Joining the Navy

After saying goodbye to the old man, Doflamingo rode Blu away.

This was already his second month in Water 7. Under the long-term hypnotic suggestions, the residents of Water 7 had gradually "remembered" this handsome young man named Steve.

Ever since his parents had been killed by pirates when he was young, he had hated pirates deeply. He later went to sea, working as a merchant caravan's bodyguard while moonlighting as a Pirate Hunter. He had spent years tracking down the Pirate Crew that had killed his parents, only returning to Water 7 after recently hearing that the crew had been destroyed.

Well, the Pirate Crew and his parents had all truly existed. Everything was real except for him.

After fabricating this identity for so long, Doflamingo felt it was about time. That day, he arrived at the entrance to the Navy branch to enlist.

At the entrance of the Navy branch, Doflamingo wore a strange expression as he looked at the elderly Navy soldier dozing off by the gate.

The Navy soldiers at the bounty exchange counter had looked fairly capable. Why were the ones handling enlistment all a bunch of old men?

"Hey, hey, wake up already! I'm here to enlist."

"Huh?" The elderly Navy soldier raised his head, looking startled. "Someone's here to enlist?"

It was no wonder he was so surprised. Because Water 7 had so many shipbuilding factories, nearly all its young and middle-aged people had been drawn into factory work. There were truly very few willing to enlist in the Navy.

Most of the Navy personnel here had been transferred from G2 Base.

Every Navy base, such as G2 or G4, with a Vice Admiral stationed there, oversaw all Navy forces across several countries and islands. On some islands, hardly anyone was willing to join the Navy. In those cases, the base had to transfer Navy personnel from nearby islands.

"That's certainly rare." The elderly Navy soldier gave Doflamingo a once-over. "Hardly anyone in Water 7 comes to enlist. Kid, do you have some kind of grudge against pirates?"

Then he shook his head. "Forget it. What does that have to do with an old man like me? If you want to join the Navy, hurry up and fill out this form."

He rummaged around in the desk for a while, pulled out a form, and handed it directly to Doflamingo. "Once you're done, take it inside yourself!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he flopped back onto the desk and began snoring again.

Looking at the old Navy soldier, Doflamingo suddenly felt that the flawless backstory he had spent so long crafting was a joke.

After comforting himself—I'm being cautious. Cautious.—he finally managed to suppress his irritation. Doflamingo filled out the entire form, then walked inside.

Fortunately, management within the Navy branch was not as lax as it had been at the gate. Of course, it was not exactly strict either. Once they confirmed that such a person existed, they simply issued Doflamingo some firearms, weapons, and a uniform, then sent him off to report for duty.

"Um." Watching the Navy Petty Officer who had registered him immediately start handing him supplies, Doflamingo finally could not help speaking up. "I'm a Devil Fruit ability user. The Navy should offer some special treatment, shouldn't it?"

"Huh? A Devil Fruit ability user!" The pot-bellied Navy Petty Officer looked shocked. "That's really rare. With a Devil Fruit ability, why do anything else when you could join the Navy... Ah! You didn't hear anything, got it?"

Doflamingo replied weakly, "Don't worry. I didn't hear a thing."

The Navy Petty Officer nodded, then looked curious. "By the way, what exactly is your Devil Fruit ability?"

Doflamingo said, "I'm an Intangibility Fruit user. I can turn my body intangible and pass through any object."

"Huh? Then why didn't you just rob a treasury instead of joining the Navy... Ah! You didn't hear anything, got it?"

"Got it~" Doflamingo rolled his eyes. He had discovered that the deeper one got into the Navy and pirate circles, the more oddballs one seemed to find.

I often feel out of place among you because I'm not weird enough.jpg

Once word spread that a Devil Fruit ability user had come to enlist, even the Navy Captain stationed at the branch could no longer sit still and personally met with Doflamingo.

After meeting that Navy Captain, Doflamingo was even more disappointed.

Well, how should he put it? This Captain was considerably stronger than those small fry in the Four Seas, but he was still somewhat weaker than a true elite Captain from Navy Headquarters. His combat strength was roughly the bottom tier among Headquarters' officers of Captain rank.

No wonder that after entering the Grand Line, the Navy forces chasing the Straw Hat Crew had always come from the bases instead.

The Navy troops stationed on these islands were simply far too weak.

Weak as they were, Doflamingo still got what he wanted. He was directly appointed a Navy Petty Officer. With just a little more merit, he could easily become an officer of Lieutenant rank.

The Navy Captain even told him outright that there would definitely be a place for him in next year's Navy Elite Training Camp.

Those who graduated from the Navy's Elite Training Camp generally became Headquarters officers. Those qualified to enter were either outstanding members of various branches who possessed formidable strength and had earned merit, or... lucky individuals who had eaten a Devil Fruit.

Yes, as long as one had eaten a Devil Fruit,

and its Devil Fruit ability was useful in battle, one would absolutely qualify to enter the Navy Elite Training Camp. After graduating, as long as they did not die, they could at least become an officer of Captain rank in the future.

After hearing that, Doflamingo settled down and began living a life of simply showing up for roll call.

There were actually very few pirates causing trouble in Water 7. Note that this did not mean there were few pirates—it meant few pirates caused trouble.

After all, this was the world's largest and finest shipbuilding center. On the sea, the importance of ships could never be overstated. Even lawless pirates were unwilling to offend the shipwrights here.

Otherwise, if they happened to leave out a few nails in your lower hull, you might get to enjoy swimming in the ocean after sailing a few hundred kilometers.

As for the Navy branch in Water 7, so long as no one caused trouble here, they would not take action first no matter how high the bounty was.

Of course, in Doflamingo's opinion, the more likely reason was that Water 7's Navy branch simply could not defeat those pirates.

Although the Navy branch here was one or two levels stronger than those in the Four Seas, pirates sailing the Grand Line—even those merely in the first half, Paradise—were seven or eight times stronger than pirates from the Four Seas!

If they really arrested every pirate they saw without using their brains, there probably would not be a living person left in this Navy branch within a year.