At four in the morning, the sky was still shrouded in a misty gray. In the distance, a few stars still twinkled, reluctant to yield their thrones. Inside the soldier's barracks at Marine G3 Branch, only the "tick-tock!" of the wall clock and the snores of sleeping soldiers could be heard.
However, on the single bed closest to the barracks door, Kong Ming opened his eyes. His impeccably punctual biological clock had awakened him. Silently, he rose, dressed neatly, quietly pushed the door open, and left the barracks.
In the corner of the barracks, on his bunk, Sephiroth, hearing the sound, also opened his eyes. He glanced at the wall clock; it was only four in the morning. According to Marine regulations, all soldiers were supposed to go to bed promptly at ten at night and wake up at six, unless they were on external missions.
Sephiroth propped himself up and glanced at the training ground outside the window. He saw more than a dozen Marine soldiers from G3 Branch already on the field, beginning their morning run. Each of them was running... no, sprinting! Their running speed was incredibly fast. They completed a 400-meter lap on the training ground in only twenty to thirty seconds, showing no signs of slowing down.
"As expected! This kind of 'involution' happens everywhere..." Sephiroth murmured softly. He immediately got out of bed, dressed, picked up the Autumn Leaf Sword leaning against the bed, left the barracks, and headed to the training ground to continue his thirteen thousand sword swings each day.
There was a strong reason why these people trained so hard. In the Grand Line, every Marine Base whose name began with 'G' had ten slots for soldiers to enroll in the Marineford Marine Academy each year. As long as their rank was Sergeant or higher and they were under twenty-six years old, they had a chance to apply. Interestingly, after graduation, their rank would start from Ensign, officially entering the officer class.
The way to get a spot at the Marineford Marine Academy was simple: Strength was everything! As long as you were among the top ten strongest soldiers, you had a chance to secure a registration spot. If you were a soldier from the Four Seas, it was slightly more difficult to enroll in the Marine Academy. You would need to voluntarily lower your rank by three successive tiers and transfer your files to Marineford to become a soldier at a G-prefix Marine Base or Marineford itself, only then would you be eligible to participate in the Marine Academy selection.
All of the above information was obtained by Sephiroth when Corporal Kong Ming boasted about it to them, the new recruits. Moreover, according to Kong Ming, he also wanted to compete for a registration spot at the Marine Academy. Given that Kong Ming went to great lengths to apply to Marineford, lowering his rank from a Lieutenant Junior Grade in a Four Seas Branch to a Corporal in Marineford, it would be unbelievable if he didn't intend to enroll in the Marine Academy.
Under normal circumstances, a new recruit like Sephiroth would need to serve for a full six months to be promoted to Private First Class, a full year to be promoted to Lance Corporal, and a full two years to be promoted to Corporal. Two years to gain the qualifications to compete for Marine Academy registration was too long for Sephiroth.
But... that was without considering battles and earning merits. If one had achievements, the speed of promotion would be incredibly fast. Increasing his rank was also one of the reasons why Sephiroth chose to actively participate when facing Paul's Grand Fleet that time.
At six in the morning, the sun slowly rose from the ocean's surface, its warm rays illuminating the base's training ground. The sound of the warning trumpet slowly echoed, instantly making the entire G3 Branch bustling, and more and more Marine soldiers gathered at the training ground.
Kong Ming, who had run over two hundred laps in two hours, walked over to the silver-haired young man, panting.
"Good morning, Sephiroth!"
"Good morning, Kong Ming!" Since the other party had taken the initiative to greet him, Sephiroth could only respond while continuing his sword swings.
"Do you also want to join the Marineford Marine Academy?" Kong Ming extended a hand and wiped the sweat from his forehead, asking hesitantly.
"Of course! A soldier who doesn't want to become a General isn't a good soldier," Sephiroth nodded in strong agreement; there was no need to hide such a thing at all.
"In that case, I think you should spend more time on physical training, otherwise, it will be very difficult for you to get a registration spot..." Kong Ming said earnestly, then turned and left. He also had to go urge the other new recruits to quickly gather at the training ground for morning exercises.
A moment later, under Kong Ming's leadership, a group of new recruits performed a six-kilometer morning run on the training ground. Just one long-distance run revealed many problems. The veterans of G3 Branch weren't red-faced or out of breath after completing their morning exercise, while most of the new recruits were panting and exhausted.
After completing morning exercises, Sephiroth and the other new recruits, along with new recruits from other islands, lined up on the training ground to receive a speech from a Major officer. After stripping away all the clichés and nonsense, the general idea was that the Marines were a force under the World Government that existed to maintain order at sea, taking responsibility for combating evil pirates and upholding justice and peace.
Sephiroth scoffed at this inwardly. This kind of nonsense could only deceive hot-blooded youngsters, full of passion but ignorant of the world's situation!
The higher one rose in the Marines, the broader their perspective, and the more darkness they would encounter. Most countries in this world practiced slavery and monarchical despotism, and the Marines were merely a violent organization under the World Government. They had no power to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries and had to serve the nobles of every member nation of the World Government. After shedding all pretense, the true nature of the Marines was actually very similar to stateless mercenaries; they served anyone who supported them, like the Vinsmoke Family.
What about non-member countries of the World Government? Sorry! They were not within the Marines' scope of protection. Even if pirates massacred cities and destroyed those countries, it was none of the Marines' business. Furthermore, even if the Marines massively slaughtered the people of non-member countries of the World Government, it was not considered an illegal act!
When the Colonels and Generals who had become the backbone of the Marines learned of the World Government's dark side, they could choose to partake in the corruption, or choose to slack off and survive, or even choose to leave the Marines. However, very few would have the idea of shaking the World Government's rules and authority. There was no other reason, because the Marines had no right to participate in politics! In the end, they were just a violent organization!
Therefore, people like Garp and Aokiji, who were Marine higher-ups but knew they were powerless to change the status quo, could only choose to be lazy, lie low, and survive, occasionally going out to fight pirates and fulfill their duties as Marines.
After becoming a Marine soldier, Sephiroth's daily life was incredibly monotonous. He only trained, or trained more, or trained alone, or received sword instructions from Boggart, day after day.
It's worth mentioning that his speed in drawing his sword was getting faster and faster. Initially, he completed thirteen thousand sword swings in eight hours, then gradually shortened it to three hours. Alongside his increasingly skilled sword swinging movements, the improvement in his physical fitness was also a very important factor in achieving this efficiency.
In addition, to improve his stamina and quickly adapt to the weakening sensation from seawater, every day during his lunch break, Sephiroth would go to the shallow waters at the edge of the beach, step into the seawater, and then perform squats and frog jumps. Occasionally, he would also flap his wings in the sky a few times to train his flying ability. Currently, his maximum speed was around fifty kilometers per hour, and his flying duration was about three hours.
In this boring and peaceful life, besides the increase in his strength, the only thing Sephiroth found relatively interesting, something he could use to pass the time, were some medical books he borrowed from the old military doctor last time, which discussed unknown diseases and special remedies.
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