"Today we have five classes in total: three in the morning and two in the afternoon," Dalmatian began, sweeping his gaze across the assembled students. "The morning classes are tracking and counter-tracking, physical training, and marksmanship. In the afternoon, we have world history and navigation theory."
"That's about it. Any questions?"
Dalmatian paused for a moment after speaking.
At that moment, a hand shot up from the crowd.
"Patrick? Go ahead," Dalmatian called, immediately naming the student who had raised his hand.
Rayk, watching from below, felt a twinge of surprise. Could Dalmatian really have memorized all the students' names in such a short time yesterday?
Patrick began to speak without hesitation.
"As far as I understand, isn't combat ability the most important factor in becoming a true Navy elite? Just like you, Teacher Dalmatian. When fighting a major pirate crew, you no longer rely on firearms, right? And world history and navigation theory have nothing to do with combat strength. I don't understand why we need to spend time on them."
"That's a good question," Dalmatian said, not only unbothered by the inquiry but actually pleased. He clapped lightly, then continued, "Let me ask you one of your parents must be a headquarters officer, correct?"
Patrick's pride showed clearly as he answered, "My father is Vice Admiral Randolph."
It was evident he spoke out of genuine pride, not to show off.
"Vice Admiral Randolph…" Dalmatian nodded thoughtfully. "Very well. I'll answer your question using your father's personal experience. Have you ever heard him mention the Black Mamba Pirates?"
Patrick thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yes. Father has told me about them more than once at home. Apparently, it was a ruthless pirate crew he faced back when he was a Navy Colonel. His success in eliminating the Black Mamba Pirates was what led to his promotion to Vice Admiral."
"Do you know how Vice Admiral Randolph actually destroyed the Black Mamba Pirates?" Dalmatian asked calmly.
"Well… I'm not entirely sure," Patrick admitted.
"That's okay. I happen to know the story, so I'll tell it to you," Dalmatian said. "The Black Mamba Pirates' captain was a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user. His Devil Fruit was the Snake-Snake Fruit, Black Mamba model. He excelled at taking on multiple opponents at once. The sheer number of ordinary Navy soldiers meant nothing to him. His battles with the Navy often resulted in heavy casualties among the lower ranks, which is why his bounty reached an astonishing 68 million berries."
Sixty-eight million berries?
The students gasped in astonishment.
Generally, pirates with bounties over fifty million berries are considered extremely dangerous, often on par with general-level threats. Any Marine Corps officer could handle them, yet Patrick's father was only a colonel at the time. And yet he managed to annihilate this fearsome pirate crew?
"Actually, Captain Black Mamba's combat strength was far below some pirates with bounties of fifty to sixty million berries. But his rebellious, cruel, and violent nature far exceeded what the bounty suggested," Dalmatian continued. "To eliminate the Black Mamba Pirates, sheer numbers were useless. Even if most of his crew were killed, Captain Black Mamba could still single-handedly fight off dozens of Marine Corps personnel. Therefore, decapitation was the only effective solution."
However, Captain Black Mamba had a knack for intelligence. Whenever a general-level officer attempted to pursue him, he would vanish, only reappearing after the storm had passed. Using his keen senses and cunning abilities, he frustrated every Marine officer until your father, then Colonel Randolph, appeared in person to confront him.
Hearing this, not just Patrick but all the students, including Rayk, were consumed by curiosity. They wanted to know exactly what had happened.
Naturally, Captain Black Mamba would have avoided a general-level officer at all costs. But Colonel Randolph was not within the range of his fear. Conflict was inevitable. In the initial confrontation, Randolph's subordinates suffered heavy losses. Facing Black Mamba's formidable abilities, many ordinary Marines were killed, and nearly half of Randolph's team perished.
"Under such circumstances, the normal course of action would have been to report back to headquarters, raise Black Mamba's bounty, and request a general-level officer to capture him."
Yet at the time, Randolph understood better than anyone that this apparently correct approach would not threaten Captain Black Mamba. By the time higher-ranking officers arrived, Black Mamba would have already disappeared to some remote corner of the sea, only reappearing once the danger had passed.
"The odds of killing Black Mamba using this method were almost nonexistent," Dalmatian said, his voice tinged with admiration. He then looked at Patrick. "You have to understand, your father was incredibly brave. Realizing that reporting this to headquarters would neither threaten Captain Black Mamba nor avenge his fallen subordinates, he made a bold decision to pursue the Black Mamba Pirates alone."
"What?" Patrick shouted in shock.
Listening to the story, he could completely put himself in his father's shoes. To pursue a pirate crew led by a ruthless captain with a bounty of sixty-eight million berries, all alone it was not something any ordinary colonel would attempt.
Not just Patrick, but all the students were stunned by Dalmatian's description.
To avenge his fallen subordinates, confronting a pirate crew that even many general-level officers could not handle, alone it seemed suicidal from any perspective.
Yet, considering Randolph survived and was promoted to Vice Admiral, his seemingly reckless act must have ultimately succeeded.
The question remained: how did he manage it?
Did his strength surpass even the level of a captain?
But if that were true, his men wouldn't have lost half their number in the initial clash. It didn't make sense.
"Yes. I believe you've already guessed the outcome," Dalmatian said calmly. "Vice Admiral Randolph ultimately accomplished what many general-level officers could not. He brought Captain Black Mamba's head back to Marine Headquarters, to console the spirits of his many fallen subordinates."