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"Rear Admiral?!"
"So young, a Rear Admiral Level Officer!"
"I heard that another monster has emerged in the Marines recently, someone even stronger than those three guys. Is it him?"
"The man who fought Silvers Rayleigh?"
"Too badass!"
At this moment, everyone looking at Kojin, whether male or female cadets, had a gleam in their eyes.
In this world, respecting, revering, and worshiping the strong was an unchanging rule.
Although Kojin was visiting the Marine Academy for the first time today, his legend had long since spread throughout Marine Headquarters, especially among the cadets still in training who rarely went out.
When he sat down in the back of the classroom next to a bespectacled female cadet, she began to tremble, and her cheeks flushed pink.
Kōjin did not greet the students around him. He appeared aloof and difficult to approach. Seeing the rank on his shoulders, the others felt intimidated and under immense pressure, not daring to disturb him.
A short while later, the course's sensei entered.
Upon seeing Kōjin, the sensei also froze for a moment, with a trace of reverence flashing in his eyes.
"Rear Admiral Kōjin, it's a pleasure to meet you."
Kōjin nodded, saying nothing more.
This class taught Marine officers how to make thorough preparations for combat at sea or how to form encirclement formations when teaming up with comrades so as to complete missions faster and more safely.
Kōjin soon realized that when one's faction had an overwhelmingly powerful leader, everything else seemed redundant.
In other words, strength was still the ultimate rule.
On second thought, this kind of course held little real significance for him anyway.
After three consecutive days of classes, Kōjin had more or less figured out what the Marine Academy taught:
The curriculum included basic combat formations, detailed principles of leading troops, various combat methods, and Marine ideological and moral education centered on justice.
He had an excellent memory and could quickly grasp the material in textbooks.
Of course, there were also courses in which he could truly learn something, such as marine technological innovations and explanations about the structure of the world.
It was worth mentioning that during an ideological education class, Kojin met a Marine officer who looked young but had the appearance of a zombie.
He was an Ensign officer and about twenty-six years old.
"Senior Officer Kojin, I really admire you."
"I've been hearing a lot recently about your battles against the Roger Pirates and your fight with Silvers Rayleigh."
T. Peng looked terrifying, but he was kindhearted. He showed utmost respect toward a young superior like Kojin.
"Is that so? They were nothing more than trivial battles," Kojin said with a faint smile.
"No!"
"That was incredible! I want to become a strong man like you, too! If I could follow you after graduation, that would be amazing!" T. Peng said excitedly.
"I would be honored," Kōjin replied with a smile.
T. Peng became even more thrilled.
...
Life at the Marine Academy was dull and monotonous. Fortunately, Kōjin's life was relatively free, and he maintained a daily practice routine. What left him regretful and irritated was that the skill 'Kami-e' seemed to be his natural nemesis as no matter what he did, he could not seem to master it.
Several months passed in the blink of an eye, and Kojin lived through a period of relative calm.
His body was well nourished. The food at the academy was good, and his once lean frame gradually filled out. At this point, he weighed close to two hundred and eighty jin.
Muscles bulged all over his body. With just a slight exertion of his arms, one could clearly feel his explosive power.
The demon-like back behind him looked even more ferocious.
In his previous life, this physique alone would have probably scared off a whole group of fitness enthusiasts.
His pectoral muscles were so full that they looked as if they might burst through his undershirt at any moment. He was developing a build similar to Garp's.
The female cadets in his class often stared at him, practically drooling. His powerful, robust physique had long since won the hearts of young girls.
Time passed day after day.
Kōjin also regularly kept an eye on the newspapers circulated within Marine Headquarters.
He soon learned that the bloody incident involving the Tenryūbito on Sabaody Island had been hastily wrapped up. The scapegoats were Vice Admiral Raku and a pirate who just happened to appear at the scene; the former was demoted as punishment, while the latter had his mouth sealed and was beheaded.
Soon after, Kuzan, Sakazuki, and Borsalino obtained Logia-type Devil Fruits and began to rise through the ranks of the Marines.
Next came news from the pirate world: Douglas Bullet had left the Roger Pirates and was starting to make a name for himself as a newcomer.
As for Garp, his teacher and the "mysterious Dragon" who appeared and vanished without a trace, he was basically never at Marine Headquarters.
Admiral Zephyr, on the other hand, frequently came to the academy to provide guidance.
...
Five months later, Kong gave him a gift: a pair of pitch-black, gleaming gloves with remarkable toughness.
"Turning Seastone into gloves, the difficulty of that craftsmanship is beyond imagination." Kong sighed and spoke as he personally came before him.
"We had to consult the research institute's Vegapunk and fuse it with other materials before we could finally make them!"
"Even so, the gloves' feel and softness still can't compare to that of ordinary materials. As weapons, though, they're barely good enough!"
Kōjin held the gloves in his hands and felt their weight. They felt somewhat hard to the touch.
"Originally, I wanted to make them into knuckle dusters. After all, that would have been much simpler. But Garp insisted on forging a pair of gloves for you. Take good care of this weapon. It can be said to be the world's first of its kind!"
"They are absolutely one of a kind!"
Kong said with a laugh.
"Thank you, Fleet Admiral!" Kōjin replied gratefully.
Kong waved his hand and turned to leave. As Fleet Admiral, he had many matters to attend to.
Watching him go, Kōjin tried putting on the gloves. Their texture was hard, yet carried a hint of elasticity. However, using them properly required great strength.
Otherwise, even something as simple as clenching a fist would likely be difficult.
As he closed and opened his five fingers, it felt as though he were tensing five extremely stiff springs.
Without a doubt, though, these gloves were devastatingly lethal against Devil Fruit ability users.
From that day on, Kojin continued his advanced studies at the academy.
...
Days passed, one by one, and in the blink of an eye, a year had gone by.
Over time, he became increasingly familiar with this world and gained a clearer understanding of the Marine organization.
In truth, there were very distinct factions within the Marines.
There were madmen who disregarded civilian lives, upholding the World Nobles and the government's "Justice."
Others held fast to their inner principles, stubbornly defending their beliefs. There were also kindhearted people filled with dreams who yearned for strength and were determined to protect civilians and uphold true Justice.
Within the Marines, there were good people and bad people.
This did not surprise Kojin. Anyone had two sides to them.
...
Six months later, Kojin finally mastered Kami-e, and the information about this skill appeared on his status panel.
At this point, he had fully mastered all six techniques of the Rokushiki.
By coincidence, Garp happened to be at Headquarters during this time. After mercilessly striking down Kojin's confidence in his talent, he taught him Life Return and then hurriedly left once more.
"Kami-e is a threshold, but Life Return is actually very easy to learn."
In just a few short days, he had already grasped Life Return with ease. It was also at this moment that he felt he could completely control his body. Every move of the Rokushiki seemed to be enhanced under this technique.
"Hair, blood, muscles, even internal organs, all of them can be controlled through Life Return!" Kōjin's eyes shone brightly as realization dawned on him.
"Even my perception of Haki, aside from Haoshoku has become faintly discernible."
Though still very vague, he could clearly sense the existence of a wisp of energy.
Unlike Tekkai's control over the body's interior, this wisp of energy came from sensing the outside world.
"Is this… Busoshoku (Armament)?"
(End of Chapter)