Loa Arrived Late, and Momonga Was Embarrassed

Right in front of the Marine Headquarters fortress lay a large harbor.

Seven large warships were neatly lined up here. This year's Recruit Camp had seven teams in total, one ship per team, just enough to carry all the recruits and accompanying personnel.

Groups of recruits stood at attention on deck beneath the blazing sun. Their clothes were soaked through with sweat, then dried by the sea breeze, leaving behind ugly rings of salt stains.

"Loa is so slow!"

"Yeah! Look, the instructor's face has gone dark!"

"Shh, keep it down. Admiral Zephyr is watching us over there!"

"Right, right! We need to maintain our image!"

Not only were the recruits growing impatient, the other Marine officers were too. Sure, Loa was exceptionally gifted, but what was this nonsense about standing up so many people? Was he planning to spend a year cleaning toilets?

On the Seventh Team's warship, the major general instructor approached Zephyr, saluted, and quietly asked, "Instructor Zephyr, why don't you leave with the other ships first? We can wait here."

The Marine Headquarters recruit combat assessment was mandatory for everyone. After all, the Marines were not a retirement home. How could soldiers who had never seen blood fight pirates in the future? That was why seven warships had been deployed this time. Each ship had at least one Headquarters major general accompanying it, with former admiral Zephyr overseeing everything.

Yet now, several lieutenant generals and major generals, former admiral Zephyr, hundreds of recruits, and Marine officers were all staying in the harbor, waiting for one recruit~

No wonder the major general instructor had suggested it. Even he felt embarrassed making Zephyr continue waiting, considering Loa was one of his own men.

Hearing him, Zephyr clenched a cigar between his teeth and rubbed his aching brow. "Let the other warships leave first. It's not good for everyone to wait here. We'll set sail in ten minutes. If that brat really dares not show up, just wait until he gets back and see how I deal with him!"

After saying that, Zephyr sighed inwardly, blaming himself for not intervening last night. Now he was suffering under the sun on deck, unable to even lose his temper.

After all, he had watched the entire time when Loa was frozen.

Since Zephyr, the chief instructor, had spoken, the major general instructor naturally said nothing further. After saluting, he turned and left. Once he had notified the other warships through the Den Den Mushi, amid the harbor's chorus of whistles, he turned toward the chattering recruits behind him and roared, "Shut the hell up! You are Marines, soldiers! Observe discipline and act like military men! Understood?!"

I can't deal with Loa, but I can still deal with you lot!

The recruits on deck immediately fell silent. Standing at attention, they shouted, "Understood!"

"Didn't eat breakfast? Louder!"

"UNDERSTOOD!!!"

As the major general instructor disciplined the recruits, Momonga rested a hand on the hilt at his waist and walked over to Zephyr. "Instructor Zephyr, what exactly did Loa do last night? Could he be scared?"

Momonga's injuries had not fully healed, and he was still unable to engage in high-intensity combat. So when Sengoku proposed it, he agreed to join this mission, both to loosen up and handle a few troublesome matters.

Hearing Momonga's question, Zephyr sighed and said to the disciple he thought highly of, "Do you think someone who could kill members of the Scissor Pirates without changing expression would be afraid of a combat assessment?"

After a pause, Zephyr pressed a hand to his forehead. "Loa sparred with Kuzan last night. Kuzan's Ice Age froze him into an ice block. I thought he would break free before long, but who knew he'd stay frozen all night~~~ Sigh!"

"Uh..." Momonga had no idea how to respond. Since Zephyr had said "I thought," he must have been there at the time.

So what was this? Lifting a rock only to smash his own foot?

Speechless, Momonga could only pull a cigar case from inside his jacket, take one out, and ask, "Instructor, would you like one? I picked these up while on a mission last time. They're a Golden City specialty."

Zephyr: "..."

Just then, a figure gradually descended from the sky and soon arrived above the deck. Then he spun seventy degrees in midair, followed with a sideways windmill kick, and landed stylishly in a half-kneeling pose.

Loa stood up, dusted off his clothes, flashed eight gleaming front teeth, and grinned. "Yo! Good morning, everyone! I..."

Before he could finish, Loa immediately collapsed onto the deck. His face wore the expression of a man who had already become a salted fish. He struggled to open his eyes and shakily reached toward Momonga. "Vice Admiral Momonga, tell me you brought seasickness medicine."

"Why the hell would I carry that around?!!!"

Momonga roared, his teeth bared.

