Hancock had been brimming with confidence, but reality proved to be cruel.
All fifty of the Kuja warriors had been eliminated. Not a single one of them had even made it into the top thirty-two in any of the events. The result left her utterly depressed.
Meanwhile, among those who placed in the top eight for physical combat, seven of them chose to pass on the Devil Fruits. They weren't fools; compared to a fruit that was garbage even by Zoan standards, the right to a limited selection of Devil Fruits in the future was far more valuable.
Consequently, the fruits weren't all claimed until the rankings shifted down to the twenty-seventh place. Perhaps those further down the list figured that even with a "future priority," there were nearly twenty people ahead of them—who knew how many years it would take for their turn to arrive?
They decided to take what was available now. Even if the fruits were trash—absolute bottom-of-the-barrel Zoans—the "trash" part referred to the specific ability, not the fruit itself.
Every Zoan-type fruit possessed an advantage that Paramecia-type and Logia fruits lacked: once eaten, they significantly enhanced the user's physical constitution. To those marines, it was a fair trade. Even if the ability was useless, they could treat it as a permanent physical buff.
The swordsmanship competition proceeded more smoothly. Once the rankings were settled, there were no disputes over the rewards. Zoro, who had recently broken through to the level of a master swordsman, secured first place and claimed the Great Grade sword.
Although it only barely qualified as a Great Grade and wasn't a Zanpakutō, it was still vastly superior to the two blades he currently wielded. Aside from the Wado Ichimonji in his mouth, his other swords were mediocre, ordinary blades.
Sean also gave Zoro an additional reward and a special mission. The reward was the same as Ace's: personal guidance from Rayleigh. While Rayleigh was a master of Haki, his swordsmanship was undoubtedly at the level of a Great Swordsman.
Normally, Rayleigh only gave a general Haki lecture to the formal marines every three days, spending the rest of his time sparring with Sean. This meant Zoro hadn't been receiving specialized instruction in the blade. With this new arrangement, Zoro could potentially reach the level of a Great Swordsman—with the physical strength to match—before they even set sail for the New World.
Sean wasn't worried about whether Rayleigh would be invested in teaching him. Zoro's talent was immense and his work ethic was legendary; Sean didn't believe Rayleigh could resist the urge to mold such a promising student.
As for the extra mission... if Zoro could break through to become a Great Swordsman within a year, Sean would reward him by forging a personalized Supreme Grade sword.
At this moment, Zoro had no idea that Sean's definition of a "Supreme Grade" sword differed greatly from his own. Through his reward multiplier, any blade that reached the Supreme Grade level was guaranteed to be a Zanpakutō. The sword he had just received was merely a standard Great Grade blade.
'''
After settling things with Zoro, Sean turned his attention to the other nine marines who had placed in the top ten for swordsmanship.
As he handed out their Skillful Grade Swords, the nine men were overwhelmed with excitement and gratitude, causing their loyalty to spike. Sean seized this moment to use his daily reward multiplier on their loyalty. While he didn't hit a massive jackpot, he still managed a 28x multiplier.
Even so, Sean remained cautious. When it came to the Zanpakutō, one could never be too careful. These men weren't primary characters from the original story; Sean didn't know them personally, nor could he fully gauge their temperaments or exact loyalty levels.
Therefore, despite the loyalty boost, Sean issued a secret order to Lucci: keep these nine men under strict surveillance for one year. If no issues arose after a year, they would become the first official members of the Zanpakutō squad.
As for the captaincy, that would depend on Zoro's performance. If Zoro failed to meet expectations, Kaku would take the role of captain with Zoro as his deputy. Kaku already possessed a Zanpakutō, had immense raw power, and was a skilled swordsman in his own right. Of course, if Zoro's growth over the next year met Sean's requirements, Zoro would lead the squad, freeing Kaku for other, more important assignments.
'''
That evening, just as Sean finished handling the aftermath of the branch competition, Hancock stormed into his office.
Sean handed some documents to Robin and looked up at Hancock. "Judging by your expression, you're angry?"
"We are already in 'such' a relationship, yet you dare keep secrets from me!"
"Uh... what exactly am I hiding?"
Internally, Sean was screaming: 'I'm hiding way too many things from you! You have to tell me which one first, or if I just start guessing, I'm bound to say something wrong! And what do you mean 'such a relationship'? Stop imagining things! At most... I just saw everything when I removed that Celestial Dragon brand, okay?'
"Then tell me," Hancock demanded, "what is going on with your marines?"
"Back in the Calm Belt, I didn't notice because they didn't fight directly, but during this competition... that level of physical strength is completely abnormal!"
"Some of them possess physical power that rivals a Marine Commodore or Rear Admiral. Even the weakest among them are easily on par with a Captain from Marine Headquarters."
'Right... it's that,' Sean thought.
Actually, if Hancock hadn't come to him, he was already planning to tell her. In the entire branch, the only person whose loyalty had reached the level of absolute, unwavering devotion was undoubtedly Hancock.
"I have a specially processed type of Sea King meat," Sean explained. "Eating a small amount every day allows for continuous and rapid physical improvement."
"As you've seen, some of my marines have only been with me for a little over a year, yet some have already reached nearly a thousand in Doriki. A year ago, the strongest among them didn't even have a hundred. I think you can figure out the effects of this special Sea King meat for yourself."
Hancock's eyes widened at Sean's words.
'Is it really that amazing?'
"Robin, make the arrangements," Sean commanded. "Provide Hancock with the No. 3 jerky based on the highest rank available in the branch. As for the Kuja warriors, provide them with standard Marine rations!"
"Yes, Vice Admiral!"
"Satisfied now?" Sean asked with a smile, looking toward Hancock.
"The highest standard... the same grade as yours?"
"Exactly. The same grade as mine—the best jerky we have, delivered daily."
The highest grade...
The same as Sean...
'Is this... a marriage proposal?'
Hancock, who had been fuming just moments ago, suddenly became bashful and fidgety.
Sean was completely bewildered.
'Don't tell me she's connecting this to a marriage proposal again?'
'Seriously, she can turn absolutely anything into a romantic overture...'
"Uh, Hancock, what I actually meant was that while it's true you'll receive the same supply as me under the branch's highest standard, but—"
"Enough! Do not say another word, for I understand perfectly!"
Blushing furiously, Hancock spoke in a shy, soft whisper before turning and fleeing the room as if she were being chased.
Sean desperately wanted to complain that he hadn't finished his sentence.
Yes, it was the same standard as his, but every field-grade officer and above in the branch received the exact same treatment!
Beside him, Robin, who had witnessed the entire exchange, was clutching her mouth, unable to stop giggling.
"Robin, it seems you've been in a much better mood lately. You're actually laughing again, aren't you?" Sean said, turning to her with a mock-stern expression.
"Sean, are you planning to punish me?"
"What? Are you scared too?"
"No, it's just... if you intend to punish me, today might be inconvenient."
'What on earth...?'
'Since when does the convenience of the recipient matter for a punishment?'
'What kind of logic is this?'
"You should know that women have those few days every month where things are quite inconvenient," Robin explained calmly. "Perhaps we could postpone my punishment by a few days?"
...
A while ago, after Sean shared his perspective on Ohara with her, Robin had been silent and withdrawn for some time.
He had completely forgotten about that.
Now that her spirits had recovered and she had fully let loose, it was clear that this woman was the ultimate tease of the 16th Branch.
He couldn't handle her. He really couldn't!
Time to get out of here!
Following in Hancock's footsteps, Sean made a hasty exit from the office.
He left Robin alone in the room, where she leaned against the desk, doubled over in laughter.