Blueno's words left everyone stunned.
They looked toward the training grounds and realized he was right. Every single one of Kalifa's kicks was aimed squarely at Nami's face. If anyone tried to claim there was no grudge here, no one would believe them!
What on earth was going on?
After a full minute, Kalifa finally stopped. Nami, on the other hand, was gasping for air, completely exhausted. If this had continued any longer, she feared she would have collapsed.
Kalifa wore a look of slight disappointment, but she quickly turned her gaze to Nami.
"Why did you learn Kami-e first when studying Rokushiki?" Kalifa asked, genuinely curious.
As for the chatter among the Marines about whether women found it easier to learn Kami-e—that was utter nonsense. Was she supposed to believe she was a man?
Hearing Kalifa's question, Nami paused to think. She then looked up and said with a completely serious expression, "Because I'm weak!"
"I had to learn the move that could protect me the most first, right?"
At that moment, the surrounding recruits, who had been eavesdropping with curiosity, all seemed to stagger back in shock.
Kalifa was equally speechless. "That's your reason?"
"Yeah!"
"Fine... Congratulations, you've passed the second round of the assessment!" Kalifa sighed in exasperation and announced the result.
"Yay!"
'''
In the end, of the 128 recruits who participated in the second round, only 78 passed. Another 50 were sent back to the Elite Training Camp.
Then came the third round of the assessment.
Unlike the previous rounds, the third round wasn't about whether they could graduate; it was about the starting point for every recruit once they entered active service.
Currently, the 16th Branch consisted of one Commodore, one Captain, two Commanders, four Lieutenant Commanders, ten Lieutenants, twenty Lieutenant Junior Grades, and seventy Ensigns.
Indeed, among the hundred Marines currently at the branch, the lowest rank was Ensign. This was because they possessed the strength, and Sean had led them to wipe out several pirate crews. Subsequently, Jabra and Kaku had taken turns leading sweeps at sea.
Then there were the two incidents involving the Donquixote Family. Consequently, after more than half a year, it hadn't been difficult for them to be promoted to company-grade officers.
As for the 78 graduates of this batch, Sean intended to place them all at the NCO level based on their assessment scores, rather than starting them as Seamen.
Among them, there were eleven slots for Chief Petty Officer, twenty-seven for Master Chief Petty Officer, and forty for Petty Officer.
The purpose of the third round, to put it bluntly, was that strength was everything. The stronger you were, the higher your rank.
If you secured a Chief Petty Officer slot, you could even choose to challenge the branch's company-grade officers. If you won, congratulations—you would immediately become a company-grade officer in the Marine.
As for field-grade officers, they could forget about it; they would have to climb the ranks slowly through military merit. Aside from Ace, who could rely on his Logia ability to cheat his way up, it was practically impossible for anyone else.
The recruits were incredibly enthusiastic about the third round. The eleven who secured the Chief Petty Officer slots all chose to challenge the company-grade officers. After all, even if they lost, they would remain Chief Petty Officer, so there was no real risk. But if they won...
Speaking of which, the hundred company-grade officers at the branch were currently trembling with apprehension.
Logically, they shouldn't have been afraid of a bunch of recruits. But the problem was that three of these recruits were genuine threats.
The first was Ace. With a Doriki value over 800, mastery of three Rokushiki techniques, and the powers of a Logia user, it was practically bullying.
The second was Sophia. Her Doriki exceeded 600, higher than most of the existing officers, and she had mastered Kami-e. While not as monstrous as Ace, she was still a nightmare for anyone she faced.
The last one was Nami. On the surface, Nami didn't seem threatening at all, but the image of her smashing the Doriki tester with a single punch had left a psychological scar on everyone.
'If I get hit by one of those punches, I'll probably be sent to heaven on the spot,' was the collective thought of every Marine.
In a way, the pressure Nami exerted was even greater than that of Ace. As for the other recruits, the officers didn't care about them; they could be handled easily.
In the end, both Ace and Sophia successfully seized the rank of Lieutenant. The only difference was that Ace won easily, while Sophia had to fight a grueling battle for several minutes before claiming victory.
Thus, the number of Lieutenants in the 16th Branch increased from ten to twelve. While the two defeated Marines didn't lose their ranks, being beaten by a recruit was, after all, quite embarrassing.
Then it was Nami's turn.
To everyone's surprise, she only challenged one Ensign—and she specifically picked the weakest one among the hundred.
Nami was very self-aware regarding her strength. Had the others not all chosen to challenge, she wouldn't have even considered it. After all, those Ensigns had at least 400 Doriki, while she hadn't even reached 200. What was the point of fighting?
However, Ace felt that it would be far too embarrassing if he were the only one getting beaten up by Nami. Naturally, he wanted the veterans to share the experience.
So, before Nami took the stage, he ran up to her and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Nami, this guy is the one who tricked me into stealing your Belly, and he swallowed all of it himself! He didn't leave me a single cent!"
Since the assessments had started early in the morning, Nami hadn't had a chance to return to her dorm to check if her Belly had actually been stolen.
The next moment, Nami's expression shifted violently as she looked at the Ensign on the stage. A murderous aura emanated from her, and her eyes once again took on the look of an enraged beast.
Two minutes later...
The 16th Branch now had its second recruit with a face swollen like a pig.
Every veteran who saw how Nami fought trembled in fear. This little girl was too brutal. Thankfully, she hadn't picked them.
Finally, the day's assessments came to an end.
The branch gained two new Lieutenants and one Ensign, while the remaining 75 were NCOs. Although less than half had successfully passed, Sean was still very satisfied with the result.
He knew that in three months, the remaining recruits would all pass as well.
It was time... to begin the second round of recruitment. After all, there were still 200 vacant positions in the organizational chart.
But before that, the branch needed to stir up some trouble and increase its reputation to lay a solid foundation for the second recruitment drive.
'''
Branch Commander's Office.
"According to the branch's plan, the second recruitment drive will take place in one month. To ensure its success, Lucci, Jabra, and Kaku will each lead a squadron of Marines, departing on three separate warships."
"Kalifa, Kumadori, Fukuro, and Blueno—you will provide real-time intelligence support for the three of them. I want you to put your established intelligence networks into full operation."
"Additionally, I have already reached an agreement with Morgans; he is permitted to send three reporters to accompany the fleet and document the entire operation."
"The reporters will arrive at the branch in two days, and you will set sail immediately after. Is that understood?"
For the sake of the second recruitment drive, Sean had decided to thoroughly establish the branch's reputation throughout the East Blue. That was the primary objective of this mission. To achieve this, Sean had gone so far as to contact Morgans and arrange for journalists to follow the journey.
Morgans had naturally agreed with enthusiasm. After all, if handled correctly, this would turn into a series of highly sensational feature stories.
Their interests aligned perfectly.
"Understood!"
"Good. Now, dismissed. Go and prepare."
"Yes, Commodore!"