The Marine Headquarters Intelligence Analysis Department had been extremely busy during this period.
On this sea, pirates with bounties exceeding one hundred million were practically everywhere. In the first half of the Grand Line, they were relatively rare—each one was known as a Supernova. But in the second half of the Grand Line, they were practically a dime a dozen.
However, the latter half of the Grand Line was not a place one could easily set foot in.
There, the Four Emperors carved up the seas, and pirates active in the New World were almost never weak. Even if they truly were weak, they were often just low-ranking members of some major power. Under such circumstances, Marine operations in the New World were heavily restricted.
Pirates with bounties exceeding one hundred million were not targets that could be captured casually.
Members of the intelligence analysis department had to review intelligence on pirate crews currently being pursued by the Marines whose captains carried bounties over one hundred million. They would then submit this information to the Marine Headquarters Vice Admirals and Marine advisors responsible for the elite camp graduation assessment.
"Pirates with bounties over one hundred million in the first half of the Grand Line are no less dangerous than those with the same bounties in the second half."
Vice Admiral Yamakaji puffed on his cigar as he pondered the thick stack of intelligence reports in his hands.
Anyone who could reach a bounty of over one hundred million in the first half of the Grand Line was certainly someone with exceptional talent and strength, as well as considerable luck. That was why such individuals were called Supernovas.
In the New World of the latter half of the Grand Line, Haki had already become a widely used power. Without Haki, it was impossible to survive there at all. Pirates with bounties over one hundred million almost all knew how to use Haki.
And once one could use Haki—regardless of whether they were a Devil Fruit user—their combat power would rise dramatically.
Supernovas in the first half of the Grand Line were extremely difficult to capture. Sometimes, even when a Marine Vice Admiral took action personally, the target would escape due to sheer luck. Pirates in the latter half, on the other hand, were even more dangerous to apprehend.
"At present, there are fourteen pirate crews that meet the criteria…"
Vice Admiral Yamakaji reviewed the files one by one. Of these fourteen crews, four were active in the first half of the Grand Line, while ten were in the latter half.
After pondering for nearly half a day, Yamakaji finalized the targets for Smoker and the other eight recruits. Only the last remaining slot—Roya's—was difficult to decide.
"There are still two pirate crews in the first half, but their captains both have bounties exceeding two hundred million. As for the remaining four in the latter half, their bounties are also around two hundred million…"
Roya was the strongest among them. Naturally, Yamakaji had first assigned the easier and weaker targets to Smoker and the others, leaving the remaining ones for Roya. However, after the assignments were complete, Yamakaji realized that the six remaining crews were all significantly more difficult than the previous eight.
A Marine advisor standing beside Yamakaji glanced at the files spread across the desk. A faint sneer flickered in his eyes—one that Yamakaji did not notice.
"In my opinion, we should assign him the Dick Pirate Crew, the one with a bounty of 196 million Beli."
This Marine advisor was none other than Carl—the same advisor who had taken the blame earlier when Roya destroyed the strength-measuring device with a single punch during the physical tests.
Although the incident had indeed been his fault, he had been fined a month's salary because of it. Harboring resentment, he transferred all his frustration onto Roya and intended to cause him some trouble.
However, upon investigating further, he discovered that Roya was not an ordinary recruit, but Garp's nephew. That immediately dampened his courage.
Garp was not someone he could afford to offend.
Still—
He could not swallow this resentment. Though he dared not do anything openly, there were small things he could do in secret. For example… quietly removing one pirate crew's intelligence file.
In other words, there should have been fifteen pirate crews that met the criteria, with nine of them being of lower difficulty. But he had secretly removed one file, leaving only fourteen crews—of which only eight were relatively easy. By the time it came to assigning Roya's mission, all that remained were high-difficulty targets.
Naturally, he would never admit to this.
Roya was strong. The chances of him dying during the assessment, or even failing it outright, were very small. However, the likelihood of him failing to obtain an "Excellent" or even a "Good" evaluation was quite high. In that case, Roya's rank upon graduation would likely be reduced by one level.
"196 million Beli… that's hardly any different from 200 million."
Yamakaji fell silent for a moment, then shook his head.
"Forget it. Have Roya come here and let him decide for himself. If he's unwilling, it's fine to postpone his second-stage assessment by a few months."
Judging from the strength Roya had displayed in the physical tests—being able to destroy the strength-testing device with a single punch—he likely possessed power approaching that of a Marine Vice Admiral. Even if the difficulty was higher, he should still be able to complete the mission. And even if he couldn't, it was unlikely to threaten his life.
Still, this was ultimately unfair to Roya.
Yamakaji already knew that Roya was Garp's nephew. Unlike Carl, he had once served under Garp, fighting alongside him across the seas. He held Garp in the highest respect and would naturally never deliberately make things difficult for Roya.
"…Alright."
Seeing that Yamakaji intended to let Roya choose for himself, Carl's expression stiffened. In the end, he could only nod helplessly.
The final decision rested with Yamakaji. At most, Carl could make a few small moves behind the scenes. Since Yamakaji was allowing Roya to choose, all Roya had to do was wait a month or two for a more suitable target, and Carl would have no way to interfere.
Such underhanded tactics—like withholding a file—could not be repeated. He did not dare do it again.
Yamakaji's notice was quickly passed down.
Before long, Roya arrived at Yamakaji's office.
"Roya, come in."
Seeing Roya arrive, Yamakaji smiled at him in a friendly manner. Now that he knew Roya was Garp's nephew, his attitude toward him had naturally improved significantly.
Among vice admirals, Yamakaji was considered relatively good-natured. From their interaction the previous day, Roya's impression of him was also quite positive. He gave a slight smile and asked directly:
"May I ask what this is about?"
Seeing how straightforward Roya was, Yamakaji shook his head helplessly.
"There is indeed something—regarding your second-stage assessment…"
Yamakaji explained the situation, then looked at Roya, waiting for his decision.
If he accepted a mission immediately, all available targets would be relatively high in difficulty.
Although Roya's strength was outstanding and completion should still be possible, the final evaluation would likely be no more than "Pass" or "Good." Achieving an "Excellent" would be very difficult, let alone a perfect evaluation.
If he waited one or two months and selected an easier target, then with Roya's exceptional strength, the chances of obtaining an "Excellent" rating would be very high.
"One or two months… I see…"
After listening, Roya glanced at the six bounty posters laid out on the desk. He casually picked one up.
"No need to make it so troublesome. This one will do."
"Pfft!"
If Roya's personality was similar to Garp's, his unwillingness to wait a month or two was understandable. But seeing which poster Roya had casually chosen, Yamakaji nearly choked.
How on earth did he pick this one?!
Captain of the Silver Sword Pirate Crew — Bounty: 220,000,000 Beli!
Although a bounty represented the level of threat to the World Government rather than raw strength, and all six bounties were around two hundred million—making their difficulty roughly similar—the Silver Sword Pirate Crew's strength might not differ much from the other five.
However, their brutality far surpassed the rest.
Wherever they went, they burned, killed, and pillaged, committing every evil imaginable. They had even annihilated an entire island in the past!
"Roya, are you sure you want to choose this one?!"
"Yes. This one looks more pleasing to the eye."
Roya replied with a smile.
Of course, he had no idea what kind of background the Silver Sword Pirate Crew had. He didn't recognize a single one of the six bounty posters. He had simply glanced at them and felt that the Silver Sword crew's captain did not look too ugly—more agreeable to the eye than the other five—so he chose it.
In any case, all the bounties were around two hundred million, and the difficulty was similar. As far as Roya was concerned, no matter how hard the second-stage assessment might be, it could not truly pose much of a challenge.