It has to be said that, to some extent, the system and the penguin are comparable.
After years of research into Armament Haki and Observation Haki, the Navy simplified them, resulting in the Six Styles of Naval Power that are now widely used by lower-ranking officers in the Navy.
Despite its flaws, Iron Body, as a watered-down version of Armament Haki, is not a defense that three teenagers can break through at the moment.
Damon could feel that when he used the Iron Body technique, the muscles in his body became extremely firm in an instant. At the same time, under the resonance of Flame Breathing and the Six Treasures Immortal Thief, his Iron Body also underwent a subtle change, becoming three points harder than the Iron Body technique used by ordinary naval personnel.
I have to say, this was a pleasant surprise.
Iron Body is a skill that comes from the inside out, and in the Navy, only officers of field rank have the opportunity to come into contact with it.
Generally speaking, to learn the skill of Iron Body, one needs a solid physical foundation; otherwise, it is easy to fail.
Watching Drake and the other two hammer away for ages without breaking through his defenses, even getting red-faced and swollen from exhaustion, Damon stretched and said:
"My sons, you're giving your father a good massage, give him a little more pressure!"
Drake and his two companions were so angry that they couldn't even speak.
Look at Damon's blissful expression. Aren't they just three dutiful sons giving their father a back massage?
They knew perfectly well that Damon had tricked them!
Of all times, Tina had to bring up the very thing they didn't want to hear:
"Is this what male friendship is like? I love it!"
The three men's faces darkened, and they immediately stopped and slunk away.
If we don't run away now, do we think we're not embarrassed enough here?
Tina raised her hand to tuck a strand of hair that had fallen beside her ear, her beautiful eyes fixed on Damon. She felt that the boy in front of her was shrouded in a layer of mist, which aroused her desire to delve deeper and uncover it.
She leaned down, the tight silk clothing outlining the exaggerated curves of her body.
"Damon, I want to sincerely apologize to you. I didn't know that Drake would actually do something so outrageous to you. This is all my dereliction of duty."
A pleasant fragrance wafted toward Damon, and then he felt a slight coolness on his forehead.
Tina covered her lips, her ears burning red, and said shyly:
"Consider this my sincere apology. You're not allowed to dislike it, after all… it was my first kiss!"
After saying that, Tina turned and left.
Watching the receding figure, Damon touched the lipstick mark left on his forehead, feeling a mix of amusement and exasperation.
Are all girls in this world this precocious?
People's values are influenced by their physical appearance, and Damon was no exception. He found it hard to be angry with this enthusiastic and lively young woman.
After everyone left, Damon was the only one remaining in the dormitory. Only then did he leisurely survey his future home.
The four-person dormitory, strictly speaking, should be a two-bedroom, one-living-room unit. Each room has two beds with soft mattresses and matching bedding.
The living room isn't very big, about 30 square meters, with a sofa and a coffee table. Various snacks are placed on the table. The living room connects to a balcony, where an iron rack is placed for drying clothes.
Standing on the balcony, you can see a vast blue sea, with the sunset gradually fading on the horizon.
Sometimes, Damon would reminisce about the days in his previous life when he had air conditioning, computers, and cell phones. Now, after washing his clothes in the dormitory, he could only sit on his bed and meditate to pass the time.
For the vast majority of trainees, after their grueling daily training, there are only a few ways to pass the time: playing cards or gossiping.
Gossip spreads quickly among students, and the conflict that occurred in dormitory building 601 was soon widely reported.
The dormitory building houses not only this year's cadets, but also cadets from the previous two years. They are only allowed to graduate from the Naval Academy after achieving certain results.
Graduating from the Naval Academy is not easy. The assessment content is different every year. It may involve hunting large Sea Kings alone or chasing down famous pirates in the Grand Line. If they fail to complete the assessment, they can only continue to study at the academy.
Within a single night, all the students in the dormitory building knew that a formidable new student had arrived in this year's class.
The next day.
As soon as Drake arrived at the training ground, all the trainees looked at him and smiled.
Some people shouted, "Drake, how did you lose to Damon again?"
Drake sullenly pretended not to hear.
Then someone deliberately shouted loudly, "Drake, what's it like being a child's son?"
Drake's eyes widened, and he angrily rebuked:
"How could you slander someone's innocence like this!"
Drake's face turned red, his neck bulged, and several veins stood out on his forehead. He then went on to say some more repetitive things.
"So what if we win or lose temporarily? Can that be considered a loss in the Navy?"
At this moment, everyone burst into laughter.
The air inside and outside the playground was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.
⸻
Two months have passed in a flash.
White clouds drift lazily by, and seabirds occasionally take flight.
Five warships cut through the white waves and sailed on the Grand Line.
These five warships were smaller than normal warships, serving as training ships for Naval Academy cadets. They were 19.5 meters long, 7.95 meters wide, with a draft of 3.35 meters and a displacement of 180 tons, and were equipped with 10 cannons.
In terms of combat power alone, these five training ships are probably not as strong as some large pirate crews.
