Chapter 79: The Four Checkpoints of the Grand Line! (Bonus Chapter)
"Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough—"
Just as Kuzan finished recounting his recent experiences, Zephyr suddenly started coughing, and it was quite difficult. From his complexion and rapid breathing, one could tell how uncomfortable he was.
He had actually wanted to cough earlier, but deliberately held it back, not wanting to interrupt Kuzan's speech. Now that Kuzan was basically done, he finally couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Teacher!"
"Teacher Zephyr?"
"What's wrong?!"
Momonga, Onigumo, and the others' expressions changed drastically as they asked with concern. They hadn't seen Zephyr for a while since graduating, as everyone was busy.
Although being busy was good, it also meant they knew less about Zephyr's recent situation.
"Phew—it's nothing, just a minor ailment, no need to make a fuss. I'm much better now!"
Zephyr's asthma finally stabilized. He let out a long breath, grinned, and took out two white pills from his pocket, swallowing them with some beer.
This illness of his had started appearing in the past two years, but it wasn't very serious. He would just occasionally feel chest tightness, difficulty breathing, and cough.
He had actually consulted a doctor on the island and was prescribed medicine, which was quite effective. However, he was advised not to drink alcohol or smoke, but these were Zephyr's favorites, and it wasn't that easy to quit.
"Teacher, although I don't understand medical skill, judging from your symptoms just now, it seems related to breathing. I think you should take it seriously. I'm sure you understand yourself..."
As Kuzan spoke, the others around him nodded repeatedly. Zephyr himself naturally knew what he meant. The relationship between breathing and combat power was something he, as a master of pure martial arts, understood better than anyone.
If a person's breathing wasn't smooth, they simply couldn't exert much strength. Even the essence of Life Return was inextricably linked to breathing.
"Didn't I already find a doctor and get medicine? It provides good relief when it acts up, but it can't cure it completely," Zephyr showed a hint of distress.
"I heard that if this asthma gets more severe, you'll need to use that Hormone Spray to relieve it."
Kuzan recalled something from before and said, "Since the doctors at Headquarters can't cure it, how about finding doctors from the Medical Academy in Drum Kingdom?"
"Doctors from Drum Kingdom, what's the difference?"
Onigumo asked curiously. Zephyr and the others also looked over. They had indeed heard Kuzan talk about things on Drum Kingdom before, but they didn't know much about the doctors there.
Kuzan chuckled, "Arararara, I'm not entirely sure either, but I heard Minister Mick say that there are the best doctors in the world there, specifically that Dr. Kureha who was appointed Dean of the Medical Academy. She's a doctor over a hundred years old who maintains the vitality of a middle-aged person. I happen to know her, so I thought I'd introduce Teacher Zephyr to see her."
"Hmm, the best doctor even certified by the World Government? I think that's a good idea!" Momonga said happily, looking at Zephyr.
"Indeed..."
Dragon and the others also nodded in agreement, while Zephyr hesitated slightly, saying, "But I'm very busy. I can't stop the students' training just to see a doctor for myself!"
"I remember the Training Camp has holidays, one day a week and a month-long break," Kuzan said, recalling past experiences.
Zephyr glared at him irritably and said, "That's your holiday. I still have to come back to handle matters at the School!"
He wasn't just responsible for the few dozen people in the Training Camp. There was also a Marine Headquarters School on this island, specifically for training a large number of Marine Soldiers. The affairs there weren't extremely numerous, but they weren't few either.
"Then what should we do? Should we invite that Dr. Kureha to Marineford?" Momonga asked, stroking his chin.
"I think that's possible. Teacher is an Admiral Rank, what's wrong with having her come for a house call?" another Colonel said.
"Uh, that might be a bit difficult. Dr. Kureha has a bit of an explosive temper..." Kuzan smiled awkwardly. Thinking of that witch-like female doctor, he felt it wasn't very reliable to have her come for a house call.
Moreover, Dr. Kureha was busy building the framework of the Medical Academy and researching Amber Lead Disease. It was impossible for her to come to Marine Headquarters, even for Teacher Zephyr, who held the Admiral Rank.
That person simply didn't care about such things.
"Then forget it," Zephyr shook his head.
At this moment, Dragon spoke up, voicing the idea he had been contemplating.
