Recruit Luffy at the start and build the strongest navy.

Time flies like sand slipping through your fingers; spring comes and autumn goes, and the old trees around the training camp have added another ring of growth.

At this moment, in an open area on the back hill of Marineford.

Clang!

The sound of metal clashing rang out as two swords, one purple and one black, crossed together, sparks flying from the slight friction between them.

"drink!"

Kyle gave a soft shout, and the veins on his arm bulged out, unleashing a powerful force that was transmitted through the blade to Hawkeye's sword, sending him flying.

He immediately sheathed his sword and squatted slightly.

"The Awakening of Insects!!"

As the purple lightning bolt was drawn, Kyle's figure transformed into a streak of purple lightning and vanished from the spot in an instant.

A tremor was heard from the void.

The two figures passed each other, their backs to each other, still in the posture of wielding swords.

One breath later~

Tear it apart!!

The sound of two strips of cloth tearing rang out almost simultaneously, and Hawkeye and Kyle each had a tear in the side of their clothes.

"Your move is much more powerful than when we first fought!"

Hawkeye sheathed his sword, turned to look at Kyle, and said calmly.

He paused, then continued:

"It's hard to believe that your swordsmanship has improved so much in just one year!"

"Heaven rewards diligence; I've worked so hard, and this is what I deserve!"

Kyle grinned.

He puts in three times the "effort" of Zoro, so it's perfectly normal for him to improve by a tiny bit!

It is now the year 1512 of the Sea Calendar, a year since Kyle brought Sanji back.

This year is not much different from the previous year.

The system remained completely silent as always.

Daily life is pretty much the same as before: training, playing around...

The only slight difference is that you no longer have to worry about what to eat every day, as Zhefu will prepare it for them.

The food is indeed much better than the previous year.

For Kyle, there is another difference: Hawkeye would come over every now and then to challenge him to a sword duel.

A year ago, after he brought Hawkeye back to Marine Headquarters and handed him over to Sengoku, Hawkeye was not sent to Impel Down. Instead, he became one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, which was more than a year earlier than in the original story.

In the original work, Hawkeye became a Shichibukai around this year, which is 1512 in the Sea Calendar.

During the period after the red-haired man lost his arm.

However, after Hawkeye became one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, he did something that Kyle found utterly absurd.

That meant he applied for a house at the Navy Headquarters and moved in.

Sengoku wholeheartedly supported Hawkeye's decision, as Hawkeye was one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and the Navy had no right to interfere with him.

In plain terms, you can't command him.

The problem is that he doesn't need to command Hawkeye. As long as Hawkeye lives at Marine Headquarters, he is effective for the Navy and can form a deterrent force against external forces.

That alone is enough!

Besides, in principle he really can't command Hawkeye, but if the Marine Headquarters is attacked at any time, Hawkeye is here, how could he not help?

Anyway, Sengoku felt embarrassed!

There is only one reason why Hawkeye lives at Marine Headquarters.

That would make it convenient for him to come and spar with Kyle anytime!

Although Kyle very kindly offered him a thunder shower when he brought him back, they're all friends, so he definitely wouldn't mind such a small thing!

However, when he first sparred with Kyle at the Navy Headquarters, he kindly invited Kyle to experience "gua sha" (scraping therapy).

For Kyle, Hawkeye's frequent requests to spar with him in swordsmanship were also beneficial.

The swordsmanship he learned from Zoro was better integrated into his battle with Mihawk.

With the combination of these two factors, his swordsmanship level has risen like a rocket over the past year, and he is now only one step away from becoming a great swordsman, reaching the level Hawkeye was at a year ago.

That's right. In the past year, Hawkeye has not only improved but also become stronger, having become a great swordsman a few months ago.

"I'll come see you again in a week!"

Hawkeye suddenly spoke to Kyle.

"That might not work! I won't be at Marine Headquarters in a week!"

Kyle shook his head.

"Huh?! Where are you going?"

"The graduation assessment for this year's elite naval training camp will be held around this time!"

"Teacher Zephyr will assign suitable tasks to the students based on their abilities!"

"Most of them are missions to capture pirates, lasting two months!"

"The Navy will then award them the corresponding ranks based on their abilities and performance in the assessment!"

"This is a very important event for every student who is about to graduate!"

Kyle smiled as he said this.

"Our Shengfeng team has been at headquarters for the past year, training almost every day!"

"Those guys have been itching to get going for a while now!"

"Taking this opportunity, I went to Teacher Zefa and asked for a task to give our Shengfeng team some practice!"

"This will also be our first battle in establishing our reputation!!"

"You bunch of monster child soldiers?"

A hint of surprise appeared on Hawkeye's face.

Over the course of a year, he visited Kyle countless times, and naturally, he got to know Luffy and his crew through these interactions.

There's only one assessment of their Hawkeye team:

genius!!

Although they are all quite young, their strength surpasses that of many adult marines!

He was particularly interested in Roronoa Zoro.

Although he is still young, he has great potential and should be a formidable opponent as he grows up.

Of course, I'm only slightly interested.

After all, Zoro is far too weak for him right now.

The person he was most interested in was now standing right in front of him.

Luffy and his crew are geniuses, but Kyle and Hawkeye really don't know what idiom to use to describe him.

He only learned later that Kyle was only seven years old when he fought him.

No wonder he hadn't heard of Kyle back then.

Kyle is only eight years old, but he looks like a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy. Who the hell would guess Kyle's age if they just randomly met him?

After a moment of silence, Hawkeye spoke:

"Okay! I'll wait until you get back from your mission before I come find you!"

After saying that, Hawkeye didn't hesitate at all and turned to walk down the mountain.

Watching Hawkeye's departing figure, Kyle slowly turned around, gazing into the distance at the boundless horizon.

His statement that he got a mission from Zephyr is not entirely accurate.

To be precise, he set his sights on a certain pirate, and that pirate became their mission target.

"If we defeat that pirate, it'll probably shake the world, won't it?"

"I'm kind of looking forward to it~"

As soon as he finished speaking, Kyle's figure suddenly transformed into purple lightning and vanished from the spot...