New Recruit Training Camp

Although Longinus had no idea what would happen next, he could roughly guess that some people would definitely be unhappy about his sudden departure.

However, he did not really care. Instead, he was somewhat interested in the purpose of that Marine Captain Adkin.

Before long, Longinus met Marine Captain Adkin in a simple yet solemn conference room, where the latter was meticulously reviewing official documents.

"Reporting!"

"Come in."

"Yes, sir!"

The soldier led Longinus inside and reported, "Captain, the new recruit Longinus has arrived. Awaiting your instructions."

Longinus wore an odd expression. Why did this feel like a wanted criminal being brought to justice?

Marine Captain Adkin abruptly raised his head. A hint of emotion appeared on his sharply defined face. "He really is as young as Major General Jonathan said!"

"All right, you may leave for now." Marine Captain Adkin gestured to the soldier who had led the way.

"Yes, sir!"

Only after the room held just the two of them did Marine Captain Adkin force a smile and say, "Have a seat first! I imagine you must have some doubts right now. Perhaps you're wondering whether what you did really warranted a Marine Captain going to such lengths?"

"Indeed. Major General Jonathan has already made his position clear. That should be my greatest reward," Longinus said.

"Actually, I asked you here both for public and private reasons." Marine Captain Adkin made no attempt to hide it.

"Because of my incompetence, Giant Rhinoceros Alex escaped the Marines time and again, resulting in the destruction of several villages. Every minute and every second, my heart has been suffering torment. At one point, I even wanted to take off this uniform and assassinate him as an adventurer."

Marine Captain Adkin clenched his fists as he said, "So when I learned that you had killed Alex, my hollow heart was finally comforted. That's why I wanted to meet you in private and express my heartfelt gratitude."

Longinus shook his head and said righteously, "A brute like Giant Rhinoceros Alex would not be spared by anyone with a conscience and the ability to stop him."

"I knew you would say that. No wonder Major General Jonathan praised you so highly as a rising star and the Light of the Marines." Marine Captain Adkin looked at him with admiration.

"What I'm about to tell you concerns your future."

"My future..." Longinus's heart stirred, and he appropriately let a trace of confusion show on his face.

"Don't let the ordinary name Marine New Recruit Training Camp fool you. It is the cradle of officers in the eyes of every Marine. Those Big Shots who have risen from the ranks to major general or vice admiral with meteoric speed over the past few years all came from there."

Marine Captain Adkin drew a deep breath and said reverently, "That's because the Fleet Admiral of that Marine new recruit camp is the former Marine Admiral who captured countless notorious pirates and, together with Marine Admiral Sengoku and Vice Admiral Garp, was hailed as a hero—the 'Black Arm' Zephyr!"

"Marine Admiral... Black Arm Zephyr..." Longinus murmured. From the memories of that otherworldly soul, he knew that this was a thoroughly tragic figure.

"Admiral Zephyr has been retired from the front lines for eight years now, so it's normal that you new-generation recruits don't know about him. You only need to understand that as long as you graduate smoothly from that new recruit camp, you'll at least start as a lieutenant commander. With your talent, reaching commander or captain isn't impossible. In three years, you could complete most of the journey that takes an ordinary Marine an entire lifetime."

Longinus nodded, then appropriately showed a puzzled expression. "Marine Captain Adkin, why are you bringing this up...?"

"For both personal and public reasons, I hope to recommend you to that new recruit camp. I called you here because I wanted to know your opinion."

"Only greater strength can better protect justice. Naturally, I hope to temper my commitment to justice even further. However, a training camp of that level probably isn't easy to enter, is it?" Longinus said with "yearning anticipation."

"Of course. I'm only a Marine Captain, after all. With my limited influence, how could I get you into Headquarters immediately?"

"In fact, we receive one hundred recommendation slots every year. After two years of assessment, only nine candidates are ultimately selected and sent to the Headquarters new recruit camp for further training."

"On one hand, we need two years to eliminate any potential threats. Don't laugh, but pirate forces have infiltrated the upper ranks of the Marines before, causing tremendous losses to certain Marine operations."

"On the other hand, the new recruit camp hasn't been around for very long. Too many people have set their sights on this undeveloped territory. The descendants of those heroes who made tremendous contributions to the Marines and died tragically must naturally be given priority."

"Two years? I'll only be fourteen then, so I can afford to wait that long." Longinus was not surprised. The members of the first camp, Akainu and Kizaru, had already been twenty-three and twenty-six respectively. Even Aokiji, from the third camp, was already nineteen. Someone as young as him was the unusual one.

Besides, after waiting two years, his identity would also be recognized, making him a genuine core member of the Marines. That would be an entirely different treatment from those recruited halfway through later on.

In short, it was the difference between a permanent employee and a contract worker.

Seeing that Longinus showed no resistance or displeasure, Marine Captain Adkin finally relaxed. He had been worried that Longinus, young and hot-blooded, would regard the assessment as a sign of distrust.

He truly had high hopes for Longinus, believing that the future might even see him claim a place among the Marine vice admirals. That was why he had laid everything out plainly from the beginning.

"Actually, there's also the Government..." Marine Captain Adkin's expression stiffened as he spoke. He waved his hand. "...Ahem, you should still have things to take care of, right? I'll have someone show you around the barracks."

After Longinus left the conference room, he thought to himself, Is it because the Marines produced three monstrously powerful figures in succession, making the Government a little uneasy?

Perhaps after some bargaining among the upper ranks, the Marine leadership decided to give the Government two years, which was why they openly and covertly gave the various bases a two-year assessment period.

However, the Government's upper ranks may have underestimated the character of the people beneath them. They never imagined what kind of trash the people they had gone to such lengths to insert into the camp would be, resulting in a huge gap between the first few and middle generations of the Marine new recruit camp.

In other words, the generation two years from now may be an explosive surge for the Marines after several quiet years. Hopefully, I'll encounter a few people who can interest me.