Assessment

In the days that followed, Marine Branch 16 and the Konomi Islands quietly processed the gains from this haul.

After Miss Nami's meticulous accounting, the proceeds included not only pirate bounties and pirate ships, but also a portion of the pirates' treasure.

Those cunning pirates had hidden it incredibly well. If they had not been careful, they might have nearly sold it off together with the pirate ships. But with the help of the little cat burglar, no matter how deeply anything valuable was hidden, it could not escape her eyes, which gleamed with an eerie light.

Every last piece was found!

As mentioned earlier, some of those many ships had to be sold.

It was not just that the Konomi Islands and Marine Branch 16 had no use for so many ships; some of them were simply unsuitable for civilian or Marine use.

So it was better to sell them and buy new ones later.

The Konomi Islands would keep some as cargo ships, while Marine Branch 16 would retain some as Marine warships. They only needed a new coat of paint when the time came.

Although Marine warships, regardless of model, were all built and ordered according to standardized specifications.

Strictly speaking, pirate ships were not suitable for Marine use.

But there was no other choice right now. They could not find a suitable supplier of Marine warships, so they could only make do with them for the time being.

If they wanted warships, they could either secretly build them themselves, buy them from black-market dealers, or place an order with Marine Headquarters.

As for building them themselves, not only did they lack shipwrights, but even if they had them, Xia Che did not have blueprints for Marine warships. There might be countless Marine warships sailing the seas, but their technical requirements were no joke.

Especially the large Marine warships!

Besides, privately building Marine warships was illegal.

As for black-market dealers... their prices were high, with no guarantees, and it was easier to find them over on the Grand Line or in the New World.

And ordering from Marine Headquarters?

Come on, Marine Branch 16 suffered pirate attacks year after year and asked for funding every year. Where would they get the money to order so many Marine warships?

Wouldn't that just be telling Marine Headquarters that Marine Branch 16 had money?

How would they ask for subsidies after that?

Even the five warships currently stationed at Marine Branch 16 had only been scraped together over the past few years by asking Sean for help and reporting losses.

Of course~

This time, they could take the opportunity to claim that a Marine warship had been damaged and have Marine Headquarters send another one.

Then Marine Branch 16 would have six Marine warships. Add the pirate ships repainted as Marine warships, and Marine Branch 16 could be said to possess the largest number of warships among the Marine branches in the waters near the entrance to the Grand Line in the East Blue.

As for whether there were Marine branches stronger than Marine Branch 16 in the other half of the East Blue, Xia Che did not know.

Still.

Their strength was like that of the previous East Blue Overlord, the Krieg Pirates. They boasted five thousand pirates and fifty pirate ships, yet when they encountered a true powerhouse, one person could cut them to pieces.

If their actual strength was lacking, no amount of equipment would do them any good~

Strictly speaking, Marine Branch 16 had even fewer Marines under its command than the Krieg Pirates had pirates.

Of course, the Marine branch had been recruiting Marines this whole time without ever stopping. Their recruitment slogans had been posted everywhere, sparking a craze for joining the Marines across the Konomi Islands. By now, even Smoker had probably heard about it.

For example, right now...

Bang~

The door was suddenly thrown open.

Xia Che, who had been planning the development of the Konomi Islands' Marine strength, looked up at Smoker, who had rushed in without even knocking. He took a sip of the black tea Robin had poured for him and said helplessly, "Senior Smoker, you really need to work on that temper. Good thing I wasn't doing anything in here. If I had been, wouldn't that have been awkward? No wonder you were transferred down to the weakest sea. You need to learn more about social etiquette from me."

"..." Smoker's face, which had been calm moments ago, immediately darkened at Xia Che's words.

Learn from you?

Learn what from you?

Muddling through, deceiving superiors and subordinates, and swindling funding?

Or learn how to fish for pirates?

Besides...

How was a guy who had also been transferred down any better than him?

And what exactly had he wanted to do in here?

