Wasted Ship Island.
After seeing the Perfume Yuda off in the distance, Sephiroth turned around and walked towards Water 7.
However, from a distance, he heard Franky's noisy voice.
"This is great! Mr. Tom, this latest train engine we've completed will definitely run smoothly!"
Driven by curiosity, Sephiroth followed the sound.
In an open space surrounded by piles of scrapped ship parts, Tom, Franky, and Iceberg stood in front of a brand new silver train engine, laughing heartily.
"Hey! Kid, are you interested in seeing our newly finished train launch?"
Tom laughed and waved at Sephiroth, who didn't refuse and nodded in agreement.
Soon, with Tom's monstrous strength, the entire engine, weighing over a hundred tons, was lifted onto the tracks.
This time, Franky still volunteered to drive the train.
Choo choo choo...!
After a burst of engine roar, the train's iron wheels began to accelerate, running along the sea track, and it ran very fast, circling the sea track again and again. Franky poked his head out of the driver's cabin and shouted wildly:
"This is great, it's really running on the sea! This is great!!!"
"We succeeded! Mr. Tom!" Iceberg also said with excitement.
"Ahahaha! What a great car!"
Tom rubbed his round belly, laughing like a child weighing over five hundred pounds... Oh! No, over a thousand pounds...
Suddenly!
Splash-!
A huge body over twenty meters tall suddenly emerged from the sea, bringing up a large splash.
Iceberg looked at the mountain-sized red crab and immediately shrieked in surprise:
"It's a Sea... Sea King Crab!!! Run!!! Franky!!!"
"Help!!!"
Franky was so scared his face turned pale. He quickly jumped off the train.
The next moment.
The Sea King Crab waved its huge pincers, grabbed the sea train, and lifted it up.
"Let go of my masterpiece, you bastard!"
Seeing this, Tom's eyes widened in anger, and he roared. He grabbed a broken mast over ten meters long from the ruins and threw it with both hands like a javelin, "Whoosh!"
Boom!
With the terrifying force, the mast quickly pierced the Sea King Crab's body, causing it to fall straight backward.
"Phew! That's good."
After his outburst, Tom returned to his usual smiling, good-natured appearance, reaching out to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, which made Sephiroth's mouth twitch repeatedly, and he muttered in his heart:
Monster! You are even more terrifying than Sea Kings...
However, on second thought, the Fishman race is naturally strong, and their strength is ten times that of humans. It seems not surprising to have such exaggerated explosive power.
Finally, Sephiroth sighed softly in his heart:
I still have a long way to go to become the world's top expert!
The unlucky brat Franky, after climbing ashore from the sea, subconsciously roared at Tom:
"Mr. Tom, didn't you say the sound of the train could drive away Sea Kings?
Why did that Sea King Crab suddenly appear!!!"
Hearing this, Tom could only give an awkward chuckle:
"Ahahaha! Because this is a new engine, I haven't had time to equip it with the necessary devices..."
Seeing that Franky seemed about to explode, Tom quickly said:
"But don't worry, next time, I will definitely be prepared!"
"Tch! Next time, let Iceberg go! I'm not going."
Franky pouted, looking unhappy.
"You were the one who rushed to go..." Iceberg muttered.
"Kid, thank you!
Thanks to your design blueprints, the sea train project is now several years ahead of schedule! Hahaha!" Tom looked at the young man and sincerely thanked him.
"Well! I just did what I could!
I hope this sea train can be completed as soon as possible, so that this city can come back to life and no longer be as lifeless as it is now..."
After speaking, Sephiroth waved, turned around Chic ly, and walked away.
"What a cool guy!"
Franky subconsciously touched his nose, which Sephiroth had broken. The slight displeasure he originally felt towards the latter had now completely vanished.
...
At the edge of Water 7, the Navy Base.
In front of a building by the sea, two soldiers holding rifles and wearing Marine uniforms stood guard at the entrance, their figures standing straight.
In fact, to be precise, this should be a Marine logistics support point. Only over thirty Marines are stationed here. They are a unit specifically responsible for supplying and maintaining ships when warships dock...
As Sephiroth was about to enter the doorway, the two soldiers raised their rifles, forming a cross to block him. One of the young Marine soldiers with a mustache asked:
"Kid, what do you want to go in for?"
