Stop Telling Me What To Do

The Training Field was silent.

"You want us to compete with the New Recruits?!"

The Veterans exchanged glances.

Wasn't this underestimating them? After all, they had been in the Marines for several years. There was no way they could lose to New Recruits.

The Veterans were simmering with anger.

"Instructor, how will we compete?"

"We'll start with the most basic Physical Training!"

Roya narrowed his eyes. "If you can't complete the same amount of training as the New Recruits within the allotted time, you're going back to the New Recruit Camp. End of discussion."

"Understood!"

The Veterans sneered.

If they couldn't even beat the New Recruits in basic Physical Training, then they really should go back to the New Recruit Camp to Rebuild themselves.

They had their pride, too.

"Then let's begin."

Roya turned to face the New Recruits.

"Show me what you've been working on. Anyone who dares to slack off will have their legs broken!"

"Yes, Instructor!"

The New Recruits roared in response.

The Instructor was usually easy to get along with and never lost his temper, but no one doubted his threat at that moment.

Shiro (Major Shiro) and the others were still on the ground, groaning in pain.

The Instructor really meant what he said!

"First event, one hour of Running Exercise!"

"Tweet--!"

The New Recruits immediately took off like madmen, instantly leaving the Veterans, who were leisurely warming up, far behind.

They had the desperate energy of men charging into battle.

In less than a minute, the New Recruits had all completed one lap of the 500-meter course and were showing signs of accelerating.

The Veterans had only completed half a lap.

"Are these Rookies crazy?"

The Veterans' eyes widened.

Running this hard right from the start? There was no way they could keep it up. According to the Branch's training requirements, they had to run a full 40 laps!

Thirty minutes later, the Veterans realized they were terribly wrong. These New Recruits weren't aiming for just 40 laps!

The fastest New Recruit had already completed 40 laps and was still in good condition. It was clear that they trained like this regularly, while the fastest of the Veterans had only completed 30 laps.

They came prepared!

"Chase them!"

The Veterans were anxious.

They wanted to chase, but they were too far behind, and their stamina couldn't keep up.

"Tweet--!"

An hour later, the Running Exercise ended.

The worst of the New Recruits had completed 60 laps, and the best had completed a full 80 laps. The best the Veterans could manage was just over 60 laps, barely keeping up with the tail end of the New Recruits.

"Huh?"

The New Recruits were the first to be bewildered.

Did they actually win?

Unbelievable!

The New Recruits exchanged ecstatic glances. They had never thought they could actually beat the Veterans, and by so much.

Before, they had longed to Graduate from the New Recruit Camp as soon as possible and catch up with the Veterans. Now, they realized that the Veterans weren't that impressive after all.

No, it was that they had become stronger.

A month of desperate training really paid off!

The Veterans were indignant.

"Damn it, we've been tricked!"

They had been careless!

This batch of New Recruits was much tougher than usual, catching them off guard. But in the next training session, they would give it everything they had!

"Next, Push-ups, assessment time: 30 minutes!"

Roya announced calmly.

A Marine's strength wasn't determined by how long they had been in the Marines, but by consistent training. Once they became complacent, their Physical Training would decline.

With the overall atmosphere being so poor, most of the Veterans had a somewhat perfunctory attitude toward training. They were just trying to complete the task, far from being as serious as the New Recruits.

They were all just the lowest-ranking Marines. It wasn't time to compete on Talent or connections. The only thing they were competing on was:

Effort!

Thirty minutes later, the Push-ups training ended.

Another overwhelming victory!

Even if the Veterans strained every muscle, they couldn't keep up with the New Recruits' training intensity. It was twice the amount they usually did!

"Next!"

The Basic Training Regimen consisted of eight events in total.

When the Basic Training Regimen was over, the Veterans visibly suffered a heavy blow. One by one, they stared blankly, questioning their lives.

Of the nearly one thousand Veterans, only a hundred or so could keep up with the tail end of the New Recruits. According to the agreement, those who didn't meet the standard would report to the New Recruit Camp.

Humiliating beyond words.

"I'm not convinced!"

One of the Veterans turned red with unwillingness.

