There came a second, then a third, then another... By the end of the afternoon, twenty-two of them were gathered on the central esplanade, near the small harbour where Arthur had moored the first. They had all returned in one piece, following the last recommendation of their instructors, but some were more damaged than others. A large guy had returned covered in blood, and the mast of his boat had broken in two. The master of the apprentices Sacador had addressed them one by one, asking them to wait quietly for all the recruits to return. Arthur had waited, and had witnessed the installation of a large wooden platform. After the arrival of the last soldier, there had been consultation, and six men had finally taken their seats on the stage to express themselves.
Among them, Arthur obviously recognized his two instructors, as well as the vice-admiral who had welcomed him. A thin and elegant man, with a serious face and wrinkled eyes, followed them. Right behind him stood a chubby bald man, whose benevolent gaze was turned towards the young recruits. Finally, closing the march, Vice-Admiral Bang. A murmur of agitation ran through the small group. Arthur couldn't believe his eyes : he had already seen this man so imposing and muscular, but never so close. If his stature impressed at first (he had to be sixteen feet tall), it was nothing compared to the size of his hands, gigantic gloved hands on which the Vice-Admiral relied to advance as a gorilla would have done. If Arthur had not notice this detail when he had fought alongside him, it seemed impossible to him today not to realize it.
Bang cleared his throat and approached the den den mushi that was standing nearby. Immediately, his big voice echoed throughout the base. - Good morning to y'all. I'm Vice Admiral Bang, head of the G2 base. I want to congratulate the young recruits in front of me, for they have achieved the feat of coming back safe and sound from Green Field. You may not have known, but this cruise was the last step in a review that we have been conducting for several months in order to establish a ranking. You were three hundred and two at the start, and one hundred and twenty-six after the theoretical exam...
Arthur remembered this examination very well, it had taken place earlier in the month and consisted of a series of tough questions. He was surprised that he never got the results.
- Then, after the practical exam, only twenty-two were selected to pass today's navigation test.
The practical examination had been the easiest. Arthur was very good at close combat and had had no trouble overcoming this situation where several pirates (actually, disguised responders) were trying to defeat him while stealing the contents of a vault. In Arthur's case, the pirates had been defeated in three minutes, and the chest had remained intact, as was the young soldier's training sword.
- We have therefore established a ranking based on your results in the various events, which I will let you now take notice of.Two men of his personal guard brought a large blackboard which he turned back. Sixteen names were written in white chalk, only the first names of sixteen recruits, most of whom were orphans and had no family other than the Marines.
HANA– 100 / 100
ARTHUR– 98 / 100
HECTOR– 97 / 100
HARU – 92 / 100
MADEIRA ZELL – 91 / 100
CHARLIE BLUE – 90 / 100
VILOT – 88 / 100
ASIDAMA JUN – 85 / 100
FLORENZE – 84 / 100
KAJU DA – 83 / 100
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MARINES - A ONE PIECE story (ENGLISH) - Part I
FanficA hundred years before the golden age of piracy. A hundred years before the era of Gol D. Roger. The Marine is at the top of its power. When vice-admiral Myr decides to compose a team of promising young soldiers, they do not know they are about to...
