The Girl Named "Gion"

Dressed in a white uniform with blue trim, Wood currently stood in formation, enduring the scorching sun just like everyone else.

After entering the Marine Academy at Marineford, Wood had initially thought he would immediately begin training in the Six Styles.

But as it turned out, he had been thinking too far ahead...

To master the Six Styles, one needed every physical attribute to reach superhuman standards before even being eligible to start training.

Because of his first life simulation, Wood had gained considerable swordsmanship skill, but swordsmanship was swordsmanship—completely separate from physical conditioning.

Although over a year of physical training on Maple Leaf Island had made Wood's physique stronger than most, that level was still far, far too short of what was needed to train in the Six Styles.

Moreover, being a Marine meant learning far more than just the Six Styles—in fact, that was practically a graduation-level course.

Swords, rifles, cannons, ship navigation, and basic navigation knowledge—these were all fundamental courses a Marine had to master.

On the seas, ships were the primary means of transport, so learning to steer was crucial.

As for rifles and cannons, as the main methods of combat at sea, a glorious Marine Soldier also had to be proficient in their use.

What? You say Marine officers don't need to fire cannons themselves? But no matter who you are, fresh out of here, you start as a greenhorn recruit.

That means even Akainu and Aokiji went through the phase of charging into crowds with rifles.

New recruits of different skill levels were assigned to different classes, and those with outstanding results could graduate earlier.

Wood was lucky—he excelled in cold weapon training, and the instructor had approved him to stop wasting time on that course, only requiring him to complete daily training tasks.

Meanwhile, some unlucky guys next door, because they couldn't swim, now didn't even need to eat every day—they were already full from drinking water.

To be a Marine, it was fine if you couldn't master every other skill, but swimming was something you had to be proficient in.

If a Marine couldn't even swim, wasn't that a complete joke?!

"All of you, hold on! Can't you overcome such a small difficulty?

Whether using rifles or cannons to snipe enemies, a calm mindset and the ability to adapt to your environment are essential!

Because you never know if your own warship will be hit by the enemy's attack first—are you going to give up fighting back in the face of panic and harsh conditions?"

A Marine, draped in a Marine cloak with the rank of Captain, now stood before Wood and the other recruits, passionately delivering his speech.

And the reason Wood and the others were being roasted under the sun was exactly what this Captain Instructor had said—to better adapt to various harsh environments.

Prolonged exposure to the sun did indeed lower one's willpower and had a certain effect on the brain.

After standing for half a day, several physically weaker unlucky ones had already fainted from the relentless sun and been carried away.

Seeming to feel the timing was about right, the Captain finally had a row of targets brought out and ordered Wood and the others to line up and shoot, one row after another.

Simple firearm use—they had learned it a few days ago, and Wood had basically mastered it.

Wood didn't pay much attention to the firearms of the Pirate World; because the equipment was too outdated, he felt these things weren't very practical in combat.

Just the trouble of loading the bullets alone made Wood feel extremely insecure. Although firearms existed, it wasn't without reason that cold weapons hadn't been phased out.

Because while you were loading and pulling the safety, the enemy had already charged over and was swinging a blade at your head.

"Raise your weapons, fire!"

At the Captain's command, a ragged volley of gunshots rang out across the field.

Out of a row of ten shooting, only half fired on time. The five who didn't were still stuffing gunpowder and bullets into their barrels.

As for the remaining five who successfully fired, their shooting results made the Captain Instructor shake his head.

Each fired three shots. Among the five, not one hit the target with all three. Three hit the edge of the target with one shot.

The other two—one missed all three shots entirely, and the other hit the target twice, but they were someone else's targets.

And that guy who hit someone else's target? That was Wood himself...

Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal. Their results were mediocre, but out of ten people, they at least squeezed into the top five, right?

"Wood, successful fire, three misses, grade: Lower-Middle."

"Gion, successful fire, three misses, grade: Lower-Lower."

As the Captain announced the results, aside from the two guys who actually hit their own targets, Wood secured a solid fourth place.

As for the other recruit who, like Wood, missed all shots—she was surprisingly female, and her result was fifth place.

"Instructor, I have a question. Since we both missed all three shots, why is his grade above mine?"

The girl named Gion was slightly older than Wood, but given the generally early maturation in this world, her figure had already developed with curves in all the right places, and she was exceptionally tall.

And this girl, who seemed to be nothing but legs below the neck and had a pretty face, appeared quite dissatisfied with the instructor's announced results, so she raised a questioning voice.

Hearing someone dare to challenge his judgment, the Captain Instructor was about to unleash a torrent of scolding. But when he saw the girl's information sheet in his hand, he held back his displeasure and explained the reason.

Simply put, the girl had been recommended by Vice Admiral Tsuru to enter here, and this girl named Gion had outstanding results in both theory and every other subject.

Setting aside her possible powerful background, generally speaking, teachers still treated slackers and top students differently.

"Although you both missed all three shots, Wood at least hit your target, while your bullets strayed far too wide.

Moreover, when firing, Wood was slightly faster than you. To sum it up, his grade being above yours is perfectly justified."

According to the Captain Instructor, if pirates charged in a group, Wood, though unable to accurately hit his target, could at least hit some other unlucky guy nearby.

But Gion, aside from wasting bullets, would achieve nothing.

His analysis was logical and well-founded, and Gion couldn't find a single excuse to argue back.

However, because of this incident, Gion remembered Wood. The girl believed that if Wood hadn't hit her target, she might have hit it herself.

This reasoning was almost completely illogical, but it had to be said—a proud and arrogant girl could sometimes be this unreasonable...