The next morning.
As dawn broke, the final rankings for this internship assessment were officially announced and posted on the wire mesh wall of the training ground.
New recruits, having received the news, continually arrived, eager to see their compiled performance data and rankings.
A large crowd gathered in front of the wire mesh, shoulder to shoulder. The ones who arrived late had to stand on tiptoe just to glimpse the posted list.
Fortunately, Shiryu and Rosinante were not among them.
They arrived quite late too, but their absolute advantage in height meant they didn't need to force their way in; standing at the outermost edge was enough.
"Rossi, Rossi, Rossi… Found it! Tenth place…"
After rummaging for a while, Rosinante finally found his rank: "Participated in 12 combat missions, defeated 375 pirates, cumulative bounty of 130 million Berries…"
He grinned happily. "Not bad, it's better than I expected! How about you, Shiryu?"
"Second."
Shiryu withdrew his gaze, his expression calm, as if he had expected it. "My monthly assessment results for the second month were completely deducted, otherwise the data would look even better."
The displayed statistics showed he had defeated 764 pirates, with a cumulative bounty of 220 million Berries.
Extremely impressive data. Even with a third deducted, he still firmly outranked Keisha in third place and Shia in fourth.
"As expected of you, Shiryu. You're already very strong."
Rosinante then looked at the top of the list. "As for first place… Hmm, it's Nao after all, isn't it? Participated in dozens of combat missions, defeated pirates in the four-digits, and his cumulative bounty is a full 312 million Berries."
"Wait, it seems like William's bounty wasn't included?"
Rosinante looked at Shiryu in confusion. "I thought it would be at least four or five hundred million, how is it only a hundred million Berries higher than yours?"
What do you mean 'only' a hundred million higher than me…?
Shiryu's eye twitched. He lit a cigar and said flatly, "Probably. After all, once someone becomes a Warlord of the Sea, their pirate bounty is cancelled, so it's normal that it wasn't included."
Speaking of which, he remembered the shock he felt not long ago when he learned through the newspaper that Nao had defeated a Warlord of the Sea… That guy hadn't even graduated yet, and he was already this strong.
The gap between him and us has truly widened. We're simply not on the same level anymore…
He exhaled a puff of smoke, then suddenly noticed Keisha beside him, squinting at them, her gaze peculiar, as if she was trying hard to hold something back.
Shiryu's eyebrow twitched slightly. He said displeasedly, "What? What's wrong?"
"You two… You're not nearsighted, are you?" Keisha said with a constipated expression. "If your eyes are fine, I suggest you two take another careful look at Nao's performance data."
What does that mean? Shiryu frowned, instinctively scanning it again—That's right, it's 312 million Berries. What is this guy talking about…? Hmm? It seems like something's off?
He carefully counted the number of zeros after the string of digits again, and his pupils immediately contracted, his face filled with disbelief.
At the same time, Rosinante beside him also finally discovered something was wrong.
"3,120,000,000 Berries?!!!!"
His eyes widened, and he cried out in alarm.
No way!Did I miss a zero between me and Nao? The cumulative performance data displayed on the list isn't three or four hundred million at all, but a full 3.1 billion Berries?This is simply too exaggerated…
His shocked cry caused many new recruits who hadn't noticed yet, or who had just arrived, to look up at the top of the list. After counting the digits in that long string of numbers, the entire training ground instantly erupted in an uproar!
"Hey, hey, hey, are you kidding me? Nao… the total bounty of the pirates he defeated is over three billion?!"
"Does that mean I don't even have a fraction of his? Damn it… Even the top twenty combined probably don't add up to that much, right?"
"Be confident, remove the 'probably'," a tall, burly recruit swallowed hard. "He's a monster… No, 'monster' can't even describe that guy anymore…"
—The Elite Camp has been operating for a full twelve years since the year 1490 of the Sea Calendar. Looking back at all previous years, has there ever been such a terrifying record?
Even Vice Admiral Sakazuki and Vice Admiral Borsalino, their combined performance during their probationary period wasn't this terrifying!
"So I'm just a fraction of him, huh…"
Shiryu took another deep drag from his cigarette, looking up at the sky, his face looking weathered.
"Who isn't, though…"
Keisha beside him also looked up, saying faintly.
A chorus of sighs and laments echoed in front of the wire mesh. Many who were deeply affected joined the two of them, sadly looking up at the sky in silence.
With the results of the previous two assessments, they had already accepted the gap between themselves and Nao. But this time, it was simply too ridiculous…
So.
When Nao, covered in sweat and a bit late, finally arrived at the training ground, what he saw was this scene of everyone collectively looking up at the sky.
What, did a Yonko just show up or something?
He followed their gaze towards the horizon, asking curiously, "What are you looking at? Why is everyone in this pose?"
The words had just left his mouth.
Swish, swish, swish!
Countless gazes instantly focused on him. Everyone squinted, their expressions incredibly complex…
Crunch!
Rosinante and Shiryu, one on each side, once again restrained Nao, saying fiercely: "Hey, you, how did you do it? Over three billion Berries in bounties?"
"With such exaggerated results, how dare you say on the warship that you might not be first?!"
"Excessive humility is really asking for a beating, you know? I actually believed you, you bastard Nao!"
Nao's head spun from being shaken. It took him a while to recover. He spread his hands innocently at the two of them:
"First place? I really wasn't sure before. After all, killing a Warlord of the Sea is a serious violation. I was even worried that Zephyr-sensei would deduct all my data and I'd end up last…"
"As for how I did it…"
He looked around and sighed. "Time is like water in a sponge; you can always squeeze some out. Everyone, I just used the time you spent sleeping to catch pirates."
Silence fell over the training ground.
The next instant, everyone exchanged glances, reached a silent agreement, and rushed forward, surrounding him, giving him a flurry of punches and kicks, gnashing their teeth as they said, "You're still being humble, you bastard!"
"Why are you becoming more and more punchable?!"
A moment later.
Everyone lay exhausted on the ground, panting, rubbing their sore and numb wrists.
Meanwhile, Nao stood blankly in the middle, perfectly fine, as if nothing had happened.
What was that about? Giving me a massage…?
"Did you train all night again? You were covered in sweat when I saw you coming over."
After their playful scuffle, Shiryu noticed his torn jacket, covered in sword marks, and asked curiously, "And you sparred with someone?"
"Something like that. Someone dragged me along to fight all night," Nao rubbed his cheeks, his face showing a hint of bitterness. "We still hadn't decided a winner by morning, and I was in a hurry to see the results, so I just conceded on the spot…"
He was purely bullshitting now, because after a night of intense fighting with Gion, the little rabbit's stamina was gradually giving out, and she was clearly at a disadvantage. At most, by noon, she would have been completely defeated.
But he couldn't help it; he had to save the proud little rabbit some face. Seeing the situation wasn't good, he immediately found an excuse to concede, and then, under her pouting glare, he bolted.
Was this perhaps his first defeat this year?Forget it.
Losing to his wife isn't shameful!
"Who else in the entire Elite Camp could fight you all night without a clear winner…?" Shiryu was even more curious, squinting at him with his cigar. "You, did you go to Zephyr-sensei for a sparring match?"
"It's not what you think… Ah, never mind, let's not talk about that."
Nao's expression was awkward. He chose to change the subject, clearing his throat. "Next week, I'm planning to apply for the graduation assessment and graduate with the previous batch. What about you two? Are you planning to?"