North Blue, Mushroom Town Marine Branch.
The branch occupied an enormous compound within Mushroom Town.
Its distinctive central building was visible from a great distance and served as a reassuring symbol of security for the local residents.
The entire base covered approximately forty thousand square meters.
It included separate facilities for logistics, weapons storage, training, administration, and other departments, so its considerable size was hardly surprising.
The previous day, Captain Caron had returned with the recruits he had gathered throughout the North Blue.
More importantly, a sixteen-year-old newcomer had officially enlisted and immediately received an exceptional promotion to Marine Captain.
Naturally, the news caused intense discussion among the Marines already stationed at the branch.
Even administrative staff from the Marine Logistics Division…, who rarely left the base for missions, joined the conversation.
Nearly every discussion centered on Leon—the unusual recruit who had become a captain on his first day.
“He must have used connections to get in.”
“I’ve never heard of someone joining the Marines and immediately being promoted to captain by Headquarters.”
“Captain Caron spent nearly twenty years working his way up from an ordinary Marine before becoming the commander of this branch.”
“But now some sixteen-year-old boy arrives and receives the same rank on his first day?”
“How is that fair?”
“I can’t stand people who advance through connections.”
“So from now on, the Mushroom Town Marine Branch will have two captains.”
“In the North Blue, a Marine captain is normally powerful enough to oversee an island inhabited by hundreds of thousands of people.”
Discontent spread throughout the branch.
Some veteran Marines had worked for decades without advancing very far.
Seeing a sixteen-year-old newcomer instantly become a captain naturally left many of them feeling resentful.
Later that day, Lieutenant Commander Modsen returned to the branch.
He was the branch’s second-in-command and had led another recruitment team through the North Blue.
Roughly one hundred new recruits accompanied him.
Modsen and Caron had divided their forces and traveled through different regions to recruit promising candidates in response to the worldwide recruitment initiative issued by Marine Headquarters.
How much money such a large recruitment campaign required, and whether the Marines possessed enough funding, were not matters ordinary branch personnel needed to consider.
Someone at Headquarters would handle the expenses.
“Lieutenant Commander Modsen, you’re finally back.”
The moment Modsen entered the compound, several veteran Marines approached him and began voicing their grievances.
“You wouldn’t believe what happened while you were away.”
“One of the recruits Captain Caron brought back is clearly someone with powerful connections.”
“He had barely enlisted before Headquarters granted him the rank of captain.”
“You’ve served the Mushroom Town Marine Branch for years, yet Headquarters has never promoted you to that rank.”
“And now a sixteen-year-old boy has passed you overnight, despite everything you’ve accomplished for the Marines.”
“Can you really accept that?”
Modsen raised an eyebrow.
Although he did not openly display much anger, the dissatisfaction in his eyes was obvious.
He had spent more than a decade at the Mushroom Town Marine Branch and had gradually climbed to the rank of Marine Commander.
Naturally, he wanted to advance further.
Now an unknown teenager had suddenly appeared and taken a position above him.
It was impossible for Modsen to feel completely indifferent.
As more Marines joined the discussion, the area became as noisy as a crowded marketplace.
Modsen frowned.
“My affairs are none of your concern.”
“Return to your posts and focus on your own responsibilities.”
He was not the kind of man who resented genuine talent.
But neither was he someone who could be casually pushed aside.
He only hoped that the newcomer who had received such an extraordinary promotion truly possessed the ability to justify it.
Otherwise, Modsen would be the first to object.
Standing nearly three meters tall, Modsen wore a Marine uniform over a broad, muscular frame.
His skin was dark, his shoulders were wide, and his gaze was severe.
One sharp look from him immediately scattered the complaining Marines and sent them back to work.
“All newly registered recruits, follow me to the training grounds.”
Modsen turned toward the group behind him and issued the order.
The Mushroom Town Marine Branch’s training grounds were located beside Tiger Forest.
The area was wide and open, with no civilian homes nearby.
The Marines could conduct noisy training exercises without disturbing the residents.
The dangerous beasts living within Tiger Forest also served as targets for practical combat training, allowing new recruits to develop real fighting experience.
At that moment, 180 newly enlisted Marines stood in eight orderly columns across the training field.
