Elite Recruits

Thanks to reader ~Fell for God~ for the donation. Thank you.

By the way, what the hell are reading points? I really am getting old. Not only can I not figure out where to read my own book, I don't even know what the donation stuff is.

I must be a fake author.

"Those are the results for everyone in this assessment!"

The major general instructor's voice echoed across the shore. "Next, I will announce the candidates who have passed the Elite Assessment."

The recruits perked up, holding their breath as they waited. Even if this had nothing to do with them, everyone loved gossip and was curious how many people would enter the Elite Camp this year.

Rumor had it that some busybodies had even opened betting pools, sneaking into the bathrooms after every training session to place bets like thieves. Anyone who entered without knowing what was going on would get a sack thrown over their head and be knocked unconscious.

Loa said: I'm not involved. Do you believe me?

"First place, Tony Mill, step forward!"

"Yes!"

After a brief uproar, the crowd quickly quieted down. He was first place, after all, and had earned a high score of 1,750. It would have been strange if he hadn't made it into the Elite Camp.

Tony was a young man who looked quite mature. Perhaps because he had experienced the tragedy of losing his entire family, his eyes always carried an inescapable desolation and sorrow. A scar ran from his forehead to his left cheek, a wound left by pirates when he had protected his town.

Tony stepped out from the ranks and stared fixedly at Loa, gripping the sword in his hand tightly.

"First place? That's only because that guy didn't participate."

Loa sensed his gaze and turned back in surprise before flashing a sunny smile. Only when Tony awkwardly turned his head away did Loa breathe a sigh of relief.

Once someone became a member of the Elite Camp, they would no longer be bound by the Recruit Camp's endless rules and could issue challenges anytime, anywhere. Tony was highly competitive, so his daily life after entering the Elite Camp was easy to imagine. For someone who loved challenging people whenever he had nothing better to do, it was best to make sure he couldn't say anything first.

More importantly, even if Loa beat him, he wouldn't gain even ten Energy Points. It was a complete waste of time!

The major general instructor ignored their interaction and continued reading.

"Second place, Laurent Minnie, step forward!"

A wave of commotion erupted!

Only now did the ranks truly become lively.

"Minnie? Didn't she only have a little over 800 points?"

"Yeah, why has the requirement been lowered so much?"

"You've got to be kidding! There's definitely something shady going on!"

The recruits discussed it heatedly, all wearing different expressions as they examined Laurent Minnie.

Tony's selection was convincing enough, but Minnie had entered the Elite Camp too. That left everyone utterly confused. How could someone with barely half his points enter the Elite Camp?

A blonde, statuesque woman stepped out from Loa's Seventh Squad, leaving him rather puzzled.

Laurent Minnie, from the North Blue, specialized in kicking techniques and had performed steadily during training. Logically speaking, she should not have excelled at this kind of assessment, where points were earned by killing targets.

Yet she had not only taken second place, but also successfully entered the Elite Camp.

At that moment, Loa shared the same thought as the other recruits: Why?

However, when he saw the shoes on Minnie's feet, he understood the reason.

Those sturdy sea beast hide shoes were covered in blood and torn to tatters. The rough edges had curled inside out, and even her toes were exposed.

These were specially made sea beast hide shoes, designed for people skilled in kicking techniques, with a century-old shop's quality guarantee. The blood and sweat required to ruin such a sturdy pair of shoes spoke for themselves.

"A hardworking genius~"

Loa borrowed a phrase used to describe a certain watermelon-haired guy.

The instructor still ignored the recruits' discussions. These slots had been proposed by Zephyr and decided through a vote by all the instructors. There was not the slightest bit of favoritism involved.

Earning the approval of more than half the instructors was enough to prove Minnie's strength.

But it was not over yet. Amid everyone's puzzled expressions, the instructor continued.

"Third place, Simon Dennis Westin, step forward!"

Simon was a famous member of the military's Nth generation in the Recruit Camp. Starting from his great-grandfather's generation, his family had served in the Marines for generations. Influenced by that environment, he had always longed to become his family's pride. Although he diligently trained in swordsmanship and martial arts, he had been frail and sickly since childhood, so there was little else to say.

The one thing worth mentioning was that he was a Devil Fruit user.

Upon hearing Simon's name, everyone actually stopped talking.

It was not because they feared the family prestige of this military Nth-generation prince. His family did not really have much prestige anyway. No, it was because Simon was a Devil Fruit user.

In any generation, as long as a Devil Fruit user did not perform too poorly, they could successfully enter the Elite Camp.

