Compared to the war-torn New World, where dark clouds loomed over the cities, Marineford in the first half of the Grand Line was much more peaceful.
Under the cover of night, Marineford was no different from usual.
Fleet Admiral Orion, draped in his coat, stood in the courtyard slightly tilting his head to watch the moon gradually sinking into the clouds as dawn approached.
He softly asked "Ain, is there any new intelligence from the New World?"
Ain, who had been by Orion side all night took a step forward, glanced at the silent Den Den Mushi in her hand and silently shook her head.
Then, she looked up at Orion and tentatively asked "Marshal, are you worried about Admiral Akainu?"
"Not exactly worried, just feeling that this war has been going on for too long!"
After a slight pause, Orion suddenly changed the subject and asked.
"What about the Shichibukai? Are they all behaving themselves?"
Ain nodded "They all quieted down after the dormitory lights went out."
Hearing this, Orion checked his watch and decisively said.
"Go, have Noah wake them all up."
"Huh?"
Ain blinked her beautiful eyes, thinking she had misheard.
"Now?"
"I haven't even had time for a nap, they've had enough sleep for a few hours!"
Without hesitation, Orion walked briskly towards the dormitory building where the Shichibukai and their families or subordinates were staying.
Seeing this, Ain was stunned for several seconds before she could react, then couldn't help but cover her mouth with a smile.
She knew exactly what Orion was going to do next—he would undoubtedly use the same methods he had used to train his subordinates to reform the Shichibukai and their families or subordinates.
Over the years since the incident on the training ship, Orion had not only found time to spar with her and Binz but also pulled them into the training grounds to train alongside other soldiers.
At first, she thought Orion training was no different from the usual Marine training, but after experiencing it firsthand, she realized that the previous training methods for new recruits and officers were like child's play.
Most importantly, Orion was a completely different person during training compared to his usual self.
Normally, he was righteous, warm and very protective of his own, but during training, he was an absolute devil.
Of course, Ain also knew why Orion suddenly wanted to do this.
Although Orion said he wasn't worried, his actions had long betrayed his true feelings. He had asked her about the situation in the New World at least a dozen times tonight.
After all, even when he was a Comodore, Rear admiral, or Vice admiral, Orion was already famous for being protective of his own.
Now, as the Fleet Admiral, how could he not be worried?
Even though Sakazuki and Gion were powerful enough to handle any unexpected situations and the other vice admirals were more than capable of dealing with everything, the soldiers who followed the warships into battle were not the kind who could stand on their own.
As the war dragged on, the casualties among the soldiers were bound to increase.
In such a situation, Orion naturally found something to distract himself with.
***
When Orion and Ain arrived at the Shichibukai dormitory building, the building was already brightly lit.
From the corridors came the sound of violent knocking and shouting.
"Bang bang bang—"
"Get up, get up!"
"Emergency assembly!"
In the hallway, Noah, with a long sword at his waist, along with two soldiers quickly knocked on every dormitory door.
As his penetrating voice echoed through the corridor, the doors opened one after another revealing sleepy faces peeking out.
"What the hell? Waking us up at this hour!"
"What emergency assembly? I'm a Donquixote..."
"Ahem, it's Lord Noah. Up, up, up, we're getting up now!"
Amidst the grumbling, the members of the Donquixote family were the first to rush out of their rooms, followed by the Baroque Works members and finally the Mysterious four from the Thriller Bark.
"Ahhhh~"
"I just fell asleep!"
"Is Noah a devil? Not cute at all!"
The last to emerge from her room was Perona, the Ghost Princess from the Thriller Bark.
With dark circles under her eyes, she didn't even bother with the hallway. Instead, she floated out of the window with her red umbrella.
As she hovered beside Moria, Perona was about to snap at Noah when she caught sight of Orion, standing opposite them in his Fleet admiral's coat.
One look from him was enough to make her shut her mouth immediately and she promptly floated down to the ground, standing straight and stiff.
"Did I disturb your sweet dreams?"
Once everyone had quieted down, Orion slowly walked forward, stopping in front of Moria, the tallest among them, and spoke in a calm tone.
"I've just been having trouble sleeping lately and since I've got nothing better to do, I thought I'd come over and check on you all."
As he spoke, Orion very considerately reached out to button up Moria coat and casually pinched Perona puffed-up cheeks.
Before Perona could react, Orion had already walked past Hogback, his gentle voice continuing.
"Since you've all chosen to submit to me, you can't continue to act as freely as before. Lazy habits need to be corrected, and basic discipline must be followed."
"So, I've tailored a training program for each of you!"
"Starting now, Mihawk, Jinbei, and Hancock will form one group, Moria and the members from Thriller Bark will form another, Crocodile and the Baroque Works members will form a third and Doflamingo and the Donquixote family will form the last group. Each group starts with one hundred points. During the upcoming training, groups that perform well will gain points, while those that perform poorly will lose them."
At this point, Orion who had returned to stand in front of Moria, suddenly paused, then smiled warmly and said.
"If a group loses all their points, don't worry—I won't kill you. At most, I'll just throw you into Impel Down for further reformation!"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present was caught off guard, their eyes widening in shock.
Standing behind Orion, Ain wanted to laugh but didn't dare to make a sound, as she was all too familiar with this scene!
Noah was no exception either.
They all knew very well that while Orion appeared amiable and approachable at this moment, the devil within him had already awakened!
If they weren't careful, they too could be dragged into this training session.
"Um—"
Perona, standing beside Moria, glanced around and noticed everyone avoiding eye contact.
She blinked in confusion, then cautiously looked up at Orion and called out in a voice as soft as a mosquito's hum.
"Orion, I…"
"What is it?" Orion walked over to Perona, gentle as a neighborhood big brother. "Is there something wrong?"
Perona fidgeted awkwardly. "I… I need to use the bathroom. Is that okay?"
"Of course it is" Orion replied with a warm smile and a nod.
Hearing this, Perona was overjoyed and immediately turned to float toward the dormitory.
But the moment she turned around, Orion previously gentle voice suddenly transformed into a devilish roar.
"Anyone who interrupts me while I'm speaking loses five points!"
"Anyone who calls me by my name during training loses five points!"
"Team Moria loses ten points!"
At the sudden outburst, Perona smile froze on her face.
The next second, she burst into tears, wailing in distress.
"Waaahhhh!"
"Lord Moria, Orion is bullying me! I… I want to go home!"
Before Moria could react, the devil roar rang out again.
"Team Moria loses another ten points!"
At this, the little girl crying abruptly stopped.
Then—
"Pfft…"
A laugh, as if held back for too long, suddenly escaped.
Following the sound, they saw Mr. 2 Bon Clay from Baroque Works, with his bizarre heavy makeup and false eyelashes his face red as he tried to hold back his laughter looking utterly ridiculous.
Standing beside him, Crocodile noticed Orion glancing their way and knew trouble was brewing.
He shot a fierce glare at Bon Clay.
Sure enough—
"Team Crocodile loses five points."
Hearing this, Crocodile facial muscles twitched uncontrollably.
Seeing Crocodile reaction, while the members of the Donquixote Pirates managed to hold back, Doflamingo, as usual, couldn't resist letting out a gleeful chuckle.
"Fufufufu—"
"Hmm?"
The moment he laughed, Doflamingo snapped awake and immediately looked up at Orion, his lips moving as if to speak but no words coming out.
Because, the moment he looked up, the devil voice arrived right on schedule.
"Team Doflamingo loses ten points!"
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