"Drum Kingdom is a Winter Island. From Kuzan's description earlier, it's a place with an even harsher environment than ordinary Winter Islands. Could Teacher Zephyr take this batch of Training Camp cadets there for a period of training?"
"Eh!!"
Zephyr's eyes lit up upon hearing this. The cold temperatures, gale winds, and heavy snow of a Winter Island would definitely be of great help in tempering the cadets' will.
"Exactly, exactly! Teacher can train them while also seeing a doctor for treatment. As for the training content, I can think of something right now. There are eight Drum Mountain Peaks there, but I only built stairs leading to the Main Peak. The other seven are all five thousand meters high, and the wind and snow are extremely fierce. We can have this batch of cadets do Bare-Handed Mountain Climbing!"
Kuzan cheerfully and loudly proposed his brilliant idea. Momonga and Onigumo beside him became interested and started brainstorming other training contents that could help their junior cadets on the Winter Island.
Ah, he was doing this for the good of his junior cadets, truly putting in painstaking effort. He figured the junior cadets would understand and gladly accept it, perhaps even thanking them.
"Are there Wild Beasts on the island? We can have the junior cadets wrestle with them in the ice and snow, oh no, spar with them!"
"I think Non-Ability Users should undergo Winter Swimming Training, Circumnavigating the Island in the surrounding sea!"
"Avalanches! We must make them face avalanches!"
The Marines and family members at the surrounding tables stared dumbfounded at this group of Crazy Training Camp seniors. Hey, hey, hey, are you serious?!
Bare-Handed Mountain Climbing up a five-thousand-meter ice and snow mountain is one thing, but you even brought up avalanches! That's an avalanche! Do you even know what an avalanche is?!
Eh, why was the previous one considered "one thing"?
"Alright!"
Seeing these guys getting more and more excited, Zephyr slammed the table to stop them, but he secretly noted down those few interesting training suggestions.
"I also think Dragon's suggestion is very good. So, that's settled. In a few days, I'll take the Training Camp to Drum Kingdom!"
With this decision made, it was getting late, and everyone had had enough to drink. They all picked up the Coat of Justice from their chairs and put them on.
For a moment, led by Marine Admiral Zephyr, with Marine Vice Admirals Kuzan and Dragon closely beside him, plus over a dozen Marine Rear Admirals and Marine Colonels, they all stepped down the stairs to the first floor of the tavern. Immediately, they attracted the attention of all the guests and the bartender on the first floor. Everyone watched as this group of big shots pushed the door open and left.
After coming out, everyone went their separate ways, except for Kuzan and Dragon, who tacitly stayed behind. The two walked together to the seaside at the port, looking at the rows of huge warships moored under the moonlight and the surging sea waves emitting a silvery light.
"You must have noticed the changes in the World Government," Dragon said in a deep voice.
"Yeah."
Kuzan nodded and smiled, "I'm also full of questions, but with our current identities, no matter what, we won't be able to access the truth. So I choose not to think too much about it and just focus on completing the mission at hand. I believe, one day, we will know."
"Indeed. If you become a Marine Admiral someday, you should have the opportunity to know more secrets. When that happens, I hope you can tell me," Dragon said, turning his head.
"Arararara, of course, no problem."
Dragon continued, "I just recalled the Stationed Locations of a few of us. I'm at Sabaody Archipelago, you're at Fish-Man Island, Borsalino is at G-2 in the First Half, and Sakazuki is at G-1 in the Second Half. Do you see anything?"
Kuzan was stunned. A clear sandbox model of the Grand Line immediately appeared in his mind, and then four light spots appeared on it, which were their respective Stationed Locations.
"The World Government has set up four Checkpoints!!"
This bonus chapter is for the three readers: Kikyo's Loneliness, Longinus' Spear, and Xue Dot Dot. Although it's not much, it's Little Author's token of appreciation. I hope you don't mind. Please continue to support and encourage me in the future. If you have any thoughts or opinions, please tell me directly, and I will definitely answer seriously.
Thank you very much to reader Kong Gui for the 100 Starting Point Coin tip! Thank you very much again to another reader friend for the tip and encouragement. Because the book hasn't gone premium yet, every time I see these tips, as well as the Monthly Passes and Recommendation Tickets from readers, I always feel much happier, and I get motivation to write. At least I know that although there aren't many people, there are indeed people who like to read this book.
(End of this chapter)