"Vice Admiral Luoyu, why aren't you saying anything? Are you too happy to speak?" Koby asked excitedly.
To him, nothing was more joyous than seeing a comrade from the same ship achieve such an outstanding accomplishment.
He now understood why Ain had been so insistent on challenging Luoyu earlier.
A newcomer being promoted to Vice Admiral on his first day—aside from those who truly understood Luoyu's abilities, very few would accept this easily.
"Hmph, I think he's worried about how hard tomorrow's assessment will be!" Ain bit her lip, still visibly unreconciled.
"Let me advise you—don't get ahead of yourself. The one who objected most strongly to your Admiral nomination is Admiral Sakazuki."
"He'll be the one hosting tomorrow's assessment. The level of difficulty will be unprecedented."
"Zephyr-sensei told me to remind you—don't overthink things. Just go with the flow. If your strength proves itself and the time is right, becoming an Admiral is only natural."
"Admiral Akainu? He's known for being harsh! This test is going to be rough," Helmeppo muttered, face pale.
Even before arriving at Marineford, Akainu's fearsome reputation preceded him. After they joined the Navy Headquarters, most of the stories they heard involved Akainu.
If Kizaru was known for slacking off, and Aokiji for his laid-back attitude, then Akainu was infamous for his ruthless iron-blooded ways.
With him overseeing the assessment, Luoyu might be in for trouble.
"Akainu, huh? Just as I suspected." Luoyu glanced at the notice again and pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses with a calm smile.
"But Koby, I still want to ask—what's the monthly salary for a Vice Admiral? I'm worried I'll miscalculate my overtime again and end up short on pay!"
Koby and Helmeppo froze.
The joy and tension on their faces vanished instantly.
Vice Admiral salary?
Was this really the time to be asking that?
"Luoyu, you jerk! Zephyr-sensei was worried for nothing. All you care about is money—what kind of Admiral is that?!" Ain fumed, glaring at him before turning on her heel to leave.
But after a few steps, she realized Binz was still awkwardly standing in place.
"Binz, aren't you coming?"
"Leave?" Binz hesitated, then glanced at Koby and Helmeppo. "They just said Luoyu shares his techniques whenever he develops new moves."
"I'd like to stay and learn a bit... if that's okay with you, Vice Admiral Luoyu?"
As one of the survivors of that devastating incident, Binz had never given up his pursuit of strength.
Now that he learned Luoyu freely passed down his techniques, how could he resist such a temptation?
"Zephyr-sensei told us to return together. If you're staying, I'll wait with you," Ain said, suddenly reversing course and joining them with a slightly flushed face.
Having personally witnessed the technique that sent Zephyr flying—
Was her pride worth more than this opportunity?
Hell no. This was worth it.
Luoyu pushed up his glasses again and took a sip of strong liquor without refusing.
After all, his mastery of techniques all came from the system.
Passing them on was as simple as flicking a wrist.
More importantly, if Koby and the others grew stronger, he could slack off even more during work.
A nine-to-five job was every wage earner's dream.
But slacking off while still getting paid—that was the true pinnacle of work-life balance.
If training them helped him avoid workplace troubles, it was totally worth it.
The Next Day
At Marineford Headquarters—
A huge crowd of Navy soldiers had already gathered.
Yesterday's commotion, when Zephyr was blasted across the base and sparked a false alarm, had shocked everyone.
News that a newly recruited soldier had been promoted to Vice Admiral and nominated as an Admiral candidate sent the base into a frenzy.
Since the appointment of the current three Admirals led by Akainu eighteen years ago, there had been candidates for a fourth Admiral.
But none had ever been nominated on their first day as a new recruit like Luoyu.
"I heard Admiral Sakazuki has already declared that he won't allow a rookie to disgrace the title of Admiral. He's doing this to protect the Navy's reputation."
"Yeah, he'll personally oversee today's assessment. That rookie better not embarrass himself."
"But it's already been an hour. The guy still hasn't shown up. Did he chicken out?"
"Chicken out? No way. I heard Vice Admiral Garp said this Luoyu kid is 'Admiral-material but totally unreliable.'"
The scene grew livelier by the minute.
In the crowd, Koby and Helmeppo were sweating bullets.
They knew this was just typical Luoyu behavior.
But with Admiral Akainu personally hosting the test, they couldn't help but worry he might really not show.
"It's... it's nine o'clock! Quick, find Luoyu!" Koby shouted as he glanced at his pocket watch, scanning the area in a panic.
When he finally saw Luoyu casually strolling down the road, his heart both tightened and relaxed at once.
The real test—Akainu's assessment—was about to begin.
"So many people here already. Just in time—any later and I'd have to explain myself again," Luoyu muttered, checking his antique pocket watch.
He looked up toward the office building's large window, spotting the silhouettes of Akainu, Sengoku, and the others.
Clearly, they were all taking this assessment extremely seriously—not just Akainu, but even the Fleet Admiral.
"Yesterday Ain mentioned that a Vice Admiral's salary depends on experience and military achievements…"
Luoyu pushed up his glasses and took another swig of homemade liquor.
He wasn't worried about the test at all—his mind was on his not-yet-confirmed monthly pay.
According to Ain, without significant military accomplishments, his starting salary would likely be the base 1 million Berries per month.
Now that the system had upgraded from "East Blue Punch-in" to "Headquarters Punch-in," it was a clear sign of progress.
Each Silver Treasure Chest required a full million Berries to exchange.
That meant he'd need to wait at least a month before he could afford one.
If he wanted to get his hands on a Silver Chest faster, he'd have to work a little harder after all.
"Ding! Congratulations, host. First punch-in as Vice Admiral successful. Reward: Beginner's Insight Talisman!"