"Momousagi" Gion

The items refreshed in the system shop were just as unreliable as last week, oscillating wildly between useful and useless.

What was the point of Master-level Gambling? He was a Marine, not a gambler making a living off the trade. Spending a massive 60,000 points to redeem it would be insane unless he had water in his brain.

Western Economics was even more absurd... Noah ignored these last two skills and turned his full attention to the items listed above.

After a moment of hesitation, he chose to redeem the Mandatory Volume Regulator first, temporarily storing it in his inventory.

[Mandatory Volume Regulator: Freely control the volume of a sound source within a ten-meter radius. Maximum duration: 30 seconds.]

[Item Property: Consumable, current uses remaining: 5/5]

According to the system notes, after activation, a virtual remote control would appear before his eyes. Much like watching television, he could point at a sound source and adjust the volume anywhere from 0 to 100.

Honestly, he couldn't think of any practical use for this thing for the time being. However, since it only cost 100 points, Noah felt it was practically a freebie; it didn't matter if it just gathered dust, as it might come in handy someday.

As for the remaining three items, if the Senzu Bean had the same effects as the original in Dragon Ball, Noah would be quite tempted, but the point cost was so high it was prohibitive.

Therefore, Noah decided that for the coming week, he would focus his efforts on acquiring Swordmaster Ryuma's Insight Notes and Six Styles: Soru (Intermediate).

The swordplay notes of the legendary great swordsman from hundreds of years ago, the Dragon-Slayer Samurai Ryuma, were naturally invaluable. Even if they were incomplete, they were a treasure any junior swordsman would dream of.

As for the intermediate Soru, having already experienced Kami-e, Noah had a rough idea of its power level.

--As long as he could master it, his proficiency in this specific physical technique would be enough to surpass everyone in the current Elite Training Camp.

These were all good things that could directly boost his strength, and the key was that the prices were cheap enough.

It was just... he only had a little over a thousand points left. Without any new side missions, how was he supposed to earn more?

He fell into deep thought that night, unable to come up with a suitable method for a long time. He tossed and turned in bed until one or two in the morning before giving up the struggle, deciding it was better to just go with the flow, and finally drifted into a deep sleep.

The lack of sleep and poor quality did have a slight impact on Noah's recovery.

When he got up for extra training the next morning, he clearly felt that the fatigue had not fully dissipated. It wasn't until he finished his extra training and filled his stomach in the cafeteria that his condition finally recovered.

He cleared his tray and hurried toward the northeast corner of the harbor with Rosinante and Shiryu.

There, a standard-issue warship was already prepared, waiting for the elite recruits who were participating in their first real combat mission.

Having not left the Elite Training Camp behind the fortress for months, seeing the magnificent Marineford Plaza again, with those warships blocking the sky and the towering batteries, still felt just as soul-shaking and visually overwhelming.

Zephyr was guarding the pier, greeting every student who came to assemble and watching them board the warship behind him.

But even after the last person arrived and the entire group of elite recruits was present, Zephyr showed no intention of boarding. Instead, he turned around and waved at the deck of the warship with a smile.

"Wha... what does this mean?"

Rosinante was a bit startled and couldn't help but say, "Is Instructor Zephyr not coming with us? Then who is in charge of this combat assessment?"

"Not sure."

Noah shook his head. He was also confused. In his memory, Zephyr had mentioned to them that for every previous batch of elite recruits going out for field training, this top Marine combatant would personally oversee the mission to prepare for any contingencies.

Why was there an exception for their batch?

This question wasn't just on their minds; the two hundred or so elite recruits gathered on the vast deck were mostly looking bewildered, with whispers breaking out from time to time.

A moment later, the warship officially departed the harbor. Zephyr, who was waving goodbye from the pier, gradually became a small black dot in the distance.

And at this moment, the confusion in the hearts of Noah and the others finally found an answer.

Tap, tap...

Low footsteps suddenly sounded from above.

Everyone on the deck instinctively looked up toward the sound and soon discovered two figures slowly emerging from the second-floor cabin, arriving directly beneath the mast at the top of the deck.

The person in front wore a black coat and a deep purple headscarf embroidered with the Marine scales pattern. Beneath his messy black curly hair, his plain features were stern and unsmiling, his expression cold.

The person behind was tall, a long-legged young woman draped in a white coat of justice.

Her face was beautiful and her gaze calm. Her epaulets and the dress she wore were primarily in shades of pale pink, and even her lips were painted with cherry-pink lipstick.

Her right hand rested on her waist, quietly gripping an unusually long, narrow blade.

"That is..."

After seeing their appearances clearly, the deck was silent for a brief moment before a wave of exclamations erupted.

"Vice Admiral Kuzan!"

"And Rear Admiral Gion!"

"Wha... what is going on? Are they the ones in charge of this combat assessment?"

Listening to the screams coming from below, Aokiji, who had been looking cold and aloof, finally couldn't keep it up anymore. He sighed and rubbed his brow with a look of helplessness.

"...Ara, I'm already starting to regret agreeing to Instructor Zephyr last week."

He glanced sideways at Momousagi behind him and muttered, "Reading the rules and all that—I really hate it. How about... Gion, you explain it for me?"

"No way, little Kuzan."

Momousagi wore a smile, but her tone was firm and non-negotiable. "I'm just hitching a ride; this combat assessment has nothing to do with me."

He knew it would be like this.

Aokiji shrugged, looked back down at the recruits of the Elite Training Camp, gathered his thoughts for a moment, and began:

"Although I can tell from your reactions that many of you already know who I am, since this is our first formal meeting, I should still introduce myself briefly."

"Kuzan, a third-term student who entered the Elite Training Camp in 1492. You could call me your... well, how should I put it, your senior or predecessor, something like that. Anyway, I've managed to do reasonably well since graduating, and I currently hold the rank of Vice Admiral at Headquarters."

Down below, Noah's eye twitched slightly.

To be a once-in-a-decade genius while in the Elite Training Camp, and to already be a Headquarters Vice Admiral while only in his twenties—he calls that doing "reasonably well"?

For a moment, he couldn't help but wonder if he were to scan Aokiji with a detector, whether the skill list would include something like "Master-level Humblebragging."

"...Anyway, the reason I've come here is that I was entrusted by Instructor Zephyr to serve as the chief instructor for your practical examination, until you all complete your mission safely and return to Marineford."

On the high platform, Aokiji's gaze swept over all the recruits, lingering for a second longer on Noah's familiar face before looking away as if nothing had happened, continuing to speak in his slow, languid tone:

"As for the content of this examination, I can reveal it to you now. The target for your practical assessment is located in the West Blue, one of the Four Blues, and the specific mission is to liberate an island currently under the control of a pirate crew."

"This pirate crew is known as the Capone Pirates. Their captain, Capone Beate, was once the head of a mafia family. He makes a living by trafficking arms and people, and he holds a certain amount of influence in the underworld of the West Blue."

"As for the bounty... let me think. Headquarters just raised it two months ago, so it should currently be 58 million Beli."