The Officer Training Camp did not occupy much space. It was located in a low building beside the training ground. This three-story building had originally been Marine dormitories, but it had become very old and had been vacant for some time. Admiral Zephyr later chose it directly as the teaching building he wanted, and it had undergone a series of renovations not long ago.
After waiting half a month, Ortolan finally joined the Marine Headquarters Officer Training Camp as he had hoped and became part of its first class.
On the day he registered here, he automatically gained the status of a Captain at Marine Headquarters. Once he earned enough credits and was approved for graduation by Admiral Zephyr, he would immediately be promoted to Commodore at Marine Headquarters, becoming a Marine officer of the same rank as Momonga and the others.
Though by then, Momonga and Hoshigaki would probably have already become Rear Admirals.
But Ortolan did not care about that. He had joined the Marines halfway through, and being able to start at such a high level was already remarkable. He also had to thank Garp and Zephyr for not holding his identity against him.
For now, not many people in the Marines knew his identity. Probably only a handful of higher-ups did.
A few days ago, when he had chatted with Kuzan, Ortolan had vaguely brought up the subject. Judging from Kuzan's reaction, he probably did not know Ortolan's identity either. The confidentiality level seemed fairly solid.
As one of the diligent trio, Ortolan still got up early to exercise that day. He then met up with Momonga and Hoshigaki. After the three finished their workout, they immediately went to the cafeteria for breakfast, then headed to the school.
The first Officer Training Camp had only one class. Admiral Zephyr even felt that, if things worked out later, each future class of the Officer Training Camp should recruit only one group of students, until it was officially approved as Marine Headquarters' higher military academy.
The classroom was not large. It was merely a classroom made by knocking through three dorm rooms. When Ortolan and the other two arrived, no one else was in the class yet.
"Do you two not know who else is joining this training camp?" Ortolan asked Momonga casually as he sat down.
Momonga was straightening his suit, hoping to leave a good first impression on Admiral Zephyr. Hearing Ortolan's question, he said, "I know a little. I heard that Onigumo, Dalmatian, and Doberman, who are Commodores like Hoshigaki and me, are also in this first class. But the two of us do not get along particularly well with them, so we are not very familiar. As for the rest, I heard there might be some promising recruits selected from outside Headquarters, but I do not know them. Within Headquarters, there seem to be a few below the rank of Commodore too. What were their names... Captain Strawberry, and who else?"
At that, Momonga looked toward Hoshigaki. Hoshigaki was rolling a cigar. Noticing Momonga's gaze, he slowly said, "Captain Stainless, Captain Kesha. I do not know about anyone else."
"Why are you rolling cigars here? It will affect Admiral Zephyr's first impression of you, won't it?" Momonga complained, sounding exasperated.
"I heard Admiral Zephyr likes cigars a great deal. Maybe he will appreciate me more because of it?" Hoshigaki laughed.
Seeing Momonga and Hoshigaki start arguing again, Ortolan was no longer surprised. Those two were just like that. They quarreled often, but their relationship was very good.
But from what Momonga had said, it seemed that the two of them did not know their future colleagues, who would also become Vice Admirals at Marine Headquarters, very well. They had barely even interacted.
But on second thought, Ortolan felt that was perfectly normal. At present, these people were either Commodores or field-grade officers. There were plenty of people with such statuses at Marine Headquarters, especially in the office building at Fortress of Justice, where they seemed to be everywhere.
Only as they gradually climbed higher and reached the true flag officer ranks, such as Rear Admiral, would they likely have more contact. Once they all became Vice Admirals, they might not be top dogs, but they would still be genuine high-ranking Marine officers. There were only so many of them, so seeing one another constantly would naturally make them more familiar.
Ortolan could even vaguely sense the pride in Momonga and Hoshigaki. The reason they got along well with him was because Ortolan could keep up with them and even surpass them. If others could not measure up, they would not waste much time trying to befriend them.
Once Momonga and Hoshigaki stopped arguing, Ortolan asked again, "You said just now that you do not get along with some Commodores. What did you mean? Do you have conflicts with them?"
