The next day dawned, and early in the morning, the new recruits of the training camp were already in motion.
After Cage's magnificent display the previous day, the Marine recruits were clamoring that they absolutely couldn't let the gap between them and Cage widen any further. Everyone was enthusiastic, proactively hunting down nearby pirates.
Cage was, of course, among them, though he showed no interest in joining the small teams many others formed. Cage was a sniper, a lone wolf; working with others wouldn't truly suit him, mainly because he feared being dragged down by incompetent teammates.
Cage commandeered a small boat and headed towards more distant waters. Whenever he encountered a pirate crew flying their Jolly Roger, he annihilated them without hesitation.
Bang, clack clack clack!
On a certain pirate ship, a captain enjoying a party suddenly dropped dead, his head inexplicably exploding, instantly turning him into a headless corpse.
Even those close to him were splattered with brain matter, terrifying many, who went limp and shrieked repeatedly...
"Fuck, the captain's dead!!!"
"Which bastard ambushed the captain?! Find him and kill him!"
"To silently kill the captain, it must be an expert! Everyone, run!"
The pirate subordinates were stunned for a moment, then cried out in disbelief, scattering in all directions.
How could a perfectly healthy person just inexplicably die, and so horribly at that? His head was simply gone, and most, most, most importantly, they hadn't even seen who the perpetrator was.
"Alright, retreat."
After sensing the captain's death through Observation Haki, Cage, the instigator, quietly rowed his small boat away.
This was already the second captain today, with a bounty of 30 million Berries.
"I hope my luck holds today. It'd be great if the total bounties of the pirates I hunt exceed 100 million Berries or so."
Cage mumbled to himself as he continued searching for other targets.
It was around lunchtime when Cage finally returned.
Not just Cage, all the recruits who had gone out for practical training had come back.
But... it was clear that quite a few were missing.
Seeing this, everyone silently acknowledged the grim reality. The law of survival in this world was simply that cruel. If they hadn't returned... they likely never would.
In clashes between Marines and pirates, the Marines didn't always come out on top. Witnessing the reduced numbers, the new recruits understood many things: this was the brutal New World, a place of kill or be killed.
"Yo... Cage!"
A voice came from the left. From the tone, Cage knew it was Binz without even turning around.
He sounded incredibly excited and triumphant, as if he had just performed a great deed.
"Is something wrong?"
Cage turned to look, and sure enough, Binz had a pirate, bound in iron chains, trailing behind him.
"This guy has a 30 million Berry bounty!"
Many new recruits exclaimed, looking at the captured pirate and staring at Binz with admiration.
"Good job."
Cage merely nodded slightly, then turned and walked away, causing Binz's bursting joy to instantly freeze.
"What's with that guy's attitude?!"
Binz stomped his foot in annoyance. His excellent mood had been instantly ruined by Cage.
In reality, Cage had left early simply because he didn't want to deflate Binz's ego. His own morning's tally of pirate bounties was nearly 100 million Berries.
His record was far more impressive than yesterday's. During that time, he'd even blown the head off a pirate with a 50 million Berry bounty.
Meanwhile, within the recruit camp, Cage's nickname had begun to spread—Ghost of Death!
He came and went without a trace, like a ghost, imperceptible to others. He was like a Grim Reaper wielding a scythe; the moment he pulled the trigger, everything ended.
In the afternoon, after about two hours of napping, Cage silently departed in his small boat again.
It was another incredibly busy afternoon.
Around seven or eight in the evening, Cage finally returned.
Upon his return, the number of recruits in the camp had dwindled even further. Cage even saw Binz, who no longer possessed the swagger he had at noon. He was screaming in the medical tent, apparently injured.
Word was he had been targeted by a pirate with a bounty over 100 million Berries, and if Vice Admiral Momonga hadn't arrived in time, Binz might have met his end there.
Time passed quickly, and it was soon midnight. Cage habitually left his tent to practice shooting.
Under the shade of a tree, Cage lay prone, rifle in hand, quietly sensing the target hundreds of meters away.
Bang!
With a single shot, even though night shrouded the area and visibility was less than fifteen meters, the bullseye hundreds of meters away was still shattered by Cage.
"Come out,"
After an unknown amount of time, Cage suddenly spoke, still lying motionless on the ground.
"You found me..."
Ain emerged from behind a large tree, making an embarrassed face.
"Do you need something?" Cage's voice was still cold.
"Many of our comrades, who we spent day and night with, have gone missing. You don't seem to feel anything," Ain said, clenching her fists.
"This 'training'... it's essentially fighting pirates. Isn't it normal for people to die?" Cage put away his rifle and leaned against the tree trunk. "Of course, maybe I've just seen too many dead people; I'm numb to it."
Having his island of birth annihilated by pirates... Cage's mindset was not something these new Marine recruits could compare to. He remained calm in the face of his comrades' deaths.
"Can you tell me about your story?" Ain sat down obediently beside Cage. "I couldn't sleep all night."
"That's where you're not like me. I can lie down anywhere and sleep like a log, impossible to wake," Cage said, glancing at Ain with a smug, superior look. "You, on the other hand, can't even use a gun properly, and you can't even sleep as well as I can? Isn't sleeping supposed to be a girl's strong suit?"
"You...!"
Ain didn't know whether to laugh or cry at his words. Did he really have to compete over something like that? Cage was truly one of a kind.
At the same time, under the dark moonlight, a group of pirates was quietly approaching the shore near the island where Cage and the others were stationed.
Crisis descended with the twilight.