Kaito stayed in his little building for three days and even had dinner with Gion once during that time.
Coincidentally, they ran into Tokikake again at the restaurant. The poor guy saw his goddess eating with another man, acting close (at least that's what he thought), and stormed out in tears without even touching his food.
Of course, Kaito was already used to this sort of thing. Since Gion didn't say anything, he couldn't care less either.
...
On the morning of the fourth day, just after Kaito finished breakfast, Gion came knocking at his door to inform him that it was time to report in for enrollment. She told him to follow her to the training camp immediately.
When they arrived, Kaito saw quite a number of new recruits gathered to check in. In the center of an open area stood a machine that looked a lot like the punching power tester from Earth, but in the world of One Piece, it was used to measure Power Level.
(T/N: Doriki is a unit of measurement used by CP9 to directly determine someones level of physical power. But I'm using the official English name for better understanding: Power Level)
The officer in charge of the test hadn't arrived yet. The new recruits were scattered around in small groups, chatting nervously about the upcoming test.
Everyone looked tense. After all, making it to Marine Headquarters and getting a chance to join the elite training camp wasn't easy. No one wanted to fail right at the first hurdle—the Power Level test.
But the test was fair. It didn't matter who you knew. As long as you reached the passing threshold, you were in. At the same time, it was brutally unforgiving. Many people here weren't first-timers. No matter how much they trained, they still couldn't meet the standard. To them, that one line might as well have been an unscalable wall.
At that moment, Gion was explaining the details of the test to Kaito.
"When it's your turn, hit the pad on that machine with everything you've got. If the number on the screen hits 300 or above, you pass."
Kaito said confidently that he could hit that number, but to his surprise, Gion shook her head. She looked him in the eye and said seriously,
"The head instructor of the training camp is former Admiral 'Black Arm' Zephyr. The current three Admirals and many Vice Admirals at HQ were once his students. Fleet Admiral Sengoku has already recommended you to him. So this time, you absolutely must give it your all—don't let him down."
Kaito felt something stir inside him. Since arriving at HQ, Sengoku had looked after him quite a bit. He wasn't the ungrateful type, so this time, he was determined to show what he could do.
"Don't worry. Just wait and see." Kaito grinned with confidence and made his promise.
Gion didn't say anything else. She bent down slightly to adjust his uniform, making Kaito a little embarrassed. He waved her off.
"No need for that."
Gion covered her mouth and chuckled.
"Oh? So you do know how to get embarrassed. But when you're in the spotlight later, you'd better not look like a mess. Everyone will be watching you."
Kaito rolled his eyes, then suddenly grabbed the hand she had on his jacket. Taking advantage of her moment of surprise, he disappeared from sight with a Body Flicker.
"You little brat! If you've got the guts to grab my hand, don't run away!" Gion swung a playful punch at the empty air, scolding with a smile.
"If you screw this up in front of everyone, I will make you pay!"
...
Kaito, having "escaped" from Gion, reappeared among the group waiting for the test to begin.
Not long after, the test officer arrived at the site. He gave a brief rundown of the safety rules and then announced the start of the test, calling names one by one.
The first trainee up was visibly nervous and only managed a Power Level score of 280. Thankfully, each person got two chances. On his second try, after steadying himself, he scored a 318 and passed successfully.
Starting with a pass gave the rest of the group a boost of confidence, and more people began to pass in succession.
Among them, one male and one female drew Kaito's attention.
The man was named Binz, and the woman was Ain. Both of them performed well, scoring 410 and 520 respectively. Compared to most others who barely scraped past the passing mark, their results were excellent.
But it wasn't their strength that caught Kaito's attention—it was their names.
They reminded him of a One Piece movie: Z.
That movie focused on Zephyr's descent into madness after leaving the Marines. Binz and Ain had been the two who followed him loyally.
They were also Zephyr's final batch of students, which meant that the event that led to Zephyr's disillusionment with the Marines—the massacre by Whitebeard Jr.—would happen during this batch's training at sea.
As for Whitebeard Jr., Kaito wasn't afraid of him in the slightest. He was confident that once his training was complete, stopping that tragedy would be child's play. Still, it was good to be mentally prepared in advance.
...
Gradually, the other recruits finished their tests, and Kaito ended up being the last one remaining.
The test officer glanced at him, standing alone in the testing area. Everyone knew that when showcasing in front of a crowd, the first and last participants were the most likely to draw attention—and the most likely to get nervous.
But Kaito looked completely calm, without a hint of anxiety. The officer nodded slightly to himself. As expected from someone personally marked for observation by Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
Putting Kaito at the very end had been Sengoku's idea. With the current shortage in military strength, he wanted promising talents like Kaito to grow quickly. Giving him more attention and fame early on would make it easier to arrange promotions and avoid unnecessary bureaucratic delays. Given the tense times, Sengoku had grown rather impatient.
"Uchiha Kaito!" the officer shouted the final name on the list.
"Here!"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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