As time passed, a wave of excitement rippled through the recruits.
"Look! The Admirals are here! And Fleet Admiral Sengoku too! Are they all really here to watch us?"
"Damn… even the Vice Admirals showed up! This feels nothing like what Instructor Zeff said—how am I not supposed to be nervous?!"
Akainu. Aokiji. Kizaru.
All three pillars of the Marines' highest combat power were present.
Vice Admirals arrived one after another, taking their designated seats and quietly discussing the overall quality of this batch of recruits.
The Admirals, of course, could simply pick the strongest talents—there was no need for them to compete with Vice Admirals, nor could the Vice Admirals realistically compete with them anyway.
So instead, the Vice Admirals competed among themselves.
Arguing heatedly over a single above-average recruit was nothing new.
"Woah—didn't expect Kuzan to show up too," Kizaru said lazily.
"So? Anyone here catch your eye?"
Aokiji scratched his fluffy curls, sounding half-asleep as usual.
"Doesn't really matter to me. Why, the way you said that—are you interested in someone?"
"Oh yes~" Kizaru replied with a grin.
"There's a recruit named Karl who's very interesting. You two better not fight me for him later, you know~"
Aokiji shrugged indifferently.
"Do what you want. Ahhh… the sunlight feels great today."
With that, he pulled down his eye mask and shamelessly fell asleep—calling it conserving energy for future missions.
Akainu, standing nearby, let out a cold snort.
"Don't worry, Borsalino. I won't be competing with you for recruits."
Truthfully, Akainu hadn't expected much to begin with.
He came every year—and left disappointed every year.
Marine talent had been drying up for a long time.
So when Kizaru said don't fight me, Akainu agreed without hesitation. In his eyes, this year would be no different—just more mediocre recruits.
"Holy crap… basically every famous Marine is here!"
Karl smacked his lips as he glanced toward the stands.
He didn't recognize many Vice Admirals—just a few like Momousagi, Dalmatian, and Strawberry.
"Huh? Smoker and Tashigi are here too? Why? Just to watch?"
Smoker looked exactly as Karl remembered—three cigars clenched in his mouth.
Standing beside him was Tashigi, dressed in a dark red suit and wearing sunglasses. The two actually looked quite compatible standing together.
Smoker blew out a cloud of smoke and muttered to her,
"Why do you think Instructor Zeff called the two of us here? You think we actually have a chance to recruit someone?"
Tashigi replied coolly,
"Not sure. But if you hadn't talked back to your superior two months ago, you might have."
Smoker snorted dismissively. He wanted to retort—but after thinking it over, kept quiet.
At 8:00 a.m. sharp, Zeff walked onto the platform and officially announced the start of the evaluation.
"First match—Mallory vs. Joyce!"
The two recruits called by Shuzo looked ecstatic. Their eyes burned with fighting spirit as they stepped onto the field.
With Shuzo's signal, both roared and charged straight at each other.
Since this was an evaluation, the goal wasn't to determine a winner.
If two evenly matched fighters went all out, the fight could last forever—or end with half the training ground destroyed.
So every match had a 15-minute limit.
When time ran out, the battle ended—regardless of the result—and the next pair took the field.
After all, no one wanted to watch fifteen minutes of weaklings flailing at each other.
All that mattered was showing everything you had within the time limit.
"This Mallory kid isn't bad—his physique is lacking, but his Six Styles are solid."
"True, but Joyce fights smart too."
The Vice Admirals discussed animatedly.
The Admirals, on the other hand, barely interacted at all.
Aokiji was asleep.
Akainu had a dark expression.
Kizaru was calmly trimming his nails with a clipper.
Soon, the first match ended.
Panting heavily, the two combatants looked at each other. Though there was no clear winner, seeing the officers' expressions was enough to make them smile as they stepped off the field.
"Second match—Ain vs. Binz!"
Karl, mid-sip of cola, froze.
Ain versus Binz?
Then who was he fighting?
Don't tell him he really was just going to steamroll some random fodder…
He shot a confused look at Zeff.