Ortolan had Momonga's attention again. He shook his head and said, "There are no conflicts. We just have somewhat different ideas and beliefs, so we do not get along very well. Sometimes, during meetings, we even argue because of those differences."
"Is it because of factions?" Ortolan asked with a smile.
Momonga was slightly taken aback, then nodded. "You could say that. So you know about the factions within the Marines too. It seems Mr. Garp has talked to you about these things..."
Garp had never mentioned any of this to Ortolan. He was probably too lazy to talk about such messy nonsense. But Ortolan did not expose that. Instead, he said with interest, "Tell me more. Mr. Garp is not very willing to discuss these topics."
Momonga was quite the chatterbox, at least in his younger days. Seeing that Ortolan was interested, he immediately said excitedly, "The Marines are broadly divided into three factions: the Hawk Faction, the Dove Faction, and the Neutral Faction. They represent three different positions and beliefs. Take the Hawk Faction, for example. Their stance is very hardline. They advocate fighting violence with violence, absolute justice, and so on. Those Marines are relatively cold-blooded and not particularly friendly toward lower-ranking Marines. Opposed to the Hawk Faction are the Dove Faction Marines. Compared with the Hawks' hardline stance and principles, the Doves are more moderate. They hope to solve more problems through nonviolent means, and they advocate justice at the proper time as well. They are less extreme and more peaceful. Lastly, there is the Neutral Faction. Put simply, they try to maintain balance. Put less politely, they just muddle through and play both sides."
From Momonga's description, Ortolan could tell that the man was definitely speaking with his own subjective bias. Nine times out of ten, he was promising Dove Faction material.
"Then who are the leading figures in these three factions?" Ortolan asked quietly.
Momonga was somewhat cautious about such a sensitive question. He looked around, and seeing that no one had arrived yet, continued, "The three major factions are not that large. Only officers at the rank of Rear Admiral and above can truly come into contact with and join them. Commodores like us mostly just hear a little about them, so we can make some choices in the future. As for the leading figures, everything I know is gossip. I am just saying it for fun, so listen for fun too."
Ortolan nodded to show that was fine. Momonga then said, "I heard the Hawk Faction does not currently have a true leader. But before Marshal Steel Bone became Marshal, he was one of the Hawk Faction's big names. However, as Marshal, he cannot favor any particular stance. He has to treat everyone fairly, so he resigned as the Hawk Faction's leader. As a result, the Hawks still have no real figurehead, but relying on Marshal Steel Bone's influence and prestige, they have still developed quite well."
Ortolan remembered that information, then asked, "What about the Dove Faction?"
"The Dove Faction used to be fairly powerful. Admiral Zephyr and Mr. Garp were both leaders of the Dove Faction. But years ago, Admiral Zephyr seemed to undergo some changes in his beliefs because of certain events. He is now a leader of the Neutral Faction. At the same time, though, he has lost interest in factional matters. So while he is nominally one of the Neutral Faction's leaders, he does not actually participate in any factional struggles at all," Momonga said.
"So the Neutral Faction is the strongest now?" Ortolan asked in surprise.
"Mm. The Marshal's position is definitely with the Neutral Faction now. Admiral Sengoku also seems to have been one of the Neutral Faction's leading figures from the start. Now they also have Admiral Zephyr's reputation supporting them. Besides, everyone believes Admiral Sengoku will certainly become the next Marshal in the future, so the Neutral Faction is very strong," Momonga nodded.
Where there were no factions within a party, there would be strange things aplenty. No large political group could possibly be completely unified internally. Different positions and factions were bound to emerge. That was perfectly normal.
Though the Marines were a violent institution, they were undoubtedly also a political group. At the same time, they were astonishingly vast and had existed for over eight hundred years. How could they possibly lack factional struggles?
Ortolan had learned firsthand information about the factions within the Marines from Momonga that day. He had originally wanted to ask a few more questions, but just then, the classroom door was pulled open. Several Marine officers entered together. They had to be their "new classmates."
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