|Captain Brutus|

"Fire!"

I can hear the sound of an explosion happening as our ship fires a hail of cannonballs at the pirate coming at us. I grunt a little when I see a group of bubbles appear and intercept the cannonball. Dammit. A Devil Fruit user, huh?

We cannot attack them from a distance. It will only waste cannonballs. Tch. I hate using boarding tactics. I look to the sky and see the wind on our side. Dammit.

"Raise the sail! We will board them!"

"Yes, sir!"

Our ship continued to sail at the enemy, who decided to stop and wait for us. They are really confident about their strength, huh? If they are a new pirate, that will be good. If they are old ones? We might have a problem.

Our crew is only seventy men, and twenty of them are new recruits. Therefore, we did not have enough strength to fight a hundred or so pirates, at least the ones who had Devil Fruit on their ship.

"Captain! We got some bad news!"

"What?"

"They are not alone!"

"What?!"

It takes the telescope and looks at our enemy. I can see a massive bubble slowly pop up and reveal another ship behind the first one. After the bubbles disappear, both of the ships move toward us.

"Sir! What should we do?!"

"Fight! We cannot go back! The wind is against us. Prepare to fight! All men take out your weapons!"

I take out my saber and push my haki into my sword. My enemy is the Devil Fruit user, and Haki is a must.

After a few minutes of sailing, both ships met head-on. When both our ships are side-to-side, I can see a line of gunners greeting us. I can see a sick man behind the line of gunners smiling at me.

"Precious light, be our armor to protect us! Protect!"

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

I saw a large amount of smoke coming from the enemy ship, and I prepared to kill as many pirates as I could before dying. However, to my surprise, no blood was coming out of my body. I look at my back and see Yuuji's body glowing as if there is a shield of light around us.

Heh. Good lad. It looks like I hit the jackpot.

"Charges!"

At my command, the veteran on my ship quickly jumped toward the enemy ship. My main target is the Devil Fruit user who is firing his pistol at me. I effortlessly dodge the bullet and thrust my sword forward.

"Ha! My bubble will catch your attack, fools!"

He used his power to take away my sword but sadly for him, I have Haki. I swing down my sword and pop his bubble with ease.

"WHAT?!"

Without giving him a chance to move, I appear in front of him and behead him. Then, after killing their captain, I go to the other pirate and continue to cut my way around them.

After fighting for fifteen minutes, the second ship managed to break away and sail away from us.

I look around and see my men drenched in blood. I look at the pile of bodies we left behind, and there is also a pile of bodies on our ship. I get back to my ship and look at the new men panting after fighting.

I nod my head in pride, for they are not running away and continue to fight. My eyes land on Yuuji, who is busy healing the one who is injured.

"Recruit Yuuji!"

"Captain?"

"Meet me in my office after you finish."

"Yes, sir!"

I need to clean myself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Forty men were heavily injured, with another ten having small to midsize wounds. Only the one following the captain did not have any injury, and the one at the back used their rifle and flintlock.

"Men!"

I look at the captain standing in the middle of the ship.

"Today, you experienced your first battle. This is just one of many fights that soon we will experience in the future. Our journey will be hard but you don't need to worry about your life because the Marines will compensate you greatly for your service. We have almost arrived at our destination and when we arrive in the Conomi Islands, you will have three days off and a bonus from the HQ."

I can see the other smile when they hear they have break time and bonus from the HQ. I guess I can understand why. A warm bed is something I want as well because, after a week on the sea, I miss a normal bed.

"Yuuji."

"Sir?"

"Meet me in my office when you are done."

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry for not quickly answering your call, sir. There are too many injured men."

"No. Take your time. I will wait."

"Of course."

~Five minutes later~

After healing all the men, I arrive in front of the captain's office and knock on the door.

"Come in"

I open the door and see Captain Brutus sitting behind the desk, and standing next to him is a beautiful woman in her thirty or maybe late twenty.

"Ah, Yuuji! You are here, good. Please take a seat."

I nod my head and take a seat in front of the captain.

"I hear from my Lieutenant that you fight bravely. You use your clone to heal the other people while also fighting and defending the other. Because of your brave action, the other recruits survive and get an experience that they can learn from."

"It was nothing, sir."

"Hmmm. You are not big-headed, good. This will make rewarding you easier."

"Rewarding me, sir?"

"Aye. You massively contribute to the fight. If not for you, many of this crew will be dead. Your shield manages to block all the bullets and gives us an opening to attack the pirate. Your healing also makes sure the others survive to see the other days. Because of this, I will promote you to a Warrant Officer."

"Pardon me?"

"Hahahahaha! You did not need to be so shocked. If you tell the officer that enlist you here that you are a doctor, you will be at least be put as a Lieutenant Junior immediately and combine it with your Devil Fruit? You will be a Lieutenant when you officially join the Marines. You will be trained by one of the Rear Admiral and will be promoted to Commodore in a month if you show promise in your assignment."

"I see."

"Do you regret it? Do you regret not telling the officer about your ability?"

"No, sir. I always want to start from the bottom. I don't think I will be ready to have that high ranking. I want to have some experience first."

"Good! Here"

The captain took some clothes from his drawer and gave them to me.

"These are your new uniforms. I will inform the others about your promotion."

"Thank you, sir."