Maintaining law and order in this world falls to the military organization known as the Marines, who aren’t exactly heroic.
Protecting the homeland? Serving the people?
Sorry, but the Marines have no such sense of duty.
Most soldiers who join the Navy do so just to get by.
They don’t understand responsibility or honor. They only know they fight for “justice.” Sadly, they don’t even know what “justice” truly means—they fight for their superiors’ notion of “justice.”
They follow the mandate that “a soldier’s duty is to obey orders,” but not out of awareness—out of blind obedience.
Hailan wouldn’t bother discussing profound principles with them. The most direct and efficient way to make them stronger is to tell them the benefits of becoming strong.
“Yes, that’s right, that look of envy, jealousy, and hatred—remember how you feel right now.”
“Making you stand all night wasn’t just to punish you for being played by a clown. More importantly, it was to make you remember this feeling!”
Hailan pointed to a soldier glaring at him angrily.
“Do you hate me? Want to beat me up? I’ll be waiting at Navy Headquarters. If you can get in, I’ll gladly accept your challenge anytime!”
Hailan wasn’t worried that any of these soldiers would become strong enough to beat him one day.
They would work hard, harder, and harder still, and eventually reach Navy Headquarters. By then, they would realize how many monsters can only be looked up to.
And if there were a genius with the potential to become an admiral, that person wouldn’t need Hailan’s motivational methods; they would naturally become a top-tier fighter.
“Stop spouting nonsense. These are all fallacies.”
Finally, the much-anticipated Rear Admiral Gion arrived late.
With the stern Gion on the scene, Hailan naturally stepped back from the stage.
“Don’t listen to what he just said. Remember, with great power comes great responsibility…”
“Yeah, you talk a good game, but didn’t you leave us hanging all night?”
Many soldiers thought similarly, even if they didn’t say it out loud.
“Excuse me, Rear Admiral Gion, who was that soldier just now?”
In any field, people usually only remember the top performer.
Even though Hailan excelled in capturing the Anderson Pirate Crew, people only remembered the top performer, Rear Admiral Gion. No one cared about adjutants or assistants.
But Hailan’s piercing remarks made these soldiers eager to know his identity.
“His name… hehe… He’s the best student in Instructor Zephyr’s 14th Elite Training Camp. As for his name, you’ll have to work hard to get into Navy Headquarters and find out for yourselves.”
Chewing on a toothpick, Gion turned to Captain Brown, “Train your men well. The promotion rules at Navy Headquarters are fair—as long as you don’t mess up.”
Mentioning the 14th Elite Training Camp reminded Gion of a student named Smoker.
A rare Logia-type Smoke Fruit user.
Although the fruit’s offensive power wasn’t extreme, he had a bright future.
However, Smoker was a troublemaker with a bad temper, disrespecting everyone and even shouting at his instructors. He should have joined the 13th Training Camp but ended up in the 14th.
Without further ado, after some handover procedures, Rear Admiral Gion led the troops to escort the Anderson Pirate Crew onto the warship, sailing directly to the deep-sea prison Impel Down with the eternal log pose.
Every island in the Grand Line has a unique magnetic field, causing navigational problems that prevent using regular compasses.
Thus, people invented the “Log Pose,” which records the magnetic fields of islands.
An “Eternal Pose” always points to a specific island.
After his harsh speech, Hailan’s system showed a slight increase in recognition points.
After fluctuating up and down, the original 128/1000 slowly stabilized at 144/1000.
It wasn’t much, but given his harsh words, any gain was fortunate.
The initial 128 was because Hailan didn’t actively seek others’ approval before turning 16, focusing instead on physical training.
Even now, he wouldn’t deliberately seek others’ approval.
It’s unlike Beli or gold coins—it’s impossible to please everyone.
Besides, not everyone likes Beli and gold coins.
As long as he does his best, that’s enough.
…
Even wanted pirates must undergo a “conviction” process at Enies Lobby before being sent through the “Gates of Justice” to be imprisoned in Impel Down.
Enies Lobby is just a façade with no actual trials. Everyone brought there is labeled “guilty.”
Enies Lobby symbolizes the World Government’s absolute justice and connects the sea currents between Navy Headquarters, Enies Lobby, and Impel Down.
Because Impel Down is in the Calm Belt, which lacks wind, ships rely on the sea current formed by opening the Gates of Justice to reach the prison quickly.
Thus, on the so-called “Island that Never Sleeps,” Enies Lobby, Marines, and Cipher Pol (World Government’s secret intelligence agency) agents frequently appear.
“Hey, what a coincidence, Lady Gion!”
Seeing the tall, stunning Navy woman disembarking from a nearby warship, Gion quickly straightened his clothes and approached her with a grin.
“Oh, it’s you, Gion!”
Gion’s affection for Gion was no secret at Navy Headquarters.
But Gion didn’t distance herself from him because of it.
Not that Gion didn’t want to reject Gion’s advances.
The truth was, Gion never gave Gion the chance to reject him.
“Lady Gion, was your mission successful?”
Navy Headquarters personnel were used to Gion’s quirky nicknames.
Calling beautiful women “Lady,” referring to Fleet Admiral Kong as “Boss Kong.”
Gion was casual, seeing Gion as an old friend: “It went well, nothing too difficult. But what about your side? An unbreakable defense, was it really that formidable?”
Gion was honest: “There’s no such thing as an absolute defense. It was a Barrier Fruit user. Oh, Hailan was the one who figured it out first.”
“Hailan, huh…”
Gion looked into the distance, seeing Hailan waving at her with a smile. She smiled back, wondering why he didn’t come over.
Thick-skinned Gion cleared his throat: “Ahem, Lady Gion, I heard an interesting riddle during this mission. Would you like to hear it?”
“Sure!”
Gion knew Gion’s intentions. For her, countering his advances had become a hobby.
“In a circus, there are two elephants. One is named ‘I Love You,’ and the other ‘I Don’t Love You.’ Two years later, ‘I Don’t Love You’ dies. What’s left?”
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