Zeff happened to be looking his way as well. As if anticipating Karl's confusion, he gave a small nod—telling him to relax.
After all, Zeff knew Karl's strength better than anyone.
Even if Ain and Binz teamed up, they still might not be Karl's match.
In terms of pure close combat, Karl could already go toe-to-toe with Tashigi and Smoker, both long since graduated.
The only thing holding him back was his lack of Haki—which Zeff planned to address during the upcoming internship period.
As Ain and Binz stepped onto the field, the Vice Admirals' discussion instantly heated up.
"Hey—aren't both of these Devil Fruit users?"
"Yeah. Two Paramecia types. One Return-Return Fruit, one Grow-Grow Fruit."
"Battle—start!"
Binz watched Ain warily. No one understood her power better than he did.
If that return ability touched him even once—he'd lose instantly.
"Grow… Grow…"
Binz scattered a handful of seeds at lightning speed, then began what looked suspiciously like ritual dancing.
The seeds sprouted instantly.
Dozens of thick vines burst from the ground, sweeping outward under his control.
"Shave!"
Ain vanished from her original spot, dodging the vines. She slapped one with her palm—
And the massive vine shrank rapidly, reverting back into seeds.
One after another.
The ground was soon littered with seeds.
Binz had anticipated this. He wasn't panicked in the slightest.
After all—
he'd brought hundreds of gigabytes' worth of seeds today.
So the match became…
Binz summons plants.
Ain resets them.
Repeat.
Karl stared, dumbfounded.
Are these two seriously farming proficiency off each other right now?
Even Zeff couldn't stand it anymore. He coughed pointedly.
Only then did the two stop using their abilities and switch to pure close combat—which still ended in a draw.
What else could they do?
Next match.
There were 63 recruits in total.
From 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., match after match played out. The audience grew larger—but Karl still hadn't been called up.
Excluding meal breaks, Karl successfully spent six full hours doing absolutely nothing.
At one point, he was convinced Shuzo had simply forgotten to put his name on the match list.
"Kizaru, it's almost over. That recruit you're interested in still hasn't fought yet?"
Kizaru replied lazily,
"Doesn't matter. Karl is already my future adjutant."
Aokiji lifted his eye mask groggily, squinting toward the horizon.
"…Slept too long again."
"Final match—Karl vs. Major Smoker!"
"Hm?"
Akainu uncrossed his legs and leaned forward slightly.
This—was the posture of genuine interest.
If he hadn't seen wrong earlier, that rookie Kizaru favored seemed to experience a noticeable jump in strength after using his ability.
Was that why Kizaru valued him?
Akainu glanced suspiciously at Kizaru.
"Sakazuki," Kizaru said calmly,
"you promised not to compete with me. You're a Marine Admiral—you won't go back on your word, will you?"
"Hmph. I always keep my promises," Akainu replied coldly.
"But you'd better tell me the truth—what exactly is that Karl kid's ability?"
Kizaru smiled and glanced toward Sengoku.
Seeing no reaction, his grin widened.
"Woah~ Sakazuki, don't underestimate young people. Karl ate a Devil Fruit called the Holy Light Fruit."
"The Holy Light Fruit? Paramecia?" Aokiji suddenly interjected.
"Correct. You all saw that golden light earlier."
"It enhances physique, provides healing—and can be used on others as well."
Akainu shot to his feet.
"What?! It works on others too?!"
Aokiji's eyes flashed. He yanked off his eye mask without another word and watched Karl and Smoker intently.
"Otherwise, why do you think I value him so highly?" Kizaru said—then immediately regretted it.
He might've bragged a bit too early.
What if those two change their minds?
So Kizaru shut up and focused on the fight, silently urging it to end quickly so he could lock things in with Karl.
On the field—
Smoker was already breathing a little heavily.
Karl, meanwhile, was barely winded.
With Holy Light sustaining him and Swift as a Rabbit halving stamina consumption, this level of intensity was nothing.
