Ace slowly stirred awake, staring blankly up at the sky. He let out a heavy sigh.
He had thought that by becoming a Logia ability user, he could finally rise above his status and take control of his own destiny. But as it turned out...
Well, it seemed he had been overoptimistic. For the foreseeable future, he would still be bowing before Sean's overwhelming authority.
"Well? Convinced yet?"
"I told you long ago that being a Logia doesn't make you invincible. Stop being so overconfident," Sanders said as he approached Ace. "If you rely too heavily on your Devil Fruit ability, you'll be fragile and helpless the moment you encounter an opponent who can counter you."
"Starting tomorrow, you'll begin learning the Six Powers under my guidance."
Ace jolted at the words. "Instructor Sanders, didn't you say before that my physical foundation wasn't strong enough?"
"Haven't you noticed that your physique has grown significantly over the past month?"
Ace paused, momentarily stunned. Now that he thought about it, that was true. He had felt the change himself, though he didn't know exactly how much he had improved.
Truth be told, the reason for his rapid growth was the Sea King jerky Sean had provided. Every time he ate it, he could feel his body becoming stronger.
Naturally, Ace had asked Sanders what exactly the meat was. Sanders had simply told him not to ask too many questions and that he should be grateful Sean was giving it to him.
In the entire training camp, aside from the five instructors, only two people were allowed to enjoy the Sea King jerky: Ace and Sophia.
However, Sophia's foundation wasn't as strong as Ace's. Although she was hardworking, her most recent Doriki test was only 107, while Ace had already reached 278.
While she lagged far behind Ace, Sophia was still incredibly powerful compared to the other recruits. Among the remaining two hundred or so new soldiers, the highest Doriki was only 27.
"So... I can actually learn the Six Powers now?"
"That's right. Go back and rest. Come find me tomorrow morning."
"Yes, Instructor Sanders!"
'''
In the blink of an eye, another month passed.
Today was a special day. The renovation of the 16th Branch was officially complete.
Mansour was currently leading Sean and a group of field-grade officers from the 16th Branch to conduct a final inspection of the fortress. The process lasted an entire day. Given the scale of the project, Sean and his officers had to inspect every single detail meticulously.
During the inspection, to test the strength of the outer walls, Sean had a battleship fire a direct cannon shot at the fortifications.
The result? The wall remained completely unscathed.
To achieve this level of durability, Sean had demanded that Mansour use only the finest materials for the outer walls. Consequently, Sean had shelled out an additional 300 million Belly.
Furthermore, when Sanders redesigned the training camp, he kept Sean's instruction—"don't worry about saving money"—firmly in mind, ensuring everything was built to the highest possible standards. This added another 200 million Belly to the cost.
As a result, the total cost of the project ballooned from 4 billion to 4.5 billion Belly.
When Morgans found out, he wrote a dedicated piece claiming that Sean treated Belly as if it were scrap paper. The project had started at 2 billion, jumped to 4 billion, and finally settled at 4.5 billion—all for a mere branch in the East Blue. It was, by all accounts, absurdly extravagant.
Nevertheless, a closed, circular oceanic fortress was an eye-catching feat of engineering. Many had already begun calling it the landmark architecture of the East Blue.
Of course, Sean had his own reasons for building such a fortress. Others might not understand the necessity right now, but they would soon.
'''
In the branch conference room.
"This month, Lieutenant Commander Kaku completed two sea patrol missions, wiping out five pirate crews in total. He killed 27 pirates and captured 47, seven of whom were bountied, with a total bounty value of 11.8 million Belly."
"Lieutenant Commander Jabra also completed two sea patrol missions, wiping out three pirate crews. He killed 39 pirates and captured three, four of whom were bountied, with a total bounty value of 5.8 million Belly."
Lucci recited the data effortlessly, without looking at any notes.
'My adjutant is truly impressive,' Sean thought, feeling very satisfied. However, his expression soon cooled.
"The efficiency is still too low. Lucci, how much longer until the intelligence department is fully operational?"
Clearly, Sean wasn't satisfied with the current results. It was understandable; without sufficient intelligence, sailing out into the ocean and relying on luck to encounter pirates was a difficult task.
"Commodore, developing external informants takes time, and the thirty recruits brought into the intelligence department need training. It will take at least another month before the system is initially operational."
Sean nodded. He knew this couldn't be rushed. Training intelligence officers was far more complex than training ordinary marines. Moreover, Kalifa and her team couldn't establish a network of informants overnight, especially since one of them had to stay at the branch to oversee the training of the thirty new intelligence agents.
"Understood. Hurry the intelligence department along. Next, the status of the recruits. Old man Sanders, your report."
"Yes, Commodore!" Sanders stood up immediately upon being called.
"The recruit training has been ongoing for three months. During this time, in addition to the physical training, we have been secretly observing their behavior as per the Commodore's suggestion. Out of the 229 recruits, 11 have been expelled. Adding the 19 selected by the intelligence department, we have 199 remaining."
"Can we be certain that the remaining ones have the correct values and loyalties?"
"Unless there is someone exceptionally skilled at hiding their true nature, we can be certain," Sanders replied cautiously.
"Fine. Starting tomorrow, distribute the No. 1 jerky to these recruits."
"Yes, sir. If we do that, we can expect a portion of them to master one or two techniques of the Six Powers within the next three months."
"Not enough."
Sanders froze. 'Not enough?'
Even in the Headquarters' Elite Training Camp, most people only mastered one or two techniques after three full years. The 16th Branch only had a six-month total training period!
"Old man Sanders, I have an idea. Listen to this first."
"First, the graduation exam for the branch training camp will now include the Six Powers. To graduate, every recruit must master at least one technique!"
"Those who fail the assessment will continue their studies at the training camp for another three months before being re-tested!"
"In total, there will be three attempts over the course of a year. Anyone who still fails after a year will be assigned to logistics duty at the branch!"
"Furthermore, all Marines in the combat roster—including those graduating from the training camp and the hundred Marines from Headquarters—will be divided into three groups."
"They will spend two months executing missions and one month returning to the training camp for advanced studies, rotating among the three groups!"
"This ensures that the training camp remains active, even when no new recruits are entering service!"
"Ultimately, my requirement is this..."
"In two years, every single Marine in the combat roster must completely master the Six Powers!"
'Is that... even possible?'
For a moment, everyone in the meeting room was stunned.
One had to realize that even at the Headquarters training camp, only a tiny fraction of students mastered all six techniques after three years. In some cohorts, if there were no exceptionally gifted individuals, there might not be a single person who achieved it.
Most importantly, those students were already the elite of the elite by the time they entered the Headquarters training camp.
Meanwhile, the Marines here at the branch had been nothing more than ordinary people three months ago.
But, if there were a steady supply of that special Sea King jerky...
'It might... actually be possible!'
And if they truly pulled it off...
In two years, including the new recruits brought in over time, they would have four to five hundred Marines who had fully mastered the Six Powers.
What a terrifying force that would be.
Even in the New World, such a power would be absolutely formidable.
"Commodore Sean, if the Type One Jerky..."
"I'll handle the issue of the Type One Jerky. Provided the supply is uninterrupted, do you think it can be done, old man?"
"If we can guarantee an uninterrupted supply for two years, there is a very good chance!"
After a brief moment of thought, Sanders gave a firm nod.
At that moment, a slight smirk played on Sean's lips.