Seeing Alan's gesture, Sanji stepped forward from the back, hands in his pockets while smoking, then he said calmly: "The sole purpose of the first squad is to never waste a single bit of food. I look forward to working with you idiots."
"Yes! Squad Captain Sanji!!"
The entire squad bowed in unison and shouted.
Two-thirds of the first squad were original members of the ship, so their respect for Sanji went without saying.
Next, Alan looked at the second row, the largest squad on the deck.
"The second squad is composed of gunners, riflemen, assault members, and other combat personnel, totaling 54 people. They are the combat squad."
"In addition to fighting, they are responsible for maintaining weapons and ammunition, and they would assist with miscellaneous tasks for other squads. From now on, Gin will lead them."
As soon as he finished speaking, Gin stepped out from behind Alan, expression cold, and said, "Thank you for trusting me, captain. From today, I officially serve as the second squad captain of the Ghost Lion Pirates. Please guide me."
"Follow Squad Captain Gin's orders!!"
The second squad bowed in unison.
All members were former Krieg Pirates, and seeing Gin as their squad captain made them breathe a sigh of relief.
Although now recruited by Alan, they were still happy to be led by their original commander.
Gin felt genuinely grateful and moved. He had worried that reshuffling the organization might alienate his former subordinates, but Alan trusted him completely, appointing him to the important position of second squad captain and putting all the combat personnel he had led under his command.
Gin sincerely thanked Alan in his heart.
"Next is the third squad, composed of navigators, helmsmen, lookouts, and some combat members, responsible for charting courses and all ship handling and navigation tasks."
"The third squad has 30 members. The squad captain position is vacant and will be temporarily under my direct command..."
Alan announced the formation of the other squads in turn.
The fourth squad was the ship doctor team, with only five members and no combatants. Alan treasured these doctors, and they were not to participate in any combat for the time being.
The fifth squad was the shipwright team, composed of 14 skilled shipwrights and 16 regular combatants, responsible for daily maintenance, repairs, and modifications of the ship.
Except for Sanji and Gin leading the first and second squads, the third, fourth, and fifth squad captains were left vacant, temporarily managed directly by Alan.
Finally, only the last ten-member squad in the corner remained.
"Hey, boss, did you forget about us?"
"What about these ten? Are we really only getting these few subordinates?"
The Nyaban Brothers, who had been waiting, looked at the last ten members with disinterest.
Alan glanced at them with disdain: "Idiots, why are you in such a hurry?"
"You think I'm giving you just ten people because I don't value you? On the contrary, I hand-picked these few. You're taking over the most important positions on the ship."
"Really, boss?!"
Hearing Alan's words, the Nyaban Brothers' eyes lit up with excitement.
Alan nodded and looked at the last squad below: "From today, you will be the zero squad, led by the Nyaban Brothers."
"Zero squad?!"
The people below exchanged glances and murmured among themselves.
The Nyaban Brothers' eyes sparkled; they were thrilled at such a special squad name. They hurriedly said, "Thank you for trusting us, boss! We will manage this squad well and will not disappoint your expectations!"
"Good, confidence is what I want. I believe in you."
Alan patted their shoulders with satisfaction.
Sham, curious, asked: "Boss, what is the zero squad's responsibility? Secret missions? Decapitations, assassinations, executions?"
Everyone else looked over, curious.
Alan grinned widely: "You serve me."
"So it's the babysitter squad!!"
Bang!!
Everyone fell back on the deck, rolling their eyes in mockery.
Alan glared at them and scolded, "What nonsense! Serving the highest-ranking person on the ship isn't babysitting, it's the royal servant squad!!"
"Royal servant... Squad..."
Sanji twitched at the corner of his mouth.
Alright, alright, you know how to name things.
"Anyway, there are a lot of ship affairs. Do you think I have 200 hours in a day? If I don't have a few people to handle these chores, how can I enjoy myself?"
Alan said, trying to sound stern.
The Nyaban Brothers hung their heads dejectedly: "But this is so low–profile. We'd rather be in a combat squad, even as squad leader."
"Exactly, or even the chef squad would be fine." Buchi added.
"You call that work?"
Alan glanced disdainfully at Buchi and said, "If you're dissatisfied, you can challenge Sanji or Gin. Win, and you get their squad captain positions."
"This..."
The Nyaban Brothers looked at them. Seeing Gin's cold expression, they shrank back awkwardly.
No way they could win, whether against Sanji or Gin.
"Alright, I'm too busy to manage the daily work of three squads. The zero squad will help me with these tasks. Think of it as acting captains."
Alan said as he waved, then turned toward the captain's room.
Hearing this, Buchi and Sham glanced below.
The five squads were sensible and shouted in unison: "Zero squad captain!!"
"Greetings, acting captain!!"
"Hehe, please guide us."
The Nyaban Brothers, grinning and scratching their heads, were finally in a good mood.
Sanji glared at Alan: "So you're temporarily managing three squads but still playing the hands-off boss."
Soon, all squads disbanded to carry out their duties under their squad captains and acting captains.
Inside the captain's room, Alan wasn't idle. He sat on the sofa, scribbling and drafting duty rosters for the three squads.
The zero squad wasn't truly there to serve him; they were to handle ship affairs. He selected those ten pirates because they had previously performed clerical work.
From checking supply inventories to managing accounts to investigating and disciplining unruly crew, with 170 crew members, there were endless messy tasks.
Without assistants, he'd be exhausted all day, and continuing like this would turn him into a clerical pirate.
...
After lunch, in the kitchen, the pirates, all wearing aprons and gloves, were cleaning used cooking utensils and carts of dishes dragged back from the dining area.
They chatted and laughed while working, making it hard for anyone to associate them with ruthless pirates.
"Hey, hey, hey! Who taught you to scrub pans like this? Too hard, idiots! You will scratch the surface!"