"Koby has the potential to become an admiral…"
"Helmeppo has the potential to become an admiral…"
"Luo Yu has the potential to become an admiral…"
"Garp, what the hell are you doing? Every single one of the people you recommended is described as having the potential to become an admiral! Do you think admirals grow on trees? Aren't you worried Sakazuki and the others will be unhappy when they hear this?"
Inside the Rookie Academy at Navy Headquarters, Marineford.
Thousands of elite marines from various bases had gathered.
Everyone was here, hoping to use this opportunity to be promoted to Headquarters.
On the high platform, Zephyr grabbed Garp, who was still snoring and blowing snot bubbles, by the collar and roared in exasperation.
Koby and Helmeppo, who were waiting on the side for their assessment, were immediately filled with embarrassment.
Looking at Garp, who was still unconscious, Koby explained urgently.
"General Instructor Zephyr, please don't misunderstand. Yesterday, when Mr. Garp was writing the recommendation letter, he accidentally drank too much, so he wrote the recommendation letter incorrectly."
"Helmeppo and I certainly don't deserve the evaluation of 'Admiral-like potential'!"
"Your name is Koby, right!" Zephyr glanced at the information in his hand, then slapped the back of Garp's head, and roared.
"I knew Garp, you unreliable guy. If it weren't for Bogard always cleaning up after you, you'd have been sunk to the bottom of the sea a long time ago."
"Now, you immediately take the recommendation letter to revise it, and resubmit it to me before lunch break!"
"Haha, so it's you, Zephyr. I thought who dared to hit this old man." Garp, clutching the back of his head in pain, burst into laughter as he regained his senses.
"Recommendation letters are just for those who like to put on a show. You're all about strength, so of course, we'll judge based on that."
"However, I can say with absolute certainty that the person I recommend truly possesses the potential of an Admiral. These two youngsters have only followed me for a short year, and they've already preliminarily mastered Shave from the Six Powers. With proper training, they will undoubtedly become pillars of the Navy."
"Mastered Shave from the Six Powers within a year?" Zephyr was a little surprised. Shave was indeed the easiest technique to learn among the Six Powers, but it was also the most practical auxiliary skill.
To learn it within a year, their aptitude was already considered above average.
"No… no, General Instructor Zephyr, don't listen to Mr. Garp's nonsense. If we're considered to have the potential of an Admiral, it would lower Luo Yu's status. He's the one who truly has the potential!" Koby hurriedly waved his hands to explain.
Helmeppo, who was next to him, also nodded frantically in agreement, his face still showing a hint of lingering fear.
"Luo Yu? He has the potential of an Admiral?" Zephyr, following his memory, opened the recommendation letter in his hand, looked at the last name on it, and glanced around. He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
"Koby, you said that this Luo Yu is the one who truly has the potential of an Admiral. Is his strength stronger than yours?"
"Where is he? Why isn't he here? Did something unexpected happen?"
Koby immediately became anxious, firing off a series of questions. He quickly glanced at the pocket watch in his sweaty hand and then looked to Garp for help.
"Ahem, Zephyr, you once said that geniuses are all flawed freaks. That Luo Yu fellow is indeed a bit stronger than these two, enough to be considered a genius." Garp glanced around, quickly scratched the back of his head, and cleared his throat to explain.
"It's just that the little brat has a slight flaw: he's a bit obsessed with work hours. He should be arriving soon…"
Genius?
Flaw?
Obsessed with work hours?
What the hell?
Zephyr stared at the recommendation letter in his hand, his face quickly darkening as he roared hysterically.
"Garp, are you trying to make a fool out of me?"
"A guy with no sense of time at all, even if he comes, I'll make him scram!"
Zephyr clenched his fist, and slammed it towards Garp.
Garp ducked.
**Bang!**
Behind them, a Doryoku Value detector, similar to a punching bag, instantly flew backward like a cannonball.
The speed was so fast that it crossed dozens of meters in the blink of an eye, smashing into the rookies below.
The rookies standing at the front of the line, waiting for their names to be called, couldn't help but be stunned.
Completely unexpected, this sudden disaster.
In the introduction just now, this boxing machine for testing Doryoku Value was said to be able to withstand a strike of 4,000 Doryoku Value.
Now, being knocked flying by Zephyr's punch, the impact was definitely not something a rookie could withstand, right?
"Trouble! Get out of the way!"
Zephyr suddenly came back to his senses, completely unprepared for Garp's usual trickery. He immediately planned to step in and save the person, but it was clearly too late.
**Bang!**
A dull collision echoed across the training ground.
The flying Doryoku Value testing machine, as if hitting an iron plate, was abruptly stopped.
The crimson numbers on the display screen were also rapidly fluctuating, eventually settling at 4000.
The next moment, the display screen shattered with a loud bang.
**Bang!**
Debris flew everywhere, and everyone's pupils contracted sharply, their eyes nearly bursting.
The sound of gasps filled the training ground.
One punch sent the Doryoku Value testing machine flying, and the power level directly exceeded four thousand, which was indeed shocking.
What shocked them even more was who had caught the machine that had exceeded its power level with their bare hands.
Was this really a rookie?
"General Instructor Zephyr, I'm afraid I have to disagree with what you just said." A young man in a sailor suit, with a buzz cut and a yawn, stepped forward in front of the stunned recruit.
He casually tossed the Doryoku Value testing machine in his right hand aside as if it were a feather.
Then, he took out an old pocket watch, glanced at it, and said, "It's eight fifty-seven now. There are still three minutes until the official start of work."
"No, to be exact, it's two minutes and fifty-eight seconds."
"As a recruit, my current monthly salary is three hundred thousand Beli. After deducting eight days for weekends and holidays, I work twenty-two days a month, with my daily pay being thirteen thousand six hundred and thirty-six."
"Eight hours a day, a total of four hundred and eighty minutes."
"If you want me to start working right now, then you should pay me three minutes of overtime pay, which is two hundred and fifty-five Beli."
The people in the arena were momentarily stunned.
Such a majestic entrance, how could it be associated with someone so petty?
Three minutes of overtime pay!
Two hundred and fifty-five Beli!
This small amount of money made it impossible to connect him with the high-and-mighty image from before!
"Haha, Luo Yu, you finally arrived, you rascal. I'll give you the three minutes of overtime pay. Hurry up and let Zephyr see you!"