Hera only then remembered Zephyr was still beside her and smiled apologetically: "I mainly wanted to call it Space Cut, but it didn't feel quite right. Calling it Guillotine felt like it was only for vertical slashes, so I was stuck in a dilemma for a while."
Zephyr said: "If you want to call it Great Cut, then call it Great Cut. Is there really a need to fuss over a move's name?"
Then Hera suddenly thought of something and said to Zephyr: "I've found that my First Bullet can help the Marines learn Soru. My First Bullet can accelerate the flow of time for an object it hits, so they can find the feeling of rapid stepping faster."
Zephyr was somewhat delighted to hear this, but still asked with some concern: "Is there any problem with doing that? Will it consume anything of yours?"
Hera said: "No problem. For the bit of energy it consumes, I just need to find a few pirates. A brief First Bullet costs very little for me now, but for them, it might consume extra lifespan."
Zephyr got a bit nervous hearing about consuming lifespan. Hera continued: "I've accelerated their personal time, so naturally, the time they age in that accelerated state will be faster, which means an extra consumption of lifespan."
Zephyr was speechless hearing about this kind of lifespan consumption and gave Hera's head a sharp knock: "Brat, what kind of lifespan consumption is that? I thought it was something serious."
Hera clutched her head where she'd been hit and said with a wronged expression: "Tsk, I'm kindly helping you train recruits, and you hit my head like this. What if I stop growing tall?"
Zephyr said: "Don't worry. If this is effective, I'll credit you for it. It'll be useful when military ranks are handed out at graduation. First, give me a shot so I can feel it."
Hera adjusted her state from ability back to Zafkiel. The Hour Hand was loaded with the First Bullet and aimed at Zephyr: "I've loaded it. Teacher Zephyr, don't use Haki to resist, or it will be nullified." With that, she fired.
Hearing this, Zephyr suppressed his instinct to use Armament Haki to block. After being hit, he felt the boost provided and was somewhat surprised.
"No wonder you grasped Soru so quickly. Under this kind of acceleration, the students can also easily meet the stepping speed requirements for Soru. This method is very good."
Then Zephyr said to Hera: "Go practice the three moves you know for now. Just focus on the ordinary Rankyaku; don't use that Great Cut of yours. Even the instructors might not be able to withstand that kick. I'm going to adjust the training plan."
Having said that, Zephyr left, leaving Hera to train on her own.
Training soon reached evening, and Hera, Kuina, and Ain gathered together again, each talking about their progress for the day.
Kuina, seeing Hera's rapid progress during the day, said with some envy: "Hera, your comprehension is so high. You've already learned three moves so quickly. I only just got a superficial feel for the Kami-e I chose today."
Ain had chosen to learn Shigan first. After practicing, her fingers looked bright red and were covered in injuries. Kuina noticed this and asked Hera: "Can't your Fourth Bullet heal? Use it to treat Ain's fingers."
Hera said: "No, the Fourth Bullet reverts one's state to a few seconds ago. To be precise, it's not actually healing; it just looks like it."
At that moment, Hera felt a restlessness from ability and switched forms. A surge of energy emerged from ability, converging into a new bullet condensed in the gun. At this time, Hera also felt the name and ability of this bullet.
'ability, Water Bottle Bullet'. As this bullet with healing properties hit Ain, the wounds on Ain's fingers healed rapidly. In a short while, her fingers were restored to how they were before, and even the hidden injuries sustained during previous training were all cured, making her body feel a sense of ease. Ain felt that the power of this bullet hadn't even fully dissipated; instead, it lurked within her body, waiting for the next moment treatment was needed.
Kuina said in surprise upon seeing this: "Didn't you say you didn't have healing abilities? Then what is this?"
Hera explained: "This might be a new ability from a devil fruit awakening because I wanted a healing power. I feel that it can heal injuries and provide continuous treatment."
Then she loaded another shot and gave one to Kuina as well. Kuina felt the hidden injuries in her body being constantly repaired, her body becoming lighter and lighter as if a heavy burden had been lifted, and she couldn't help but let out a soft moan.
Realizing what she'd done, Kuina quickly covered her mouth. She sighed in relief after seeing that no one else had noticed, then she saw the snickering expression on Hera's face.
Hera seized this opportunity to tease: "So Kuina can make that kind of sound too. I really couldn't tell."
Kuina was somewhat embarrassed and angry, saying: "What do you mean 'that kind of sound'? I just felt my body relax and felt quite comfortable, that's all."
"Right, you made that sound because it was comfortable. I wasn't wrong."
Listening to Hera's playful voice, Kuina said to her: "A 'comfortable sound', is it? We'll talk more when we get back to the dormitory tonight. Let me hear what a 'comfortable sound' is like."
Only then did Hera realize she had gone a bit too far. Although she was a bit scared inside, she still stubbornly said: "Tsk, back to the dorm it is then. I'm not afraid of you."
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