"Reporting, Major Yas! I... I'm willing to join!"
That trembling shout sounded especially jarring in the deathly silent square.
Every gaze turned toward it at once. A scrawny recruit with a few freckles on his face stood flushed, his hand raised high, his body trembling slightly with nerves and excitement.
"Teppei? Have you gone mad?!" The companion beside him grabbed his arm and said in a frightened whisper, "That's the 'Butcher' Pirate Crew! Going means getting yourself killed!"
"I..." The boy named Teppei gritted his teeth, shook off his companion's hand, and summoned his courage again, repeating loudly, "I'm willing to follow Major Yas!"
His eyes remained fixed on that proud, aloof figure in the middle of the square.
Before joining the recruit camp, Teppei had often been bullied because of his frail build. Even Instructor Moore could barely be bothered to spare him a glance. Countless times, he had wondered whether someone like him could really become a Marine who upheld justice.
Until today.
Until he saw Yas single-handedly confront an instructor, clash head-on with an Admiral, and even force the legendary Marine hero to retreat!
At that moment, the domineering spirit Yas exuded, bowing to no one and smashing everything with his fists, had shone like a light into Teppei's gloomy heart.
He wanted to become someone like that! Even just following behind such a powerful man would be better than remaining a cowardly good-for-nothing!
Yas finally shifted his gaze from the field officers pretending to be busy and looked at the boy who had been the first to step forward.
He said nothing, merely giving a slight nod.
One.
With Teppei taking the lead, a chain reaction seemed to begin.
Several more figures stirred within the formation of recruits.
"Count me in, Major Yas! I'll go too!"
"Me too! Rather than stay here and get ordered around like trash by those veterans, I'd rather follow someone truly strong and take my chances at sea!"
"That's right! Dying on a charge is better than standing around on a training ground like a coward for the rest of my life!"
One after another, recruits who had been bullied and ignored, yet still carried the same burning passion in their hearts, stepped forward.
Fear, excitement, and resolve mingled on their faces.
They might not understand the bigger picture or the rules, but they had seen one thing firsthand-Yas was strong! Strong enough for them to entrust their lives to him!
In the blink of an eye, more than twenty recruits stood behind Yas, their faces youthful but their eyes unusually bright.
The seasoned field officers looked on with even greater scorn.
"Hahaha! What a joke! A headquarters Major, and all his men are rookies who haven't even mastered all the Six Powers!" the scar-faced Major laughed without restraint.
"This isn't going to wipe out pirates. It's delivering dinner to 'Butcher' Gore! A pack of fools!"
"Just wait to collect their bodies!"
Yas turned a deaf ear to their mockery.
Looking at this uneven bunch of "subordinates," who could not even stand properly at attention, he spoke slowly. His voice was quiet, but every person heard it clearly.
"Anyone else?"
Silence fell again. With just over twenty men, they were still a few short of the required complement.
Just then, a tall, burly figure stepped out of the lieutenants' ranks.
He was powerfully built, with dark skin and a full beard, looking more like a mountain bandit than a Marine. His rank was lieutenant.
"Reporting, Major Yas!" The bearded lieutenant's voice boomed like a bell as he gave Yas a regulation salute. "Headquarters Lieutenant Bullet! Requesting permission to serve under your command!"
His appearance surprised everyone.
"Bullet? That battle maniac? Why would he go?"
"I heard he's been held back from promotion for talking back to his superiors. I never thought he'd choose this new Major!"
The bearded Lieutenant Bullet ignored the chatter around him and looked straight at Yas, his eyes full of challenge and appraisal. He was different from the others. He had not come out of admiration; Yas's sheer violence and formidable strength had drawn him in. He wanted to see for himself whether this young man was the real deal!
Yas glanced at Bullet and once again merely nodded.
"Good. That's enough men." Yas withdrew his gaze, turned, and walked straight toward Pier Seven. He did not offer even a single extra word of encouragement.
"Everyone, follow me."
"Yes, Major Yas!"
Teppei, Bullet, and the twenty-odd recruits immediately raised their heads and puffed out their chests, answering at the top of their lungs before following closely behind Yas with disorderly but determined strides.
Everyone present wore complicated expressions as they watched this odd group-a "monster" Major, a "troublemaker" lieutenant, and a bunch of "rookie" recruits-march across the square toward the pier.
Garp grinned, stuffed a piece of Senbei into his mouth, and said indistinctly, "Interesting. Really interesting! This brat stirs up even more trouble than that bastard Roger did when he was young! Sengoku, how many days do you think they'll survive?"
