Young Momonga and Hoshigaki

At four in the morning at Marine Headquarters, Marineford, on the vast athletic training ground behind the Fortress of Justice, a figure was running laps at a steady pace.

He wore a black athletic tank top that clung tightly to his body, showing off his perfect muscle definition. Below, he wore slightly loose cargo pants and black leather boots. Honestly, it was not an outfit suited for exercise, but it certainly made him look more powerful.

Besides that, he had a warhammer that looked extremely heavy strapped to his back. There was no doubt that this person was Ortolan.

Four in the morning was already quite early, but clearly, the Marines' elites did not lack the spirit to rise early and train.

Young Momonga entered the training ground while tying weights around his waist. He then spotted the running figure. Normally, he and Hoshigaki were always the first to arrive and train. He had not expected someone to beat them here today.

Before Momonga could make out who the figure was, a cloud of smoke drifted into his face. He waved it away with some disgust and said, "I told you, don't start smoking cigars this early in the morning!"

That smoke had indeed come from Hoshigaki beside him. Hoshigaki wore a gentle smile, a freshly lit cigar clenched between his teeth, and chuckled. "Don't you think it looks cool?"

"Not cool at all!" Momonga snapped back before asking, "Who is that guy? I don't think I've seen him before."

"I haven't either." Hoshigaki shook his head. "But I heard that Mr. Garp brought back a newcomer yesterday at noon. Apparently, he personally recommended him for the Marines and plans to put him under Admiral Zephyr. If nothing unexpected happens, that should be him!"

"A newcomer!? Admiral Zephyr is personally teaching him?" Momonga repeated in surprise. Then, as if he had just realized something, he became even more astonished. "If Admiral Zephyr is personally teaching him, doesn't that basically mean the newcomer is confirmed to join the Officer Training Camp plan in half a month!?"

"Probably. Since Mr. Garp personally brought him back, he was obviously meant to be trained as an officer. Why are you so surprised?" Hoshigaki asked calmly.

"I just feel a little unwilling, that's all. The two of us have been in the Marines for so long, giving it everything we had just to become commodores, just to get the chance to join this Officer Training Camp and become Admiral Zephyr's disciples... Yet that newcomer gets the same treatment from the very beginning. I know that if he really gets this treatment, it means he's at least a monster on the same level as Kuzan and the others. But still, I'm so jealous, Hoshigaki!" Momonga said enviously.

"You're jealous of him, but look at it another way. Who knows how many people are jealous of us? We get to become members of the first Officer Training Camp and Admiral Zephyr's disciples... There are countless commodores at Marine Headquarters. How many of them can get in?"

That was true. Though Momonga, Hoshigaki, and the others would not possess the strength or qualifications to become Marine Admirals in the future, they would certainly be capable of serving as elite Marine Admirals. And what did that position represent?

It meant that, aside from the top Marine powerhouses such as Kuzan, Sakazuki, Borsalino, Gion, Gake, and the rest, their group would form the Marines' most important backbone!

They would take on vital roles in every setting, and their active figures would appear in every major incident!

Considering the scale of the Marines, that was already far rarer than one in ten thousand. They were absolutely the elite among elites!

While Momonga and Hoshigaki were curiously discussing Ortolan, Ortolan noticed the two of them as well. Before long, after finishing more than half a lap, he gradually slowed down. He happened to stop in front of Momonga and Hoshigaki, then smiled and waved at them in greeting.

They were somewhat envious of Ortolan's high starting point, but it was only normal envy. Whether it was Momonga or Hoshigaki, both could be considered upright and kind people.

They would not deliberately trip Ortolan up or give him cold looks because of what they had just discussed.

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Seeing Ortolan's greeting, Momonga raised his hand and waved back twice. Then he took the initiative to speak. "I'm Momonga, and this guy is Hoshigaki. We're both commodores at Marine Headquarters. I haven't seen you before, but I heard Mr. Garp brought back a newcomer yesterday. Was that you?"

Ortolan took the towel hanging around his neck and wiped the sweat from his face as he replied, "That's right. My name is Ortolan, Bane Ortolan. I'm eighteen this year... Yes, I'm a newcomer, but technically, I haven't officially joined the Marines yet. I have to wait another half month..."

"I knew it!" Momonga interrupted him with an envious expression. "You're a specially recruited monster, just like Kuzan and Sakazuki! In half a month, you'll directly enter Admiral Zephyr's newly established Officer Training Camp, right? And after graduating, you'll be directly awarded the rank of commodore, right? Damn it, I'm dying of jealousy!"

In Ortolan's memory, Momonga had been rather cold and aloof later on. He had not expected him to be like this when he was young. Still, Ortolan did not know how to respond to that, so he merely gave a friendly smile in reply.

That was right. Yesterday, he had accompanied Garp to visit one of the Marines' big shots, Admiral Zephyr. Ortolan could tell then that Zephyr and Garp were very close. At the same time, Zephyr seemed to be preparing to open a military academy and serve as its principal.

The moment Garp spoke up, Zephyr agreed without hesitation. He planned to specially recruit Ortolan into the Officer Training Camp that would officially open in Marineford in half a month. Once someone graduated from there with full marks, anyone below commodore rank would immediately be awarded the rank of commodore, while commodores would immediately be promoted to rear admiral.

As for those above commodore? No, they would not participate. At least, they would not participate in the first class.

Momonga kept chattering on and on. Hoshigaki finally found an opportunity to interrupt him and asked with a chuckle, "Getting up this early, you must be talented and hardworking. I hope we can improve together in the future!"

Ortolan smiled and nodded to Hoshigaki. "Actually, it's mostly jet lag. I followed Mr. Garp all the way back from the New World at full speed, and I still haven't adjusted. So when it got close to three, I couldn't sleep anymore..."

"So you haven't been running laps for long either?" Momonga asked curiously again. Before Ortolan could answer, he added in puzzlement, "Then why are you covered in sweat? A guy like Sakazuki probably wouldn't even count two hours of running as finishing his warm-up."

"Because I'm carrying weights?" Ortolan stroked his chin and said thoughtfully.

Momonga burst out laughing. He patted the metal weights strapped around his stomach and laughed loudly. "Don't joke around. It's just a warhammer. Look at mine—custom alloy mixed with some rare Thousand-Ton Stone powder. Each piece weighs two hundred kilograms, and I've got four of them strapped on. Now this is what you call carrying weights!!!"

It had to be said that the people in the pirate world were all monsters. Back in his original world, Momonga's physical strength would have utterly crushed everyone else.

But now, Ortolan smiled somewhat "shyly," removed his warhammer, and gently placed it in front of Momonga. Then he raised a hand, signaling for him to give it a try.

Momonga was straightforward too. Without another word, he stepped forward, gripped the hammer's handle with both hands, and pulled hard... But it did not move!

Back then, even Cracker, who had inherited Charlotte Linlin's bloodline and possessed astonishing strength despite not being born with divine power, had nearly failed to lift this thing. Momonga was still inferior to Cracker in terms of strength, so he simply could not lift it!

"What is this thing? Don't tell me you used a Devil Fruit ability on it? How can it possibly be this heavy!?" Momonga stared at Ortolan in disbelief.

"Five Thousand-Ton Stones," Ortolan said calmly.

Hoshigaki recalled Momonga proudly boasting earlier that his weights had been "mixed with some Thousand-Ton Stone powder," and immediately burst out laughing.

Momonga's face reddened slightly, but he soon patted Ortolan on the arm. "Impressive, impressive. Based on this alone, I completely accept that you were specially recruited. As expected, everyone specially recruited is a monster!"