About five days later.
The battleship filled to capacity with the new Marine recruits arrived at its first stop: the G8 Branch.
Anchoring just outside the port, Zephyr held the roster handed to him by Instructor Vivian and scanned the gathered recruits on deck.
"Maynard, Yamina, Akushisiri, Mia…"
He called out eight or nine names in total before clearing his throat.
"You're assigned to the G8 Branch. You may disembark. Over the next three months, you'll undergo evaluation under the branch commander, Vice Admiral, at that base."
"Yes, sir!"
The selected recruits snapped to attention and saluted sharply.
"And Instructor Vivian will accompany you."
Vivian—a mature, black-haired instructor wearing glasses—looked surprised but nodded and stepped forward.
Rosinante leaned over to Nao. "It seems neither the recruits nor the instructors knew their assignments before arrival."
"Yeah," Nao agreed. "Zephyr-sensei kept it under wraps. But this last-minute assignment is probably the fairest way."
By looking at the balance of scores, assignments clearly took overall recruit strength into account. Each branch had top, mid, and bottom-tier recruits—no clumping of the strongest recruits in one place.
Which meant...
Nao likely wouldn't be grouped with Shiryu or Rosinante.
And Shia, among the top ten herself, probably wouldn't either.
He glanced back to see her head bowed, lip bitten—clearly disappointed.
It made Nao's heart ache.
He decided: tonight, under the cover of darkness, he'd visit her room and say something comforting.
———
After Instructor Vivian and several recruits disembarked, the ship set sail again, heading to the next branch.
The journey went smoothly. Over the course of about ten days, the ship visited several Marine branches. At each stop, Zephyr oversaw the disembarkation of a few recruits.
Finally, ten days later, they arrived at another major branch: G2 Branch. By then, fewer than half the recruits remained aboard.
Everyone gathered on deck once more. Zephyr, roster in hand, called out a dozen names.
"Nao, Shia, Kawakawa Shuma, Monica… dismiss!"
Given G2's status as a large, established branch, a larger group of recruits was normal.
Nao and Shia exchanged surprised looks. After the last combat test, they'd placed #1 and #6—both top-tier. Now they'd be assigned together?
Zephyr, twirling a toothpick between his lips, smiled but said nothing.
He wasn't a cold-hearted instructor. Once he learned the two had confirmed their feelings, he'd decided to place them together—and this surprise was his gift.
Young love separated for three months... no one deserved that pain—not even someone as pure and devoted as Nao.
Zephyr had excellent intuition.
"Now for your accompanying instructor..."
He tapped the roster.
"Brandon, you'll accompany these kids over there."
"Eh?!"
Brandon, who had been smiling, froze when he met Nao's eyes. His expression fell dramatically.
"Don't tell me I got stuck with them again?"
Still scarred by the last test, Brandon nearly asked Zephyr to be reassigned. But Zephyr had already closed the roster and returned below deck with a grin.
He sighed and accepted his fate, ushering Nao and the others toward G2 Branch.
———
G2 Branch HQ was docked just beyond the naval port—not far from the anchor point.
A massive fortress-building complex rose up, painted blue and white, stretching as far as the eye could see.
In the harbor, dozens of large warships lined up under looming cannons—an imposing sight.
A slightly downscaled version of Marineford, essentially.
"G2 was one of the earliest 'G' branches," Kawakawa Shuma remarked. He looked around, impressed. "Just the standard troop carriers... I'd say there are seven, maybe eight thousand Marines here?"
At sixteen, Shuma was the youngest recruit. A samurai descendant from Wano, the wiry brat was known on base for his antics—like a little prankster brother everyone cared for.
"Way too lowballing G2, kid," Brandon said without looking back, leading the way.
"A few years ago, when I got stationed here, they had over ten thousand Marines. Then they recruited two more rounds last year. As of now, there's at least fifteen thousand."
"What?!" Shuma gasped in shock.
Then he cleared his throat. "So... who's the current commander of G2? Must be some strict, no-nonsense type to expand so fast, right?"
Brandon's eye twitched. "You'll find out soon enough. Someone you probably know already... just not the serious, stern guy you're picturing."
"Mmm!"
Shuma clicked his tongue and went back to exploring the complex. Nao, however, felt a sudden unease—something clicked in his memory, making his expression tense.
Wait—could the G2 commander be that guy?
His suspicion was instantly confirmed.
They descended into the HQ's first-floor reception hall. Seated already, waiting for them, was a massive figure draped in a white cloak—easily over three meters tall.
Yawning, the figure turned. A somewhat sleazy middle-aged man stared back.
"Well, well, if it isn't Instructor Brandon—long time no see."
He greeted Brandon with a warm smile, then sized up the new recruits with keen interest.
"You're all very young, but your presence… fierce as monsters. Truly impressive."
"Mr. Brandon, are these the elite recruits you assigned to G2?"
Nao cleared his throat, casting a quick glance at the PPAP video tape in his pack.
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin