In the Marine Admiral's office, Sengoku and Garp had just finished another battle over ownership of the rice crackers. The victor—Old Man Garp, whose skin was thicker!
"Phew..." Suppressing his anger with effort, Sengoku sat behind his desk and refused to look at the bastard old man reclining on the sofa and eating rice crackers. "All right, nothing unusual happened during your trip back to East Blue for vacation, did it?"
"East Blue has been far too peaceful these past two or three years. There hasn't even been a single pirate with a bounty over ten million. Is that newly risen Pirate Hunter really that strong?"
"Yeah, he's strong. At the very least, he's at the level of a top Marine Headquarters colonel. With a little training, reaching brigadier general level wouldn't be difficult either." Garp burst into laughter, spraying rice cracker crumbs everywhere.
"Swallow before you talk, you bastard!" Sengoku nearly roared again, but then thought of something. "A few days ago, you had me fill out a Marine Lieutenant registration form. And you know so much about that Pirate Hunter's strength..."
"You brought him to headquarters? You even... fought him? You old bastard didn't cripple him, did you?!"
"Hmph! Crippling that brat wouldn't be easy!" Garp narrowed his eyes and took another bite of a rice cracker. "Sengoku, I've found a treasure this time. This is talent no less impressive than those three 'monsters' from the New Marine Recruit Camp back then!"
"The kid's name is Wright. Headquarters has most of his records—his Devil Fruit ability and swordsman skills—but those details are already outdated. He's awakened Two-Color Haki!"
"His Devil Fruit ability is unusual. It's an extremely rare Paramecia that lets him manipulate a kind of energy similar to light. He calls it 'Holy Light.' But it isn't a Logia like Borsalino's, so he can't turn himself into an element."
"However, its support capabilities are incredibly strong. It can heal, defend, and attack, like that 'Phoenix'... perhaps even stronger."
"Oh? I'd heard that an impressive healing-type ability had appeared in East Blue. It can attack and defend too? That really is rare, though not incomprehensible." Sengoku was mildly surprised, but did not dwell on it. There were all kinds of strange abilities in the world.
"Still... he awakened Two-Color Haki at such a young age, despite never leaving East Blue or setting foot on the Grand Line. East Blue's waters must run deep. Without opponents of the same level or stronger to pressure him, awakening Two-Color Haki so young would be almost 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 exact details 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. What matters most is the way this kid conducts himself." Garp said slowly, his face darkening. "He was born a noble, yet he has no interest in power plays. As a Pirate Hunter, he should know the Marine system well, yet he called this Marine Headquarters vice admiral 'old man'..."
"Pfft..." Sengoku sprayed out his tea and laughed loudly. "You bastard, Garp! So you have moments like this too! Hahahaha!"
"Bastard!" Garp pulled out a rice cracker and bit down viciously. "The kid isn't stupid. I found an excuse to beat him up, and afterward he acted completely respectful toward me, calling me sir and making it impossible for me to find another excuse... Of course, I still found an excuse to beat him up again!"
"I specifically had Bogart gather information on the kid in East Blue. His movements over the past three years have been documented. He truly has his own sense of justice, and he has always put it into practice."
"..." Sengoku tapped the table with one finger, deep in thought. "Among the representatives of Marine Headquarters' new generation of officers, Sakazuki is too extreme, Borsalino is too slippery, and Kuzan..."
"Kuzan originally followed 'Burning Justice.' Though he liked sleeping, he was a decisive man. But ever since Ohara... Kuzan's way of doing things has become increasingly lazy."
"The Marines really do need some different ideas... Wright, was it? Arrange for the kid to enter the New Marine Recruit Camp. He's used to being a Pirate Hunter, so he needs to learn Marine rules. And we can observe his 'justice' while we're at it."
Still unaware that two big shots had already arranged his future for him, Wright followed Bogart through the procedures and completed his registration. Then he impatiently asked Bogart to show him around Marine Headquarters, on the grounds that "at the very least, I need to know where to eat!"