Each recruit had already received a uniform.
Their young faces were filled with ambition and hope for the future.
They were at an age when they still dreamed of rising through the ranks and dedicating themselves to their own understanding of justice.
The Mushroom Town Marine Branch had recruited 180 new personnel in total.
Before joining teams assigned to missions outside the base, they would undergo three months of demanding instruction.
The training would cover:
Physical conditioning.
Close-quarters combat.
Marksmanship.
Team coordination.
And numerous other essential skills.
Since this was their first official day, the instructors had not arranged anything excessively harsh.
Instead, two Doriki measuring devices sent from Marine Headquarters had been placed in the center of the training field.
The machines immediately attracted the curious gazes of all 180 recruits.
The Doriki measuring devices had been developed by a research team affiliated with Marine Headquarters.
Their main purpose was to measure the amount of force a person could unleash in a single instant and display the result as a numerical value.
In simple terms, the machines offered a rough evaluation of someone’s physical combat ability.
The senior officers attending the recruits’ welcome ceremony were:
Captain Caron.
Lieutenant Commander Modsen.
And Lieutenant Commander Bart.
As one of the Mushroom Town branch’s two captains, Leon was also qualified to address the new recruits.
His immediate promotion made him an especially noteworthy example, and Caron had originally expected him to make an appearance before the assembled Marines.
Leon had rejected the idea without hesitation.
He had no interest in speeches or ceremonial obligations.
He would much rather spend the time lying down and enjoying the sun.
Therefore, while Caron and Modsen delivered their speeches, Leon rested nearby in a rocking chair.
He wore sunglasses and leisurely drank from a cup, looking entirely at peace.
The officers’ passionate voices drifted across the training grounds.
Had his attendance not been required as one of the branch’s two captains, Leon would never have bothered coming to listen to so much tedious talk.
He had changed into a new Marine uniform.
Unlike the clothing worn by ordinary soldiers, a captain’s uniform displayed the word Justice across the back.
The white shirt outlined Leon’s lean but well-built frame.
He looked slender while dressed, but there was no shortage of muscle beneath the uniform.
Although only sixteen, he was already nearly two meters tall.
In a world where many people grew to extraordinary heights, that was not particularly unusual.
What no one could have guessed was that his seemingly lean body contained the fused peak physiques of three of the greatest monsters on the seas.
Eventually, the speeches came to an end.
Before the recruits began training, Caron arranged a simple Doriki evaluation.
The purpose was to establish each recruit’s current level so they could later compare it with the improvement they achieved after three months of training.
The first person to approach the device was Modsen.
He intended to serve as an example for the recruits.
It was also an opportunity to display the power of an experienced Marine officer and ensure that the newcomers took their training seriously.
Modsen drew a deep breath.
Then he drove his fist into the testing device.
Boom!
A heavy impact echoed across the field.
All 180 recruits stared at the number displayed on the machine.
409.
More than four hundred Doriki.
At first, the recruits had no real understanding of what that number represented.
Then they began taking their own turns.
Most of their results fell between five and fifteen Doriki.
Only then did they understand just how powerful Lieutenant Commander Modsen was compared with an ordinary recruit.
“So…”
“Lieutenant Commander Modsen is hundreds of times stronger than us?”
“That’s unbelievable!”
If even Commander Modsen is this strong, what kind of result would Captain Caron achieve?”
The recruits erupted in astonishment.
Modsen smiled with satisfaction.
He was about to use his result as an example and lecture the recruits on the importance of training when his gaze shifted toward the edge of the field.
There, Leon remained stretched out in his rocking chair, looking completely relaxed.
Modsen’s eyebrows drew together.
Everyone else was working hard to train and encourage the new recruits.
Yet Leon—a captain who had received his rank immediately upon enlistment—was openly lying around and doing nothing.
In Modsen’s eyes, such behavior set a terrible example and damaged the discipline of the Marines.
“Captain Leon.”
Modsen’s voice carried across the training grounds.
“You wouldn’t mind testing your Doriki, would you?”
“Let everyone here see exactly how powerful a sixteen-year-old prodigy must be to receive the rank of captain from Marine Headquarters on his very first day.”
The dissatisfaction in his expression was impossible to miss.