Half an hour later, at the rear mountain training ground of the G-5 base.
This was the most remote corner of the entire branch, a place only a handful of Marines, those obsessed with pushing their limits, would normally visit to train alone.
When Potts, now wearing an oversized tracksuit, stood there nervously shifting his weight from foot to foot, he immediately spotted the figure who had been waiting for him.
Rehn.
The round-bodied, plump man stood with both hands clasped behind his back, belly puffed out proudly, standing atop a boulder with an expression of absolute solemnity.
He looked, at first glance, like some grandmaster of a mystical martial sect.
…Until you noticed the way his stretched-out tracksuit clung to him, and the beads of sweat already forming on his forehead, which made his masterly appearance just a bit ridiculous.
When he saw Potts approach, Rehn cleared his throat and spoke in a tone dripping with exaggerated dignity:
"Lieutenant Commander Potts, congratulations. You have received the supreme blessing of Lord Renzo!"
The dramatic opening left Potts completely confused, and he instinctively straightened his posture.
"Yes! Instructor Rehn!"
"But!"
Rehn's tone suddenly sharpened, stabbing through the air like a knife.
"Having power… and knowing how to use power… are two completely different things! Your performance on the beach earlier, in all honesty, was nothing short of a disaster!"
"A complete, total, utterly graceless display, filled with noise, chaos, pointless movements, and a barbaric lack of finesse!"
Potts blinked in confusion, stunned by the verbal assault. He quietly tried to defend himself:
"But… I smashed that rock…"
"Is breaking a rock supposed to be impressive?"
Rehn cut him off mercilessly, his chubby finger nearly poking Potts on the nose.
"A brute with a hammer can do the exact same thing! And to what end? All it creates is rubble, noise, and a bunch of useless splashing seawater!"
"All of which are troubles that disturb Lord Renzo's rest. Do you understand?"
Potts nodded, unsure but obedient.
Seeing this, Rehn nodded in satisfaction, clasped his hands behind his back again, and resumed his mysterious, sage-like tone:
"Lieutenant Commander Potts, remember this: as direct subordinates of Lord Renzo, what is the ultimate goal of our training?"
Potts thought for a moment, then ventured, "...To uphold justice?"
"Shallow!"
Rehn shook his head in disappointment.
"Justice is too broad, too noisy! Have you ever seen a 'champion of justice' who isn't fighting every day and throwing the world into chaos?"
"Then… to become stronger?"
"Even more shallow!"
Rehn's voice jumped eight octaves.
"Stronger? Does Lord Renzo need us to become strong? Even if we train to death, would we ever surpass even one of his fingers? Blindly chasing strength is the behavior of a brute!"
Potts's worldview began to crumble.
Seeing the confusion on his face, Rehn finally adjusted his collar, took a deep breath, and revealed the correct answer.
"The ultimate purpose of our training in simple words, ease Lord Renzo's burdens, eliminate all trouble."
"Our only value is to become Lord Renzo's most worry-free, quiet, and efficient tools! The instant a problem appears, we must resolve it in the simplest, most direct, and most silent way possible… so that Lord Renzo can peacefully enjoy his everyday life."
His words struck Potts's mind like a bolt of lightning.
'So… that's what it means to serve Lord Renzo?!'
"Thus," Rehn concluded, "from today onward, your training will revolve around one core principle, control!"
"Forget your earth-shattering brute strength. From now on, you must learn how to use your griffin claws to thread a needle… how to use wings powerful enough to stir hurricanes, to gently brush dust off a table without disturbing even a single fly!"
As he spoke, Rehn reached into what seemed like a Doraemon pocket.
And took out… an egg.
"This is your first training task."
He placed the smooth, fragile egg carefully on the ground before Potts.
"Transform into your hybrid form, then pick up this egg with your claws… and keep it intact."
Potts looked down at the tiny, delicate egg, then at his claws, which could crush steel without effort.
A look of pure horror spread across his lion-eagle face, even greater than when he first lost control of his Mythical Zoan form.
"Instructor Rehn… this… this is impossible…"
"Nothing is impossible!"
Rehn replied as if it were the simplest thing in the world.
"Think about it. What if Lord Renzo wants to drink a cup of tea one day, and you can't even pick up a fragile teacup without breaking it? Then what use is all that power? Are you planning to inconvenience Lord Renzo for the rest of your life?"
Potts realized he… could not refute that logic at all.
He took a deep breath. Determination filled his eyes.
"Rrraugh!"
With a low growl, he transformed again, swelling into the imposing griffin hybrid form.
Lowering himself carefully, he stared at the egg as if confronting his natural enemy.
Slowly… trembling… he extended a claw toward it-
Crack.
A faint, crisp sound.
The egg burst instantly into a messy puddle the moment he touched it.
Potts froze. His massive griffin face twisted into a very human-looking expression of despair.
"Failure!"
Rehn declared mercilessly.
"You can't even manage basic control! Again!"
He took out another egg.
Crack.
"Failure! Your claws are for tearing enemies apart, not bullying eggs! Feel the flow of power, don't fight it with brute force!"
Crack.
"Failure! What are you doing, playing smash-the-egg? Focus! Imagine you're not picking up an egg, but organizing Lord Renzo's most precious limited-edition tea set!"
For the next hour, the training field echoed with egg after egg breaking.
Rehn, like some demon instructor from a nightmare poultry farm, produced eggs endlessly while performing relentless psychological warfare on Potts.
But… the results were real.
After crushing perhaps hundreds, who knows at this point, Potts finally, for the first time, successfully lifted a whole egg between two razor-sharp claw tips.
He was so overwhelmed he nearly threw his head back and roared at the sky.
"Good! Hold it!"
A rare hint of approval flashed in Rehn's eyes.
"And now… we begin phase two of your training, Haki!"
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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