"We lost in training, but that's because we have duties to perform and can't focus on training like the New Recruits!"

"Oh? What do you want then?"

Roya smiled.

The Veteran picked up a Wooden Sword and pointed it at the New Recruits, filled with shame and anger. "Let's have a Combat! Real Combat is the only standard for measuring a Marine's strength!"

"Alright."

Roya nodded in agreement.

The Veteran's reaction was within his expectations. Only a few would willingly admit defeat.

"Tashigi!"

"Here!"

Tashigi stepped out of the ranks.

"Defeat him!"

"Yes, Instructor!"

Tashigi took a Wooden Sword from the training rack, took a deep breath, and her entire Body trembled with excitement.

It was time to prove herself!

"A woman?"

The Veteran was even more furious.

"Are you underestimating me?!"

"Don't make excuses for your incompetence!"

Tashigi's gaze suddenly turned fierce. Underestimating her because she was a woman was crossing a line she wouldn't tolerate.

"Haa!"

The Girl shouted and rushed forward, the Wooden Sword stabbing at the opponent as fast as lightning. The fierce offensive made the Veteran panic.

"Bang!"

It was all over in under three seconds!

Looking at the Wooden Sword pressed against his throat and the aggressive Girl, the Veteran swallowed hard, his Body stiff and unable to move.

He lost.

Tashigi coldly retracted her Wooden Sword and returned to the ranks.

Roya picked up the Megaphone.

"If any of you are still not convinced, you can challenge any of the New Recruits behind me. The winner can stay!"

"..."

This time, no one dared to step forward.

Roya was very disappointed, and also angry.

A weak soldier, a weak unit; a weak leader, a weak army.

Following a bunch of good-for-nothing Majors, even the most basic fighting spirit had been worn away. What kind of combat power could these Marines have?

Roya's face turned completely cold.

"What are you all standing around for? Get your asses back to the New Recruit Camp for training! You'll come back when you meet today's standards!"

"And remember this: from today onwards, anyone who dares to neglect their training will immediately take off their Marine Uniform and get out of the Branch!"

"I, Roya, don't need weak and incompetent trash under my command!"

----

Half an hour later, in the Commodore's Office.

Murak's face was contorted with rage. He had been drinking with the people from City Hall when he heard that something major had happened in the Branch.

Nearly a thousand Marines from the entire Branch, more than 900, had been sent back to the New Recruit Camp. How could the Branch operate like this?

Looking at the expressionless Roya, Murak questioned angrily, "Roya, what exactly is going on?!"

"Commodore, what are you referring to?"

Roya looked calm.

"Bang!"

Murak slammed his fist on the table and roared, "Don't play dumb with me! I'm talking about what happened at the Training Field today!"

"Oh, you're talking about that."

Roya smiled. "I'm the head Instructor of the Base now. It's only natural that I have an obligation to educate the unqualified Marines. Do you have a problem with my method of instruction?"

"This is outrageous!"

Seeing Roya's nonchalant attitude, Murak became even more furious and ordered, "I don't care what you're trying to do. Restore the Branch to its previous state immediately!"

"Commodore, I am the head Instructor."

Roya said softly with a smile, "The specific way of instructing the Marines is up to me. Stop telling me what to do."

"What?"

Murak was stunned.

Roya's gaze gradually turned sinister.

"Murak, your ears might have a problem and can't hear what Humans are saying, so I'll say it again!"

"Stop fucking telling me what to do!"

"Got it?!"

*

**

***

[T/N: That wraps up today's chapters for One Piece: I'm Destined to Be the Son-in-Law King! Thanks for reading along! Let me know your thoughts! Current Weekly PS: 33. We're getting closer! Keep those Power Stones coming if you want bonus chapters! 🙏 Weekly Goal: Every +50 Power Stones this week = 2 bonus chaps next day!🚀 Also translating: Naruto Paradise: An Evil Uchiha's Rise & Young Master, Please Become Hokage!. See you tomorrow! ✨

Want to support my work and get early access to chapters? Check out my Patreon! 👇

Plus, Patrons get all their early access chapters instantly – no waiting for staggered releases! ✨

➡️ patreon.com/Boundless_Beacon ]