just in time."
The three of them didn't quite understand her nonsensical remark, but it was fine as long as Esdeath understood; she had arrived just in time!
Also, no wonder in the original work, the only survivors were Ain and Binz; clearly, they were all from the same class.
It turned out it was because they weren't strong enough and weren't taken along; only Ain, Binz, and other students were taken.
As for why Smoker and Hina didn't go with them, it was because they had already graduated by that time.
Since that's the case, everything makes sense now.
"Well, it's good that I'm back; I'll go with you."
"Okay!"
All three of them smiled; their backbone had finally returned, otherwise, they really wouldn't have known what to do.
"Slap!"
A slap landed on Sadie's backside.
"Also, Sadie, change your clothes; from now on, you're only allowed to wear them for me to see!"
She had forgotten to tell her when she left, and now she remembered this; her clothes were too revealing.
"Mmm~"
After a murmur, Sadie said in enjoyment: "I~ Mmm~ understand~"
The three, dressed in their uniforms, followed behind Esdeath, looking at her back; they clearly felt that Lady Esdeath had grown even stronger!
They all, without prior agreement, showed determined eyes; if they didn't work harder, they wouldn't be able to keep up with Lady Esdeath's pace!
They absolutely could not be left behind!
The dock!
Esdeath and the three arrived late.
Zephyr had been a little impatient, as they were late for the agreed time, but a smile appeared on his face when he saw Esdeath's figure.
"This girl actually made it at this time."
He was happy inside, but he couldn't show it on his face, so he said sternly: "You three will have extra training tonight! How dare you be late!"
"And Esdeath, report for duty!"
"Yes!"
Despite being punished, none of the three were unhappy; they were still full of joy.
As for Esdeath, she gave a standard salute!
...
"How was it? What did you encounter during your sea voyage?"
Zephyr sat at his desk, looking at Esdeath, who was sitting beside him.
"I encountered many pirates."
"Oh, that's good. Now that you've seen pirates, do you still want to graduate?"
Having encountered pirates, she must have seen their ugly faces, so with Garp's personality, Esdeath must have seen blood.
"Of course, I still want to graduate!"
How could she get stronger without graduating? How could she survive in the later great era without getting stronger?
"You insist on graduating?"
"Yes!"
Zephyr looked at Esdeath's determined face and couldn't help but sigh; it seemed that the pirates hadn't dampened Esdeath's spirits.
"Alright then, once you return this time and complete the task I set for you, I'll let you graduate!"
"It's a deal!"
As long as Zephyr agreed to let her go, it would be easy.
Because ordinary Marines were not qualified to freely enter and exit Marineford; doing so would result in being treated as a deserter, unless you were Garp's direct disciple like Koby.
...
Night!
It was no longer the four-person dormitory but the women's dormitory; Tashigi and all the other female Marines she couldn't name were there.
They were all eagerly anticipating the Marine training; after holding back for so long, they could finally engage in real combat!
They could face real pirates!
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The sound of artillery fire rang out.
This was followed by a rapid whistle for assembly, and everyone became flustered.
"Don't panic! Get dressed and prepare for battle!"
Esdeath's voice stopped the panicking crowd.
"Yes!"
After just a moment's pause, they began to get ready; if nothing went wrong, they were all Marine elites.
"Whitebeard Jr. has probably arrived!"