October 1, Marine Calendar 1507.
Morning light pierced the clouds, casting golden beams across the roof of the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces' grand auditorium.
There were still seventy-three minutes until the commendation and medal ceremony began.
Yet the one-hundred-and-fifty-meter-wide stair plaza to the north and south had long been filled with the metallic roar of marching military boots.
Field-grade officers and above from Army Headquarters, Marine Headquarters, the Astral Legion, and Sea Ninja Village, along with Jonin and above.
As well as invited students of every level from the War Military Academy.
They formed distinct yet perfectly orderly lines and entered the hall in sequence.
Inside the main venue, the three-tiered stepped seating curved inward like an embracing galaxy, fanning toward the center.
Ensuring that everyone, regardless of where they sat, had a clear view of the podium.
The only slightly unusual section was the area reserved for the Titan commanders.
To avoid disrupting the proceedings, they had arrived and taken their seats early, at the cost of having to get there two hours in advance and wait even longer.
The atmosphere was somewhat noisy.
All kinds of voices collided chaotically in the air.
But that was only because everyone had already lowered their voices as much as possible.
After all, this grand auditorium could hold more than twenty thousand people at once!
Meanwhile, in the VIP lounge backstage.
Zephyr, Aramaki, Kaido, Newgate, and Bullet sat on the sofas, chatting casually.
The other four would receive medals as military admirals who had participated in the Hades war.
That was also why Garp, Boros, Hamura Otsutsuki, and Brimir were nowhere to be seen.
Of course, Zephyr was a special case, while Garp was still in Teigu World watching over his precious grandson.
"Kaido, I saw the news a few