"He calls himself Crocodile, from the Grand Line. He heard that our training camp has an Admiral as an instructor, so he came to take a look."
"Came to take a look?"
"Yes, he didn't participate in the training camp selection. He said he didn't see an Admiral and felt he was deceived."
"Oh? He wants an Admiral to be his instructor?"
Listening to Anna's explanation, Kenji nodded slightly, feeling a bit amused.
"This kid, is he planning to directly apprentice himself to an Admiral?"
"Heh heh! Not old, but quite ambitious!"
For a teenager to want to apprentice himself to an Admiral, it's not just about how difficult it is, it's practically impossible.
Of course, this year, with former Admiral Zephyr transferring to be an instructor, it is possible to achieve the goal of apprenticing to an Admiral by entering Marine School.
It's just that Crocodile is too young, and entering Marine School won't be easy. What's more, he most likely doesn't have much intention of joining the Marine.
The training camp established by Kenji is relatively more free, with no requirement to join the Marine.
However, even so, some teenagers with impressive potential and talent, like Crocodile, still treated it cautiously and didn't directly participate in the selection.
"Not participating in the selection, and unwilling to leave directly, is he trying to confirm something with his own eyes?"
Kenji saw through the thoughts of Crocodile and the other talented teenagers, and walked straight over.
Before he even reached the spot, a mocking voice drifted over.
"Hmph! This so-called training looks like a bunch of kids playing games."
"Is this really a training camp built by the current Admiral?"
"Boring. It seems the Admiral's skill is nothing special."
Crocodile scanned the training ground, sneered, and gave his evaluation, then saw Kenji and his group approaching.
"What? Want to compete with me in marksmanship again?" Crocodile's youthful face showed disdain, and he casually drew the pistol from his waist.
The pistol spun rapidly in his hand, his movements fluid and practiced, clearly indicating he was a master of firearms.
Across the Marine ranks, the soldiers clenched their fists, their expressions annoyed, but they didn't speak up to refute him.
One Marine soldier stepped forward, raising his rifle, seemingly wanting to compete with Crocodile.
Suddenly, Crocodile, without warning, fired three shots in rapid succession.
The first shot forced the soldier's gun barrel downwards.
The second shot hit the rifle's trigger, causing the loaded bullet to fire into the ground.
With the third gunshot, the rifle had already fallen to the ground.
"Hmph! With this level of skill, you're not qualified to compete with me." Crocodile blew away the smoke from the gun's muzzle, his face full of arrogant sneers.
The soldier opposite picked up the fallen rifle, his face flushed, but he disciplinedly returned to his position without speaking.
The teenagers gathered near Crocodile couldn't help but laugh at the sight.
Kenji's eyes flashed, and a faint smile curved his lips. "Excellent marksmanship. To possess such marksmanship at this age, you can indeed be called a genius."
"However…"
He raised his hand to signal, stopping Marie, who was about to step forward.
Afterward, under the surprised gazes of Marie and the other Marines, Kenji walked towards the teenager opposite.
"Hmm? Another one?" Crocodile looked at Kenji approaching, noticing the coat he was wearing.
"Looks like he has some status. Is he a Marine officer?"
The arrogant teenager became interested, raised his hand, and quickly aimed his pistol.
Then, in the next moment, he found himself pressing an empty space. His pistol had vanished right before his eyes.
He hadn't even realized how his pistol haf disappeared, only knowing that when he saw his beloved pistol again, it had already appeared in the hand of the Marine officer opposite him.
"You dare…"
Crocodile suddenly erupted in rage, but his words abruptly stopped.
He saw Kenji's right hand slightly raised, pointing the teenager's own pistol, precisely aimed at the teenager's glabella.
"..."
Crocodile consciously raised both hands.
Kenji smiled slightly and pulled the trigger.
Bang!!
The smell of gunpowder instantly filled Crocodile's nostrils. His eyes widened, and a sudden sense of despair and powerlessness before death surged within him.
'Is this how despair feels right before death…?'
At this moment, he had accepted his death, but he didn't close his eyes. Instead, he kept them wide open, as if to witness the bullet striking his head with his own eyes.
However, just as his glabella was about to burst into a bloody bloom, the bullet suddenly stopped.
"This is…"
Crocodile strained his eyes to look at the center of his forehead, becoming 'cross-eyed'.
Then, he saw the bullet, which had been traveling at high speed, being held between two fingers, its casing even dented from the grip.
"Your marksmanship is good." Kenji smiled, withdrew his hand, and casually flicked the bullet away.
"But relying on external objects doesn't count as true strength."
Crocodile, who had just escaped from the brink of death, heard Kenji's words and stared in a daze.
It wasn't until the bullet hit the ground behind him that he was startled awake.
"You… are that Admiral Shirojishi? You must be!" Crocodile clenched his fists, his eyes filled with excitement.
"I want to join the training camp! I want to apprentice myself to you!"
Kenji shook his head at his words. "Want to enter the training camp? Go pass the selection first."
After speaking, he didn't care how Crocodile reacted, and turned to walk to the other side.
Crocodile watched Kenji's departing back, secretly gritting his teeth. "Is he looking down on me? Does he think I'm not qualified?!"
"Just you wait… One day, I will definitely make you acknowledge me."
Having made up his mind, he got up and went to find Anna to sign up for the training camp selection.
Kenji didn't look back, walking straight to the other side, finally stopping in front of a boy of around ten years old who wasn't very tall.
Like Crocodile, the boy had slicked-back hair. Although not tall, his eyes were as sharp as an eagle's, and an unopened wooden sword hung at his waist.
This time, Kenji recognized the boy's identity through those keen eyes.
"Dracule Mihawk!"