Foundation - Rokushiki - Haki (1/3)

"In addition to being a symbol of peace and justice, Marineford is also the strongest support for all Marines," Commodore Morgan said with extreme pride, pointing to the crowded town, "Countless Marine families live here, in the safest place in the world. And this is the best assurance the Marines can give to the men and women who have given their lives to uphold justice!"

Longinus nodded. Indeed, in this world of chaos and disorder, Marineford claimed to be the safest place in the world.

Even though the Shiki broke into the Marine Headquarters on its own two years ago and destroyed nearly half of the place, it still couldn't erase the yearning for it.

Even the soldiers who joined the Marines with enthusiasm, besides aspiring to the most realistic goal of justice, had the most incredible dream of sending their families to the Marineford so that they could be spared the strife of war.

"The square over there is enough to hold a fearsome force of 100,000 men, and every five years, a grand parade is held there to proclaim the might of our marine to the world, to deter the evil pirates with bad intentions!"

"This side is the daily training yard, which is divided into a normal training yard and a general training yard, not that we're making any distinction, but it's because the destructive power of military officers at the normal level is powerful. And if we don't isolate it, it's easy to cause accidental injuries to those ordinary soldiers."

"However, to satisfy the curiosity and yearning of those common soldiers, there is a special observation deck set up in a farther place. That's why you can come to this place more often in the future, and you might even be able to see the battles of those Rear Admirals and Vice Admirals, which will help quite a bit in broadening your horizons and insight."

"Finally, there is your boot camp. I won't describe the facilities and such. You'll find out for yourself soon enough when you go in. I'll mainly tell you again about a general procedure once you enter the boot camp."

"First of all, you will stay in the boot camp for three years, and there will be two promotion assessments and a graduation assessment. It should be easy to understand, those who fail the promotion assessment will be retained, and those who haven't passed the next year will be able to get out, and you have more connections to the previous..... government, so don't be surprised if you see too many repeaters."

"The first year is mainly to give you a solid foundation, whether it be physical, sword, gun, or fruit abilities, all of them cannot be done without a strong body, and it would be the most foolish thing to try to rise to the top in one step like an aerialist."

"Also, because of the free time in the first year, those experienced instructors in this headquarters will offer other courses such as navigation, naval warfare, and negotiation. After all, you will all have your ships later on, and as leaders, you will need to know more than just fighting."

"Of course, these lessons in the first year are optional for you, brother Longinus!"

"Isn't there a course in catching pirates?" Longinus was somewhat curious that shouldn't such situations usually be preceded by seeing blood to give them a run for their money in that foreign soul's memory?

And then the Marine, which had been baptized in blood and tears, began a legendary life of anger?

"There's nothing warm and fuzzy about real war, if you're thrown into the fray from the start, it's not training but murder, and this first year is also to give you a gradual process of adjustment."

Longinus nodded. The Marine wasn't a pirate or CP organization after all, and couldn't just throw them into a blood slaughterhouse to make them aware of the supposed cruelty.

It would be excusable to do so after a teaching period, but to let those recruits experience real warfare without even teaching them is indeed tantamount to murder.

What's more, the boot camp's chief instructor is also known as Admiral Zephyr, who is known as "No Kill". Even a pirate wouldn't kill someone, so how could he let his trainees gain enlightenment through death?

He may be strict, but he's never cruel!

"From the second year on, you will follow Admiral Zephyr to capture pirates. Those pirates are not unlike the rookies you dealt with at the branch. At least they are all sea pirates with a bounty of over a hundred million, and there is even no shortage of sea pirates with a bounty of four hundred or five hundred million."

"Although those ruthless characters are not your turn to deal with, those cadres under the sea pirates are not weak, and a battle between you and them is a real possibility of death!"

"Therefore, during this process, the camp's instructors will go about teaching the appropriate skills based on your strengths."

"A physically strong man like you, brother Longinus, will be granted the right to practice Marine Rokushiki."

"The first year of basic training is also a preparation for practicing Rokushiki, which is a physical art that surpasses the limits of human physical ability, and without a solid and firm foundation, it is simply impossible to practice successfully."

Commodore Morgan took a break, then continued, "As for the third year, you should be sent down to the Four Seas branch for the internship, and only those who perform well will be eligible for the final graduation assessment."

"Now you should know why I said at the time that Captain Hughes was excellent, because it's impossible to graduate successfully from the camp without being excellent, and the graduation rate of a class of cadets is twelve out of ten at best."

Saying that, Commodore Morgan patted Longinus on the shoulder quickly, "Of course, none of this is a problem for you, brother Longinus, after all, it's unlikely that anyone would be a match for you, even among those third-year seniors."

"No one is perfect, and equally, no one is useless." Longinus shook his head and looked serious, "I never underestimate anyone, and I never think highly of myself. There must be many more things to learn and explore in this camp."

Commodore Morgan was startled and said rather shamefacedly, "Indeed I was mistaken, perhaps this humble and peaceful attitude is the source of your strength, brother Longinus!"

"By the way, there's something I almost forgot to mention, brother Longinus, do you know of the existence of the Haki?"

"Naturally, I know." Longinus said adequately, "It is said that Haki is an innate ability of humans, but it is usually hidden in the body and requires constant exercise to uncover and develop it."

"That's right. There's even a saying circulating in the New World, 'Those who know how to use Haki may not necessarily be strong, but the strong will certainly use Haki!'"

"I specifically bring this up to tell you that you must pay as much attention to the training of Rokushiki as possible, because, in a sense, they were created to stimulate the power of Haki better."

"In previous boot camps, there was a fundamental course in the third year, and that was the training of Haki. Unfortunately, even with the traction of Rokushiki, very few people were able to comprehend that extraordinary power with only two years of maturing, making the training of Haki only scratch the surface."

"But you're different, brother Longinus, with your qualifications, you could have comprehended the Dual Haki within the boot camp. Admiral Zephyr was known as 'Black Arm' Zephyr because he was proficient in Busoshoku Haki. It would be a pity to miss his instruction! "