Sengoku adjusted his glasses, his deep gaze fixed on Yas's receding figure, and said gravely, "I don't know. But I do know that if he comes back alive, the Marines' future might truly change because of him."
Marineford, Pier Seven.
The sea breeze carried heavy smells of salt and fish, rust, and gunpowder. Sailors' curses, officers' reprimands, and the roar of operating cranes intertwined into a symphony of steel belonging to this violent age.
A brand-new Vanguard-class high-speed gunboat sat quietly at its berth.
Its hull was gray-black, its lines sleek and powerful. Four sizable cannons were mounted on each side, and a sturdy ram had been added to its bow. For this era, it was undoubtedly one of the Marines' most advanced warships.
"Is this... our ship?" Teppei stroked the cold hull, his eyes shining with excitement.
The other "rookies" were also seeing such an imposing warship for the first time. They looked around curiously, momentarily forgetting the terror they were about to face.
"Stop dawdling like a bunch of women! Get aboard and check the ammunition and supplies! Think you're here for sightseeing?"
The bearded Lieutenant Bullet kicked a dazed recruit in the backside and roared gruffly. Though this was also his first time working with Yas, his years of experience in the lower ranks led him to instinctively take on the first mate's duties.
The recruits jolted at his shouting and hurriedly began hauling supplies aboard in a flurry, preparing to set sail.
Yas paid none of this any attention. He walked alone to the very tip of the bow and gazed out at the boundless, dangerous sea in the distance.
Rocks, Roger, Whitebeard, Golden Lion...
The greatest monsters of this era were all roaming those seas unchecked. And he was about to take a bunch of rookies and plunge straight into the heart of this maelstrom where titans clashed.
"Interesting." A cold smile curved Yas's lips.
He could feel the lightning release chakra within him surging ceaselessly with excitement at the coming battle.
Half an hour later, preparations were finally completed after a series of stumbling efforts.
"Weigh anchor! Hoist the sails! Set course for the Reverse Mountain route!"
At Bullet's command, the Vanguard sounded its departure whistle and slowly left Marineford's harbor, cutting through the waves toward the Grand Line.
On the pier, quite a few Marines stopped working to watch the lone gunboat sail away, their gazes varied.
"They really went... Those fools have no idea what they're getting into."
"Let's make a bet. I bet they won't last three days."
"Three days? You're giving them too much credit! 'Butcher' Gore's ship isn't slow. We might hear they've been wiped out by tomorrow!"
Aboard the ship, as Marineford grew farther and farther away, the recruits' initial excitement gradually gave way to fear of the unknown.
The rocking hull and the endless sea sent waves of unease through them.
"Lieutenant Bullet..." Teppei approached Bullet, who was inspecting the rigging, and asked quietly, "Are we... really going to face the 'Butcher' Pirate Crew head-on? I heard they have at least two hundred men aboard, and every one of them is a villain who kills without batting an eye..."
Bullet glared at him and snorted. "Scared? If you're scared, there's still time to jump overboard and swim back to Marineford. You'll make it just in time for dinner."
"I'm not scared! I just..." Teppei's face flushed with agitation.
"Just think our handful of men wouldn't even make a mouthful for them, right?" Bullet sneered, but his gaze involuntarily drifted toward the figure who had remained silent at the bow. "Don't worry, kid. Whether we survive this voyage doesn't depend on how many men we have or how strong the enemy is."
"Then what does it depend on?" Teppei instinctively pressed.
Bullet grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, a trace of fervor flashing in his eyes that even he did not notice.
"On just how much of a 'monster' our newly appointed Major really is."
As the two spoke, a shrill, terrified scream suddenly came from the lookout atop the mast!
"A ship! To the west! A ship spotted to the west! It's moving very fast!"
"It's... it's a skull flag! There's a blood-dripping axe on it! It's the 'Butcher' Pirate Crew's flag! They're charging toward us!"
What?!
The news struck like a bolt from the blue, instantly draining the color from every recruit's face on deck!
They had been at sea for less than half a day! How had they run into them so soon?!
Yas slowly turned, his icy gaze settling on the black speck rapidly approaching in the distance.
He showed not the slightest surprise. Instead, a cruel smile curved his lips.
"Too weak. They don't even qualify for me to use Three-Finger Nukite."
His voice was quiet, yet it was like a shot of courage driven straight into the hearts of the panicking rookies behind him.
Before anyone could react, Yas spoke again, his voice carrying an unquestionable command.
"All hands, prepare for battle."
Before you continue