"!"
Akira felt as if he'd been struck by a cannonball. His whole body was blasted into the air, and he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. But despite the pain, he grinned with delight—because the system's voice sounded once more.
[Congratulations, Host. Task completed. Rewarding Moonwalk (Master Level)…]
A massive amount of information about the Moonwalk technique surged into his mind in an instant, as though he had trained in it for over a decade.
His leg muscles swelled visibly before the naked eye.
On the ground, Tina's beautiful face turned crimson. She kept wiping her tempting lips with her delicate hands while glaring daggers at Akira in mid-air.
That had been her first kiss!
She had meant to save it for her future husband.
Who would have thought it would be stolen by a complete stranger?
At this moment, Tina's eyes were burning with rage—she was so furious she wanted to kill Akira.
Fueled by her blazing anger, the instructions from Teacher Zephyr suddenly clicked in her mind.
"Whoosh~"
Right in front of everyone, Tina used Moonwalk to launch herself into the sky, quickly closing in on Akira.
Seeing this, a hint of surprise flashed across Zephyr's stern eyes.
He hadn't expected such a genius to emerge in this batch of recruits.
To successfully use Moonwalk after hearing it just once—he could count such cases on two hands across his sixteen-year teaching career.
Among them were the current three Admirals: Kizaru, Akainu, and Aokiji.
"This Tina girl is even more of a prodigy than the rumors suggest."
Watching Tina draw closer and closer, Akira broke out in cold sweat.
Judging by her expression, if she caught him, things would end badly. A trip to the emergency room might be the best-case scenario.
"No way I'm letting her catch me!"
Moonwalk had already become instinct for Akira. He stomped rapidly on the air to widen the gap between him and Tina.
"That brat learned Moonwalk too?!" Zephyr's eyes showed even more surprise.
He had assumed Akira was average in talent—but clearly, he'd misjudged.
"Wait… there's something off about that kid's Moonwalk!" Zephyr's look of admiration gradually turned serious, his sharp eyes like a hawk's.
From Akira's power application, to the angle of his air-stepping, and even the finesse in his movement—Tina didn't even come close.
As a former Admiral and now instructor, Zephyr's eye for talent was razor-sharp. He could see the big picture from just a glimpse.
He even began to suspect that the Vice Admirals at headquarters might only be on par with this kid in Moonwalk—definitely not better.
That was terrifying.
Every Vice Admiral had earned their rank through countless battles over the years. Their mastery of the Six Powers was unmatched—how could a mere recruit compare?
Even Borsalino, back when he was in the elite training camp, hadn't shown this level of skill in Moonwalk.
Could it be that Akira had already practiced Moonwalk for years before joining the Navy?
The idea was instantly dismissed by Zephyr.
Impossible! Not only did you need a strong enough body to even begin training in Moonwalk, but the technique itself was a tightly held Navy secret.
To prevent spies from infiltrating the Navy's future leadership, Zephyr knew everything about the backgrounds of these recruits.
If he remembered right, that kid was just an orphan who used to work at a ranch before enlisting.
That left only one explanation—
The kid's a genius. A buried genius!
With unmatched talent for the Six Powers!
Zephyr's expression burned with excitement. He had a feeling that among his students, another monster on par with the Admirals was about to emerge.
---
"Hey, stop chasing me. You're not going to catch me."
In mid-air, Akira fled while Tina chased after him. To an outsider, it looked like a scene straight out of a romantic comedy.
If you ignored Tina's gritted teeth and furious expression, that is.
"If you've got guts, stop running! What kind of man runs away like this?!" Tina fumed.
"Stop? Are you stupid or am I? Stop so you can beat me to death?" Akira shot back, throwing her a smug, king-like look of disdain.
"You…!" Tina's chest heaved in anger.
Down on the ground, the soldiers were already dumbfounded.
They could understand Tina learning Moonwalk. But Akira? Wasn't he supposed to be some ordinary guy with no talent in martial arts or swordsmanship?
And yet here he was, mastering Moonwalk.
Then what did that make them? Useless???
"Enough! Both of you, stop!" Zephyr's voice boomed in everyone's ears.
"Teacher Zephyr!"
Hearing his voice, Akira obediently landed and saluted.
Tina followed shortly after, still fuming as she pointed an accusatory finger at Akira. "Teacher Zephyr, this guy—"
Zephyr raised his right hand, motioning for her to calm down.
"Whatever happened between you two can be resolved after class. I'm not getting involved. Don't waste the others' time."
At his words, Tina had no choice but to relent. Still glaring at Akira, she returned to the lineup, staying silent despite the curious stares.
Akira, on the other hand, gave Zephyr a grateful look.
No matter what, he had dodged a beating—for now.
Akira believed that as long as he had enough time to complete more choices from the system, he would no longer fear any threat.
"Now, let's continue our breakdown of Moonwalk techniques…"
The rest of the session was filled with Zephyr's detailed instruction.
By the time the sun began to set, it was evening.
"That concludes today's lesson. Akira, Smoker, Tina—stay behind."
"Yes, Teacher Zephyr."
"Goodbye, Teacher Zephyr."
"See you tomorrow, sir."
After the others left, Zephyr turned to the three of them.
"Meet me tonight at six, behind Training Ground No. 3, in the forest."
"Yes, Teacher Zephyr."
Obeying orders was a naval duty. None of them questioned it.
"You're all impressive. Don't let me down." Leaving those words, Zephyr departed.
Sensing Tina's death glare, Akira—worried he'd get punched—hurried to follow Zephyr.
"What, kid? Planning to follow me home for dinner?" Zephyr turned around, his heavy hand slapping Akira's shoulder.
"Heh… thanks, Teacher Zephyr," Akira scratched his head, embarrassed.
"Can't believe you even know how to be embarrassed. Kissing a girl in front of everyone—I don't even know what to say to you," Zephyr sighed.
Young people these days had the strangest ways of courting.
First, there was Vice Admiral Cha Dolphin, who wrote a love letter every day to Vice Admiral Gion, declaring his love no matter how often he got slapped, scolded, or rejected.
And now came an even bolder one—Zephyr couldn't help wondering if he was getting too old to understand.
Akira, for his part, didn't know what to say. If the system offered a reward as tempting as that, forget kissing Tina—if it asked him to kiss Smoker, he'd… well, maybe not.
---