Once Orion took his seat at the desk, Aramaki and Issho immediately straightened up, awaiting his instructions.
Orion casually picked up Aramaki's file and said leisurely, "According to the records, you took out three pirate ships belonging to the Ed Pirates on your way to Marine Headquarters."
"Yes, Fleet Admiral!" Aramaki raised his head proudly. "The Ed Pirates have long been attacking merchant ships in the South Blue. Their crimes are unforgivable. I eliminated them all—left no survivors!"
At this point, Aramaki suddenly took a step forward, raising his voice.
"Fleet Admiral, I have a question. Regarding the elimination of the Ed Pirates, do I qualify for the Four Great Military Exploits—First Ascent, Breaching the Formation, Slaying Generals, and Seizing the Flag?"
Hearing this, Orion chuckled. "What, already asking for merits?"
"No!"
Aramaki stood tall and declared with righteous fervor, "This is not about seeking credit, but rather, I wish to assume my duties as soon as possible and pledge my loyalty to you, Fleet Admiral!"
"Then let me witness your loyalty!"
Orion took out an appointment letter from his drawer and swiftly signed his name on it.
"Though you were not a Marine when you took down the Ed Pirates, anyone who fights for justice deserves recognition. Moreover, your act of justice was carried out while en route to enlistment. Therefore, I grant you the Four Great Military Exploits!"
With that, Orion handed the appointment letter to Aramaki.
"Welcome to Marine Headquarters, Rear Admiral Aramaki!"
"Rear... Rear Admiral?"
Aramaki was momentarily stunned.
He hadn't expected that securing all Four Great Military Exploits at once would earn him an exceptional promotion to Rear Admiral.
His expression turned slightly dazed.
"What?" Orion looked up at him. "Not satisfied?!"
"N-no!"
Aramaki snapped back to attention, his eyes burning with zeal.
"It's just that I never expected such happiness to come so swiftly. Thank you for your promotion and trust, Fleet Admiral! Rest assured, I will defend the Marines' justice with my life!"
Orion nodded with a faint smile. "Choose a codename for yourself. It's a tradition here at Marine Headquarters."
"Codename?"
Aramaki thought for a moment before decisively answering.
"Ryokugyu!"
Hearing this, Orion's eyes narrowed slightly.
Clearly, even though his arrival in this world had caused Aramaki to appear earlier, the man hadn't deviated from his original path—choosing "Ryokugyu" as his codename instead of something like "Yellow Bull," "Blue Bull," or "Red Bull."
Suppressing his thoughts, Orion spoke calmly, "Though you've been promoted to Rear Admiral, training is still mandatory before your official appointment. However, you won't need to undergo basic training. Report directly to the Officer Training Camp."
"Yes, sir!"
Aramaki saluted again. "I take my leave."
But after taking only a few steps, he suddenly turned back.
"Fleet Admiral, I have one more request. After completing the Officer Training Camp, may I personally select my subordinates? On my way here, I encountered some young men and women who, when faced with pirates, chose to fight rather than flee. I wish to have them assigned under my command."
Orion nodded without hesitation.
"Granted."
"Thank you, Fleet Admiral!"
Aramaki saluted once more before rushing out, he was overjoyed.
As he stepped out of the Headquarters building, the group of young men and women who had traveled with him on the same merchant ship eagerly gathered around.
"Aramaki-san, did the Fleet Admiral grant you all Four Great Military Exploits?"
"Tell us, what reward did the Fleet Admiral give you?"
Looking at the excited young recruits waiting below, Aramaki proudly held up his appointment letter.
"From now on, you will address me as Rear Admiral!"
"Wow—"
"Rear Admiral? How many ranks is that at once?"
"Wait, the Fleet Admiral actually rewards military exploits? Long live the Fleet Admiral!"
"What kind of nonsense is that? How dare you doubt the Fleet Admiral?"
"Don't twist my words! The Fleet Admiral is my idol! I just didn't expect him to promote Aramaki-san to Rear Admiral right away!"
Aramaki stopped the crowd from continuing their antics and waved his hand grandly while saying.
"Before this Rear Admiral heads off to the officer training camp, I'll treat everyone to a meal. Once the officer training is over and I return, you'll all be following me."
*****
In the Fleet Admiral's office.
Orion picked up Issho's file and skimmed through it, his brows gradually furrowing.
Like Aramaki, the merchant ship accompanying Issho was also attacked by pirates along the way.
Unlike Aramaki, Issho didn't annihilate all the pirates attacking the merchant ship—he merely sank their vessel.
Of course, that wasn't the main point.
The key issue was that after reviewing only Aramaki and Issho's files, he discovered both had encountered pirate attacks during their journeys.
It wasn't hard to imagine others might have faced similar assaults, with some possibly meeting tragic fates along the way.
This mean that despite his pirate execution order in the East Blue, despite the Warlords bowing their heads and despite Kaido and Charlotte Linlin being eliminated, it hadn't done much to deter the lawless pirates infesting the seas.
If anything, it might have emboldened them further.
Standing nearby, Gion noticed something amiss.
As Orion stared at Issho's file lost in thought, she tentatively called out, "Fleet Admiral?"
"Gion, your work has been lacking!"
Orion closed the file, his expression grave.
"Both Aramaki and Issho encountered pirates on their way to Marine Headquarters. It's reasonable to deduce others may have faced similar threats. Investigate this immediately and notify Headquarters and all major branch offices to deploy warships for patrols along critical routes in their respective waters, ensuring the safety of personnel traveling to Headquarters and branches."
"Additionally, any pirate crews that attacked merchant ships carrying recruitment candidates during the enlistment period must be hunted down and eliminated."
"Yes, sir!"
Gion didn't hesitate, immediately turning to leave.
This was indeed an oversight in their duties.
Even after seeing the records in Issho and Aramaki's files, their focus had remained solely on the two men's abilities, overlooking this crucial detail.
"Issho, can you answer me one question?"
Without watching Gion depart, Orion immediately turned to Issho.
"According to the records, during your journey here, you only sank the pirate ship attacking the merchant vessel rather than eliminating all the pirates aboard!"
"Was this to avoid excessive bloodshed, or was there another reason?"
Issho nodded slightly in explanation.
"The situation was unusual at the time. I couldn't guarantee everyone's safety on board—the only solution was to sink the pirate ship and use that opportunity for the merchant vessel to accelerate away."
"Is that so?" Orion's brow furrowed slightly. "With your abilities, you could have easily followed the sinking with a meteor strike using your Gravity powers, ensuring no pirates survived floating in the water. If any lived, passing merchant ships might suffer their retaliation!"
"Before becoming a Marine, you could act as you pleased. But now that you've joined our ranks, such behavior cannot happen again!"
"Whether to spare them is God's business. As Marines, we have only one duty—to send these wicked pirates to meet their Maker!"
At this point, Orion's tone suddenly softened considerably.
"Though your sense of righteousness isn't particularly useful in these chaotic times, the post-chaos era will need virtuous men like you to restore order. Therefore, I'll exceptionally promote you to Rear admiral. Don't disappoint me!"
Before the words had fully left his mouth, Orion retrieved another appointment document from his drawer and signed it.
His previously stern expression melted into a warm smile as he said.
"Like Aramaki did before attending officer training camp, why don't you choose a codename for yourself?"
After brief consideration, the man replied straightforwardly.
"Fujitora."
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