Specially Recruited Rear Admiral · World Government

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."

Some voices held awe, others shock or excitement, but there was no longer any contempt or doubt.

Not "the newcomer."

Not "the temporary special recruit."

Not "some monster from who knows where."

—but the youngest official rear admiral in Marine history.

The soldiers were in heated discussion 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. My heart still pounds when I think about it."

"Oh, right! When he fought Vice Admiral Zephyr, the lightning nearly blinded me!"

On the other side of the training ground, 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 to vice admiral!!"

For the first time, the entire Navy was celebrating the arrival of a newcomer without a single objection.

Two days earlier, Sengoku and Tsuru had indeed argued until their faces turned red over the matter of his rank.

Looking at Rock's strength report, which was "so terrifying it read like fiction," Sengoku let out a heavy sigh. "Specially recruiting him as a commodore is already the limit..."

Tsuru tapped the desk. "Giving him too low a rank would be an insult to his strength."

Sengoku covered his forehead. "But he's only sixteen. He hasn't even served the minimum term. This violates Navy regu—"

"Sengoku."

Tsuru interrupted him calmly. "Think about what happened that day."

Sengoku fell silent for a long while. Then, without a word, he crossed out "commodore" and wrote, "rear admiral."

Giving Rock too low a rank would make the entire Navy look collectively blind.

Once the documents were submitted, Fleet Admiral Kong merely glanced over them before making the final decision.

The instant the official notice reading "Navy Rear Admiral · Rock" was posted on the headquarters bulletin board, everyone fell silent, and then—

the entire Navy exploded.

No one objected.

No one questioned it.

Even the old instructors who loved picking faults only said, "That rank is well deserved."

Some soldiers even whispered behind the scenes, "Rear admiral? I don't think it'd be excessive to make him a vice admiral!"

"Exactly! He's that monster kid who fought Vice Admiral Zephyr until the sky went dark and the earth shook!"

"And he has the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, the strongest Logia! That's a legend! A legendary power!!!"

After hearing the news, Garp deliberately ran up to Sengoku and laughed. "Wahahahaha! That brat Rock got promoted way faster than you did, Sengoku!"

Sengoku was so furious 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, pretending to admire the scenery. "Ahem... his strength is decent."

At that moment, the Navy looked upon that young man with reverence for the first time.

For the first time, a newcomer had been promoted beyond the usual ranks without inspiring any jealousy, dissatisfaction, or doubts.

For the first time, they sincerely felt, "Our Navy... struck gold."

Mary Geoise—the holy land atop the Red Line, symbolizing the highest authority in the world.

On this day, hurried footsteps shattered the solemn tranquility of its corridors.

An intelligence dossier marked with the highest red emergency classification was delivered directly into the Room of Authority, where the Five Elders resided.

Bold words stood out on the file cover: "Navy Special Recruit Combatant · Logia Rumble-Rumble Fruit User."

After the intelligence officer responsible for delivering it left, the room remained silent for three seconds.

Even the air seemed to grow heavy.

Intense golden sunset light streamed through intricately carved window frames, casting the faces of the five old men in a particularly grim light.

Saint Saturn, dressed in a black suit, had white curled hair and a thick beard. The scar on the left side of his face was especially striking beneath the light.

He spoke first, his voice steady. "The Navy... has specially recruited a Rumble-Rumble Fruit user."

He tapped the table lightly, and his brows furrowed ever so slightly in rare concern. "The rarest, most dangerous, and most destructive Logia... It has been gone for a long time."

Saint Nusjuro wore a white robe and held the First Kitetsu. His eyes, as still as an ancient well, swept over the documents.

"His age..."

His fingertips tapped the paper. "Only sixteen."

"From the moment he entered the scene, he took the initiative to provoke Rocks, then withdrew unscathed."

He raised his eyes and looked at the other four. "Such courage and strength would be impossible to ignore in any era."

Saint Warcury wore a dark green suit, with a handlebar mustache and a birthmark on his forehead. His voice was calm, yet filled with sharp insight.

"A genius? No, this is monster-class."

"The intelligence indicates that despite being a Logia user, he could actually stalemate Zephyr in hand-to-hand combat, and casually summon thunderclouds that covered all of Marineford..."

He slowly closed the file. "The Navy really did strike gold."

Saint Mars wore a dark blue suit. His long straight white hair and beard gave him an air of deep aristocratic dignity.

He flipped through Rock's background investigation and said slowly, "No black marks. No stains."

"His Observation Haki was innately too powerful. Having witnessed every vile side of pirates, he chose to join the Navy of his own accord."

His brows shifted faintly. "An idealist, yet firm of heart. Interesting..."

Saint Peter wore a dark red suit, with golden hair and beard. His tone was calm.

"Young, independent, extraordinarily powerful... He is a good blade."

He then raised his eyes, golden gaze sharp as a blade. "Since he is a blade, it must remain sharp."

He looked around at the other four. "But the prerequisite is that its edge cannot turn backward."

The Five Elders fell 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;

through special provisions in the appointment document, he would be granted extensive freedom of action;

he would be designated as a key figure for cultivation, so long as he did not defy the will of the World Government.

The World Government did not fear Rock's power. On the contrary, it welcomed the Navy possessing such a "trump card of thunder."

So long as he could be controlled.

So long as he obeyed orders.

Then he would become an enforcer of the World Government's future order.

Five seals of supreme authority descended onto the appointment document one after another.

"Smack—"

As the final seal fell, a new monster was officially recognized by the world.

Just as the Navy was abuzz with discussion over "the youngest rear admiral in history"—

New World · Hachinosu.

Chaos, alcohol fumes, blood, and shouting were the eternal background noise here.

But at that moment, the sea suddenly fell silent.

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 each side.

They were bewitchingly beautiful, yet somehow terrifying.

And between those two statues was mounted a brutal, icy cannon, its barrel aimed straight ahead as if declaring, "The visitor means trouble."

Three towering masts supported the massive warship. Its scarlet sails snapped violently in the wind, their vertical stripes glaring beneath the sunlight like flowing blood.

The entire harbor instantly fell dead silent.

At last, 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... a declaration of war?!"

The red-sailed warship did not slow down in the slightest, nor did it show any intention of greeting anyone. Like a crimson beast tearing through the sea—

it charged directly toward Hachinosu.