Just as Momonga was about to give up and leave, Zephyr spoke slowly: "I will discuss these matters with Sengoku."
This sounded like heavenly music to Momonga's ears. He saluted joyfully: "Yes, thank you, Teacher!" Then, he rushed toward the cabins like a gust of wind, intent on retrieving the photos from Loya's hands.
The journey passed without incident. The warships entered the Calm Belt and anchored in a bay of a dium-sized island.
This island did not appear on any standard map. For decades, the Navy had used it as a testing ground for new recruits. Because the island's magnetic field was weak, standard navigation compasses would not point toward it; only a Permanent Pose could lead the way, ensuring sufficient secrecy. Furthermore, the island was ho to many indigenous, powerful creatures, supplented by beasts released by the Navy over the years. It was the perfect environnt for a trial by fire.
Ordinary recruits in the Four Seas did not need such an assessnt, but as elite recruits of the Headquarters—the future backbone of the Navy—this trial of blood and fire was essential.
The island was densely overgrown. From the crude harbor, one could only see endless layers of erald leaves. Two bright red crabs wandered the beach—a seemingly serene and tranquil scene. However, the fierce roars echoing from deep within the island proved it was far from peaceful.
Many recruits gulped, looking at each other in trepidation.
"Hey... we aren't actually going onto that island, are we?"
"Must be... I heard from the seniors that this island is full of man-eating monsters."
Upon hearing this, the crowd grew even more nervous.
"So... so scary!"
The personnel on the surrounding warships stood in formation, waiting for Zephyr's orders. Zephyr nodded at Momonga, signaling the ssengers to inform all ships that the assessnt was about to begin.
The instructor for Loya's Seventh Squad stood at the front and shouted: "From this mont, the Elite Assessnt begins! Listen closely to the rules!"
"Your task is to hunt the creatures on this island and earn points. The ti limit is three days. Only the top three scorers have a chance to enter the Elite Camp. The creatures on this island vary in strength; points are awarded accordingly. Even stepping on a crab will get you points."
The Rear Admiral pointed to the pile of crabs on the beach, cracking a rare joke. It didn't improve the mood; the recruits remained anxious, holding their weapons with sweaty, trembling palms. Seeing that no one responded, the instructor coughed and continued.
"This is an individual assessnt, but teaming up is permitted. If multiple people participate in an attack, the points will be split equally. Additionally, there are Surveillance Den Den Mushi everywhere on the island. Do not entertain any delusions—your every move is under our observation."
"Everyone co and collect a distress flare before leaving. Although there are many surveillance devices, if you encounter an invincible predator, they cannot call for help. If you encounter an ergency, use this to tell us your location."
"However, rember this: anyone who uses the distress signal will have their score reset to zero!"
"Furthermore..." The instructor's tone turned solemn. "This doesn't an you are safe. If you encounter a beast you cannot contend with, being torn to pieces in an instant is not impossible. So, good luck to you all!"
After speaking, the instructor looked at Zephyr, who nodded. He then shouted, "Now, co and collect your life-insurance charms, you brats! All personal weapons must be surrendered; you may only use the standard-issue weapons we have provided, along with one day's worth of dry rations!"
So recruits trembled, others were eager to prove themselves, and they lined up orderly to collect their gear.
Loya pondered for a mont, then took only a dagger and a bag of gunpowder, leaving the firearms behind. The Marine handing out the equipnt looked at him in surprise. "I understand the dagger, but why take gunpowder without a gun?" Most recruits chose guns to have a sense of security against danger.
Loya shrugged. "My strength has already surpassed the need for guns. Besides, in case of injury or rain, gunpowder is excellent for starting fires for sterilization. By the way, mister, is this bag waterproof?"
The Marine nodded, smiling. "Ambitious! Don't worry, it's sewn from sea-beast hide. Tie the string tight at the opening, and it won't get wet even if you soak it in the ocean."
"That will do. Thanks!"
Loya waved, took his distress flare and rations, and left the warship. As for why he wasn't seasick? He had spent the entire trip on the deck jumping up and down on a small floating patch of ice, keeping his feet off the floorboards the entire ti.
"Loya, let's go together!"
"Yeah, with you around, it'll be no problem."
The mont Loya stepped off the boat, familiar recruits gathered around, pleading to team up. Their tone was humble, not arrogant. This was the One Piece world; there was no culture of "the stronger you are, the more responsibility you have." In this sea, strength was supre. In the face of unknown danger, seeking protection from the strong while acting entitled was a recipe for death.
Loya looked at his colleagues with a headache. He looked back at the ship; the high-ranking officers had already left the deck for the monitoring center, leaving him no one to ask for an exit strategy.
He sighed in resignation, spread his hands, and said, "Alright, but only for one day. After one day, you should be familiar enough with the island to hunt independently. You all know that sticking together makes it impossible to earn a ticket to the Elite Camp."
The fact was undeniable. Among the recruits, who didn't want to join the Elite Camp? Hearing Loya's reasoning, they gritted their teeth and agreed. They were Headquarters recruits, the future elite of the Navy; if they were timid now, how could they fight pirates later?
Seeing everyone in agreent, Loya raised a fist: "Yosh! Let's set off!"
"Yes!"
On the warship, in a wide room serving as the monitoring center, almost all the naval officers had gathered.
The walls were covered in projections from Surveillance Den Den Mushi. Dozens of Marines were rushing about with notebooks, recording the scores of the recruits.
Zephyr sat at the head of the conference table, flipping through the recruits' files. Suddenly, he looked up, helpless, at the person sitting across from him. "Are you really that free, Kuzan?"
"Ara ara, I suppose so. But I have you to thank for that, Teacher. Otherwise, Fleet Admiral Sengoku would have assigned to a mission long ago." Kuzan pulled back his eye mask and replied, "The kid calls Teacher, after all. He's taking the live-combat assessnt, so it wouldn't be right if I didn't co to watch."
Zephyr had only just realized that Kuzan had boarded another warship at Marineford and followed them all the way here. As Kuzan said, he truly had Zephyr to thank for this. To help Loya grow faster, Zephyr had spent a long ti discussing it with Sengoku, finally convincing him to let Kuzan tutor Loya daily. This resulted in Kuzan having a very relaxing month—and now, he was even tagging along for the assessnt.
Zephyr couldn't help but regret his decision. Hadn't he just given Kuzan the perfect excuse to be lazy?
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