Early year 1489 of the Sea Circle Calendar.
The King of Giants, Harald, was awarded honors at the Holy Land, Mary Geoise, officially becoming a Hedge-Blade member of the Holy Knights, and signed an immortality contract with Imu.
In the same month, the Marine Headquarters also underwent new changes.
Admiral Zephyr proposed the establishment of an officer training camp, aiming to improve the overall quality of marine officers and to select outstanding members at the rank of Lieutenant Commander and above for further education.
This proposal was quickly approved by the Marine's high command through a vote. However, since this year's budget had already been largely allocated to the formation of the Special Science Group (SSG), there were no additional funds to support it.
As a result, the first session of Zephyr's "Officer Training Camp" was small in scale, with only a little over a dozen participants.
According to Zephyr's vision, over the next few years, this training camp would gradually become standardized and expanded, ultimately evolving into a military academy dedicated to systematically cultivating high-level Marine talent.
In fact, this initiative effectively boosted the combat power of the Marines for decades to come. In the future, almost every prominent high-ranking officer would emerge from this military academy.
Zephyr gained immense prestige within the Marines because of this, ensuring that even after he resigned from his position as Admiral, his influence remained profound. Two or three decades later, nearly every famous Marine general would have to call him "Teacher" or "Principal."
Borsalino, who had rapidly ascended to the rank of Headquarters Lieutenant Commander with the backing of the Jaygarcia family, naturally became a member of Zephyr's first training camp.
At the same time, Sakazuki—whom Valthior had long tried but failed to find—was recommended by a North Blue Marine Branch and entered Headquarters as a Lieutenant. Shortly after, due to obtaining a Logia-type Devil Fruit, the Magma Fruit, his strength increased dramatically. He quickly gained attention and was promoted to Lieutenant Commander, joining the training camp as well, becoming one of Zephyr's first students.
Not long after Zephyr began teaching, a Marine branch in the South Blue discovered another exceptionally talented young man.
That man was Kuzan, who possessed the Logia-type Ice-Ice Fruit ability.
Generally speaking, Logia-type Devil Fruits greatly enhance a user's base combat strength, making them highly valued by all factions. Whenever one appears, the user is immediately placed on a priority observation and training list—something the Marine emphasizes even more.
Thus, when Headquarters received the report from the South Blue about another Logia user, they immediately transferred Kuzan to Headquarters.
However, because Kuzan had no background and had only been in the Marines for a few days, his loyalty and willpower were still untested. Therefore, Headquarters did not grant him a commander-level rank, instead giving him the rank of Headquarters Lieutenant.
Additionally, since Zephyr's training camp had already been underway for some time, it wasn't convenient to insert him mid-course. As a result, Kuzan did not get to study under Zephyr alongside Sakazuki and Borsalino.
But fate works in interesting ways. Seeing Zephyr constantly surrounded by admirers calling him "Teacher," Garp became a bit inspired and decided he also wanted to take on a disciple.
Since he intended to train someone from scratch, choosing a newcomer was ideal.
Kuzan, with his Logia ability and exceptional talent, immediately caught Garp's eye and became his first disciple, training under him daily.
Thus, the three future pillars of the Marine for the next thirty years officially gathered at Marineford. Though they had yet to shine, all of them had bright futures ahead.
Among them, Borsalino had the strongest background.
On just his second day after being transferred to Headquarters, Admiral Sengoku personally received him and held a conversation with him that lasted over two hours.
Even his spot in the officer training camp was strongly recommended by Sengoku himself.
It should be noted that at the time, aside from being a Logia user, Borsalino was merely a Headquarters Lieutenant Commander—not a particularly important figure.
Sengoku, on the other hand, was already highly accomplished—a renowned strategist and one of the three powerful Admirals with immense authority.
Ordinary officers wouldn't even have the chance to meet him, let alone speak with him.
The Marine, as a closed and hierarchical military organization, places great importance on seniority. Without stars on your shoulders, you're little more than background scenery saluting on the roadside when someone like Sengoku passes by.
Under such circumstances, the fact that Borsalino—a mere officer from an ordinary North Blue family—was personally received by an Admiral for a two-hour meeting immediately caused a huge stir among the Marine's higher ranks.
Many high-ranking Marine officers privately speculated that there was something off about Borsalino's identity—that his background must be unfathomably deep.
Sengoku also openly backed Borsalino, repeatedly stating that as long as Borsalino could graduate under Zephyr, he would appoint him as his personal adjutant.
It should be known that an Admiral's adjutant is typically a position held by a Vice admiral, or at the very least a Rear admiral.
In other words, according to Sengoku's intent, once Borsalino graduated, he would immediately be given a flag officer rank!
