"Momousagi" Gion

The items refreshed in the system shop were just like last week—still as unreliable as ever, swinging back and forth between useful and useless.

What the hell was Master-Level Gambling Mastery supposed to be? He was a Marine, not some gambler who made a living off it. Spending the enormous price of sixty thousand points to redeem it? Only if water had gotten into his brain.

Western Economics was even more ridiculous... Noah directly ignored those last two skills and turned all his attention to the items at the front.

After hesitating for a moment, he chose to redeem the "Mandatory Volume Regulator" first and temporarily stored 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 Trait: Consumable. Current uses: 5/5]

According to the system notes, after using it, a virtual remote control would appear before his eyes. Just like watching TV, he could press it at the sound source and adjust the volume anywhere from 0 to 100.

Honestly, he couldn't think of any use for the thing at the moment. But it only cost 100 points, which Noah felt was practically the same as getting it for free. It didn't matter if it gathered dust in his inventory—maybe it would come in handy someday.

Of the remaining three, Noah was quite tempted by the Senzu Bean if its effects were similar to the original version from Dragon Ball. Unfortunately, it required far too many points, enough to make anyone back away.

So in the end, Noah decided that over the next week, he would continue focusing on Swordmaster Ryuma's Insight Notes and Six Styles: Soru (Intermediate).

A swordsmanship journal left by Ryuma, the legendary Great Swordmaster from centuries ago known as the Dragon-Slayer Samurai—its value went without saying. Even if it was incomplete, it was still an invaluable treasure that any younger swordsman would dream of obtaining.

As for Intermediate Soru, with Kami-e as a prior example, Noah had a rough idea of how strong it would be.

—As long as he could master it, his proficiency in this physical technique alone would be enough to surpass everyone else in the Elite Training Camp from his class.

They were all good things that could directly boost his strength, and more importantly, their prices were cheap enough.

It was just that... he only had a little over a thousand points left. Before any new side quests appeared, how was he supposed to earn more points?

That night, he fell into deep thought. He couldn't come up with a suitable solution for a long time, tossing and turning in bed until one or two in the morning before finally giving up on the torment. He decided it was better to just take things as they came and eventually fell into a heavy sleep.

The lack of both sleep duration and quality still had some effect on Noah's recovery.

When he got up early the next morning for extra training, he could clearly feel that his fatigue had not fully faded. Only after finishing his training and filling his stomach in the cafeteria did he barely return to normal.

After clearing away his tray, he hurried with Rosinante and Shiryu toward the northeast corner of the harbor.

A standard-issue warship, fully equipped and ready to depart, was already waiting there for these elite recruits participating in actual combat for the first time.

Having not left the Elite Training Camp behind the fortress for a long time, Noah once again saw the magnificent Marineford Plaza after several months. The warships filling the sky with their banners and the towering rows of artillery batteries were still just as awe-inspiring, delivering an overwhelming visual impact.

Zephyr stood at the dock, greeting every disciple who arrived to assemble and watching them board the warship behind him.

But even after the last person arrived and every new recruit from the Elite Training Camp had assembled, Zephyr showed no intention of boarding. Instead, he turned around with a smile and waved toward the warship's deck.

"W-What does that mean?"

Rosinante looked somewhat startled and couldn't help asking, "Instructor Zephyr isn't coming with us? Then who's going to be in charge of this combat assessment?"

"I don't know."

Noah shook his head. He was confused as well. As he remembered it, Zephyr had told them that during every previous Elite Training Camp recruit voyage, this top Marine powerhouse would personally oversee the operation in case anything went wrong.

Why was there an exception for their class?

They weren't the only two with that question. Among the more than two hundred Elite Training Camp recruits gathered on the enormous deck, most wore baffled expressions, and murmurs occasionally rose from the crowd.

A moment later, the warship officially left port. Zephyr, standing on the dock and waving them farewell, gradually became a small black dot in the distance.

And at that moment, Noah and the others finally received an answer to their confusion.

Step, step...

Heavy footsteps suddenly sounded from above.

Everyone on the deck subconsciously looked up toward the sound. Soon, they spotted two figures slowly emerging from the second-floor cabin and walking to the base of the mast at the highest point of the deck.

The man in front wore a black coat and a dark purple bandana embroidered with the Marine scales emblem. Beneath his messy black curls, his ordinary features remained unsmiling, his expression cold and stern.

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

She had delicate, beautiful features and calm eyes. Her epaulets and dress were mostly pale pink, and even her lips were painted with cherry-pink lipstick.

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

"That's..."

After recognizing the pair, the deck fell silent for an instant before cries of surprise erupted.

"Vice Admiral Kuzan!"

"And Commodore Gion!"

"W-What's going on? The two of them are actually in charge of this combat assessment?"

Hearing the startled cries from below, Aokiji, who had been wearing a cold expression, finally couldn't keep it up any longer. He sighed and rubbed his brow in helplessness.

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

He glanced sideways at Momousagi behind him and muttered, "Announcing rules and all that... I really hate doing it. How about... Gion, could you explain things for me?"

"No way, little Kuzan."

Momousagi smiled, but her tone was decisively beyond negotiation. "I'm just catching a ride. This combat assessment has absolutely nothing to do with me."

I knew it.

Aokiji shrugged, then looked back at the Elite Training Camp recruits below. After organizing his thoughts slightly, he began:

"Judging by everyone's reactions, quite a few of you probably recognize me. But since this is our first official meeting, I should briefly introduce myself."

"Kuzan. I entered the Elite Training Camp in 1492 as a third-term student, so I suppose I'm your... well, how should I put it? Senior, upperclassman, something like that. Anyway, I've done reasonably well since graduating. At present, I serve as a vice admiral at Marine Headquarters."

Noah's eye twitched slightly.

Back when he was in the Elite Training Camp, he had been a genius seen perhaps once in several decades. And now, at only around twenty years old, he was already a vice admiral at Marine Headquarters. That counted as doing reasonably well?

For a moment, Noah wondered whether, if he scanned Aokiji with the detector, the skill list might display something like "Humblebragging Literature (Master-Level)."

"...Anyway, I came here this time because Instructor Zephyr asked me to serve as the chief instructor for all of your combat assessments, until everyone safely completes the mission and returns to Marineford."

From the raised platform, Aokiji swept his gaze across all the recruits. His eyes lingered for one extra second on Noah's familiar face before he casually looked elsewhere and continued in his unhurried tone:

"As for the contents of this assessment, I can reveal them now. The target of this combat assessment is in West Blue, one of the Four Blues. Your specific mission is to liberate an island controlled by a pirate crew."

"This pirate crew is called the Capone Pirates. Their captain, Capone Beate, was once the head of a mafia family. He makes his living trafficking weapons and people and has some influence in the underworld of West Blue."

"As for his bounty... let me think. Marine Headquarters raised it once two months ago. At the moment, it should be fifty-eight million Beli."