“Captured? Michion, you?”
Michion’s words immediately piqued Tashigi’s curiosity.
All she knew about Michion was that Aokiji and Uchimura had brought him back from an uninhabited island after a mission. Beyond that, she knew nothing.
“Yes, before I ended up on the deserted island, I was almost captured by pirates to be sold as a slave,” Michion said. “But Uchimura-san saved me, and later, due to retaliation from the group behind the slave traders, I ended up stranded on the deserted island.”
Michion smiled and continued, “When I was captured, there was a navigator among us. Once he revealed his identity, he quickly became a member of the pirate crew by directing the ship.”
“No way…” Tashigi’s mouth hung open, her face a mix of shock at Michion’s past and disbelief at the importance of a navigator.
But Michion knew that an excellent navigator held significant power on a ship, regardless of their combat skills.
Even if a navigator was unfortunate enough to be captured by another pirate crew, their survival chances were much higher than those of the other crew members. They could be sold at a high price as valuable talent.
The role of a navigator was crucial, requiring extensive knowledge, experience, and even talent to become exceptional.
That’s why top-notch navigators were highly prized.
Otherwise, why would Shiki target the Straw Hat Pirates? It’s because Nami was an exceptionally skilled navigator.
Even if Shiki was old, he still valued finding a good navigator.
…
Meanwhile.
In the office of the Marine Admiral, Kong, a Den Den Mushi was projecting scenes of training field battles on the wall.
Future Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Vice Admiral Garp, Aokiji, and others, who were usually busy, gathered in the room watching the “live broadcast.”
After all the battles had concluded, Sengoku turned to Aokiji and asked, “Aokiji, I remember you mentioning that the child you brought back had joined the advanced training camp. Why haven’t we seen him?”
Crunch, crunch.
Sitting on the sofa and munching on rice crackers, Garp mumbled, “Haha, you mean the kid Aokiji brought back from the Island of Boing? I’m also interested in that kid!”
After the two bigwigs spoke, they waited for Aokiji’s response, but there was no answer.
Looking over, they found Aokiji curled up on the sofa, his eyes covered by a sleep mask, fast asleep.
“You brat, how dare you sleep in the Admiral’s office!” Garp walked over to Aokiji’s sofa and punched him in the head.
“Ouch! Garp-san, why did you hit me?” Aokiji yawned helplessly.
Sengoku, accustomed to Aokiji’s personality, repeated his question. Aokiji yawned again and lazily replied:
“Michion’s navigation class conflicted with his training today, so he should be in the classroom learning navigation. But if it’s about Michion’s progress in combat, I’m also very interested to see how he’s been improving.”
After speaking, Aokiji moved the sleep mask to his forehead and struggled to sit up from the soft sofa, trying to shake off his drowsiness.
The advanced training camp was where students learned the Marine Six Styles, generally reserved for older students. These elite recruits were the future pillars of the Marines, allowed to study the Six Styles without the need for military merit.
Navigation was another essential subject for these young Marines.
Even though most children would choose to rest and recover after physical training, Sengoku and the others still scheduled navigation classes afterward.
This was also a way to assess and evaluate them.
If a student could still have the energy to study navigation and other cultural courses after their physical training, it showed they were handling the training well and were worth further nurturing.
Those who could focus on their studies were often more composed and less likely to be hot-headed soldiers, making them suitable for leadership roles.
On the other hand, talented but hot-headed individuals might be better suited for combat roles, such as following officers into battle.
Those who couldn’t keep up in strength but persisted in studying navigation and cultural courses could be trained as navigators or clerks, positions where their knowledge would be crucial, even if their combat abilities were lacking.
For example, they could assist with sailing or help officers with administrative tasks.
The Marine Headquarters did an excellent job selecting talents, ensuring everyone found a suitable role.
After graduating from the training camp, recruits followed officers to gain experience and then received ranks based on their skills and accomplishments.
The advanced training camp wasn’t just for kids like Tashigi and Michion but included talents from Marine branches worldwide, up to thirty years old.
The initial training camp was more like a kindergarten or elementary school, primarily for the children of Marines or exceptionally gifted kids like Michion, who joined for various reasons.
Michion learned a lot about the Marine Headquarters’ workings, information that wasn’t revealed in his past life’s anime. It made sense, as the anime focused on Luffy and his crew.
But here, this was a complete, natural world.
Just as Michion had convinced Tashigi of the importance of studying navigation and was preparing to help her with previous lessons, the cultural studies teacher suddenly appeared, notifying Michion that he needed to go to the training camp for a test.
Hearing the teacher’s notification, Tashigi cheered, announcing her joy. She promptly grabbed Michion’s hand and dragged him to the training field.
Seeing Tashigi’s happiness at Michion’s test, which meant she didn’t have to study, Michion couldn’t help but smile wryly.
After all, she was still a child. Although she was willing to study seriously, she was delighted to have an excuse not to.
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