Marine || One Piece [ENG]

8

Leona believed that training was essential if you wanted to have good skills and constantly improve them. Hard work and regularity can win over talent.

"Hold your gun steady," Leona said to one of the youths, who was holding the gun with trembling hands.

"Hai!" he replied nervously, looking at the Vice Admiral out of the corner of his green eye. His brown hair is a little longer, tied in a ponytail. He held the gun even more unsteadily.

Leona sighed. This always happens.

"Name."

The boy got even more nerviously.

"Ruki Tsuma!"

"Stay after training, Ruki," she said calmly and walked away, watching the other people training.

"Hands higher."

"If you're fighting an enemy, hit lower, it hurts more."

"Aim at the target, not our friends."

"Think before you strike, don't fly like an idiot, because you will be the first to die."

" Wider your legs"

"Good job, gentlemen," she said at the end. "End of training. Clean up after yourself."

"Hai!"

The tired men began to clean up the weapons, take the targets and dummies.

"Ruki Tsuma, follow me," she said loudly and then moved along the port side.

"Hai," he replied clumsily and uncertainty, following her.

They walked for some time, passing soldiers and other more or less important people on the ship.

At one point, Leona simply stopped. They were almost to the other end of the ship. She decided it was the right place.

It was relatively calm, the sea was slightly waving, and some seagulls sat on the bow of the ship. She thought that such a sight might make the recruit calmer. She was wrong.

He stepped nervously from one foot to the other, glancing uncertainly, not sure if he could just look at his superior.

Leona sighed, relaxed and leaned back, standing with her elbows on the side.

"Tell me, Ruki," she started, and he swallowed. " Are you afraid of guns?"

"I-I don't understand the question," Ruki said, uncertainly.

"Otherwise. Are you afraid to hold a gun?" She looked at him carefully. "You're afraid that one day you'll have to kill a man. You are afraid of becoming a murderer. Even though you are aware that our enemies are pirates, you don't want to hurt them unnecessarily" she stated more than asked. Ruki visibly paled.

"It-It's not like that, Vice Admiral! I-I'm still loyal to the navy, maybe I feel a little sorry for the pirates, but that's okay! I'll fix it, n-I won't cause any problems, it'll be easy to kill them-"

"Don't even finish that," she said sharply, making him flinch. He lowered his head in embarrassment and shame. "It's not wrong to hesitate to take someone's life, even a pirate. Or especially a pirate. After all, we are all human. Every life is priceless and has great value."

The recruit looked at her in shock and relief.

"The fact that you hesitate to take someone's life thoughtlessly reflects well on you. You'll make a great soldier," she said gently, making him blush. " I just have a question for you."

"H-hai!"

"Are you sure you want to be a soldier?" she asked, surprising him. " Even though I know you would be a great soldier and could climb higher, the question is whether this is really what you want to do. However, the work of a soldier is risky. You can become someone else on the ship - a cook, a navigator, a strategist."

"I would like to be a soldier," he said with surprising determination. " Since I was a child, I wanted to be a soldier. It's like I'm a hero."

He felt stupid for what he said as the Vice Admiral looked at him blankly in response.

But then the Vice Admiral smiled, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well then, I have no choice but to make you one of the best heroes."