The Big Shots Have It All Arranged

In the Marine Admiral's office, Sengoku and Garp had just finished another battle over ownership of the senbei. The victor—Old Man Garp, whose skin was thicker!

"Fuu..." Forcibly suppressing his anger, Sengoku sat behind his desk and refused to look at the bastard old man half-reclining on the sofa and munching senbei. "All right, nothing unexpected happened during your trip back to East Blue, did it?"

"East Blue has been far too peaceful these past two or three years. There hasn't even been a single pirate worth ten million. Is that newly risen Pirate Hunter really that strong?"

"Yeah, he is. At the very least, he's on the level of a top Marine Headquarters colonel. With a little training, reaching brigadier general level wouldn't be difficult either." Garp grinned and burst into laughter, spraying senbei crumbs everywhere.

"Swallow before you speak, you bastard!" Sengoku nearly roared again, but then something occurred to him. "A few days ago, you had me prepare a Marine Lieutenant registration form. And you know so much about that Pirate Hunter's strength..."

"You brought him to Marine Headquarters? You even... fought him? You old bastard, you didn't cripple him, did you?"

"Hmph! Crippling that kid wouldn't be easy!" Garp narrowed his eyes and took another bite of senbei. "Sengoku, this time I've found a real treasure. He's a talent no less impressive than those three 'monsters' from the New Marine Recruit Camp back then!"

"That kid's name is Wright. Marine Headquarters has most of his information already—his Devil Fruit ability and his swordsman skills—but those details aren't complete. He has already awakened Two-Color Haki!"

"His Devil Fruit ability is unusual. It's an extremely rare Paramecia that lets him manipulate a kind of light-like energy. He calls it 'Holy Light.' But unlike Borsalino's Logia, he can't transform into an element."

"However, its support capabilities are extremely powerful. It can heal, defend, and attack, like that 'Phoenix'... perhaps even stronger."

"Oh? I had heard that an impressive healing-type ability had appeared in East Blue. It can attack and defend too? That is indeed rare, though not incomprehensible." Sengoku was mildly surprised, but did not take it too seriously. The world was full of strange and unusual abilities.

"Still... he awakened Two-Color Haki at such a young age without ever even setting foot on the Grand Line, all while in East Blue. It seems East Blue's waters run deep. Without opponents of equal or greater strength to pressure him, awakening Two-Color Haki so young would be nearly impossible."

Garp nodded. "There's more. His ability seems capable of combining with Haki. Both his Armament Haki and Observation Haki have changed to varying degrees. The specifics are unclear, but roughly speaking, his Observation Haki can sense good and evil, while his Armament Haki turns golden and is stronger than ordinary Armament Haki!"

"But none of that is important. The most important thing is the kid's way of doing things." Garp said slowly, his face darkening. "He was born a noble, yet has no interest in power struggles. As a Pirate Hunter, he should know the Marine system very well, but when facing an old man like me, a Marine Headquarters vice admiral, he actually called me 'old man'..."

"Pfft..." Sengoku sprayed out his tea and laughed loudly. "You bastard, Garp, so even you have moments like this! Hahahaha!"

"Bastard!" Garp pulled out a senbei and viciously bit into it. "That kid isn't stupid. I found an excuse to beat him up, but afterward, he was completely respectful and even called me—making me want to find another chance... Of course, I did find another chance to beat him up!"

"In East Blue, I specifically had Bogart gather information on the kid. His movements over the past three years have been documented. He really does have his own concept of justice, and he has always put it into practice."

"..." Sengoku tapped the desk with one finger, deep in thought. "Among Marine Headquarters' new generation of commanders, Sakazuki is too extreme, Borsalino is too slippery, and Kuzan..."

"Kuzan originally followed 'Burning Justice.' Though he liked sleeping, he was decisive. But ever since Ohara... Kuzan's style has grown increasingly lax."

"The Marines truly need some different ideas... Wright, was it? Arrange for the kid to enter the New Marine Recruit Camp. He's too used to being a Pirate Hunter. He still needs to learn the Marines' rules, and we can observe his 'justice' while we're at it!"

Still unaware that two big shots had already arranged everything for him, Wright followed Bogart through the procedures and completed his registration. Then he impatiently asked Bogart to show him around Marine Headquarters, his reason being—"At the very least, I need to know where to eat!"

