Wood and Gion Compete

"I didn't expect our young Swordsman, a genius once praised by Teacher Zephyr and Vice Admiral Karp, to still be a Third Class Private after a full six months."

Gion had never paid much attention to her own rank. What mattered to her was her strength. As for titles like rank, everything would fall into place once her strength improved.

However, Gion didn't know why, but upon seeing Wood, whom she hadn't seen in half a year, and noticing his unchanged rank and the envious look in his eyes, she uncharacteristically put on her Captain airs to tease Wood.

Ever since she had known Wood, Gion felt like she had always been on the losing end.

Her greatest pride was her swordsmanship, yet he was a Swordsman younger than her.

She thought she had surpassed him in strength and even reveled in it for a while, even lecturing him as a superior. Who would have thought she'd be proven wrong again.

Half a year had passed, and Gion didn't know how strong Wood was now.

But seeing Wood's expression of envy and jealousy towards her rank at this moment, Gion felt her mood lift considerably. She felt that after being on the losing end for so long, she had finally won one round.

"Tsk, dirty politics. It's different when you have connections behind Marine Headquarters. It's only been half a year since graduation, and you've skipped so many ranks, from Sergeant to Marine Captain."

Admittedly, seeing Gion already as a Marine Captain, Wood was genuinely a little envious.

His goal was to become a Captain at the Maple Leaf Island Marine Branch. Although a branch Captain didn't carry as much weight as a Headquarters Captain, one at least needed the level of a Rear Admiral in the Headquarters to be transferred to a branch as a Captain.

And Wood's current rank was Third Class Private. Between him and a Headquarters Rear Admiral, there were still nine ranks: Second Class Private, First Class Private, Corporal, Sergeant, Staff Sergeant, Warrant Officer, Second Lieutenant, First Lieutenant, and Captain.

He and Gion's current position, Marine Captain, were separated by a total of eleven ranks!

They graduated from the same school, even the same year, but this gap was simply too large...

"What nonsense are you talking about? I became a Marine Headquarters Captain entirely through my own ability, not by backdoors or connections. As for you, I initially thought you'd maintain your low-key principle. But I never imagined you'd be this low-key! Do you know how much effort I put in to find you in the Marine registry?"

The internal system of the Marines was vast, with various types of units besides special scientific research forces. Gion didn't know where Wood had been assigned, so she could only filter by rank. After all, although the Marine Corps was large, over ninety percent were ordinary soldiers.

Initially, Gion screened the Marines according to the "Marine Captain" standard, the same as hers. However, after scanning through hundreds of Marine Captains, Gion didn't find Wood's name.

Then, Gion quickly remembered Wood's unusually low-key nature. While others sought to stand out, he always tried to make himself inconspicuous. Considering Wood's personality, Gion began searching for Wood's name among Vice Captains and Major-level Marine officers.

The result was, unsurprisingly, still nothing.

Unwilling to give up, Gion wouldn't easily back down. Unless someone died in battle, their name would definitely be on the registry. This registry was not supposed to be casually browsed, but Fleet Admiral Sengoku had previously given her permission to select any Marine below the Admiral rank at will, which was how Gion obtained such privileges.

She had not only finished reviewing the lists of officers but even the names of lieutenants. With red eyes, Gion still couldn't find Wood's name! Given Wood's strength displayed half a year ago, coupled with his cautious and cunning personality, Gion didn't believe Wood would die so easily.

Gion began to suspect if Wood had become an officer of Major rank or higher. However, after inquiring with Vice Admiral Tsuru, she replied, "The number of Marine Headquarters officers of Admiral rank is limited. If someone their age became an Admiral, they would undoubtedly be a genius comparable to Aokiji or Kizaru, and I would know about it."

Still not convinced, Gion spent another entire night after returning, and finally found Wood's name among the countless Third Class Privates. Gion was even fortunate that Wood had managed to snag the rank of "Third Class Private" upon graduation. If he had been an ordinary Marine, finding him would have been like searching for a needle in a haystack. After all, this was the medieval era, and computers didn't exist. Registration and information processing still relied on primitive written records. Ordinary Marines were as numerous as stars; there were likely more than one or two individuals named Wood.

Gion truly couldn't understand. Given Wood's strength, even if he had fared poorly, after half a year, let alone becoming a Major-level officer, he should at least be a Sergeant. They were elites who had undergone enhanced training at the Marine Academy and were students of Teacher Zephyr. The one faring the worst among them should at least be a Corporal. That Wood was still a Third Class Private was simply too low-key...

Unfortunately, Gion didn't know that this time, it wasn't Wood's intention to be low-key. He had even considered working hard to get promoted sooner, to leave Marine Headquarters and become a background Captain in some Marine branch. However, the problem was the place he was assigned to was simply too terrible...

Having spent half a year in Impel Down, not only had Marine Headquarters forgotten about a small figure like him, but even the members of his small squad were almost forgetting about Wood. He couldn't go out to sea to pursue pirates, and even his clerical work was marginalized. How was he supposed to get promoted and earn a raise!

"I know you're accustomed to being low-key, but I have a mission this time that requires the assistance of a few people with decent strength. If the mission can be successfully completed, I believe you can at least be promoted to Sergeant. Of course, considering your preference for a low-key personality, I can also help you apply for other rewards instead of a rank promotion."

Upon seeing Gion, Wood had a feeling that more trouble was coming, and sure enough, the next second she directly stated the purpose of summoning him back to Marine Headquarters. Initially, Wood wasn't interested in the mission Gion mentioned at all and intended to refuse without a second thought. However, upon hearing that completing this mission could directly lead to a promotion to Sergeant, Wood's steps, which were about to take him away, immediately halted.