"I want to enlist in the Marine."
The mustached soldier first sized up Sephiroth before asking:
"How old are you?"
"Fourteen, almost fifteen."
"Your age is barely up to standard... Alright!
Go inside, turn right on the second floor, the third room. First, register for enlistment, and then go for a physical examination."
The mustached soldier lowered the rifle blocking the young man and gave him directions.
"Thank you!"
Sephiroth nodded, stepped into the building, and came to the enlistment room, in front of the desk of a young man with a beard and a Lieutenant's rank on his shoulder.
"I want to enlist in the Marine."
"Can you read?"
"Yes."
"Take this and fill it out."
The bearded man was expressionless, acting in a businesslike manner. He took out a form from the folder on the desk and handed him the pen on the desk.
Sephiroth looked at it and found that it was nothing more than a survey of conventional information such as name, home address, relatives, and family members.
However, in the last column, there was a different item...
"Do you have a Devil Fruit? Type... Species..." Sephiroth muttered softly.
Hearing this, the bearded man chuckled lightly and shook his head:
"Devil Fruits are treasures of the sea. They are something you can't find just anywhere, kid, so don't think too much about it.
If you are lucky enough to eat one, as long as the ability isn't too useless, you will basically be given priority training by us Marines. Your future rank will be at least a Colonel..."
"Oh! How is it prioritized training?" Sephiroth asked with interest.
"At least a guaranteed admission to Marineford Marine Academy, that's for sure...
Why are you asking so many questions?
Anyway, you don't have one..."
The bearded man stopped speaking halfway, apparently not wanting to talk about so many hypothetical things with the young man.
If Devil Fruits were that easy to obtain, he wouldn't have to work so hard, grinding in the Marine for several years, and only at the age of thirty, by accumulating seniority and giving gifts, did he finally become a Lieutenant, serving as a commander in this small, broken supply station.
"Who says I don't have one!
I just happened to eat a strange fruit, it should be a Bat-Bat Fruit, right?"
As he spoke, Sephiroth's body suddenly changed. His height instantly increased, fleshy wings grew on his back, his ears elongated, and his hands grew sharp nails.
Sephiroth felt it was harmless to voluntarily expose that he had eaten a Devil Fruit. Anyway, it would be exposed sooner or later.
If he hid it, and when the army training required him to fight in the sea, would he jump, or not jump...?
Therefore, it was better for him to show his extraordinary abilities early and get the opportunity for prioritized training.
"Gulp!"
The bearded man subconsciously swallowed and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
In fact, he had only heard about Devil Fruit users, but had never seen one with his own eyes. He didn't expect that he would actually encounter one now...
The bearded man reached out to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead and said with a wry smile:
"Alright! After you finish filling this out, go through the process and get a physical examination.
If my investigation and review show no problems with your personal information, you should be sent to the G3 Branch with other recruits for basic training in about seven days."
Sephiroth quickly filled out the form and, following the bearded man's instructions, went to the physical examination point in the building.
He wasn't too worried about the background check.
Although he had some contact with the Boa Sisters, the three girls are not well-known now, and he has never had any public contact with the Kuja Pirates. The Marine should not be able to find these...
The Marine can even let Vergo, a member of the Donquixote Family gang, become a Vice Admiral. It should be okay for him to go to the Marine Academy and gain some experience, right?
At worst, if he is discovered later, he will just pack up and leave...
The Marine's physical examination was simple, and they also did some physical fitness tests, which allowed Sephiroth to know his current general physical condition.
Normal state: height 165 cm, weight 50 kg, weightlifting 187 kg, grip strength 98 kg, 200 meters in 19 seconds...
Hybrid form: height 198 cm, weight 70 kg, weightlifting 373 kg, grip strength 220 kg, 200 meters in 13 seconds...
Overall, in a normal state, he was slightly stronger than an average adult. Only when he transformed into his vampire form did he surpass normal human levels...
However, there are too many superhumans in the One Piece World. Even Krieg, the East Blue admiral whom Luffy defeated when he first set sail, could easily swing a one-ton gun with one hand.
In the later stages, when Zoro trained daily, the weight of his dumbbells was calculated in tons, adding one ton after another...
Thinking this way, it seems he has only barely risen above the level of a normal grunt... becoming an elite grunt!