Chapter 51: Return to the Marine Warship! Instructor Shuzo's Astonishment

Chapter 51: Return to the Navy Warship! Instructor Shuzo's Shock

Boin Archipelago, Temptation Forest.

Tsuzer stood quietly beneath the branches of the [Pastry Tree].

This food-bearing tree, planted only a few days ago, was growing at an abnormally ferocious pace. By now, it was arguably the tallest plant in the entire Temptation Forest.

Its extraordinarily lush branches were laden with a dazzling variety of colorful desserts, and a rich, sweet nectar fragrance drifted continuously through the air, making mouths water uncontrollably.

*It still grew a little too slowly, after all...*

Tsuzer reached out and gently rested his hand upon the rough bark of the [Pastry Tree].

His original plan was to use the [Pastry Tree] to completely drain and kill this plant-island floating upon the open sea before leaving the Boin Archipelago.

However, plans could never keep up with sudden changes; he had planted the [Pastry Tree Seed] a bit too late.

Now, the survival examination of the Boin Archipelago had concluded.

Tsuzer was about to leave this island.

Though the [Pastry Tree]’s current growth momentum was certainly terrifying, it was still some distance away from Tsuzer’s ultimate goal.

*I wonder if the [Pastry Tree] will be able to completely drain the Baron of the Stomach after I leave the Boin Archipelago... If the [Pastry Tree] completely sucks the Baron of the Stomach dry, I wonder if that 'feat' will be credited to my account... And if it is credited to me, I wonder what grade of bait it will turn into...*

Several trivial questions flashed rapidly through Tsuzer’s mind, though none of them yielded answers.

He could not possibly abandon the elite training camp and wait alone on the Boin Archipelago for the [Pastry Tree] to slowly mature.

The only course of action now was to leave.

A rustling sound came from behind Tsuzer as Smoker, Vergo, and Sentomaru slowly emerged.

"Such a strange big tree. How come I didn't notice it before?"

Sentomaru approached with a look of curiosity, plucked a handful of purple sweet potato glutinous rice cakes from the branches of the [Pastry Tree], shoved them directly into his mouth, and chewed away noisily.

"Mm—the taste seems even better than the rest of the desserts in the Temptation Forest."

Of course it was better.

Tsuzer replied silently in his heart.

The desserts on the [Pastry Tree] were all transformed from the concentrated essence and nutrients of the Temptation Forest.

As everyone knew, concentration was where the essence lay!

"Alright, Sentomaru, stop eating!"

Smoker said with an impatient expression.

"The warship will be docking shortly, it's time for us to head to the outermost perimeter of the Bandit Forest and wait."

Sentomaru glared at Smoker. "What a boring guy!"

Vergo nodded in agreement. "Indeed! A gourmet island like the Boin Archipelago is extremely rare on the ocean! Once we leave today, who knows when we'll ever get to taste such delicious desserts again."

Judging from the food debris that occasionally stained Vergo's face, this fellow was undoubtedly a thorough and unrepentant foodie.

"Alright, stop arguing."

Tsuzer patted the trunk of the [Pastry Tree] one last time, making the final decision.

"Let's set off now!"

Having weathered various challenges (and beatings) in the past, Tsuzer had already established his position as the leader in the hearts of Smoker, Vergo, and Sentomaru. His words carried considerable persuasive weight.

Tsuzer took the lead and strode out of the Temptation Forest, closely followed by Smoker and the other two.

Walking at the four companions' pace, they quickly reached the outermost coastline of the Boin Archipelago—the exact spot where they had first landed on the island.

After waiting for about half an hour, a naval training ship flying the white-and-blue seagull flag slowly approached.

Standing in the most prominent position at the very front of the warship's deck was none other than Chief Instructor Zephyr!

Tsuzer and his group were among the last batch to arrive. When they boarded the training ship, the rest of the trainee marines who had boarded earlier were already lined up in neat phalanxes on the deck.

"Marines! I am gratified to see that in this final survival training, not a single unlucky soul died on the Boin Archipelago."

After Tsuzer and the others integrated into the formation, Chief Instructor Zephyr began his address. His steady voice carried effortlessly to everyone's ears, commanding their undivided attention.

"However, returning safely does not mean you have completely passed the survival evaluation!"

The chief instructor's words caused the expressions of quite a few members of the training camp to tighten.

Zephyr's gaze swept across the entire formation, his falcon-like, sharp eyes lingering for a moment on those marines who had noticeably gained weight.

Clap! Clap!

Zephyr clapped his hands, and a team of medics emerged from the cabin, carrying a large quantity of testing equipment.

"We will now begin inspecting everyone's physical condition! The instructors will evaluate you comprehensively based on your performance on the island and your current physical state!"

"And the most crucial evaluation metric is—'body fat percentage'!"

Having served as the chief instructor of the training camp for over a decade, Zephyr was naturally well aware of what kind of place the Boin Archipelago was.

For self-disciplined marines, the Boin Archipelago was an exceptional training ground.

But for those undisciplined fellows, the Boin Archipelago was nothing more than a lazy nest for fattening up, completely useless for any training effect!

Zephyr desperately hoped that every marine in the elite training camp would be the kind of immensely disciplined, utterly serious soldier.

Yet, unfortunately...

Every year in the elite training camp, a few lazy bums would always manage to return from the Boin Archipelago plump and well-fed...

The medical personnel moved back and forth through the crowd with their equipment, recording the physical data of the marines.

Once the inspections concluded, Zephyr directly announced a dismissal on the spot, stating that the final rankings for the survival training would be announced the next morning.

Most of the navy soldiers chose to rest right where they were.

A small fraction of elite marines, who held themselves to higher standards and possessed greater self-discipline, intended to seek out their familiar senior instructors first to review and organize the gains they had harvested from their survival training over the past month.

Tsuzer's fingers twitched slightly.

Stepping back onto the naval training ship, his long-dormant gene for slaying fish began to stir restlessly.

*Kill fish! Kill fish!*

Mutmuring silently to himself, Tsuzer walked in the direction of the warship's cafeteria.

Before he had even taken two steps, however, a sturdy figure blocked his path.

"Tsuzer! I heard you've already mastered Busoshoku Haki?!"

Instructor Shuzo's wildly excited, booming voice echoed far and wide across the open deck of the navy warship.

As soon as those words were uttered, whether it was the medical personnel compiling the physical test results, the navy soldiers resting on the spot, or the senior instructors offering guidance, all of them turned their gazes toward this direction.

Even Chief Instructor Zephyr could not help glancing over, his eyes locking directly onto Tsuzer.

"Instructor Shuzo, how did you—"

Before Tsuzer's puzzled words could fully leave his mouth, he caught sight of the unmistakable "massive giveaway" standing right next to Instructor Shuzo.

Who else could it be if not Sentomaru, who prided himself on being "the man with the tightest lips in the world"?

You loose-lipped fellow, how on earth do you have the nerve to do this?!

Tsuzer twitched the corners of his mouth, forcibly suppressing the urge to deliver some choice mental insults to Sentomaru.

"Yes, I have indeed touched upon the power of Haki."

Without wasting any breath, Tsuzer directly raised his right arm and unleashed the power of [Busoshoku Haki], instantly coating his entire forearm in a layer of pitch-black luster as tough as iron.

Busoshoku: Hardening!

Facts spoke louder than words.

"It really is Busoshoku Haki!"

Instructor Shuzo struck his signature pose of utter shock.

Yet the thoughts running through his mind at this moment extended far beyond the simple fact that Tsuzer had managed to master Busoshoku Haki.