East Blue, Luo Town, Marine 19th Branch.
It was a battered little base, garrisoned by only a few dozen Marines who guarded more than ten surrounding islands.
On the drill field, a line of sweat-soaked youths undergoing Marine entry trials panted through the heat.
"Push-ups, one hundred!"
"Twenty laps around the field!"
"Single-rope climb, twenty times!"
…
Each test cycled through in turn. Anyone who failed was cut on the spot. Brutal, but efficient.
Over a hundred had signed up. By the end, only ten remained.
Karasaki Kei was one of them.
"Huff… huff…"
Kei gulped air and felt a rush of relief. Before crossing into this world, he'd been a top athlete. That foundation was the only reason he could stomach a trial this harsh.
Still, this was merely the branch's entry bar. In the original accounts, Marine Headquarters demanded far worse from ordinary soldiers: two thousand two-finger push-ups daily, two hundred laps a day, a hundred rope climbs then full-contact sparring until you collapsed.
Even so, a grin tugged at his mouth. Once he joined the Marines, the System would start dispensing rewards. How could he not grow strong?
When he arrived in this world, a Strongest Marine System had bound to him for no reason at all, and today he had come to enlist solely to activate it.
Honestly, he'd dreamed of being a freewheeling pirate. Rules and red tape weren't his style.
The System had other plans.
After he completed onboarding and became a bottom-rung choresman, a chime rang in his mind.
DING!
"Congratulations, Host, for joining the Marines. Reward: Devil Fruit Ability Extraction Card ×1, Rokushiki Soru (Shave)."
"Devil Fruit Ability Extraction Card? What is that supposed to be?"
He knew Rokushiki, but he'd never even heard of such a card.
"Reply to Host: The Devil Fruit Ability Extraction Card lets you extract a Devil Fruit ability from a target and make it your own. The extracted ability has no side effects."
Kei's eyes lit up.
A Devil Fruit power without the curse of seawater? That was downright broken.
"But this tiny branch… does anyone here even have a Devil Fruit ability I can extract?"
He shook his head.
"Even if there is, it won't be anything special. I'll stash this card for now and wait for the right target."
What he longed for most were the apex abilities the Quake-Quake Fruit, the Ope-Ope Fruit, and the devastating powers wielded by the three Admirals.
Especially those Logia-type fruits. They were hailed as the strongest class, offering terrifying power and elementalization both overwhelming in a fight and a lifesaver when cornered.
"Should I go for the Glint-Glint Fruit, the Magma-Magma Fruit, or the Ice-Ice Fruit?"
The choice made his head spin.
He wanted them all, of course. The card could only extract from one target.
"Right, System how do I trigger the next reward?"
"Reply to Host: Promotion within the Marines grants rewards. For example, when the Host advances from choresman to Third-Class Seaman, you will receive a new reward."
"Perfect. Even if I don't have a Fruit power yet, with Soru alone I can climb from choresman to Third Class, Second Class, maybe even First Class without breaking a sweat."
He could practically feel the ladder under his feet.
Never mind First Class once he got going, Corporal, Sergeant… all within reach.
Just thinking about the string of rewards ahead filled him with momentum.
Counting Marine ranks, there had to be a dozen chances to cash in.
If the first reward was already a god-tier Extraction Card, what would the later ones be?
This wasn't bluster. The Strongest Marine System might really make him the strongest Marine.
Over the next week, Kei learned the rhythms of the 19th Branch and settled in fast.
Their previous commanding officer had been killed by the Black Cat Pirates, so the branch was temporarily under a Lieutenant Colonel named Karl.
Whether it was the shadow of his predecessor's death or simple cowardice, Karl issued a sweeping order: patrols were restricted to Luo Town only. No excursions beyond the harbor. Do not provoke powerful pirate crews. All policies would be revisited once the new commanding officer arrived.
Kei was speechless.
From choresman to Third Class, there were only two routes: toil for a year or earn enough merit.
And Marine merit mostly came from hunting pirates.
If they weren't allowed to leave town, where was he supposed to earn it? Work himself ragged for a year first?