Time flew by.
Two months had passed in the blink of an eye. Today marked the very first graduation assessment for the new recruits of the Marine 16th Branch.
"The recruit assessment begins now! The first item is the Doriki test. A Doriki of 300 is required to pass. Those who fail will be sent back to the training camp to continue their studies and may retake the exam in three months."
"Begin!"
Standing on the parade ground, Sean announced loudly to the nearly two hundred recruits gathered below.
Upon hearing this, some recruits wore expressions of absolute confidence, while others looked incredibly nervous. Despite the supply of Type One Jerky, not everyone could reach a Doriki of 300 after three months of training.
Soon, under the leadership of Ain and three other instructors, the recruits were divided into four squads. They formed neat lines in front of the four Doriki detectors stationed throughout the branch.
"Recruit Abu, Doriki 268. Fail!"
"Recruit Ketra, Doriki 337. Pass!"
"Recruit Sido, Doriki 301. Pass!"
"Recruit..."
The voices of the Marines assigned to the assessment rang out continuously. With every call, some recruits cheered in excitement while others slumped in disappointment.
Eventually, it was Ace's turn in one line, and Sophia's turn in another. At this moment, even the branch's field-grade officers began to pay close attention. They had already heard rumors about Ace and Sophia.
Furthermore, once the recruits entered active service, they would be assigned to various units. Whether it was the intelligence department or the company commanders of the various combat sequences, everyone wanted talent.
However, they were destined to be disappointed, for Sean had already planned exactly where Ace and Sophia would go.
'Boom!!'
'Boom!!!'
Two successive loud crashes drew everyone's attention to the Doriki scales.
"Recruit Ace... Doriki... 'hiss'... 827! Pass!"
"Recruit Sophia... Doriki... 611! Pass!"
For a moment, the parade ground was filled with the sound of audible gasps. These numbers were simply too exaggerated. Even the members of CP9 found it somewhat unbelievable.
In the original timeline, two years later, the four weaker members of CP9 had Doriki values between 600 and 800, excluding Lucci, Jabra, and Kaku. In other words, based on Doriki alone, Ace could already rank fourth in CP9. While Sophia's score was lower, she was already on par with the weaker four.
Considering Sophia had been nothing more than an ordinary village girl six months ago, this was utterly absurd!
Standing to the side, Lucci looked as if this were only natural. He knew exactly what caused this result.
Regarding those strange, special Sea Kings—he didn't know how the Commodore did it, but every time he went to the Calm Belt, Sean always managed to find them. That was the reason everyone's strength was skyrocketing.
And that was only with Type One Jerky!
The main combat force of the branch—people like him—were now eating something far more terrifying: Type Two Jerky.
A few days ago, Fukuro had tested Lucci's Doriki. Since the Doriki detectors had a limit to what they could withstand, Lucci feared he would blow the machine to pieces with a single strike. Each machine cost tens of millions of Belly; they were incredibly expensive.
Thus, Lucci had to be tested by Fukuro. The result... had nearly exceeded the endurance of Fukuro's combined Rokushiki mastery.
A Doriki of 4,200!
He was even stronger than the Lucci from two years into the original story. And this was without Lucci even using Armament Haki. If he had... he probably would have beaten Fukuro to death in one hit.
The other former CP9 members were the same; their strength was advancing by leaps and bounds. Sean had even applied a loyalty reward multiplier the first time they ate Type Two Jerky and felt their power surge. The result had been a massive 88x multiplier.
Consequently, it wasn't just Lucci—the loyalty of the other six toward Sean had soared linearly. If there were a numerical display, they would all likely be above 90.
"I'll take that Ace!"
"Get lost! You already have Gin. Give Ace to me; I'll let you have Sophia at most!"
Hearing Kaku's words, Jabra couldn't sit still. According to the current branch organization, there were two combat groups in the East Blue that took turns sailing to strike pirates, commanded by Kaku and Jabra respectively.
Jabra had been dissatisfied for a long time. Kaku had Gin, who possessed great strength and talent, while Jabra's subordinates were all ordinary Marines. Now that a talent like Ace had finally appeared, Kaku wanted to snatch him?
This was too much, you long-nosed idiot!
"Shut up, both of you. The assessment isn't over yet!"
Hearing the argument behind him, Lucci turned and barked at them to stop.
Sean, meanwhile, watched with interest as a certain Marine approached the detector.
Nami!!
"Recruit Nami, you may begin!" the Marine holding the score sheet announced.
"Okay!"
'Boom!!'
Using all her strength, she threw a punch into the detector. The Doriki scale immediately provided the result.
Doriki: 199.
...
To date, the lowest score of all the new recruits. Looking at her result, Nami's face was filled with disappointment.
"Recruit Nami, Doriki 199. Fail—"
"Wait a moment!"
"Commodore?"
"Let her test again!"
Sean's words left everyone bewildered. If she had been close to 300, a re-test would be reasonable—perhaps she just didn't perform her best the first time. But 199...
The gap was too wide. Even if she tested ten more times, it wouldn't make a difference.
"Just do as I say!"
"Yes, Commodore. Recruit Nami, begin!"
At this moment, Nami's emotions were complicated. She wondered if Sean was disappointed in her. As a result, her state of mind during this punch was even worse than the first.
The field-grade officers on the main platform noticed this as well; this result would definitely be lower. As expected, the gap was too great. Even with an extra try, it was impossible.
But in the next instant, everyone was stunned.
Just as Nami began to swing her fist, Sean suddenly shouted:
"Nami! Ace stole all the Belly you've been hiding!"
'What the hell?!'
Ace, in particular, had just secured the top score and was currently bragging to the other recruits who had passed the assessment. He froze in utter confusion the moment he heard Sean's shout.
'When the hell did I steal Nami's money?'
While everyone else was still reeling, the look of disappointment and insecurity on Nami's face vanished in an instant. Like a wild beast unleashed, her eyes turned bloodshot with rage. Her anger had reached its breaking point!
"Ace, you bastard!"
With a guttural scream, she unleashed a devastating punch.
'KABOOM!!!'
The moment the blow landed, Nami spun around and charged toward Ace in a murderous fury.
From the Marine recording the scores to the recruits watching from the sidelines, and even the field-grade officers on the main podium... everyone collectively gulped. They were genuinely terrified.
Because... Nami had completely demolished the Doriki tester with a single strike, leaving it in a heap of scrap.
"Commodore... how are we supposed to score this?"
The Marine trembled, holding the scorebook in one hand and a pen in the other, having absolutely no idea how to record such a result.
Meanwhile, from a far corner of the training grounds, Ace's agonized screams began to echo.
"Recruit Nami: First assessment—Pass!" Sean announced loudly from the podium.