Smoker, on the other hand, had willingly abandoned his Logia advantage.
A lifetime of stubborn pride.
The result was a hard-fought stalemate—leaning slightly in Karl's favor.
Ultimately, Smoker was only three years older.
Once Karl enhanced himself with Holy Light, the difference in physique vanished. Smoker could only rely on experience to keep up.
"Hey—you're Karl, right?" Smoker said.
"I acknowledge your strength."
"Haha. Major Smoker, if you hadn't abandoned your Logia advantage, I'd definitely have lost."
Smoker forced a smile.
Once Karl learned Haki, that so-called advantage wouldn't mean much anyway.
But that was still far off. Smoker himself hadn't fully mastered Haki yet—no way this rookie had.
"Time's up!"
Shuzo's voice rang out.
The match officially ended.
Smoker exhaled, relieved.
A draw was acceptable—especially against a monster like Karl.
Zeff, dressed in a purple suit, stepped forward with a microphone.
"The final battle is over. As Chief Instructor of the Marines, I hereby announce—"
"The 24th Marine Recruit Training Camp has officially concluded!"
"YES!"
Clap clap clap—
Thunderous applause erupted. The recruits cheered wildly.
After two months of hellish training… they had finally graduated.
In the stands, the officers stirred restlessly.
They had already chosen their targets—now they just needed to approach them once the crowd dispersed.
Behind his sunglasses, Kizaru watched Aokiji and Akainu out of the corner of his eye.
His body was already tense.
The moment Zeff dismissed them, he'd dash to Karl—
He wouldn't give those two bastards any opportunity.
"—Starting tomorrow, the next month will be your internship period."
"All graduates of the training camp will participate directly in pirate capture operations."
"You will witness firsthand the cruelty and brutality of pirates."
"You are Marine elites. Only after being baptized by blood can you truly be called Marines!"
"Execute justice. Protect peace. Justice will prevail!"
With Zeff's final words, the recruits roared their slogan in unison.
"JUSTICE WILL PREVAIL!"
"JUSTICE WILL PREVAIL!"
"JUSTICE WILL PREVAIL!"
Karl felt a stir of emotion.
So it's finally coming…
Zeff's destined turning point.
The moment he saw Ain and Binz, Karl already knew a tragedy lay ahead.
It was this future defeat that would transform Zeff into the ruthless, emotionless 'Z'—the man who would later swear to eliminate all pirates.
But now… the gears of fate had already begun to shift.
With his asthma cured—
Would Zeff still lose an arm to that snot-nosed monster Weevil?
Would he still watch his students die and break down in agony… eventually losing all faith in the Marines?
"Good—looks like those guys are getting impatient already! Hahaha!"
"Very well—dismissed!"
The Vice Admirals surged forward with smiles, approaching the recruits like wolves.
Their leering grins made the fresh graduates shudder.
Karl figured he was already "reserved" by Kizaru anyway, so he turned around to leave.
The next instant—
A flash of golden light.
Kizaru's tall figure appeared right in front of him.
"Na—uh, Admiral Kizaru! You're here!"
Kizaru looked grim, glancing around furtively as he lowered his voice.
"No time to explain. Come with me—now!"
"Hey! Borsalino, don't be in such a hurry."
Aokiji and Akainu walked toward them side by side, faint smiles on their faces—
though Akainu's looked more painful than pleasant.
"Good lord… all three Admirals are after Karl? What kind of luck is this?"
"Luck? More like strength! Isn't Karl the strongest this batch?"
Under the other recruits' envious gazes, Karl felt his scalp tingle.
Now he finally understood why Zeff had warned him not to expose his ability.
This was a huge hassle.
These three men—
He couldn't afford to offend a single one of them.
Thank goodness Kizaru had reached out early—at least now he had a reason.
"Ahem… Admiral Kizaru, about what you mentioned earlier—I—"
"Hold it."
Kizaru's face darkened as he turned toward Akainu.
Oh, really now.
Sakazuki—so you're the type to break promises too?!
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