"Sigh… Ace hasn't even set sail yet. And I'd feel bad putting a bounty on him… Forget it."
If Ace knew that Ren was thinking of collecting bounties on a guy who hadn't even gone to sea, he'd definitely try to kill him.
"Whatever. I might as well start training my Glint-Glint Fruit powers. It's about time I developed them."
Ren had explained to Garp and Zephyr that he possessed a special ability — one that allowed him to copy Devil Fruit powers.
That was how he claimed to have obtained the Glint-Glint Fruit's ability.
The explanation was full of holes, but in this world, nobody had ever seen a real Devil Fruit encyclopedia. No one could confirm or deny it.
Besides, Ren was the disciple of Marine Hero Garp, and Zephyr had his back. Who would dare lay a finger on him?
Over the past three years, every six months, Ren followed Garp back to Windmill Village for special training.
Garp's requirement was that Ren must master advanced Armament Haki before starting to train in Devil Fruit abilities.
To his relief, Ren had reached that level in just three short years.
He was ready.
In fact, spurred on by Ren, both Ace and Luffy had also started training in Armament Haki.
Without it, they were just getting bullied too badly by him.
It wasn't just Garp who was strict — Zephyr had also warned Ren not to overly rely on Devil Fruit powers.
Devil Fruits could massively boost strength, but excessive dependence would hinder long-term growth.
Garp and Zephyr expected much more from Ren than just becoming a Marine Admiral.
In a secret training ground at the Marine Academy, beasts roamed freely.
These were wild creatures captured by the academy — the place served as a trial zone for students, but only elite division members dared to enter.
Even they had to proceed cautiously.
One wrong move and you could end up as beast chow.
"First technique — Laser Beam!"
Ren began training by trying to channel the power of the Glint-Glint Fruit to his fingertips.
He formed his fingers into a "gun" shape and aimed to shoot.
Zzzzzzt…
Energy surged. A flash of yellow light gathered at the tip of Ren's finger.
"Fire!"
With a snap, a yellow beam burst forth.
BOOM!
A thunderous explosion echoed. The laser blasted a massive boulder dozens of meters away into rubble.
Black smoke rose from the shattered stone — it had not only been pierced but scorched through.
The ground behind it had a deep, smoking hole.
"To think it pierced a four- or five-meter-thick boulder on the first try… The power of Logia fruits is insane!"
While part of that came from his own strength, Ren was still shocked at the Glint-Glint Fruit's might.
With this ability, he probably already had Warlord-level strength, maybe even close to an Admiral.
From there, Ren kept training, honing his beam's power and control.
Naturally, the beam's intensity kept growing.
By the end, he could shoot over a hundred meters and punch through several boulders as thick as the first.
"Whew… this burns a lot of stamina too. So exhausting."
While the power was terrifying, the energy cost was just as huge.
After firing the laser a hundred times, Ren was drenched in sweat and felt completely drained.
He couldn't imagine how Kizaru managed those large-scale bombardments.
It had to be his body techniques — all three Admirals were elite in close combat. That's how Aokiji and Akainu fought for ten days and changed the weather on an island.
Thinking about it made Ren break out in a cold sweat.
He still had a long way to go.
He might be close to Admiral level now, but there was no telling how wide the gap really was.
"No wonder so many Devil Fruit users keep training even after gaining powers. These abilities are absurd, but they drain stamina like crazy."
Everyone else was training, so of course Ren couldn't slack off either.
Meanwhile, the World Government's recruitment drive at the Marine Academy had lasted over a month — and finally came to a "satisfactory" conclusion.
Zephyr had managed to fulfill the Government's demands while still protecting many of his top students.
"Yo, Gion-senpai!"
Ren straightened his posture. "Congrats! I heard you've been promoted to Commodore!"
He'd also heard from Zephyr that Gion was leaving the Marine Academy tomorrow. That afternoon, a new assistant instructor would be replacing her.
"Yup! I'm super excited to finally join Vice Admiral Tsuru's fleet!"
Gion's bright eyes sparkled with joy — it was a stunning sight.
"One day, I'll become a great female general like her!"
"You absolutely will. It's just a shame I won't get to see the beautiful Gion-senpai very often anymore."
Ren chuckled.
"But hey, I've only got a year left before I graduate. Gion-senpai, how about a bet?"
"What are we betting?"
"Let's say… we fight one last time here at the Marine Academy. If I win… when I get my own fleet, you have to become my Vice Captain. How about it?"
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