After a few minutes of walking I arrived at the entrance to the training area. Said area may as well be better described as a big-ass backyard with training equipment, as that literally described the training field perfectly.
Bordering on the training field were lush trees and far stretching grasslands which ended, on all sides by the way, in tall mountains that enclosed the whole island like a naturally built fortress. That was, in my opinion, the most likely case why the island, where the future of the Cipher Pol was trained, had remained hidden, simply because nobody could enter said island, except if you could fly or knew the hidden entrance of course.
Still, it was a remarkably efficient defence against curiosity and pirates that may wish to hide their treasures on an island such as this. But in the end I had stopped thinking over those things as it didn't really matter in the first place. After all, what kind of nutjob would attack an island filled with Cipher Pol instructors and future Cipher Pol agents, if you weren't some bigshot from the Grandline? Nobody, that's who!
"Good morning recruits. Hope you had a pleasant night. Today we will begin with your first lesson on the Rokushiki!" The instructor's voice though ripped me from my thoughts and promptly my eyes grew wide and the excitement began to bubble on my insides like a volcano ready to erupt at any moment.
"Silence please and listen!" The instructor called out as it had gotten a little too rowdy with all the children growing excited at his words but like usual the man had swiftly quenched those whispers in the bud.
"You all have already been introduced to the Rokushiki I was told and also made your choices which path in the training regime you wish to take. Thus, this class will be split into two groups and from today forwards instructed on the subjects by two different instructors. Though, in the future you will keep on sparring and training together occasionally, so don't worry about your friends." The instructor said and I couldn't help but wonder who my instructor was going to be.
"Now, those who have chosen to start with Kami-e as their first technique will be taught by Catherine." The instructor said after which Catherine appeared next to the man in the tell-tale blur belonging to Soru, accompanied by the high-pitched noise of displaced air at her appearance, something I would need to think of removing in the future as it was quite the big flaw in the technique and endangered the user while fighting an opponent smart enough to exploit said flaw.
Still, Catherine's entrance earned her a lot of wide eyes from the children and I just knew the woman felt a little smug on the inside for showing off like that. I knew I would.
"Hello, children. I'm Catherine and I will be instructing some of you from now on about Kami-e, as Kami-e is my speciality. You may call me instructor or instructor Catherine. We will meet in five minutes on the training field on the other side of the house." She said after which she disappeared once again in a Soru, followed by a stampede of children rushing into the house in order to not be late.
Those that remained were not many to say the least. 'It seems Tekkai is not as impressive to children as Kami-e is. Who would have guessed, hehehe' I thought to myself while I couldn't help but supress a small grin at the prospect of personal tutoring. Well, nearly personal but we were so few that it really didn't make much of a difference, really.
Besides myself there was Bruno, obviously in my opinion, and four other boys, which brought our number to no less than six trainees! A fact I would abuse as much as possible to drain our instructor of his knowledge like a butcher drained his game of blood.
"Hmm, not many remaining but that isn't all that surprising. Tekkai never is all that popular with children." The instructor mumbled after which he cleared his throat once and addressed us once again.
"Anyway, your instructor will be this gentleman here." Before I could ask who he meant another man appeared in a Soru next to him, a large fellow if there ever was one.
"My name is unimportant. To you I am nothing but your instructor and I demand hard work and discipline from each and every one of you or you can piss of right away. Is that clear?!" The man rumbled in his deep voice, causing my brow to twitch slightly at his words while the other children snapped to attention immediately and chorused the usual: "Yes, instructor!"
'At least the guy knows what secrecy and discretion is…' I couldn't help but think at the tall man's words. While our former instructor left us to our new instructor's mercy I observed the man under whom I would be training from now on in more detail, all the while walking over to join the rest of our small group.
Our 'instructor' whom I will from now on be calling Lockhard, had quite the hairstyle, which was the most prominent feature of his, besides his size of course, hence my nickname for him.
What kind? Well, to say he had an afro would be an insult to the mane that crowned Lockhard's head. If I had to describe it appropriately I would most certainly say that this man possessed the king of all afros! It was fucking huge! Nearly three times as big as his head, and I couldn't help but wonder how the man was fighting or infiltrating places with such a mane as companion. At least, if he ever died in action, he could tell his ancestors in the afterlife that he had cultivated the most impressive ball of hair that there ever was. An achievement to be proud of.
Just as me and my comrades were mustering Lockhard so was he mustering us. "This will have to do I suppose…" The man said after a few seconds of silence after which he told us to sit down while Lockhard began to pace back and forth before us with a thoughtful expression on his face.
After a minute of pacing the man turned back around and let himself fall down on his ass while crossing his arms before his chest. We continued to wait for Lockhard to speak and after another terse minute of waiting he finally did, though his words were not what I was expecting.
"Tell me" he began, "has any of you ever bitten into a shovel?" and finished. We were all sitting there in dumbstruck silence while I began to regret picking Tekkai over Kami-e already. What the hell was wrong with this guy?