On the third day after the thunderclouds dispersed, the atmosphere at Marine Headquarters was completely different from before.
Whether in the cafeteria, the training grounds, or the corridors outside the meeting halls, the same words could be heard everywhere:
"Rear Admiral Rock."
The voices carried awe, shock, or excitement, but there was no longer any contempt or doubt.
Not "newcomer."
Not "temporary special recruit."
Not "some monster from who knows where."
—but the youngest official Rear Admiral in Marine history.
The soldiers were discussing it heatedly in the cafeteria. "Did you hear? That kid who nearly blew up Headquarters the moment he arrived!"
"Obviously. That day, he punched the training ground floor down dozens of meters. I still get chills thinking about it."
"Oh, right. When he fought Vice Admiral Zephyr, the lightning nearly blinded me!"
On the other side of the training grounds, people were waving their arms in excitement. "Holy crap! I heard he's only sixteen!!!"
"A genius? No, he's a monster!"
"If it weren't for the age requirement, I'd support promoting him straight to Vice Admiral!!"
For the first time, the entire Navy was celebrating a newcomer's arrival without a single objection.
Two days earlier, Sengoku and Tsuru had indeed argued until they were red in the face over his rank.
Sengoku looked at Rock's strength report, which was "so terrifying it read like fiction," and let out a heavy sigh. "Specially appointing him as a Commodore is already the limit..."
Tsuru tapped the desk. "If we rank him too low, it would be an insult to his strength."
Sengoku covered his forehead. "But he's only sixteen. He hasn't even completed the basic term of service. That violates Navy regu—"
"Sengoku."
Tsuru interrupted him calmly. "Think about what happened that day."
Sengoku fell silent for a long while. Then he quietly crossed out the words "Commodore" and wrote: "Rear Admiral."
Giving Rock too low a rank would make the entire Navy look collectively blind.
After the document was submitted, Fleet Admiral Kong merely glanced over it before making the decision.
The instant the official notice of "Navy Rear Admiral Rock" was posted on Headquarters' bulletin board, everyone fell silent, and then—
The entire Navy exploded.
No one objected.
No one questioned it.
Even the old instructors who usually loved finding fault only said one thing: "That rank isn't wasted on him."
Some soldiers even whispered behind their backs, "Rear Admiral? I think Vice Admiral wouldn't be excessive either!"
"Exactly! He's that monster kid who fought Vice Admiral Zephyr until the skies went dark!"
"And he's the user of the strongest Logia, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit! That's legendary! A living legend!!!"
After hearing the news, Garp specifically ran over to Sengoku and laughed. "Wahahahaha! That brat Rock got promoted much faster than you did, Sengoku!"
Sengoku was so furious that he nearly used the power of the Buddha to smash him on the spot.
Tsuru rubbed her forehead. "Garp, can't you restrain yourself a little?"
Zephyr merely coughed lightly and pretended to admire the scenery. "Ahem... his strength isn't bad."
At that moment, the Navy looked upon that boy with reverence for the first time.
For the first time, no one felt jealousy, dissatisfaction, or doubt over a newcomer skipping ranks.
For the first time, they sincerely felt, "Our Navy... found a treasure."
Mary Geoise—the Holy Land atop the Red Line, symbolizing the highest authority in the world.
On this day, the originally tranquil and solemn corridor was disrupted by hurried footsteps.
An intelligence file marked with the highest red emergency classification was delivered directly into the Room of Authority, where the Five Elders resided.
Prominently written on the file's cover were the words: "Navy Special-Recruit Combatant · Logia Rumble-Rumble Fruit User."
After the intelligence officer responsible for delivering the file left, the room fell silent for three seconds.
Even the air seemed to grow heavy.
Intense golden sunset light streamed through the intricately carved window frames, casting the five elders' faces in a particularly grim light.
Saint Saturn wore a black suit. His white curls and bushy beard framed the scar on his left cheek, which stood out sharply in the light.
He spoke first, his voice steady. "The Navy... has specially recruited a Rumble-Rumble Fruit user."
He lightly tapped the table, and his brows furrowed faintly in a rare display of concern. "The rarest, most dangerous, and most destructive Logia... has been absent for a very long time."
Nusjuro Saint wore white robes and held the First Kitetsu. His tranquil gaze swept across the documents.
"His age..."
His fingertips tapped the paper lightly. "Only sixteen."
"The moment he made his debut, he openly provoked Rocks and then retreated unscathed."
He raised his eyes and looked at the other four. "Such courage and strength would be impossible to ignore in any era."
Warcury Saint wore a dark green suit, with a handlebar mustache and a birthmark on his forehead. His voice was calm, yet carried sharp insight.
"A genius? No, this is monster-class."
"The intelligence states that, despite being a Logia user, he could actually hold his own against Zephyr in close combat, and casually summon thunderclouds that covered all of Marineford..."
He slowly closed the file. "The Navy truly found a treasure."
Mars Saint wore a dark blue suit, his long straight white hair matched by a long beard and an air of deep aristocracy.
He flipped through Rock's background investigation and said slowly, "No stains. No blemishes."
"His Observation Haki was innately too powerful. Having witnessed the ugliness of pirates, he voluntarily joined the Navy."
His expression shifted slightly. "An idealist, yet resolute in character. Interesting..."
Peter Saint wore a dark red suit, with golden hair and beard, his tone calm.
"Young, independent, and extraordinarily powerful... he is a fine blade."
Then he raised his eyes, his golden gaze sharp as a blade. "Since he is a blade, it must be kept sharp."
He looked around at the other four. "But the prerequisite is that its edge cannot turn backward."
The Five Elders were silent for a moment, then all nodded in agreement.
In the end, the Five Elders unanimously approved the proposal: Rock would officially be promoted to Rear Admiral at Marine Headquarters;
Special provisions would grant him a high degree of freedom in his operations;
He would be designated a key cultivation target, so long as he did not defy the will of the World Government.
Not only did the World Government not fear Rock's power, it welcomed the Navy possessing such a "thunderbolt trump card."
So long as he could be controlled.
So long as he obeyed orders.
Then he would be the one to advance the World Government's future order.
Five seals of supreme authority were pressed onto the appointment document in succession.
"Smack—"
As the final seal fell, a new monster was officially acknowledged by the world.
Just as the Navy was buzzing over the "youngest Rear Admiral in history"—
New World · Hachinosu.
Chaos, alcohol fumes, bloodshed, shouting—these were the eternal background noise here.
But at this moment, the sea suddenly fell quiet.
The first to notice something unusual were the pirates at the harbor.
"...Huh?"
They instinctively looked up, only to freeze completely the instant they saw the ship in the distance.
Because they knew that ship far too well.
At its bow stood two mermaid statues, one on either side.
They were enchantingly beautiful, yet inexplicably terrifying.
And right between the two statues was mounted a crude, cold heavy cannon, its barrel aimed straight ahead as if declaring, "The visitor means trouble."
Three towering masts supported the massive warship. Its crimson sails snapped in the wind, while the vertically striped canvas shone beneath the sunlight as glaringly as flowing blood.
The entire harbor instantly fell dead silent.
Finally, someone asked, "Th-that isn't... his ship, is it...?"
Another swallowed hard, his voice trembling. "Why is he... charging straight at Hachinosu?"
"Is this... war?!"
The red-sailed warship did not slow down in the slightest, nor did it show any intention of greeting them. Like a crimson beast tearing across the sea—
It charged straight toward Hachinosu.
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