Another month or so passed before the small warship finally arrived at Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Gazing at the imposing edifice before him, Pons could not help but feel somewhat nervous.
After all, this was the global headquarters of the Marines…
home to legendary figures like Sengoku, Garp, and the three Admirals.
As if sensing his unease, Galland smiled and said: “When I was a rookie, I used to get nervous every time I came to Marineford too.
But you’ll get used to it.” The warship was stopped for inspection at the harbor entrance.
However, Galland had already made contact with headquarters beforehand, so after verification, they were cleared to enter.
The warship slowly sailed into the harbor.
It had to be said that Marineford’s harbor was the largest Pons had seen since transmigrating…
after all, it docked hundreds of warships, and without such expansive facilities, there would be nowhere to accommodate them all.
The central berths were reserved for large warships.
As a result, Galland’s small vessel had to dock at a remote corner of the harbor.
The group disembarked.
Once on solid ground, they saw a man and a woman approaching them…
seemingly sent to receive them.
Pons thought they looked somewhat familiar, likely characters who had appeared in the original work.
However, so many Marine officers had been introduced over the course of the series that he could not remember every single one in detail.
As they drew closer, Pons studied them more carefully.
The man was around thirty, over two meters tall, with bronzed skin and a sturdy build.
The woman appeared to be eighteen or nineteen, tall and quite beautiful.
The man spoke first: “I am Maynard, a Marine Headquarters’ lieutenant commander.
Under Vice Admiral Tsuru’s orders, I am here to receive the talent recommended by Captain Drake.” Hearing the name Maynard, Pons recalled some story details.
In the Dressrosa arc, there was a Marine Vice Admiral named Maynard who had been thoroughly beaten by Bartolomeo…
that was probably this same man.
The woman then introduced herself: “I am Doll, a major formerly assigned to the G-14 Branch.
I have been sent to headquarters for advanced training on the recommendation of my branch commander, and I am also here under Vice Admiral Tsuru’s orders to receive you.” Pons thought for a moment, ‘There seemed to be a young female Vice Admiral named Doll in the original work, who later became the commander of the G-14 Branch.’ In the manga, Doll had a blue flower tattoo on her upper arm.
Unfortunately, the Doll before him wore long sleeves, so he could not confirm it visually.
Still, based on her appearance and her affiliation with the G-14 Branch, it was almost certainly the same Doll.
Maynard stepped up to Pons and asked: “Are you the Pons recommended by Captain Drake?” “Yes, that’s me.” Maynard looked Pons over once more, ‘Could this young man really be a formidable fighter?
He certainly did not look the part.’ Though he had heard Pons was a Devil Fruit user, his overall presence seemed rather unremarkable.
Still, Maynard understood that appearances could be deceiving.
He said to Pons: “Follow us.
Vice Admiral Tsuru is waiting for you.” He then said to Galland: “Captain Drake has already returned.
You and your men should report to him.” Galland nodded, said “Relax” to Pons, and left with his sailors.
Pons, meanwhile, followed Maynard and Doll in a certain direction.
“Um… where are we going?” Pons asked Maynard along the way.
“We’re heading to the training grounds.
Vice Admiral Tsuru wants to assess your abilities in person before assigning you a rank,” Maynard replied.
Doll added: “When you’re tested, make sure to give it your all.
Don’t hold back.
Given your achievement in defeating Robert, Vice Admiral Tsuru will certainly send a powerful Marine to test you.
If you don’t take it seriously, you could end up injured.” “Thank you for the warning,” Pons said, expressing his gratitude.
At the same time, he began to wonder who Tsuru would send to test him.
Following Doll and Maynard, they arrived at the training grounds.
The space was enormous…
roughly equivalent to three football fields in area, far larger than the training ground at the N-6 Branch.
Tsuru stood at one end of the grounds.
Maynard and Doll led Pons toward her.
Behind Tsuru stood another man and woman.
As Pons drew closer and focused his gaze, he quickly recognized them.
If he was not mistaken, the man was Momonga.
He appeared to be around forty, stood about two meters and fifty centimeters tall, and carried an imposing aura.
The woman was Gion…
who would later become the Admiral Candidate known as Momousagi.
She appeared to be twenty-three or twenty-four, with dignified, delicate features and a well-proportioned figure.
Though she was shorter than Momonga, she was not short by much.
Vice Admiral Tsuru, though an elderly woman, still stood over two meters tall.
Her expression was kind and gentle, radiating warmth.
When she saw Doll and the others, Tsuru smiled and said: “Thank you for bringing him here.” She then turned to Pons and said: “So this young man is the Pons recommended by Drake.
