CHAPTER 611: CHAPTER 130: THE HEAVENLY TRIBUTE... HAS BEEN STOLEN!

Days bled into weeks.

At Marine Headquarters—the Marine Academy, the Training Camp—yellow sand scudded across the parade ground. Aside from Magellan, the Fourth Class cadets stood in neat ranks, eyes bright with respect as they fixed on the Vice Admiral at the field’s center.

After more than two months of brutal basics, they had finally reached Instructor Darren’s Physique Training Guidance course.

"The essence of physique training," Darren drawled, cigar clamped between his teeth, hands tucked in his pockets, "is comprehensive reinforcement of your body."

His gaze swept the ranks, easy and unhurried.

"There’s a reason Zephyr-sensei schedules this specialized course two full months after the camp opens."

"The foundation of physique training is impact resistance."

"Trying high-intensity impact work without a base is just self-harm."

"For two months, Zephyr-sensei’s hammered you with conditioning and close-quarters drills," Darren added with a small smile. "All of it to lay the ground for what comes next."

He let that settle. "Before we start, any questions?"

Silence held a beat—then curiosity flickered in the eyes before him. A hand shot up.

"Yes, T-Bone?" Darren smiled at the pale, gaunt youth who looked permanently under the weather.

Flushed with nerves, T-Bone stammered, "I–Instructor Darren, rumor says you’ve trained your body to ’Indestructible.’ They say you can take a direct hit from Marine heavy artillery without a scratch... Is that true?"

Darren nodded, calm. "It is."

A ripple of gasps rolled the line. They were elites from across the world, handpicked by merciless selection. They’d heard the stories; some could recite Darren’s feats by heart. But few had seen his power up close.

Hearing it from his own mouth left them stunned.

A person could actually forge a body like diamond. Indestructible.

"C-could you... show us?" T-Bone swallowed.

Darren glanced around. "This ground isn’t ideal for a demonstration—"

"Let this old man handle it!"

The thunder of a voice cut him off. Every head snapped toward the gate—then jaws went slack.

Rumble... rumble...

Zephyr’s towering frame strode onto the ground, dragging a monstrous multi-barreled heavy cannon behind him.

The weapon stood over four meters high, its vast black barrel gleaming in the sun. The gaping muzzle yawned like the maw of a war beast—enough to chill the blood. It was so heavy it had carved a trench across the training ground.

Darren’s lip twitched.

Under the cadets’ frozen stares, Zephyr hauled the cannon into position. Smoke puffed from his nostrils as he caught his breath. "Damn, nearly killed me," he wheezed. "Thing weighs a ton."

A few ragged breaths later, he grinned. "Young Darren, I brought you a special teaching aid."

Darren stared.

"Zephyr-sensei," a cadet blurted, "where did you get that?"

They gawked at the absurd piece of artillery. It looked bigger than a Buster Call main gun.

"Oh, I just pried it off something," Zephyr said, offhand.

The more they looked, the more familiar it seemed.

"Wait..."

"No way..."

"This is—"

Realization hit, leaving only shock. This cannon was one of the three most powerful pieces guarding the Central Military Fortress—right in front of Headquarters.

Zephyr-sensei had dismantled that?!

"Zephyr-sensei," Shuzo managed, bronze muscles quivering, face blank with disbelief, "you’re not going to bombard Instructor Darren with it, are you?"

"Bombard? No, no..." Zephyr waved him off. "This is a teaching demonstration. How could you call it bombardment?"

Thud!

Bodies went down all along the line.

Isn’t that literally bombardment?!

"Hahahaha! Come on, Young Darren! Let these little rabbits see the full power of your ’Indestructible Body’!" Zephyr bellowed, cheerfully loading the gun. What usually took a crew he handled alone, swinging the barrel to level squarely at the Vice Admiral.

His sunglasses barely contained the fervor blazing in his eyes.

Whoosh!

The cadets scattered like startled ducks, clearing space around Darren.

They glanced between the grinning, borderline manic Zephyr and Darren’s darkening scowl. Murmurs rippled:

"I get the demo, but why does Zephyr-sensei’s smile look... unhinged?"

"He looks ready to pop."

"Did Instructor Darren tick him off?"

"How would I know?"

"I heard Vice Admiral Darren didn’t learn ’Indestructible Body’ from Zephyr-sensei."

"So that’s why he’s salty?"

"Must be..."

Before the whispers could crest—

BOOM!

A blast split the air. The ground shuddered.

---

Three minutes later, the barrage fell silent. Hundreds of shells were spent. Firelight flickered through billows of smoke. A crater twenty meters wide gaped in the center of the field.

Thud... thud... thud...

Footsteps sounded in the haze.

Darren’s tall frame rose from the pit—uniform in rags, skin smeared with ash, even his cigar blasted in half.

"Hey, old man," he snapped at Zephyr, "that was excessive."

Zephyr chuckled, mischief in his eye.

Darren shook his head, turned to the class, and let a devil’s grin bloom. "Alright. Demonstration’s over. Now the real training starts."

A chill crawled up new spines everywhere.

---

Half a day later, it was done.

By the time Darren lit a fresh cigar and left the grounds, not a single cadet was standing. The field was littered with groaning, bruised bodies.

Purupuru...

Changed into a clean uniform and headed for a meal, Darren fished out his Military Den Den Mushi and answered.

"This is Darren."

Sengoku’s voice came hard and low. "Young Darren, to my office. Immediately. Something terrible has happened."

He paused, as if reeling, then rasped, "The Heavenly Tribute... it’s been stolen."

To be continued...