Saved [Portgas D. Ace] ~ One Piece FanFic

-4-

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• Friends? No. •
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Being tall as a bonzai and as thin as a bamboo stick, training for the last two years was hard for the girl. All those difficult tasks such as push-ups, curl-ups, dash-runs, and sparring took a lot of toll on her small frame, not to mention the diet she was in with only a cup of rice for a day and the rest was water.

She thought she'd die after the first week but thankfully, she somehow managed to survive. After the first twenty-four months of training, her body was starting to grow firm and she wasn't the same kid that was catching her breath while running under a large storm anymore. No, even at the age of nine, her strength can now match with those who're older than her.

That day, it was the fifth assessment program she had joined. It was that time where all of them will go under a course that will see their capability of being a marine. The ones who'll pass will be automatically hired as a lieutenant.

At first, the captain talked to her about it and was advising the kid to stay under training until she turns into a teen. He was explaining that having a position constantly hanging on her shoulder at a young age wasn't advisable and can affect her mental and physical health. He was worried for the girl's well-being and trying his best to help her out; as a captain and as a fatherly figure he started turning to be.

She understood the things her captain had said but she refused to take his advice. Instead, she took it as a challenge, being the stubborn girl she's turning to be, and find the position interesting. She told him she can handle it and will easily cope up with the situation. Seeing how motivated the kid is through her eyes, he reluctantly agreed and didn't said another word.

The girl thought the course will only consist with laps, monkey bars, mud, explosion, and automatic trigger guns making her a bit confident. Having a small frame and thin body made her agile, sneaking from one place to another and dodging was out of the question. She can all do that easily, until she realized what the last part was.

Just in front of the exit gates, there stood her captain, tall and mighty, raising his weapon of choice in her direction, smiling wickedly as he puffs out smoke. The captain never told her that she'll be having a one on one battle with him making the future marine unprepared. Based on the smirk he was giving her, she was sure that he wasn't going to hold back making her sweatdrop.

He was the first one to launch an attack, making the girl's eyes widen in surprise. Smoke was coming out of his arms making her vision blur. Raising her senses, she felt his presence on her back and his weapon close on her shoulder. She dodged as fast as she could, missing the blow by an inch.

The kid heard him huff before a rustling sound came in her ear making her duck. The captain was sneaky making it all too hard to not fight. Pulling out her dagger that became her personal weapon, she followed the whistles of the wind as quiet as she could. When she saw her captain's back facing her, she immediately made an attack, stabbing him.

Both eyes widen, the girl because he turned into smoke and him because she was able to attack him in a mode of surprise. He aware rhat the girl was sneaky but he never expected her to be that quiet.

Having no match with someone who'll turn into smoke the minute you lay your hands on them, she decided to use her ability, too eager to enter the world of marines.

Even though she can't handle the devil fruit that much yet, she stomped her feet focusing her energy on stopping time but before she can even release the gold waves off of her body, the two heard a loud whistle, indicating the assessment has came to it's end.