I am Vice Admiral Tsuru of Marine Headquarters.
These two are Vice Admiral Momonga and Rear Admiral Gion.” ‘It was indeed them.
So Momonga was already a Vice Admiral, while Gion was currently still a Rear Admiral.’ Pons responded calmly and respectfully: “It is an honor to meet you, Vice Admiral Tsuru, Vice Admiral Momonga, and Rear Admiral Gion.” Tsuru nodded, then said to Pons: “Since you defeated Robert, who had a bounty of fifty-five million Berry, and received Drake’s recommendation, your abilities are undoubtedly considerable.
Still, I prefer to see for myself.
Please choose one of the two…
Momonga or Gion…
to spar with.” Pons felt cold sweat immediately bead on his back, ‘Was I really being asked to fight against someone of this caliber on my very first day at Marine Headquarters?
Was this a test or a hazing ritual?’ Momonga was already a full-fledged Vice Admiral.
Though Gion was only a Rear Admiral, she would later surpass Momonga to become an Admiral Candidate…
so her strength and potential were clearly exceptional.
Pons scratched his head and said to Tsuru: “Vice Admiral Tsuru, um… at my current level, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be much of a match for either of them.
Could you, uh… arrange for someone less formidable to test me?” Tsuru smiled faintly and said: “Drake’s report stated that you possess at least the strength of a Captain.
In that case, having a Captain or lower-ranked officer spar with you wouldn’t be very meaningful.
I believe these two are quite suitable.” ‘But wait…
was there not still the rank of Commodore between Captain and Rear Admiral?
Could I not spar with a Commodore instead?
And even if they were sending a Rear Admiral, why Gion specifically?
There must be less powerful Rear Admirals available.
Momonga, on the other hand, was already a Vice Admiral.’ Nevertheless, Pons decided not to argue further.
Continuing to decline might give Tsuru the impression that he was cowardly.
After a moment of thought, Pons said: “In that case, I’ll choose Vice Admiral Momonga as my opponent.” After all, Gion was a future Admiral Candidate.
Her current strength might not be inferior to Momonga’s…
and on top of that, she was a beautiful woman, which would only add to the pressure.
Tsuru nodded and turned to Momonga: “Then, Vice Admiral Momonga, please test young Pons’s abilities.” Momonga acknowledged the order with a crisp “Yes,” then strode up to Pons and said: “Let’s start… I will do my best to hold back.” ‘Wait…
if you were going to hold back, why add “do my best”?
That implied there was still a possibility of me getting hurt!’ Pushing aside his inner complaints, Pons also said: “Please take care of me.” Tsuru and the others stepped back a short distance to watch the battle.
Pons and Momonga also distanced themselves, standing about four meters apart.
When Tsuru announced “Begin,” Pons immediately transformed into his Gengar form.
Doll and Maynard’s faces showed clear surprise.
Tsuru, Gion, and Momonga, perhaps having seen more strange abilities in their extensive combat experience, maintained more composed expressions.
Pons did not hold back.
He launched the first attack, hurling a Shadow Ball at Momonga.
During his spar with Holt at the N-6 Branch, Pons had avoided using powerful techniques like Shadow Ball for fear of severely injuring or killing his opponent.
But Holt was only a petty officer first class, while Momonga was a Vice Admiral.
The situation was entirely different…
there was no need to hold back.
However, Momonga vanished from his spot the moment Pons attacked.
Pons immediately recognized the technique…
it was Soru, one of the Rokushiki!
Indeed, in the next instant, Momonga had crossed the four-meter gap and appeared almost directly in front of Pons.
While evading the Shadow Ball with his incredible speed, he thrust his finger forward in a Shigan attack.
But Pons had already turned intangible the moment Momonga disappeared.
Momonga’s Shigan passed straight through his body, striking nothing but air.
At this bizarre sight, Momonga’s eye finally twitched, ‘Was this… a Logia type?
No, this certainly did not look like any Logia fruit.’ Meanwhile, the Shadow Ball Pons had thrown earlier struck the ground ahead, blasting a shallow crater.
The onlookers’ eyes all brightened slightly at the display.
They recognized the destructive potential of Shadow Ball.
If such an attack struck a human body without Tekkai or Armament Haki to defend against it, it could cause severe damage.
Against opponents with weaker defenses, it might even be a one-hit kill.
Tsuru looked at Pons with a glimmer of expectation in her eyes.
Though the battle had only just begun, Pons had already demonstrated formidable offensive capabilities and an evasive intangibility technique.
He seemed to be exactly the kind of promising talent Drake had recommended.