Any ordinary Marine could have handled that task, but Wright was a promising newcomer personally brought into the Marines by Vice Admiral Garp. Bogart reluctantly took on the role of guide himself. It truly was hard on someone with such an expressionless face—he had to talk so much, and introduce Wright to every acquaintance they met.
After making the rounds, Wright had more or less memorized several landmark areas of Marineford:
The harbor district—where warships and cargo vessels entered and departed. As Marine Headquarters, its harbor was anything but ordinary, enormously impressive and also serving as a defensive position to some extent;
The military district—where headquarters officers worked, held military meetings, and made wartime decisions; the operational hub of Marine Headquarters;
The training district—the place where Marine soldiers and officers trained every day. It covered an enormous area and contained all kinds of training facilities and dedicated venues. Marineford's largest training ground was also here, used for sparring and military reviews;
The residential district—the leisure and living area for Marine officers and soldiers. It contained a large cafeteria, dormitories, a hospital, taverns, and some entertainment facilities, basically fulfilling everyday needs;
The inner city—used to house the families of Marine officers and soldiers. Protected by layer upon layer of Marine Headquarters defenses, it was the emotional comfort and steadfast support of the Marines.
Just as Wright had said goodbye to Bogart and settled into his dormitory, Bogart returned to find him. He brought Wright's approved enlistment and lieutenant appointment orders, as well as his admission order for the current New Marine Recruit Camp session.
Naturally, 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 a steady source of Marine talent.
As it happened, this session of the New Marine Recruit Camp had already begun more than a week ago. Wright was effectively a transfer student who had gotten in through the back door, and this was the first major benefit of entering the Marines through Garp's connections—he had directly gained the attention of the current Marine Admiral Sengoku, then received the chance to interact with the future backbone of the Marines through the New Marine Recruit Camp.
If Wright had climbed up slowly on his own, his formidable strength would naturally have posed no problem. But without going through the New Marine Recruit Camp, it would be like not having come from the proper ranks, which would always be detrimental to future promotions and development.
"Go get something to eat, then rest well today. Report to the New Marine Recruit Camp on time tomorrow morning." Bogart said with his usual cold, expressionless face. "Take this transfer order with you. Transfer students in the New Marine Recruit Camp are not unheard of, but every one of them is an elite."
"You should understand how rare this opportunity is. Don't disappoint Vice Admiral Garp's and... expectations!"
Wright knew that the person Bogart had skipped over was Marine Admiral Sengoku. 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 note 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 even ten years later, he was still a field-grade officer...
Also, regarding the combat strength of Marine Headquarters colonels in this era, the original work gave no clear explanation, so Bogart serves as the reference point. That guy definitely hid his true abilities, and his swordsmanship was incredible. Judging by the performances of many rear admirals and even throwaway vice admirals in the original work, Bogart might have surpassed them all.
Therefore, Garp's assessment of Wright's overall strength here—attack, defense, and recovery—is temporarily set at Bogart's level, with his own aide serving as the reference.
Personally, I believe that at the beginning of the Great Pirate Era, there were far fewer pirates than there would be over a decade later, and it was relatively difficult for officers to earn military merits. Anyone who could reach colonel rank had to be outstanding. At that time, there was only one Marine Admiral, while the few vice admirals could suppress the seas. Marine Headquarters colonels should have been considerably stronger than they were more than a decade later.
The ranks with the greatest difference in strength should be the flag officer ranks. There were only three ranks from brigadier general to vice admiral, and it felt like even three more ranks would not be enough to distinguish them... That part was rather confusing.
But one thing could basically be confirmed: someone like Squirrel, who was already a vice admiral during the Ohara Buster Call and remained one over a decade later, was certainly far stronger than an ordinary vice admiral, yet still could not reach Marine Admiral level. Everyone had a personal limit, and the overwhelming majority would not keep growing stronger with age.
Before you continue