Chapter 367

A group of trainees brimmed with eager, excited anticipation.

"Looking forward to it that much?"

"Hopefully…"

"Wait until the moment you actually face the pirates — let's see if you can still keep that excited mood."

Watching the incomparably massive Marineford shrink into a black speck and vanish completely, Lu En slowly turned his head, only to see the trainees beside him looking utterly thrilled.

At once, a hint of amusement surfaced in his eyes.

Three days later.

The weather was fine,

the sky a clear, boundless blue.

In the azure sky, fluffy white clouds drifted, while a blazing golden sun hung at the horizon, scattering warm sunlight that flowed gently down, bathing this stretch of sea.

On the calm sea surface, dazzling, brilliant golden light shimmered in reflection.

The entire ocean looked like a sea strewn with gold.

A sea breeze drifted gently in.

Splash, splash!

The seawater drifted, rippling into wave after wave of foam.

The ripples spread,

the waves surged.

In the distance,

an incomparably massive warship sailed slowly forward; riding the sea breeze, the uniquely Marine flag hoisted high on it fluttered proudly in the wind.

On the deck.

Lu En, drenched in sweat, was shouldering a one-thousand-kilogram load, undergoing devilish training.

"Eight thousand, nine hundred and ninety-four!"

"Eight thousand, nine hundred and ninety-five!"

"…"

Sweat traced its path, flowing slowly down his body.

Soaking the deck…

A moment later,

Hah!

With a heavy exhale, Lu En finished today's quota of training.

Then,

he rose from the deck, casually picking up a towel to wipe the sweat from his forehead, clearing away every drop that had run down his face.

He made his way to the railing at the edge of the deck,

and, eyes lightly closed, felt the cool sea breeze rushing at him, stirring his hair into motion.

This round of devilish training had brought him only the barest improvement in strength.

But he had already grown accustomed to this daily devilish training.

Now, a single day without training…

and he felt that day had passed utterly unfulfilled.

Very hollow,

very lost.

Only days spent doing devilish training truly made him feel fulfilled.

Moreover.

Even though each training session brought him only the barest gain in strength,

as long as it accumulated day after day, the change in his power was still considerable.

"It's been three days since we left Marineford."

Lu En sighed softly.

Since the warship departed Marineford, it had already sailed for a full three days through these waters of the Grand Line.

Over these three days of sailing,

they hadn't run into too many pirate crews, nor encountered any extreme weather changes.

Not long after.

Smoker, Including Tina, and several other trainees walked over to the railing at the edge of the deck, stood beside Lu En, and likewise felt the cool sea breeze brushing gently against them.

After a while,

Smoker looked at Lu En and asked, "You think we can really handle that pirate group Master Zefa told us to deal with — the one called the Three-Headed Hound Pirates?"

As early as three days ago,

when the warship set sail and departed Marineford, Zefa had already truthfully informed every trainee present of the full core content of this graduation trial.

Among them,

naturally included Smoker, Including Tina, and the others.

The graduation trial assigned to this training camp was to deal with a pirate crew called the Three-Headed Hound Pirates.

Wipe them all out!

That was the core content of the graduation trial.

Zefa would not interfere too much throughout; he would only supervise from the side.

All of it depended on Smoker and the others doing it themselves.

The Three-Headed Dog Pirates — this was a large pirate crew with bounties totaling as much as a hundred million Berries.

On their ship was a Devil Fruit user of the Zoan type, the Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Cerberus, whose strength was no trifle, and who carried a bounty of nearly sixty million Berries.

Next,

Within the Three-Headed Dog Pirates, there were also quite a few officers whose strength was no trifle, each one a powerful combatant carrying bounties of several tens of millions of Berries.

Precisely because of this, Smoker and the other trainees felt a measure of pressure.

After all.

When all was said and done, this group of trainees had never yet seen blood, nor ever taken part in a large-scale slaughter against a pirate crew.

Regarding the upcoming graduation trial — one that required them to clash head-on with a pirate crew in a life-and-death fight — they would inevitably feel worry and unease.

(cjde)"I need to correct you on one thing."

Lu En turned his head, looking at Smoker and the other trainees with great interest, and explained with a smile, "It's not 'us' — it's 'you.' I am not included in this graduation trial."

"Master Zefa even asked me not to interfere lightly."

"So…"

"This is your graduation trial, not mine."

"You all need to get that straight!"

The words fell.

Smoker was left speechless.

Including Tina also said nothing.

A group of trainees stared blankly at Lu En, unable to speak.

"Don't worry — if any of you run into trouble, I'll step in and save you."

"Or rather…"

"If, during this graduation trial, some irresistible outside force interferes, I will likewise step in and help you deal with that interfering outside force."

"What you need to think about is very simple: how to deal with the Three-Headed Dog Pirates — that's all."

Lu En waved his hand.

For this graduation trial, he had promised Master Zefa that he would not lightly take part or interfere.

Everything would depend entirely on Smoker and the others' own individual abilities.

If Lu En were to interfere…