.

A couple of minutes later!

.

Fifty teenagers ranging from 15 to 18 years old could be seen standing in the training ground of Alshaw Island's Marine base. As their instructors hadn't arrived yet, most decided to start socializing.

'These are the people I will stay with for two years. I might as well get to know them earlier.' They thought as they started introducing themselves to each other and discussing. Although the Marines is a big organization, most people know each other. They either served on the same ship at one point, trained together as recruits, or fought together during harsh battles against pirates or malicious organizations.

Also, the idea of making connections in the Marines is deeply rooted, as it's been proven that the more people you know, the more likely you are to be saved when you fall into a pickle.

Let's take Commodore Stones as an example. A couple of years ago, he fought against Golden Lion Shiki on his first trip to the New World. That was the first time Stone felt like he would die for real. However, he got saved by Vice-admiral Tsuru's passing ship.

You might think, "Saving your fellow soldiers is a must." Well, that's true, in a utopian world, that is. If Tsuru wasn't aware of Stones' talent, would she waste some of her lifespans fighting a monster like Shiki? If they didn't know each other, Tsuru would never risk fighting someone like Shiki to save a lower-ranked marine.

Strength is a must-have thing in the organization, but connections are as significant.

.

On the side of the crowd, Laurent was standing with Fred and the two other teenagers he was sharing the house dorm with. They got together after they bathed and jointly ate breakfast at the canteen while getting to know each other. Looking at Fred, Laurent couldn't help being surprised, although he didn't show it.

'He's not acting uncomfortable around me anymore. This kid named Fred got heart!' Thought Laurent, remembering their first meeting as the group discussed what the content of their training would be like.

"When do you think we'll learn how to handle weapons?" One of the kids asked, excited at the prospect of waving a sword around to fight against the dirty pirates and bring them to justice for ordinary humans.

"I don't think weapon training is for now." Responded Laurent, smiling at his dormmate. "Before learning how to fight, you must have the physique allowing you to fight. With this weak body of yours, most of the fighting movements would be impossible to perform, or they wouldn't have any strength behind them. So, physical training will be the only thing kids like us would do for a long time." He finished, patting his disappointed dormmate on the back.

"It's alright. We will eventually learn it anyway, so there is no need to feel disappointed." Added Fred, also patting their dormmate on the back.

"That's true. There is no need to feel disappointed." Laurent supported, silently thanking Fred for stepping in. Laurent is the type of person who'd say whatever he thinks is right without thinking about the other's emotions. He is realistic, lacks empathy, and doesn't know how to comfort people. That's why he always had empathic people around him as a leader.

"When do you think the instructors will arrive?" Fred asked Laurent, changing the subject.

"It's getting late. The sun's already near its zenith." Laurent looked up, trying to determine what time it was. '10 in the morning!' He thought. 'I might be wrong, but not by a large margin.' He nodded, looking at the platform in front of the crowd as he heard noises from up there.

"Speaking of the devil, they are here." Fred excitingly spoke as he motioned all of us to look toward the platform. There, we could see five people wearing official Maine uniforms looking at us, the one in the middle having a coat draped over his shoulders.

'Why is he wearing a coat like a cape?' Silently questioned Laurent as he observed their supposed instructors. Looking at the one standing in the middle, he murmured, 'It looks like he's a Marine officer.'

.

On the platform, Baibald looked over the fifty recruits he was assigned, a frown on his face. Looking at one of his subordinates, he signaled the man to gain the attention of the rowdy kids.

*Ahem*

A loud coughing sound was heard as the instructors gained the attention of every recruit. Nodding his head in satisfaction, Bailbard turned serious and looked at the recruits.

"Good morning!" He started, making sure he gained everyone's attention before continuing. "My name is Baibald. I will be your head instructor for the next two years." Stopping for a while to let the recruits remember his face, he continued.

"We have been standing for a minute, and none of you saluted us. Don't you know the place you're at?" He unsmilingly looked at recruits, trying to think of a punishment for their rude action. Of course, some recruits saluted upon seeing him. However, the first quality an instructor must have is unreasonableness. 'I have to find any reason to make them train more.' That should be the first thought of every instructor upon seeing recruits.

"From now on, anytime you see a superior of yours, you must salute them. Otherwise, you will do a hundred push-ups." Hearing the loud "Yes, sir" from the recruits, Baibald smiled and continued.

"Now, give me three hundred push-ups." Yelling those words while exerting as much pressure as he could, Baibald's whole demeanor changed. "You got five seconds to start. If even one of you is lagging, a hundred more will be added for everybody." Finishing, he saw every recruit get down, ready to start the exercise.

Unsmilingly nodding his head, Baibald started counting. "One!" He yelled, causing every student to do a push-up.

"Two!" He continued while the recruits followed his every count with a push-up.

.

"23!"

.

"89!"

.

"245!"

.

"298!"

"299!"

"300!"

As the recruits finished their punishment, sighs of relief could be heard around the training ground. Getting up, most of them looked at head instructor Baibald with hate-filled eyes. If glares could kill, he would've died a hundred times already. Not minding the recruits' eyes, Baibald smiled and continued speaking.

"Salute!" He spoke, prompting all the recruits to perform the saluting movement they were taught before entering the camp. As soon as the recruits grew satisfied with their action, they heard Baibald's voice.

"You did not salute in unison. Some of you were late by more than a second." A wicked smile appeared on his face as he continued. "Give me another hundred!" Shocked by the man's words, most recruits stood in place, unable to move due to shock. However, "150 push-ups!" Those words brought them back to life as they jolted to the ground and restarted their push-up journey.

.

.

"I saw someone smile. How can you do that while performing an important ceremony for your superior? Give me another hundred push-ups."

.

.

"Someone didn't get up in time after I ordered him to. Being lazy in front of your superior is a punishable sin. Give me another hundred."

.

.

"I saw someone glare at me. Looking at a superior with bad motives is a punishable sin. Give me another hundred."

.

.

"Give me another hundred... Because I feel like you deserve it."

.

.

"Salute!"

*fwaapp*

"At rest!"

*Boom*

"Nice! you finally learned how to follow orders." Exclaimed Baibald, looking at the tired recruits. They seemed to be shaking, as standing was a difficult task. However, they forced themselves to stand because they didn't want to give their head instructor a chance to punish them.

"Today was supposed to be an introductory day. However, you decided to be disrespectful, so we'll start training right now." He said, smiling at the crowd.

"You see this field?" He gestured at the training ground the recruits were standing on. It was the size of three football fields put next to each other. Seeing the kids nod their heads, Baibald continued his speech.

"You're going to run 50 laps around it. You will do that every day as a warm-up." He finished, gesturing for the kids to start running.

Confused by such an action, only half a dozen recruits could be seen already running. The rest stood in place, unable to comprehend the head instructor's orders.

'You can see us shaking because of your unreasonable punishment. Now we must run fifty laps around this enormous field as a warm-up?' That's probably the thought of most of the confused recruits.

However, the loud "60!" took them out of their trance, rushing to the starting point. In their mind, head instructor Baiballd's face should be put in the dictionary next to the word unreasonable.

.

.

AN__: Thank you for reading this novel. I want to ask a question, though. Do you want the mc to have a devil fruit or not? Because Mr__Cuak gave me a lesson on the Yami Yami no mi, I thought most of you might not like an MC that does not have a DF ability. Anyways, What do you think? Please comment and give your opinion. Otherwise, don't get mad if you see something you don't like later in the story.