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27th of February 1506.

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A couple of hours later, around midnight, a figure could be seen whizzing through the city as two equally fast figures followed closely behind him. Glancing at the man clearly, you can see several black marks around his face, showing the status of someone who took a beating in a fistfight. A large scar, made via a sword, could also be seen running down his left hand. This guy has been jumped.

'What the f*ck are these kids.' He inwardly cursed, forcing himself to speed up as he felt the teenager holding the sword getting near him. He could hear the young swordsman's breathing pattern as he prepared to dodge the incoming attack.

'Why didn't I just leave yesterday? Is this going to be my end?' That thought flashed in his mind as he rolled forward, narrowly avoiding a horizontal slash coming from behind him. However, before he could get up, a foot hit him on the back of his head, forcing him back to the ground.

Feeling dizzy from the kick, Portis still managed to get up before receiving another attack. Retreating, he looked at the enemies, ready to fight for his life.

*Vooom!*

He hurriedly stepped back, avoiding a punch coming from his right as one of his opponents unexpectedly appeared there. 'When did he get there?' He thought, dodging another attack before countering with one of his own. However, the enemy expected it and tilted his head to barely avoid the punch before sending a straight with his right hand, hitting Portis on his only working eye.

Not even recovering from the opponent's counter, Portis received a low kick, slightly bending his knees. However, that was enough for a heavy uppercut to touch his jaw, which floored him to the ground and knocked him out.

Regaining consciousness a few seconds later, Portis wanted to get up but couldn't move. Looking up, he saw the teenager that knocked him out standing above him, discussing with the other teenager.

'Sh*t! Why is this kid so heavy?' Thought Portis, losing consciousness as the weight of the person standing on his back stopped him from breathing. Slowly closing his eyes, Portis regretted leaving his peaceful village for an illusionary treasure he didn't even know existed.

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"What should we do with him?" Asked Fred as he looked at Laurent, who Knocked Portis out by standing on his back. That's certainly possible, using the training uniform instructor Baibald designed for them.

"He's one hell of a criminal." Answered Laurent as he remembered what he had read in Portis's information folder earlier. "However, deciding his fate is not our job yet. Let's bring him to the headquarters." He continued after thinking about it for a while.

After ensuring the criminal was knocked out, Laurent carried him on his shoulder, signaling Fred to follow him back to the headquarters.

"I expected a lot more for someone worth 17 million berries." Suddenly spoke Fred as he glanced at the knocked-out Portis. The fight had been anti-climatic as it ended earlier than he expected. It looks like he expected more for his first hunt.

"We did fuse on him. So, I can't blame him for being weak. I guess he never had to fight multiple people at once, though. He looked lost while fighting us." Answered Laurent, looking content about how the battle ended.

"He should still be more challenging than that. We fought him while wearing our training uniforms. How tragic would it be for him if we didn't have them on?" Responded Fred, unable to accept that Portis deserved his bounty.

"Why have our roles changed today? Usually, I'm the one that complains while you try to console me." Commented Laurent, looking at the disappointed Fred. Hearing those words, Fred sighed, dropping the issue.

"I just had a lot of expectations for this mission. Judging by how the soldiers at the headquarters couldn't deal with him, I thought he would give us a good challenge." Explained Fred, giving a light slap to the knocked-out Portis to blow off some steam.

"You're just happy you can restart training, huh?." Pointed Fred, already looking aggrieved by the hard training waiting for him upon the Commodore's return. "You're the only person I know who relishes torturing his body like that." He added, looking at Laurent as if he was insane.

"Don't look at me like that." Retorted Laurent, ready to say some bullish in Fred's eyes. "Training is therapeutic. You can forget all your worries while doing it, making it the sacred time of the day any real man should have." He added disapproving of Fred's despise of longer training times. However, seeing that his friend wasn't convinced, Laurent explained his point further by giving a simple example.

"Let's take instructor Baibald as an example." He started, not noticing the recorder snail they used to film the battle was in Fred's hands, still filming.

"He's one more person who relishes harsh training. You can see him try his best to improve, but I think there is something deeper than just wanting to improve. I don't know what it is, but I have a conjecture." Paused Laurent and looked at Fred, who looked more excited than during their fight against Portis.

"You can't prank the prankster." Finished Laurent, pointing at the recorder snail hidden in Fred's hands. "Did you think I would fall for this trick?" He asked, smiling at the disappointed Fred.

Sighing in defeat, Fred stopped recording and put the snail in his pocket before resuming his walk with the smug Laurent, who was carrying a person on his shoulder. The picture looked relatively odd to the people looking at them through their windows.

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The 28th of February 1506.

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"You finally woke up!" Exclaimed Zephyr as he noticed Commodore Stone open his eyes. As the latter looked around him while slowly sitting up, Admiral Zephyr called one of the medics stationed on Waher Islet.

"Get him something hot to consume, a soup is preferable." Commanded Zephyr, nodding after seeing the medic execute his order.

Looking back at Commodore Stone, Zephyr smiled. "Little Adam woke up yesterday evening. He already gave me the report of the fight. So you can focus on recovering. This area needs you." He spoke in a very soothing tone.

Smiling in relief, Commodore Stone closed his eyes and visibly relaxed before speaking. "I thought we were going to die there. Thankfully, Adam awakened his Armament Haki at the last minute." He voiced, the fear of death evident in his voice. However, you could also hear the conviction that he would still do the same thing if the same thing were to happen again.

"I saw what you did on the report." Interjected Zephyr, the smile on his face disappearing. "That was pretty dangerous. You know that, right?" He asked, the warm atmosphere around him disappearing.

Sensing the change, Stone opened his eyes, a smirk on his face as he responded to the question. "And I'll do the same thing if anything like that happens again." He answered, not avoiding eye contact with the Admiral. A few seconds later, Zephyr smiled while shaking his head.

"Little Adam gave me the same answer yesterday. Thankfully he resumed his training after that incident. Anyway, young people are way too hot-headed these days. The Garp influence Sengoku was talking about is real, I guess. Everybody wants to be a hero now." He started, about to continue his rant. However, the door opened before he could continue talking.

Adam Baibald, the man who awakened his second Haki during battle, walked into the room. Smiling upon seeing that Stone had woken up, he spoke.

"It took you a while to wake up. Did that man's punches hurt that much?" He ridiculed after lightly saluting Admiral Zephyr. "Hello, Uncle Zephyr. I hope you read the report." He added, sitting on a nearby chair.

"Yes, I did." Responded Zephyr, nodding. "This win against Otis could award a tremendous amount of merit. A double promotion for both of you would not be far-fetched." He complimented, giving hope to his two little 'nephews' hope.

Time passed as the three discussed different topics, Zephyr having already explained why Otis appeared in Paradise. More than an hour passed without them noticing, Commodore Stone having already eaten his soup. As they conversed, the topic revolved into Marineford's yearly recruitment.

"Adam, have you told him about the kids?" Asked Alvis Stone, whose complexion visibly improved, looking at Baibald.

"No. I was too tired to talk about that." Answered Baibald, shaking his head before looking at Zephyr, who looked confused by Commodore Stone's sudden question. Noticing Zephyr's confusion, he smiled and signaled Baibald, the businessman, to start his round of promotion.

"As things stand right now, we have two gems in our hands, Uncle Zephyr..." Started Baibald, a professional smile on his face as he tried his best to promote his two favorite students.