Alex didn't struggle much when it came to the rudimentary naval training; all the info was not too much, and the tactics used by the Navy weren't as complicated. Compare that stuff to the entire lore of Dark Souls, and you'll definitely want to become a Marine instead of trying to understand that stupendous amount of lore.
Though sometimes, Alex had to wonder whether the instructors let them practice Tekkai Via, allowing the entire group of recruits who chose to go here to punch at the stomachs of the 10 people selected to practice it for fun, or was there some greater motive behind it?
For now, he thought it was Schadenfreude, and he moved on. He recently found out about a certain quirk they four had—by that he meant himself, Garp, Sengoku, whom they collectively called Sen-chan, and Z—they were all into tweaking Marine moves in order to make them better or more versatile, which automatically meant they'd be better (source: Trustmebro).
The gang of four tried modifying the technique so that it'd allow for movement while maintaining the same amount of defensive capabilities.
Unfortunately, that went fruitless for now, and so they abandoned that in order to focus on mastering the technique.
Alex suggested that they try maintaining Tekkai even in sleep, in any state where they are stationary, and the rest will beat on the one getting tested until the person shows proficiency in the move.
Alex had a little more luck than the others; his learning speed was phenomenal, and so was his mastery. With the daily exercise missions given to him by his Igris System, his fusion rate was rising steadily, and so was his combat instinct.
When it came to combat training, Hakuji would jump in and beat the everloving shit out of the recruits. I am not kidding; this madman would launch in and beat all 150 recruits half to death. Unless you are skilled like Garp, Sen-chan, Z, or me, Alex, you would get away with a few bruises if you are lucky, broken bones if not.
Another source of experience and skill-farming came from jealous male recruits, who would try to beat him for his handsome appearance. His pale skin, white hair, crimson eyes, good-looking facial features, and overall well-built body were a constant source of gossip among females, so most males were not considered boyfriend material.
The next few months were spent in a similar manner: wake up, dress up, go to the training grounds, choose one of the six moves, go to the section, learn theory, go practice, master the technique, and repeat.
Alex, Garp, Sen-chan, and Z thrived in such an environment. Alex picked up a sword. However, he still focused on hand-to-hand; he slowly needs to get into that. Lucky for him, Hakuji was a sword instructor and allowed him to pursue the teachings of the sword, because he already had mastered the moves of the six styles to a basic degree; the rest would come from either a stronger body or more experience.
Once Alex arrived in the Sword class, he met with another person besides Hakuji Sensei, who was a young woman with a strikingly beautiful appearance, so Alex had to control his blood not to go to a certain appendage below the belt. He completed it before anyone noticed the caged beast awaken.
The woman in question was Tsuru, though here she isn't the 74-year-old Vice Admiral Crane, General Staff officer/Great Advisor. The current appearance was the one she had in her youth. In her youth, she was quite beautiful and had dark blue hair tied up in a loose ponytail, with side bangs that framed both sides of her face. She wore a standard Marine uniform with a rifle strapped to her back, her face unmarred by age, and a very determined expression on her cute face.
"Hello, I'm Alex. It's a pleasure to meet you, miss..."
Alex introduced himself while fishing for the name of the beauty before him with a sunny smile and a hand stretched out in offering a handshake.
"Hello to you, too. I am Tsuru, a staff officer in training and sword apprentice under Hakuji Sensei over there," Tsuru replied and shook the offered hand of Alex, both of them noting that the other's skin felt nice to the touch.
"I'll be in your care then, Miss Tsuru."
"Sure, but call me just Tsuru; miss makes me feel old, and I'm not, as you can see."
Tsuru politely requested as she made a provocative pose, quite unlike the prim and proper Marine she was portrayed to be in the canon of One Piece.
"Forgive me then—"
Alex's answer was cut short as Hakuji, unable to hold back his temper and his patience running out, shouted at them to shut the hell up, because he'd like to begin already.
"Since you wish to learn to use the sword, you will be having this additional hour of practice with me, two on one, from the moment you enter till dinner in the mess hall. Am I understood?"
Hakuji was quick and to the point, both Tsuru and Alex liked it, and so they didn't let the man wait, going to the practice sword rack to grab some bamboo swords, but Hakuji stopped them.
"Fuck this weak shit. You will be using the real stuff from beginning to end. Grab these right here, and let's get going from there."
Hakuji gave them two cutlasses, and while Alex didn't feel like he'd like wielding it, being the man with the Igris system demanded he be able to handle even that type of sword.
With that said, extra Hell had begun, but he was accompanied by a beautiful woman.
AN: Hi, it's me, the author, and I'm back to ask for kind reviews, stones, and all the love you can give me. Thanks and bye-bye!