However, what is lost on one front is gained on another; the training ships are small and light, and their speed is much faster than that of ordinary warships.
When Damon stepped onto the deck, he could clearly sense the complex gazes of the other trainees.
Humans are a peculiar group. When you are too outstanding and stand out from the crowd, you will be ostracized by your peers. But when you leave everyone far behind, you will not only not be envied, jealous, or hated—you will be admired.
During the two months of grueling training, a small number of trainees could not withstand the immense pressure and chose to drop out of the Naval Academy midway, while many more chose to grit their teeth and persevere.
Among the trainees who remain, a small group will always stand out.
Even among this small group, Damon's brilliance was undeniable.
In high-intensity physical training, swordsmanship training, boxing training, and shooting training, Damon consistently achieved top results in every program.
It's hard to imagine that this child seems to possess boundless energy.
After a day of grueling training, most trainees were so exhausted they could barely lift a finger, but Damon was an exception; he continued training into the night.
The trainees' initial hostility toward Damon gradually changed.
Now, many students regard Damon as their role model and strive to emulate him.
Ignoring the stares of others, Damon went straight to Chief Instructor Zephyr.
In the hands of Chief Instructor Zephyr, there was a bounty poster.
The bounty poster features a young man with a pointed face and monkey-like cheeks, sporting a strange hairstyle resembling fox ears. His chin is raised, and he looks at others with a sidelong glance, revealing a hint of arrogance.
Foxy the Silver Fox, with a bounty of 240 million Berries.
At the same time, this is also the target of the practical course.
When Chief Instructor Zephyr saw Damon arrive, perhaps because he was convinced that Damon was Garp's illegitimate son, he felt a desire to test him and asked:
"Damon, do you know why I chose Foxy the Silver Fox as the hunting target for this practical training course?"
Information was scarce within the Naval Academy, making this an unsolvable problem for ordinary cadets.
Fortunately, the Naval Academy has a day off every Sunday, which allowed Damon to keep in touch with Garp regularly.
As a high-ranking officer in the Navy, even the information that Garp reveals casually is highly confidential intelligence that is rare to outsiders.
Not to mention, Garp intended to groom Damon into a future senior naval officer, and he had no intention of hiding it from him. On the contrary, he often dumped his unfinished duties on Damon for help, allowing him to glimpse the current situation through vast documents.
After thinking for a moment, Damon recalled seeing a file that recorded several incidents of pirate crews disappearing en masse in the Grand Line recently, which seemed to overlap with the sea area the training ships were heading toward.
If it weren't for Chief Instructor Zephyr's question, Damon wouldn't have connected the two events. Now, he suddenly sensed a deeper meaning behind them.
Recalling past knowledge, Foxy the Silver Fox enjoyed engaging in gambling games with other pirate crews, using this method to plunder their crew members and ships, thereby constantly strengthening his own forces.
With this in mind, Damon immediately understood.
"Could it be that Foxy the Silver Fox is plundering members of other pirate crews in these surrounding waters?"
Upon hearing this, Chief Instructor Zephyr's eyes revealed a hint of appreciation.
Chief Instructor Zephyr rolled up the bounty poster in his hand, his gaze fixed on the vast blue sea ahead, and said:
"At your age, it is truly remarkable that you were able to uncover this much."
"However, you only know one side of the story, not the other."
"According to a secret investigation by Navy Headquarters' special forces, Foxy the Silver Fox has had close ties with Donquixote Doflamingo in recent years. At auctions held by the Donquixote Family in the Sabaody Archipelago, batches of pirate goods have appeared."
"Therefore, the Navy now has reason to suspect that Donquixote Doflamingo is expanding his underworld business again. This is not something the Navy wants to see. We can no longer afford the rise of another powerful force in the New World, let alone an uncontrollable Warlord of the Sea."
Upon hearing this, Damon suddenly understood.
A year ago, Doflamingo seized Dressrosa through cunning and force.
With control of an entire country, Doflamingo is one of the most powerful among the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
If he is allowed to continue developing, he may become too powerful to handle and could even threaten the Navy.
However, because Doflamingo is a member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea recognized by the World Government, the Navy cannot openly target him. Otherwise, it would give them leverage, break the rules of the game, and cause unnecessary chaos.
That's why they took this action.
Under the guise of practical training, they attacked Foxy the Silver Fox, thereby crippling Doflamingo's power and subtly warning the Donquixote Pirates to make Doflamingo more cautious.
It must be said that this strategy was very ingenious.
The problem is that Damon's having insight into future developments, knew that things would not go as planned, Foxy the Silver Fox is still active on the Grand Line until he encounters Luffy and then his life is in jeopardy.
Moreover, Doflamingo's business in the underworld not only did not suffer any setbacks, but expanded in an exaggerated way. Doflamingo's business was found all over the world, the Grand Line, and even the New World, involving transactions such as arms, Devil Fruits, and human trafficking.
This means that the navy's original plan was good, but the actual operation went wrong, ultimately leading to failure.