With an Admiral personally supporting him and his mysterious background, Borsalino quickly became the hottest rising star among the three young elites in the Marine.
And Borsalino did not disappoint—he displayed extraordinary talent. Whether in swordsmanship, Devil Fruit abilities, or physical combat, he excelled in all areas and was praised multiple times by Zephyr.
Clearly, at this stage, Borsalino had not yet become overly reliant on his Devil Fruit powers, nor had he developed any ideological conflict with Zephyr, so their teacher-student relationship remained harmonious.
...
At the very top of the Justice Fortress in Marineford—
Inside the Admiral's office, Sengoku was busy reviewing documents at his desk, while on the sofa across from him, Garp was attempting the absurd challenge of eating shrimp crackers through his nose.
Vice Admiral Tsuru, the Chief Staff Officer at Headquarters, watched Garp slurp snacks into his nose with visible disgust. Silently, she moved a bit farther away from him before speaking:
"Latest intelligence: former Rocks Pirates member, the smuggler Ganzui, with a bounty of 362 million Berries, has been killed by the 'Red Count,' Patrick Redfield, on Mondell Island in the New World. His pirate crew has been completely wiped out—no survivors."
"Good news," Sengoku replied without even lifting his head.
Garp burst into laughter upon hearing this. "After Kaido and Linlin, another Rocks member exits the stage of the seas, huh? Not bad, not bad. I knew that Red Count fellow had it in him..."
"Should we increase Red Count's bounty?" Tsuru asked again.
At this question, Sengoku paused his pen. Stroking his chin thoughtfully, he considered for a moment before replying:
"No. There's no need to raise his bounty or threat level. In fact, from the perspective of the Marine and the World Government, Redfield is practically no threat at all, isn't he?"
Although his bounty wasn't particularly high—just over 100 million Berries—mainly because he operated alone without any organization, the Red Count's reputation was immense.
About a year ago, before the Roger Pirates entered the New World, Shiki had personally invited Redfield to join his Flying Pirates. When negotiations fell through, the two clashed in a fierce battle in a certain sea region that lasted for two days and nights.
At the time, the war hadn't ended yet, so under the looming threat from the Whitebeard Pirates on the flank, Shiki ultimately chose to withdraw instead of continuing to press Redfield.
As a result, in lower- and mid-level circles, the "Red Count" wasn't particularly famous and was generally regarded as just an ordinary "great pirate."
But in reality, within high-level circles, Redfield's strength was widely acknowledged. No matter where he went, he was treated with respect.
However, just as Sengoku said, because he was too solitary—despite his immense power—he posed almost no real threat to massive forces like the Marine or the World Government. He simply lacked the foundation to overturn the world order.
"He's not much of a threat, yeah. Although he does occasionally attack us Marines, overall he's actually killed more pirates than anything… If you didn't know better, you'd think he was one of our outsourced agents," Garp said while snorting a shrimp cracker up his nose and chewing it.
Vice Admiral Tsuru, the Chief Staff Officer, finally couldn't take it anymore. She suddenly turned to Garp and snapped:
"If you keep eating through your nose, I'm going to twist it off, Garp!!!"
Though Tsuru usually appeared calm and refined, veterans like Garp and Sengoku were actually quite "afraid" of her. Once she got angry, it was nothing short of a disaster.
Garp jolted in fright, quickly putting away the shrimp crackers as he muttered, "Fine, fine, I'll stop eating, okay?"
Then, as if to change the subject, he casually added, "Oh right, Sengoku—does that Borsalino fellow really have such a background?"
"Yeah," Sengoku nodded frankly, then continued, "He's someone the Jaygracia family values and is supporting. I'd guess the Five Elders are making arrangements for the future structure of the Marine. As usual, they tend to recruit and cultivate outstanding talents within the Marine."
"A Celestial Dragon background, huh…" Garp muttered, then shot Sengoku a look of disdain. "The moment you hear 'Celestial Dragon,' you rush to cozy up, don't you? Shameless."
Sengoku immediately got irritated and snapped back, "Idiot! I'm trying to exert the Marine's influence over him—so that a talent like that doesn't end up becoming a puppet of the Celestial Dragons! You can't even understand something that simple?!"
"Hah? Don't make excuses! Sounds like you just want a fight, huh? Hypocrite Sengoku!" Garp fired back.
Watching the two start bickering again, Tsuru let out a weary sigh. She dropped the matter she had intended to discuss, ignored the two fools entirely, and turned to leave the admiral's office.
...
Read Advanced Chapters on : www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin
~ Every 100 PS = Bonus Chapter!
~ Push the Story forward with your [Power Stones]