After all, no one could determine the upper limit of an ability user.

What was more, Simon was one of the best snipers among this year's recruits. Even without his Devil Fruit ability, he was very strong.

The recruits had mixed feelings about the announced results. After being dismissed, they boarded the ships and prepared to return to headquarters.

After arranging for the wounded to board, Momonga suddenly noticed that someone was still standing on the shore. Taking a closer look, he immediately grinned.

"Yo! Loa, why aren't you boarding? The ship will leave soon. Don't tell me you plan to swim back?"

In his eyes, Loa was a Devil Fruit user who would go limp the moment he touched seawater. His malicious intent was obvious.

Loa responded to this sort of person, who kicked someone when they were down, with an Ice Spear Assault. Gnawing on a nearly burnt pork chop, he lamented inwardly, "Ah! What a miscalculation. I knew there was more than an eighty percent chance Simon would get in, yet I still set the odds so high. My Beli~~~"

Was it strange for someone in marketing to run a casino?

Not really, right?

Besides, he did want to swim back, but he would never actually do that.

It was not because he was afraid of exposing himself. The fact that he was not afraid of seawater or Seastone would eventually become known.

The real reason was that this was the Calm Belt!

A nest for all kinds of Sea Kings!

Who knew when an enormous Sea King might suddenly emerge? If it swallowed him in one bite, he would really be done for.

Nothing else. Loa had tested it before. Even being carried on someone's back made him seasick enough to vomit. Only riding a mount created by his own Maker Magic made him immune.

But how much magic power would it take to run all the way back like that? He was not Kuzan, daring enough to ride a bicycle across the sea.

If even people counted as transportation, then staying inside a Sea King's stomach certainly did too.

If he got digested without knowing what was happening, he would be embarrassed even after death and end up on the Marines' idiot ranking.

Momonga easily dodged the attack, used Soru to move over, and hooked an arm around Loa's neck. "Come on, come on. I'll just knock you unconscious after you board. The warship is fast enough that we'll reach Marineford by tonight."

"Heh heh!"

Loa looked at him contemptuously. "Are you sure you can still knock me out for half a day with one punch?"

Even without unleashing his dragon scales, merely activating the blue dragon markings gave Loa terrifying defense and resistance to attacks. Arudo had once said that, in that state, Loa's defense alone surpassed that of most Elite Camp members, while his body's durability was only slightly weaker than Arudo's own.

Seeing Loa's undisguised contempt, a vein bulged on Momonga's forehead as he prepared to teach him a lesson.

Suddenly, a figure appeared behind them without warning and struck them both on the head twice.

The two hurriedly separated in pain and assumed defensive stances. But upon seeing that touch of purple elegance, they immediately straightened up and saluted.

"Teacher Zephyr!"

The newcomer was Zephyr. Although he had been defeated by Luffy in the original story, he had already been seventy-five years old then and even needed to take medicine from time to time to maintain his combat strength.

The current Zephyr had only lost one arm. His strength still hovered near the peak of his prime, and teaching the two of them a lesson would be child's play.

"What are you two doing?! Do you know the ship is about to depart?! Get aboard right now!"

Black aura seemed to radiate from Zephyr as his tiger-like eyes commanded respect without anger. Faced with an enraged Zephyr, neither of them wanted to provoke him. The two swiftly ran aboard the warship.

Splat!

The instant his foot touched the deck, Loa fell flat on his face with a thud, his stomach churning violently.

Zephyr took a deep breath, refusing to look at him as he ordered, "Set sail!"

Woooo—

The lead warship received the order and sounded a long warning horn as it slowly sailed away from the shore. The warships lined up behind it turned their bows in sequence and followed neatly.

A recruit from another squad ran over to Loa, poked him with a finger, and said in delight, "Hey! It's true. So Loa really does get seasick!"

The surrounding recruits' eyes lit up, and they asked Zephyr, "Chief Instructor Zephyr! Can next week's assessment be held aboard the ship?"

Loa: "You're all dead!"

Zephyr: "Get lost, all of you!"

With that, Zephyr hauled Loa up from the ground and sent him flying with one punch. Loa crashed into the cabin with a thud, leaving a clear dent in the hard iron plating, then passed out with a satisfied smile on his face.

Everyone around him shuddered. "Could Loa have awakened some kind of weird preference?"

The end-of-chapter thanks are on hold because I'm writing this in a phone assistant. After scrolling back and forth, I have no idea where I wrote up to. If nothing goes wrong, I'll make up the second update?