Noon in Water Seven was when the sun was at its fiercest and combined with the humid sea breeze, the training ground felt like an oven.
Yet today, most soldiers on the field looked perfectly comfortable.
Even standing at the hottest center of the ground, the surrounding temperature remained cool and pleasant.
The reason was simple—the northwest corner of the field was now blanketed in thick snow.
Watching the figures standing at the heart of the icy expanse, Old William remarked with awe.
"Truly, Devil Fruit users is enviable. To think this level of spectacle is just routine training. But I suppose only those who grow up in such an environnt can truly uphold the aning of 'justice.'"
Little Johnson also nodded lightly in agreent, but at that mont, T-Bone's voice rang out behind them, carrying a tone of seriousness and solemnity.
"No! Upholding justice has never been solely about strength. In fact, power isn't the most crucial factor in maintaining justice. What's truly essential is possessing a heart that cherishes all people and being willing to act upon that compassion."
Hearing this, the two soldiers imdiately stood up and saluted T-Bone before responding.
"Yes! Lieutenant Commander T-Bone!"
After the salute, Old William relaxed his posture and asked T-Bone, who looked slightly weary.
"Lieutenant Commander T-Bone, you've been frequently sailing out alone in small boats recently. Are there more pirates in the surrounding waters?"
At this, T-Bone chuckled and replied.
"The soldiers and I have been sailing for long periods and most of the crew have lost weight recently. The canteen is also running low on at supplies. I've been going out to catch more Sea Kings to supplent the soldiers' nutrition—it's not due to an increase in pirates. You don't need to worry."
Hearing T-Bone's words, the two soldiers were moved to the point of tears.
They eagerly volunteered to join him on his hunting trips, offering to steer or handle miscellaneous tasks even if their strength wasn't sufficient.
Sakazuki, who was training Jake nearby, twitched his ears slightly upon hearing T-Bone's recent purpose for sailing.
A wave of emotion rose in his heart.
Regarding this subordinate of his—whose appearance might be rough but whose kindness was unmatched—Sakazuki could confidently say that no one in the entire Marine Headquarters embodied justice as purely and genuinely as T-Bone.
As his gaze fell upon Jake, the boy T-Bone had rescued, a faint smile appeared on Sakazuki's face.
Perhaps this youth saved by T-Bone could inherit that very sense of justice.
But the next mont, he delivered a fierce punch to Jake's head, sending him crashing into the snow and ice that had now beco as hard as a rock.
The "crack" that echoed in Monet's ears made it hard to discern whether it ca from shattering ice or Jake's bones.
Her own stamina was nearly depleted.
From 9 a.m. to 11 a.m, she had maintained the lowest temperature she could produce for two straight hours—and that wasn't all she'd been doing.
"Monet! The temperature's rising again!"
At Sakazuki's shout, Monet jolted in alarm and forced her nearly immovable arms to continue manipulating the snowstorm.
While she created the blizzard, Sakazuki used his Devil Fruit abilities to continuously heat the surrounding environnt.
If Monet failed to maintain the low temperature he demanded, the punishnt would fall upon Jake.
Every ti Monet was on the verge of collapsing, Sakazuki would "educate" Jake with even more terrifying force.
And obviously, this tactic was very effective.
For an old fox like Sakazuki, seeing through a kid like Monet's thoughts and personality was far too easy.
Monet clearly placed Jake's importance above her own at this mont.
In such a situation, using her mistakes to punish Jake in front of her would yield better results than directly punishing her.
As for whether Jake was wronged or not—yes, he was, but it wouldn't cause any major damage.
Sakazuki had already tested Jake's healing abilities on the very first day.
The kid's regenerative power was absurdly strong, practically on par with Marco the Phoenix, the first division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates in the New World!
With that level of healing ability, combined with the traits of a Zoan-type Devil Fruit, honestly, training soone like this didn't require him to consider any so-called limits.
He just needed to hold back enough not to kill Jake outright—the rest would take care of itself.
As for Jake himself, he lay collapsed in the snowstorm, his entire body numb.
Whether ntally or physically, he barely had the strength to think anymore.
Sakazuki truly didn't see him as human.
Every punch was delivered with the force to knock him unconscious.
If not for continuously healing himself with Holy Light and channeling its power into his body, he really would have been knocked out by Sakazuki.
The surroundings were cold, but Jake didn't bla Monet.
He could clearly sense that every ti Sakazuki smashed him into the ground, a thick cushion of soft snow would appear beneath him just in ti to soften the impact.
And looking at Monet's face, now deathly pale and drained of color, Jake knew she was doing her absolute best.
Staring at Sakazuki, who had knocked him down again and again, Jake gritted his teeth.
Even a pig would've gotten angry after being beaten this much.
He forced himself up, panting heavily.
His eyelids were swollen from the hits, nearly obscuring his vision of Sakazuki.
Doubled images slowly crept into his sight, but that didn't stop Jake from wanting to knock Sakazuki down just once.
A description of his active skill flashed through his mind.
Judgnt Hamr Strike (Level 1): Your next attack will forcibly launch the enemy into the air. Duration of the launch depends on the enemy's strength.
No matter how strong Sakazuki was now, if he took this hit, he'd at least will be lift off the ground by a few centiters!
With that thought, Jake mustered the last bit of his strength and charged at Sakazuki.
Seeing Jake's fist faintly glowing, Sakazuki smirked.
"Oh? Instead of running away, you're coming right at ?"
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