One Piece: Holy Light Swordmaster

After dealing with "Mad Dog" Joyce, the entire Jagged Fang Pirates were honored to be "temporarily conscripted" by Wright. Of course, their accommodations had been arranged—free cells in Impel Down.

Joking aside, for a pirate crew to thrive under a bounty of 38 million berries, even a cursory glance would reveal the survival tactics of their seemingly docile squirrel-like captain. Naturally, it was nothing more than preying on the weak and fearing the strong.

Zephyr contacted a warship to collect the "spoils of war," led by Captain Cancer of the Headquarters. As it happened, Cancer was a senior from two years ahead of Wright at the Academy, also trained under Zephyr. Upon learning Wright's whereabouts, the senior hurried over to assist in handling the aftermath.

Joking? Hardly. As a fellow elite graduate from Zephyr's unit, Captain Cancer knew his mentor's character well. Now, seeing Zephyr personally endorsing a newly minted major? "Newly minted" barely did justice—this year's training camp had produced a monster. Even the officers and generals under Zephyr's tutelage had heard the news.

Had there ever been a major promoted before officially graduating from training camp? Not in Zephyr's tenure. Moreover, this particular major was completing personal field assignments?

The buzz from the training camp's combat internship records hadn't even reached Cancer yet, as he'd been patrolling the seas recently. But it had only been a week since Zephyr himself passed Cancer's warship on his return to Headquarters.

And within that week, this freshly promoted Major Wright had already taken down a pirate captain with a 75-million berry bounty, along with the entire crew under a captain worth 38 million berries?

The 38 million wasn't worth mentioning, but Cancer certainly recognized the name Daniel "Mad Dog" Joyce. Long an infamous figure, Joyce never fled when encountering Cancer; it was Cancer who often had to calculate strategic retreats.

Now, here stood Cancer—a Headquarters captain, a cut above many others in rank and skill—facing a mere one-day-old major, knowing full well that if they fought, he'd be obliterated.

"Heh, this isn't a major; Headquarters is just playing games!"

"Yo, Senior Cancer! Finally, you're here. I've been waiting so long I'm practically smoking!" Wright greeted Cancer with casual enthusiasm as he boarded the warship. Cancer, with his slicked-back hair, triangular shades, and cigar, chuckled as he exhaled a puff of smoke.

"Hohoho, Junior Wright, your achievements… utterly humbling. Truly, Zephyr-sensei has raised a prodigy."

This kid wasn't bad. Calling him "senior" offered an easy out from the awkwardness of addressing him formally as "Captain" or "Sir." After all, who wanted to bow to someone they couldn't defeat?

"Ahaha, Senior Cancer, you're too kind. It's all thanks to Zephyr-sensei's excellent teaching."

Praising Zephyr was always a safe bet—it brought comrades closer.

"By the way, Senior, I'll leave this pirate crew to you. Shall I rough them up a bit first? In case they get unruly, it could save us some trouble later."

"We'll fully cooperate with Captain Cancer! Please, sir, no need to exert yourself!" chorused the Jagged Fang Pirates, their survival instincts on full display, leaving Cancer twitching slightly at their overly ingratiating behavior.

"Oh? Really? What a shame," Wright sighed in disappointment. "I was hoping for a little resistance to save Impel Down some room."

The pirates immediately shot their captain a look of admiration. His "survival tactics" were miraculous—another life spared!

Meanwhile, "Mad Dog" Joyce, chained with seastone shackles, slumped unconscious. Beaten senseless, missing an arm, starved for a day, and now subjected to Wright's biting sarcasm, fainting was a mercy—dreams offered solace.

"Phew—"

Cancer exhaled deeply, narrowly avoiding choking on his cigar. "Wright, you don't need to worry. With seastone handcuffs on them, these ability users won't cause any trouble."

"I'll handle the pirate crew's transport to Impel Down. You should take a break, Junior. Once we're back at Headquarters, I'll notify you. This part is routine for me!"

"Haha, thanks, Senior. But before I rest, how about we grab a bite? These pirates' cooks are mediocre at best—how do they even get so fat?"

The Jagged Fang Pirates' cook teared up, grateful for Wright's "mercy" in sparing his life despite his poor culinary skills.

At Marineford, Headquarters.

After parting with Captain Cancer, who quickly departed for Impel Down, Wright was met by a group of familiar faces. Cancer clearly wanted no part of the crowd here—losing face to a new major was bad enough without adding more witnesses.

As the youngest-ever "Fastest Rising Major in Headquarters," barely 18-year-old Wright was already famous. His sword, Ashes, was even more renowned than he was.

When Smoker and Rosinante led their fellow cadets to greet him, Wright grinned.

"Yo! Looking good, everyone. All dressed up—Zephyr-sensei gave you the day off?"

"Hey, Wright, you jerk! Getting this strong so fast makes it hard for the rest of us to keep up!"

Rosinante, now puffing cigarettes and spouting slick remarks, was clearly developing some style. Wright couldn't help but wonder if Fleet Admiral Sengoku might discipline Smoker and the other "elite cadets" for this.

"Stop wasting time. Zephyr-sensei is waiting. Go change into your formal uniform!" Smoker's stoic demeanor hadn't changed.

"Oh, Smoker, you'll get punched someday!" Rosinante jumped in to salvage the situation. "Wright, Zephyr-sensei scheduled the graduation ceremony for today because he knew you'd arrive!"

"What?!" Wright panicked. Zephyr hadn't mentioned this surprise, and these guys were all dressed up for the ceremony, not him?

With a quick "I'm out!" Wright activated his Light Speed ability, vanishing in moments.

Left behind, the cadets exchanged wry smiles.

"At this speed, we wouldn't even touch him if he didn't fight back. The gap's too big…"

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