The hellish, pure physical training lasted for two weeks.
When Chief Instructor Zephyr gathered the recruits at the harbor, they all looked much leaner and stronger.
Almost everyone thought the second round of physical hell was about to begin.
However, Zephyr pointed toward a massive Marine transport ship outside the harbor.
"Starting today, you will undergo two weeks of unsupplied wilderness survival training!"
Behind him, a map of a jagged, terrifying island appeared on a large screen.
"The target location is 'Gigantea,' an uninhabited island located 300 nautical miles southeast of Marineford!"
Zephyr stepped forward and pointed at the map with his instructor's cane.
"The voyage will take one day and one night. The island's climate is unpredictable, and it is home to many undocumented beasts."
"Occasionally, some blind pirates might even use it as a temporary base."
"Let me be clear," Zephyr's voice was cold and lacked any emotion, sending a chill through the crowd.
"We will drop you off on the island and return immediately. Two weeks later, we will come back to pick up those who survived... or your corpses."
He scanned the crowd and added one final, crucial rule:
"This training involves everyone from the Classes. You will act in teams of two or three."
Before boarding the ship, anyone who has not found a teammate will be disqualified and sent directly to the last class!
This last rule was like a bomb that instantly exploded in the crowd!
The recruits, who had been exhausted and silent, immediately became restless.
The strong ones began to look at each other, searching for teammates who were equally powerful.
Those with average performance looked anxious and started searching the crowd frantically.
In the middle of the chaos, one figure moved like a startled golden retriever.
He hurriedly pushed through the crowd and ran straight toward Aiden at the back of the line.
"Aiden!"
Rosinante stopped in front of him, gasping for air. His face was full of nervousness and sincerity.
"Um... you... have you picked a teammate? If not, could I... could I join your team?"
Aiden looked at his face, which was so honest it was almost silly.
Without any hesitation, he nodded calmly. "Sure."
He didn't dislike this clumsy but warm-hearted guy.
Besides, having a teammate who looked harmless would make it much easier for him to hide his own strength.
"That's great!" Rosinante said, looking immensely relieved. A bright smile appeared on his face.
Evening, Dorm Room 307.
Aiden was casually tossing some outdoor supplies into a backpack—rope, flint, water purification tablets, and so on.
Of course, this was purely for show.
His real supplies were already prepared inside his storage ring.
On the other side of the room, Smoker was pacing back and forth with irritation.
During the team-selection time earlier that afternoon, Smoker had stood there with his arms crossed.
He had worn an expression that said, "None of you trash are worthy of me."
The result was that everyone had silently agreed to stay away from this "walking volcano."
Everyone else had already formed their teams.
After a long silence, Smoker finally couldn't take it anymore.
He stopped pacing and spoke with a very unnatural, stuttering voice.
"Hey... Aiden. Did you... find a team?"
Aiden didn't look up. He checked the buckle on his backpack and answered casually.
"Yeah, I did. Rosinante invited me."
This answer made Smoker's face turn a deep, angry red.
He had assumed that someone with a quiet personality like Aiden would also be a leftover.
As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Aiden didn't stop moving but stabbed Smoker right where it hurt:
"Let me guess. You stood there for a long time waiting for someone to beg you to join them."
"Then you realized that except for you, everyone else had already formed a team?"
"Bullshit!" Smoker shouted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
"I just decided those trash weren't worthy of being on my team!"
The smile on Aiden's face grew wider.
He turned around and leaned against the desk by his bed, looking at Smoker with an "I understand" gaze.
"Oh? Really? Then why didn't you go find your 'close friend' Hina? I think her strength is a good match for yours."
"You...!"
Smoker's face turned from red to purple. The veins on his forehead began to throb.
He clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles cracked loudly.
He looked like he wanted to eat Aiden alive.
But when he remembered the punch to his stomach from before, Smoker held back his temper.
Aiden watched Smoker, who looked like he was about to explode but didn't dare to pick a fight.
He thought it was funny but decided to stop teasing him.
He shrugged and spoke as if talking to himself:
"Well, our team is still missing one person."
"If you really can't find anyone and don't want to go to the last class... I don't mind carrying some dead weight."
A long, suffocating silence filled the dorm room.
Just as Aiden thought Smoker would stand there for the rest of the night, he finally moved.
He turned his back to Aiden, acting as if he were angry at the wall.
He forced a few mumbled, barely audible words through his teeth:
"...Then... count me in... fine..."
Aiden's hand didn't stop flipping through his book, acting as if he hadn't heard anything.
Just as Smoker began to wonder if Aiden had missed his request, Aiden spoke:
"Sure, no problem."
Early the next morning, the massive Marine transport ship set sail on time.
After sailing for a day and a night, a huge island covered in thin mist appeared on the horizon.
The transport ship stopped several nautical miles away from the island's shore.
"Listen up!" Zephyr's voice rang through the ship via the broadcast Snail.
"Now, take your backpacks, jump off, and swim to the shore on your own! The training starts right now!"
As soon as the order was given, chaos broke out on the deck.
Most of the recruits didn't hesitate. They leaped into the sea like dumplings being dropped into a pot.
However, the few Devil Fruit users on the ship stayed where they were, looking pale.
On this ocean, the abilities they were so proud of had become their biggest weakness.
In the end, all of them—without exception—had to rely on their teammates.
They used various messy ways to scramble toward the shore.
At this moment, everyone truly understood the meaning of Zephyr's rule about forming teams.
On the sea, even the strongest ability user needs a companion they can trust with their life.
"Dammit!"
Smoker looked at the bottomless blue water, and his expression turned incredibly sour.
He could turn himself into smoke and fly at a low altitude over the water, but it would drain a huge amount of energy.
If he ran out of strength halfway and fell into the sea, he would be dead.
While he was hesitating, Aiden finished tying his backpack and spoke calmly:
"Grab my shoulder."
Smoker's face instantly turned bright red again. "What do you think I am?!"
"A landlubber who can't swim," Aiden answered simply.
"Or would you rather wait for the instructor to throw you overboard?"
Smoker instinctively wanted to argue, but he didn't know what to say.
Finally, with great reluctance, he reached out and placed his hand on Aiden's shoulder.
Rosinante, who was standing nearby, offered to help carry Aiden's backpack.
Aiden gave a relaxed smile and declined the offer.
Dragging Smoker's "dead weight" along, Aiden jumped into the sea without any apparent effort.
He began swimming toward the shore at a steady and efficient pace.
A few minutes later, the three of them successfully reached a beach on the island.
The moment they landed, Rosinante collapsed on the sand, gasping for air from exhaustion.
Smoker knelt on the ground, coughing violently to spit out the seawater he had swallowed.
As a Devil Fruit user, the feeling of losing all his strength after being soaked in seawater was truly unbearable.
Once he recovered a bit, Smoker looked at the endless primeval jungle in front of them.
Finally, his gaze landed on Aiden, who looked perfectly calm, as if he had just taken a short walk.
He asked bluntly:
"Hey. What now?"
Clearly, after their "friendly" time together, Smoker had instinctively started to view this "average" roommate as the one with the final say in their three-man team.
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