Smoker pointed irritably at the boy beside him, who had pink hair and a winter-melon-shaped face. "This guy heard that you're recruiting Marines here. He wants to join Marine Branch 16."

As soon as he finished speaking, the boy beside him stepped forward on his own, looking at Xia Che with excitement.

"Colonel Xia Che, my name is Koby. Please let me join Marine Branch 16. I want to become a powerful Marine like Colonel Xia Che and capture every pirate."

Although he did not know what had happened at the time, when he woke up and saw that everyone had been captured, he guessed that they must have been caught by those two Marines.

Just two Marines had captured so many pirates. It was truly unbelievable.

Especially after learning that the male Marine was actually the base commander of Marine Branch 16, Koby became convinced... Colonel Xia Che had to be an incredibly powerful Marine. So when he heard that Marine Branch 16 was recruiting Marines, he had always wanted to give it a try.

But he had never found the opportunity, or rather, he had been afraid... afraid he would not be accepted.

Later, when he heard that they were being sent back to their own island, he became extremely nervous. In the end, he gathered his courage and asked Colonel Smoker, who then brought him here.

However.

"Koby..." Hearing that name, Xia Che looked up in surprise.

The moment he saw that pink hair, he guessed who the kid before him was.

He had not expected that this pirate-catching trip would bring this guy along too.

His brow twitched. Ignoring Smoker, who was sneering after hearing Koby declare that he would capture all the pirates, Xia Che fixed his gaze on Koby. With his hands clasped before his chin, he said sternly, "Although Marine Branch 16 is severely short on soldiers, the men we recruit are all elite fighters, true men of the sea. And you..."

Though he had not finished, Koby already understood what he meant and lowered his head in disappointment.

Someone as cowardly as him being rejected was only natural.

But he had finally worked up the courage to come here. If he gave up just like that, he knew he would regret it terribly. He took another deep breath and looked firmly at Colonel Xia Che, about to say something.

At that moment—

"But as a Marine Colonel, for the sake of Marine justice, I am willing to give you this opportunity." As though he had guessed what Koby wanted to say, Xia Che cut him off. Looking at Koby again, he said in the tone of a Marine Colonel, "As long as you pass Marine Branch 16's exclusive assessment, you can become a member of Marine Branch 16."

The moment those words fell—

"???"

Robin, who had been quietly standing to the side and trying to minimize her presence, raised her head in confusion and looked at Xia Che.

Since when did Marine Branch 16's soldiers need to pass an assessment?

Why did she not know about this?

Had they not always used the standard recruitment test handed down from Marine Headquarters?

Only the requirements for branch soldiers were slightly lower.

At this moment—

Even Smoker, who had been watching idly from the side, turned his head curiously. Marine Branch 16 had its own assessment?

To be honest, as a Marine Colonel who had likewise been assigned away from Headquarters, Smoker was quite curious about what kind of assessment this Marine Colonel, who was even more of a genius than himself, would devise.

"I-I-I..." Hearing that Colonel Xia Che was actually willing to give him a chance at an assessment, Koby immediately grew excited. Clenching his fists, he shouted, "I'll work hard! Thank you, Colonel Xia Che, for giving me this opportunity! I definitely won't disappoint you, Colonel Xia Che!"

"Very good!" Xia Che nodded in satisfaction. His hands remained clasped, but his expression turned stern once more. Looking at Koby, he once again radiated the imposing presence unique to a Marine Colonel and asked gravely, "In that case, I'll assess you personally!"

As soon as he said that—

Koby: ???

Colonel Xia Che would assess him personally?

Before he could react—

"Listen carefully!" Under everyone's gaze, Xia Che directly asked, "If the Marines and pirates were engaged in a large-scale war, and you were on the battlefield as well—at this point, the war is nearing its end, and all the Marines' objectives have been achieved, but the pirates have yet to be eliminated. However, the battlefield is littered with corpses, and you watch your comrades, the people you usually know, die one after another. Overcome with grief, what would your reaction be at that moment?"