Any ordinary Marine soldier could have handled such a task, but Wright was a rising talent personally brought into the Marines by Vice Admiral Garp. Thus, Bogart reluctantly served as his guide himself. It was truly difficult for someone with such an expressionless face to speak so much, let alone introduce Wright to every acquaintance they encountered.

After one tour, Wright had more or less memorized several of Marineford's landmark areas:

The port district—the harbor where warships and cargo ships came and went. As Marine Headquarters, its port district was naturally spectacular, and it also served to some extent as a defensive position;

The military district—the place where headquarters officers worked, held military meetings, and made wartime decisions. It was the operational hub of Marine Headquarters;

The training district—the daily training grounds for Marine soldiers and officers. It covered an enormous area and contained all kinds of training facilities and specialized venues. Marineford's largest drill ground was also here, used for sparring and military reviews;

The residential district—the area where Marine officers and soldiers relaxed and lived. It had a large mess hall, dormitories, a hospital, taverns, and some entertainment facilities, basically meeting all daily needs;

The inner city district—where the families of Marine officers and soldiers were housed, protected within the layers of Marine Headquarters' defenses. It was the emotional comfort and steadfast support of the Marines.

Just as Wright finished settling into his dormitory after bidding farewell to Bogart, Bogart returned to find him. He brought Wright's approved enlistment order and Marine Lieutenant appointment, as well as his admission order for the current New Marine Recruit Camp session.

Of course Wright had heard of Marine Headquarters' New Marine Recruit Camp. Its chief instructor was Marine Admiral Black Arm Zephyr. The current three Monster Vice Admirals—Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Kuzan—as well as many of the Marines' backbone officers, had all come from there. It was the Marines' endless source of talent.

This session of the New Marine Recruit Camp had already begun more than a week ago. Wright was basically a transfer student who had gotten in through the back door. This was the first huge benefit of entering the Marines through Garp—he had immediately attracted the attention of Marine Admiral Sengoku, then gained the chance to interact directly with the future backbone of the Marines through the New Marine Recruit Camp.

If Wright had climbed up slowly on his own, his powerful strength would naturally have posed no problem. But without passing through the New Marine Recruit Camp, it would be as though he lacked formal training, which would always be unfavorable to his future promotion and development.

"Go get something to eat, then rest properly today. Report to the New Marine Recruit Camp on time tomorrow morning." Bogart said with his usual cold, expressionless face. "Bring this transfer order. There are transfer students in the New Marine Recruit Camp, but every one of them is an elite."

"You should understand how rare this opportunity is. Do not disappoint Vice Admiral Garp and... the expectations placed on you!"

Wright knew the person Bogart had skipped over was Marine Admiral Sengoku, and he could not help smiling. "Don't worry. I, Wright, have always been extremely reliable!"

"Just watch me tear through the entire Training Camp!"

A brief explanation here: Bogart's rank was never clearly stated in the original work, but he should be a field-grade officer. Here, he has been set as a lieutenant colonel—because he was still a field-grade officer ten years later...

Also, regarding the combat strength of Marine Headquarters colonels in this era, the original work never made it clear, so Bogart is used as a reference. This guy is definitely hiding his true strength, and his swordsmanship is ridiculously powerful. Based on the performances of many rear admirals and even nameless vice admirals in the original work, Bogart may well surpass them.

Therefore, Garp's assessment of Wright's overall strength here—attack, defense, and recovery—is temporarily set at Bogart's level, using the standard of the adjutant beside him as a reference.

Personally, I believe that at the beginning of the Great Pirate Era, there were far fewer pirates than there would be more than a decade later. During that period, officers had relatively few opportunities to gain Military Merit. Anyone who could reach colonel rank was absolutely among the best. At that time, there was only one Marine Admiral, while the handful of vice admirals could suppress the seas. Marine Headquarters colonels should have been considerably stronger than those of a decade later.

The ranks with the greatest disparity in strength should be the general officer ranks. There were only three ranks from brigadier general to vice admiral, and it feels like even three more ranks would not be enough to distinguish them... It is rather confusing.

But one thing can basically be confirmed: someone like Squirrel, who was already a vice admiral during the Ohara Buster Call and was still a vice admiral more than a decade later, was certainly far stronger than an ordinary vice admiral, but still could not reach Marine Admiral level. Everyone has a personal limit to their strength, and most people do not grow stronger simply with age.