West Blue, aboard Colonel Hina's warship.
Taro leaned against the ship's railing, staring blankly at the sea.
"The last time we received news of Teacher Zephyr was from the 77th Branch in the West Blue. They reported sightings of Teacher Zephyr's fleet near Tarik Island. You might find something if you head there."
"Teacher Zephyr never accepts information from the Marine side; you'll have to find him yourself."
Taro sighed; this was the only useful information Vice Admiral John had provided.
In the vast ocean, finding a few ships was easier said than done.
The sound of footsteps, "clack, clack, clack," came from behind him. Taro turned around to see Colonel Hina approaching.
"Colonel Hina, how much further to Tarik Island?"
Hina waved her hand to dismiss the accompanying Marine Soldiers and took a light puff of her cigarette. "I came to tell you that we've reached the waters near Tarik Island. Shall we land on the island or stay in the open sea? Hina is... hesitant!"
Taro's brow twitched. "Hina [is/feels]..." was this beautiful Marine's catchphrase.
He glanced at the two Marine Soldiers accompanying Hina—a dark-skinned young man with pink hair and a tall, thin man wearing heart-shaped sunglasses. They looked somewhat familiar.
However, Taro quickly looked away and said to Hina, "Let's land directly. Thank you for your help this time."
"No need for thanks. I am only acting on the orders of Vice Admiral Tsuru."
Hina said seriously.
Taro nodded and stopped talking, turning back to look at the distant sea... Tarik Island.
This was a deserted island. Its main feature was an extremely unstable active volcano that erupted suddenly from time to time, bringing immense heat and volcanic ash. This resulted in sparse vegetation on the island, and the few remaining plants were covered in ash, making them look like black stones at first glance.
"Colonel Hina, let's stop here. The environment on the island isn't great, so there's no need for you to accompany me ashore."
Taro said to Colonel Hina, who had accompanied him off the ship, "Thank you again for your help. I'll be back by sunset at the latest."
Colonel Hina's eyes flickered slightly, and she nodded. "As you wish."
After Taro left, the pink-haired Marine Soldier accompanying Hina asked, "Miss Hina, who is that man? He's clearly just a Lieutenant, yet you had to escort him."
"Fumbudhi, Jango," Hina blew a smoke ring and said calmly, "He is that Marine who has become quite famous recently, Taro."
"What!" "So it's him!"
Fumbudhi and Jango's eyes widened in surprise... Taro wasn't certain if Zephyr was on this island, but time was short, and he had to search possible locations as quickly as possible.
He quickly ran up a hilltop and looked toward the island's interior. Almost the entire island was covered in grayish-black. As the sea breeze blew, it kicked up dust everywhere, greatly limiting visibility.
Taro sighed and continued to push deeper inland.
After crossing a few more hills, he reached a basin nestled between mountains. Taro was about to speed across the basin to check the mountains further ahead. If he still found nothing, he would return and search the surrounding waters to try his luck.
Not long after he started running, a vine suddenly appeared out of nowhere, "swish-swishing" as it rapidly attacked Taro.
Sensing something was wrong, Taro tapped his feet and leaped into the air. Drawing his saber, he slashed through the air, cutting the vine that had lunged at him like a spear.
However, as soon as he landed, more vines lunged at him. Taro had to retreat quickly while shouting, "Wait a moment! I know you! Don't attack yet!"
He paused, his voice becoming a bit more flustered. "Holy crap, what was your name again?"
Taro knew who was attacking him—one of Zephyr's students, a man whose appearance and clothing resembled a face card from a deck of playing cards. He seemed to be a ninja, and his ability was to control the rapid growth of plants, but Taro had forgotten his name.
Seeing the vines continuing their assault unabated, in his desperation, Taro could only yell at the top of his lungs, "Senior Zephyr! Ain...!"
The vines that had rushed in front of Taro suddenly stopped. Looking along the vines, the trunk of a dark green tree split open like a door, and a tall, thin man in strange clothing stepped out.
He was wearing a black bodysuit with yellow floral patterns and a pink bandana wrapped around his head. He looked at Taro suspiciously. "You know Teacher Zephyr and Ain?"
Taro wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I don't know them personally, only their names. Hey, hey, don't attack yet! I know you too, but I've forgotten your name. I'm sorry."
Seeing the other man frown and prepare to attack upon hearing that he didn't know them, Taro quickly waved his hands to stop him.
"Oh, Ain, you're here too!"
A figure stepped out from behind the large tree—sea-blue hair, a delicate face, a light purple sleeveless top, and hot pants only about 10 centimeters long, revealing long, slender legs. Draped in a dark blue cloak, she appeared youthful and beautiful. The only flaw was a large X-shaped scar on her right leg.
Ain frowned. "Who are you?"
Taro breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "My name is Taro. As you can see, I am a Marine."
Taro tugged at his Marine uniform and bowed slightly to the man in the floral suit. "By the way, friend, what is your name? I'm truly sorry, I've forgotten what you're called!"
"My name is Binz. What are you doing here?" Binz, the man in the floral suit, asked in a deep voice.
"Ah, Binz, and Ain, hello." Taro took a few steps forward, looking somewhat excited. "I've come to find Senior Zephyr. I hope he can teach me the Six Powers. Since you're here, Senior Zephyr must be here too, right?" As he spoke, he looked around.
"Stop," Ain commanded. "Wait here." She then nodded to Binz. Binz understood and quickly flickered away, disappearing among the jagged rocks.
Taro saw Binz leave and knew he was going to inform Zephyr. He was overjoyed, his face beaming with a wide grin.
Ain had been watching Taro warily. Seeing his creepy smile, she felt a sense of dislike. "What are you smiling at?"
"Ah? No, I'm just very happy." Taro toned it down; he was about to see Zephyr and didn't want to cause any trouble. "It's wonderful to have met you both so quickly!"
"The Six Powers are very difficult physical techniques to master," Ain surprisingly took the initiative to mention. "I have followed Teacher for many years, and even now, I have only scratched the surface of one of the styles."
"Are you prepared to join our 'Pirate Guerrilla Force'?"
Taro didn't actually know much about the Marines around Zephyr. He remembered Ain mostly because that movie was great—and, more importantly, because she was a girl.
Hearing Ain's question, Taro realized she might have misunderstood his intentions. He shook his head. "I'm not looking to join the 'Pirate Guerrilla Force'."
"In fact, I only have today to learn—specifically, until sunset."
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