You Call This a Trainee Marine?

At dusk, the setting sun was blood-red.

When the heavy cast-iron gates of the Marine branch base opened and the warship returning from its bandit-suppression mission slowly docked, every veteran on the pier caught the nauseating stench of blood.

The moment the gangplank was lowered.

Rochi was the first to step off the warship, his stride steady.

His once snow-white trainee Marine uniform had been completely soaked through with blood, turning into a horrifying dark-red garment.

Even more scalp-numbing was the blood-dripping sack in his left hand. Like a vicious ghost crawling out of the abyss of hell, he radiated a terrifying killing intent that made it hard to breathe.

"Thud!"

A nearby recruit's legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the ground, his teeth chattering wildly. "Monster... Is that really the recruit who joined with us?"

The cigar in the ensign's hand, who had been waiting at the pier, fell onto the deck with a soft clatter.

His eyes widened as he stared blankly at the veterans coming down behind Rochi.

Those experienced Marines, usually cocky old hands who looked down on everyone, were now looking at Rochi with awe and terror that came from the depths of their souls.

The captain walked over to the ensign, his voice still trembling uncontrollably.

"Sir... the pirates on Oak Island have been wiped out."

"What were the casualties? There were over thirty pirates, and they had muskets!" the ensign hurriedly asked.

"We... suffered zero casualties."

The captain swallowed with difficulty and pointed at Rochi ahead, as though recounting a myth. "Because before we arrived, Rochi... killed thirteen elite pirates barehanded, including the pirate captain and first mate."

"What did you say?!" The ensign sucked in a cold breath, feeling his entire worldview shatter.

"Bang!"

Rochi casually tossed the blood-soaked sack at the ensign's feet.

The sack came loose, and over a dozen pirate heads with unclosed eyes rolled out. The most conspicuous among them was the pirate leader with a two-million-Beli bounty.

"Sir, the mission is complete."

Rochi's gaze was as calm as a pool of stagnant water.

"Good! Good! Excellent!"

The ensign froze for a full three seconds before suddenly bursting into ecstatic laughter.

Trembling with excitement, he stepped forward and grabbed Rochi's bloodstained shoulder. "You're no genius. You're practically a monster the East Blue sees only once in a century!"

"Pass down my orders!"

The ensign turned and roared at the entire pier. "Trainee Marine Rochi has rendered great service in suppressing pirates! He is exceptionally promoted three ranks and directly granted the rank of Seaman First Class! He will also receive a cash reward of two hundred thousand Beli!"

The entire crowd erupted in uproar.

Bart and Moore, the two recruits from the same village, stood at the back of the crowd. Looking at Rochi, who was the center of attention and resembled a god of slaughter, their eyes held nothing but endless admiration.

They were all fifteen years old, all from Locke Village.

They had not even mastered the proper way to hold a gun, while Rochi had already used enemy blood and pirate corpses to complete his leap from civilian to Seaman First Class!

"Thank you, sir." Rochi made no false refusal and accepted everything without hesitation.

"Rochi, go take a bath and rest for a couple of days. Don't take any missions these next few days. Relax properly," the ensign said with a glowing face, afraid that this precious talent might exhaust himself.

However, Rochi's next words plunged the entire pier into dead silence once more.

"Sir." Rochi raised his head. In those unfathomable black eyes burned an ultimate desire for slaughter and strength. "I don't need rest."

The ensign was stunned. "You... you still want to kill?"

"Of course." A chilling curve tugged at Rochi's lips. "Since I'm wearing this uniform, then representing 'justice'... isn't it only reasonable to clear out the trash?"

Only Rochi himself knew that he did not give a damn about justice.

He simply had his eye on those moving, living experience points!

For the pirates around the East Blue, the next two months were an absolute nightmare beyond compare!

"Boom—!"

With a deafening blast, a pirate ship flying the skull flag exploded on the sea.

Amid the blazing firelight, an afterimage like a demon god rampaged wildly across the shattered deck!

"Monster! Save us!"

"Run! The Grim Reaper from the Marine branch is here!!"

The pirates wailed and jumped into the sea, but that afterimage was even faster than they were!

"Crack!"

With one clean, decisive side kick, Rochi snapped the spines of three pirates!

Blood splattered across his cold face, yet it did not even make him blink.

During those two months, Rochi was like a tireless meat grinder!

Whenever there was a pirate-suppression mission, he was always at the front, claiming more than half the kills by himself.

He used no muskets and no blades. Relying on his body pushed beyond its limits and Basic Hand-to-Hand Combat Mastery, he carved out the fearsome reputation of the "Grim Reaper" through sheer force!

With achievement after achievement paved in blood, he rose like a rocket from Seaman First Class to Corporal, Sergeant, Chief Petty Officer, and finally, today... Warrant Officer!

"Bang!"

His final punch smashed the pirate captain's head straight into the deck planks!

At last, the system's cold yet wonderful mechanical voice rang out in Rochi's mind right on cue.

[Ding! Killed a soldier-class pirate. Experience points +5!]

[Ding! Experience points full! Congratulations, Host, for breaking through another major threshold. Level increased to—Level 11 (Officer Class)!]

[System detected: Your physical strength has undergone a qualitative leap! Congratulations, Host, for crossing a major realm and receiving a rank-up reward!]

[Congratulations, Host, for obtaining: Basic Observation Haki!]

"Buzz—!"

An invisible force instantly spread outward from Rochi's brain in every direction like ripples across water!

Rochi abruptly closed his eyes.

At that instant, even without activating the Sharingan, his sensory world underwent a heaven-shaking transformation!

The faint vibrations of sea wind brushing against canvas, the heartbeats of rats fleeing beneath the deck, even the breathing of the captain commanding cannon fire aboard the Marine warship a hundred meters away—all of it was reflected in his mind with incomparable clarity!

It was a marvelous experience, as if his sixth sense had been amplified without limit!

"Basic Observation Haki..."

Rochi slowly opened his eyes, and a scarlet glint flashed deep within his profound pupils.

"If Observation Haki's all-around area perception is paired with the Sharingan's ultimate dynamic vision and ability to catch openings..."

"With those two combined, in battles against opponents of the same level, I'll be an untouchable god!"