The next morning, Nokiyoru woke early and left his villa to head to the Marine Academy. Today, Zephyr would be taking the ten winners to select their subordinates.
Before leaving, Nokiyoru carried a locked suitcase containing one of the Beri cases. The other one had already been sent to Zephyr’s house. Initially, his master’s family refused to accept it, but under Nokiyoru’s threat, they eventually did.
Nokiyoru had threatened, “If you don’t accept this one hundred million beri, I won’t come to eat here anymore.” He added, “This money is useless for me, so it’s better to leave it with Master’s family to buy good food.”
This finally convinced Zephyr’s family to accept the money.
As for the remaining one hundred million beri, Nokiyoru intended to repay a debt.
“Nokiyoru, you’re late,” Kuzan said lazily as Nokiyoru entered the academy and found everyone already present.
“Sorry.” Nokiyoru casually apologised, then stood in line with the others, carrying the suitcase.
Seeing everyone present, Zephyr spoke up. “Today, you’ll be selecting your subordinates. Since you’re choosing them, you must be responsible for them. Do you understand?”
Zephyr’s expression was serious, his tone stern. “The ones you’ll be selecting are also recruits from this batch. Therefore, you will train them for a month. Remember, they are the future of the Marines, just like you. Sometimes, they will have your back. I hope you treat them well.”
“Yes, sir.” The group responded in unison, filled with excitement.
“Good. You have an hour to rest here and say your goodbyes. Unless there’s a special reason, you are not allowed to return to the academy to avoid disrupting the new batch of recruits.” With that, Zephyr turned and left.
With Zephyr gone, the tense atmosphere immediately became more relaxed.
Nokiyoru quietly turned around and approached Gion. He opened the suitcase and, under Gion’s puzzled gaze, took out fifty million beri.
“Gion, here’s the money I borrowed. Fifty million should cover it.” Nokiyoru’s tone was as cold as ever, his expression calm.
“You…” Gion felt a surge of anger at Nokiyoru’s indifferent demeanour.
“Are you so eager to repay me? Do you dislike me that much?” Gion’s voice trembled with fury, her chest heaving with emotion, her perfect face flushed with anger.
“I don’t dislike you,” Nokiyoru shook his head.
“Then why are you in such a hurry to repay me? Or do you not consider me a friend?” Gion asked, raising an eyebrow, secretly hopeful.
“Friend?” Nokiyoru frowned. “Are you sure you want to be my friend?”
“Yes,” Gion answered firmly without hesitation.
“Gion, you can’t…” Tsuru couldn’t hold back any longer. The thought of losing someone she cared about clouded her judgment, making her forget her fear of Nokiyoru.
“Shut up…” Nokiyoru’s voice was icy, his expression dark.
“If you say another word, you’ll never speak again.” His eyes glinted dangerously, and Tsuru, who had been about to speak, took a step back, swallowing nervously.
“Hmph, don’t be so arrogant, bird-brain. Don’t think that being first means anything,” Akainu sneered as he approached, clearly standing up for Tsuru.
“Does a dog who needs to be saved three times deserve to speak?” Nokiyoru’s face was full of disdain.
“Bird-brain, you’re looking for death,” Akainu’s face twisted with rage, the insult hitting a sore spot.
“Want to fight?” Nokiyoru raised an eyebrow, flexing his hands with a wicked smile. “Or do you want to feel the kiss of death again?”
“Hmph, one day I’ll repay you tenfold,” Akainu snarled, turning away and leaving with Tsuru.
“Cowardly dog.”
Akainu trembled, his body heating up, but he suppressed his anger and walked away.
“Such a bore,” someone muttered, rolling their eyes, thinking that only Nokiyoru had the guts to provoke Akainu like this.
Turning back to Gion, Nokiyoru asked again, “Are you sure you want to be my friend?”
“I’m sure. No matter how many times you ask,” Gion replied firmly.
“Alright, then I won’t be polite. I won’t repay the money I borrowed.” Nokiyoru put the money back in the suitcase, ignoring the puzzled looks from Gion and the others.
“Kuzan.” Nokiyoru’s tone was sincere.
