"All of you, push harder! Your grandmothers move faster than this!"
The instructor's words was a torrent of abuse and motivation, poured like powerful, scalding energy into every exhausted recruit.
As his voice faded, it was as if all the Marines had been injected with a high-dose stimulant.
They mustered twelve-thousand-fold determination, their eyes bloodshot with effort, as they threw themselves back into their frenzied, brutal training.
....
Meanwhile, on the outer road approaching the new Marineford…
Several imposing figures were swiftly approaching like a gust of wind.
The one leading them, a man of truly massive, bizarre proportions, carried a smaller, straw-hat-wearing fellow slung carelessly over one shoulder.
In the outermost hall of the guard station, the Marines guarding the main gate stood ramrod straight, their eyes fixed intently ahead.
They naturally noticed the figures rapidly approaching.
As the silhouettes grew clearer, everything about them—from their ragged, dark attire to their arrogant, dangerous demeanor—indicated they were no ordinary passersby.
Judging by their swaggering, menacing bearing, what else could they be but pirates?!
"Halt! This is Marine Headquarters! Identify yourselves!" one Marine shouted, his voice echoing with undeniable authority.
"Hmph! Do you think you're Whitebeard or something?!" another Marine roared, his brows furrowed tightly, his eyes flashing with anger.
The very act of pirates walking up to their main gate was a severe provocation.
"State your purpose, or don't expect to leave here alive!"
Though both Marines were certain the group were pirates, they proceeded with routine questioning, attempting to ascertain their intentions before sounding the general alarm.
"ZEHAHAHAHAHA! Whitebeard? Don't compare me to that old fossil! I'm Blackbeard! Marshall D. Teach!"
The massive figure carrying the captive suddenly burst into a wild, arrogant laugh, the sound brimming with a deep, guttural confidence.
It was indeed Blackbeard, currently carrying an unconscious Luffy over his shoulder.
He laughed heartily while gazing up at the towering, newly constructed Marine Headquarters.
At this moment, he finally felt a wave of profound relief.
After countless hardships, after racing against time, he had finally made it.
Jesus Burgess, his first mate, stepped forward, his ferocious, masked expression appearing particularly menacing.
His large eyes glared fixedly at the two Marines like bronze bells.
"Listen up, you runts! Our captain, Marshall D. Teach, is here to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea!" He lifted his chin, shouting with brute force and arrogance.
"Now hurry up and call out your commanding officer! We don't have all day!"
Standing beside Burgess, the unnervingly slender Lafitte curled the corners of his mouth into a mysterious, slightly mocking smile.
He tapped his cane on the stone pavement.
"Do you see the... gift... our captain has brought?"
As he spoke, he slowly raised his hand to point at the captured, straw-hatted figure, his eyes revealing an inscrutable, almost hypnotic expression.
Hearing that these individuals had actually come to apply to be a Warlord, the two Marines' expressions instantly shifted from aggression to shock and suspicion.
They exchanged a baffled glance, their eyes filled with doubt.
One Marine furrowed his brows and muttered quietly.
"What the fuck? It's not like you can just walk in and become a Warlord."
The other Marine stared intently at Blackbeard's crew, privately considering how to handle this insane situation.
When they heard the mention of the captured person again, both Marines' gazes involuntarily fell upon the prisoner.
One Marine carefully examined the simple straw hat on the captive's head, murmuring to himself.
"This straw hat… it looks... familiar..."
His companion leaned closer, also studying it.
"It does seem familiar. Where have I seen it...?"
"Wait!" At that moment, the first Marine's eyes suddenly widened as if he had remembered something extremely important.
His trembling finger pointed at the straw hat, his voice turning shrill with a mixture of shock and excitement.
"I remember now! That's the rookie, One of the Worst Generation! Straw Hat Luffy!"
The other Marine, hearing his companion's words, froze for a moment before the realization hit him.
"You're right! I never expected… you actually captured him."
Lafitte's grin widened, and he crossed his arms over his chest, looking completely at ease.
"So?" he asked, his voice silky smooth.
"Does this prove our captain is qualified to become one of the Seven Warlords? Or do we need to provide… further demonstrations?"
The two Marines exchanged glances again, hesitation and helplessness flashing in their eyes.
This was so far above their pay grade it was in a different solar system.
After a moment, one of them nodded solemnly.
"This... this matter is beyond our authority. We need to report it to our superiors for a decision."
"Then hurry up and GO!" Burgess exploded with rage upon hearing their response, infuriated by the delay.
His roaring voice seemed to shake the entire gatehouse, and as he spoke, he violently punched the ground at his feet.
With a deafening "BOOM!" the solid stone pavement instantly shattered, sending a spiderweb of cracks and flying debris in all directions.
The Marines on both sides turned pale with terror, their legs going weak at the casual, destructive power.
Without another thought, they hastily turned and scrambled back toward the inner fortress, shouting as they ran.
"P-Please wait right here! We'll be right back with an officer!"
....
The Former Site of Jaya Island…
The terrifying Buster Call incident from before had been a cataclysm akin to doomsday.
Countless artillery shells had rained down like a storm, mercilessly bombarding every inch of the island.
After that devastating bombardment, the place had undergone a dramatic, final transformation.
The once-bustling and lively island, the home of Mock Town, was now completely submerged beneath the endless, turbulent seawater.
The waves, like a ferocious beast, had ruthlessly devoured everything that once existed.
The very foundation of Jaya Island had suffered severe, irreparable damage during that horrific bombing.
The solid rock and soil were ground away by the immense force, sinking deep into the ocean floor, all of it eroded to below one meter beneath the sea's surface.
From the perspective of a ship, almost no trace of the island remained.
The familiar mountains, valleys, forests, and buildings had all vanished without a trace, as if they had never existed in this world.
Only when viewed from high above, from the vantage point of the sky islands, could the faint clues be discerned.
At the former location of Jaya, the seawater appeared darker, a massive, skull-shaped shadow just beneath the waves, forming a stark, ghostly contrast with the surrounding turquoise waters.
"Jihahaha… That Ron kid's idea is truly a stroke of genius!" the Golden Lion Shiki muttered to himself.
He was hovering in the air thousands of feet above the ocean, his arms crossed as he gazed down at the submerged, ruined island.
Ron had given him his first major assignment as "Security Officer": to survey the ruins of Jaya and prepare it for its grand reconstruction, a project that would require the full, untamed power of the Float-Float Fruit.