"I'm... I'm gonna die! Waaah!~~"

"Hey, hey, don't throw up on me!"

Now that everyone had arrived, the major general officer requested permission and gave the order to set sail.

Whooo!

The warship left the harbor at full speed, partly to catch up with the ships ahead and partly because someone aboard was half-dead and vomiting uncontrollably, nothing but stomach acid.

It was truly unfortunate. Since this was a combat assessment, the ship's accompanying doctors were all experts in treating external injuries. They were completely helpless when it came to seasickness.

Besides, who would have expected a Marine to get seasick? Bringing seasickness medicine would have been absurd!

In the end, Zephyr could no longer watch. Loa was a Headquarters recruit, a future mainstay of the Marines, and someone Zephyr had practically already chosen for the Elite Camp—yet he got seasick!

If Sengoku had not warned him beforehand, Zephyr genuinely would not have believed it.

Furious, Zephyr shoved aside the ship's doctors and the recruits supporting Loa, then drove a fist straight into him.

Clang!

The world instantly became quiet. The surrounding recruits swallowed hard, staring fearfully at the huge bump on Loa's head and the relieved expression on his face.

Hey, hey, you got knocked unconscious! Don't make that blissful face!

After tossing Loa back into the cabin, calm quickly returned to the warship. Some recruits anxiously looked around, while others nervously wiped down their weapons, trying to soothe the unease in their hearts.

They were still just a group of recruits, unlike Loa, who had seen blood. Even knowing their destination was an island specially used by the Marines for assessments, with no vicious pirates on it, only packs of wild beasts, the tension and unease still lingered in their hearts.

The elite assessment was serious, but not especially secretive, much like the college entrance exams before Loa's transmigration. Though the questions were kept confidential from the recruits, the subjects were plainly known.

Zephyr was quite helpless about this. Recruits from previous classes had at least some fire in them. This batch, however, looked so pathetic even knowing the examination subjects. There were practically none who stood out.

The only one who was decent in every aspect, Loa, was neither descended from an orthodox Marine family nor recruited through enlistment. Momonga had simply been lucky enough to pick him up from a deserted island.

Thus, Zephyr could see that the gap in Marine manpower remained a severe problem.

Seeing Zephyr's troubled expression, Momonga naturally knew what his instructor was worried about. He hesitated before stepping forward and taking out another cigar. "Don't worry, Instructor. There will always be a solution. Besides, isn't there Loa in this class? The few in the Elite Camp are also pretty good. Things aren't that bleak yet. Here, have a cigar. This one is the finest from the Sabaody Archipelago."

Zephyr looked at him sideways. "You brat, what exactly are you after?"

"Uh..." They said a father knew his son best—wrong. A teacher knew his disciple best.

Momonga's unusual behavior today had long caught Zephyr's attention. Vice Admiral Momonga was famous for being rigid and steady, yet today he had tried to bribe Zephyr with cigars time and again. No matter how Zephyr looked at it, something was off.

After a long silence, faced with Zephyr's impatient expression, Momonga awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "Well, Instructor, it's about Loa. He asked me to tell you to speak with Fleet Admiral Sengoku and arrange for him to be stationed at Headquarters in the future. He doesn't want to be sent out to sea."

After saying that, Momonga quickly waved his hands. "Of course, the decision is yours, Instructor. If it can't be done, then it can't be done. Hahaha~"

Zephyr looked at him strangely, deeply puzzled. Why did this brat suddenly bring this up?

Momonga chuckled awkwardly twice. When he saw that Zephyr said nothing, he listlessly lowered his hand and nodded seriously. "All right, Instructor Zephyr, I understand. I'll go turn him down right away."

Momonga was dying of embarrassment, cursing inwardly, You little brat! You actually threatened me into doing something like this. Just wait until we get back—I'm not done with you.

As for why Loa had done this, it was because Kuzan had once mentioned the arrangements for this year's Elite Camp members. Since their overall strength was below that of previous years, most of them would be sent to the Four Blues for training.

This was Marineford! On the Grand Line!

Even with the Marines' high-tech warships, traveling to the Four Blues would take at least ten days!

Spending more than ten days on a ship, then frequently heading out to sea on missions after arriving—wouldn't that kill him?!

That was why Loa had made Momonga swallow his pride and ask Zephyr.

As for why Momonga agreed... did the injured Momonga spending his days in the office secretly reading stimulating magazines count?

PS: The third update will be finished before ten o'clock. Writing goes fast when I have ideas.