“What?” Kuzan’s right eye twitched, feeling uneasy.
“Lend me one hundred million beri.”
“What? Why don’t you just rob a bank? Do you think I’m an ATM?” Kuzan’s eyes widened in disbelief, his usual laziness replaced by agitation.
“It’s just one hundred million beri. Why are you making such a fuss?” Nokiyoru rolled his eyes. “Are we friends or not?”
“I’ll get it for you.” Kuzan rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.
“Gion.”
After borrowing money from Kuzan, Nokiyoru turned to Gion. He hadn’t forgotten that Gion was also wealthy.
“What… what do you want?” Gion asked nervously.
“Lend me fifty million beri.” Nokiyoru’s face was expressionless, asking directly.
“Fine.” Gion agreed without hesitation. Fifty million wasn’t a big deal for her.
“Wait, when do you plan to repay the money?” Kuzan suddenly remembered that Nokiyoru had no intention of repaying.
“Both of you are my friends. Why should I repay you?” Nokiyoru said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Terrible friend.” Kuzan’s face fell, looking long and drawn out.
“Hurry up and get the money.” Nokiyoru urged.
“Damn it.” Kuzan cursed but went to get the money from his place.
Gion, still smiling, also left to get the money.
An hour later, the group stood in the Marine barracks.
Rows of recruits stretched out endlessly. The youngest were sixteen or seventeen, the oldest around twenty-five, all promising young people.
“There are twenty thousand recruits here. According to your rank, select as many as you are allowed. You can take fewer but not more.” Zephyr’s voice was serious.
“Who wants to go first?”
Everyone looked at Nokiyoru, the top winner.
Stepping forward, Nokiyoru didn’t hesitate.
Surveying the enthusiastic recruits, Nokiyoru’s lips curled into a smile. “Those between fifteen and eighteen, step forward. If you don’t want to join me, stay where you are.”
With a flurry of movement, nearly three thousand recruits stepped forward, full of expectation, while many others stayed put.
“I’ll ask you a few questions.”
Holding up a finger, Nokiyoru smiled.
“Are you afraid of hardship?”
“No,” the recruits answered in unison.
“Are you afraid of bleeding?”
“No.”
“Do you want to become strong?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Now, I have three final questions.”
“If you were stranded on a deserted island, starving for days, and there was only one bite of food left, what would you do?”
“First, leave it for the others. Second, commit suicide. Third, starve together.”
“Those who choose the first, stand to the left. The second, to the right. The third, stay where you are.”
A few minutes later, the recruits stood in three groups.
“Good. Those who chose the first and second options are eliminated. The third group stays.”
There was a collective gasp of confusion.
“I want people who share joys and hardships. I don’t want to explain further. Don’t waste my time.” Nokiyoru’s eyes glinted coldly.
Fortunately, over a thousand recruits chose the third option, eliminating a large portion.
“Second question. If you were chasing a notorious pirate and your superior was killed, what would you do? Again, three options. First, surrender to the pirate. Second, die fighting. Third, survive by any means without violating the first question.”
“Choose: first, left; second, right; third, stay where you are.”
A few minutes later, Nokiyoru sighed. “Those who chose the first and second options are eliminated. The third group stays. I don’t want subordinates without guts or brains.”
“Final question. During a mission, if a higher-ranking officer gives you an order, do you follow mine or theirs? Three options.”
“First, follow theirs. Second, follow mine. Third, pretend not to know.”
After another few minutes, Nokiyoru smiled at the three groups.
“Those on the right, stay. The rest are eliminated.” Looking at the remaining three hundred recruits, Nokiyoru felt satisfied.
His lips curved upward when he spotted Pakas among them, pleasantly surprised.
After the selection, Nokiyoru told Zephyr, “Master, I’ve made my choice. I’ll take these three hundred.”
“You have a quota of one thousand. Are you sure you want just these three hundred?”
“Yes.”
“Alright then, it’s decided.”
“Crazy,” Akainu muttered from afar.
Next, the others took their turns, the atmosphere lively. Only Nokiyoru seemed to have peculiar methods; the others were more conventional.
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