It had been 10 days since Raiden arrived at the camp. He had made some progress in 10 days, now able to use OFA at 3%.
At this rate, he felt like he would be able to unlock 100% in 970 days. 3 years, not too long or too short. But then, the progress was never linear.
It may take months to make even 1% progress, or it will take a day to make multiple days of progress. The human body is unpredictable like that. The higher you go, the harder it is to improve.
Other than making progress, he was also making some headway with his future master plan of changing Marines from within.
He got acquainted with 3 more future powerhouses. One of them was the green-haired guy, who loved to boast and think he was the most superior one, and was constantly planning to usurp the senior Marines and take their place.
"Oi, Raiden, you still daydreaming? Snap out of it. What is the masterplan you have been talking to me about?" The same almost 7-foot-tall man arrived, wearing a thick gold chain and looking down on him.
Instead of replying, Raiden grinned and waved him to a seat before handing him a cola.
"My dear Prince Grus, ever wondered what your future holds? What Marine division will you end up in? Or how bad your senior officer will be, always suppressing you, the future of Marines?" Instead of answering him, he asked a question in return.
"Of course I will be in the New World, catching the pirates!! As for my senior officer, what does that even matter, because I'm going to be the strongest!!" Grus replied with pride in his voice. And it wasn't unfounded. He was one of the strongest people in the whole Marine camp, up there with Smoker, Hina, Ain, and Doll.
That's right, that goth baddie was also part of the Marine camp. It was too bad that Raiden was too weak for Doll to even pay attention to him.
"You have your future all figured out!! Now, imagine for a second. Instead of ending up in G1 like an elite Marine, you end up in the G5 base, where the scourgeof sea gathers, and where the leader of Marine is a deadbeat person who is even worse than pirates. They surrender to all the pirate ships, charge a toll from innocent merchants, and loot them sometimes. The most senior leader of the base forbids all Marines from catching any pirates, lest they attract some bad kind of attention. Forget moving up in the world to become an Admiral, it would be hard for you not to get demoted and spend all your life wasting away~!"
Grus' face was covered in horror as he listened to the accounts. He was an ambitious young man who just ate an Devil Fruit and imagined a bright future for himself. He considered himself the future of the Marines and tended to think out loud about usurping his senior officer to get his position.
"Is what you're saying true?" Grus didn't believe it. How can a Marine base like that exist?
"It's absolutely 100% true. You can ask anyone in the base; it's common knowledge that the G5 base gathers nothing but the scourge of the seas." Raiden lied with a straight face. While it was true that the G5 base gathered problem Marines, they were not as bad as he claimed they were. But it was all necessary to dupe this young man in front of him. He was an idiot after all.
[Doesn't your conscience hurt, Host? Duping and lying to a young man like that? Oh, I forgot a scourge like you doesn't have a conscience.]
Raiden ignored the system; it wasn't the time to argue with him. He wasn't done scamming—ahem—convincing the young man yet.
Ignoring the look of growing fear on Grus's face, he continued speaking.
"Now, think. Instead of ending up in a situation like that, what if you ended up in a place where you were your own boss?! A place where nobody could give you commands, not the World Government, or even the Fleet Admiral (a lie), where you were the strongest(another lie), and you can fight and beat up all Four Emperors of the sea whenever you want (and die in the process). You know what you'll be called, Grus? A Hero!! The Hero of Marines!! Even Garp would end up looking upto you, and Zephyr would cry tears of joy, calling you his proudest student!!"
"How can I join such a department?!" Grus stood up from his seat, knocking the stool over. But he didn't care. He was too busy daydreaming about his future.
'Another sucker fell for it.' Raiden cleared his throat.
"You can't join it yet. You see...I plan to create the said Marines department!! I have the whole proposal ready, and I am sure Fleet Admiral would definitely approve it. Smoker and Hina are already part of it!!" Grus said nothing; he just picked up the stool and sat back down with a look of disdain on his face that screamed, 'I am looking down on you.'
"Umm...It's not that I am looking down on you or anything, Raiden-san. It's just that you are well...weak. Extremely weak. You are at the bottom of the class. Even those small brats like Binz and Kujaku are much stronger than you are. I am not even sure if you will last in the camp after a month, let alone form a new department. And why would Marines agree about such a force, creating a force that is not under their power?"
Raiden pretended to look hurt. "So that's how it is. I challenge you, Prince Grus!! Three months from now, at the end of camp, if I beat you in a fair fight, will you join my team?! Do you dare to bet your future on a fight?! Are you a real man?! Don't tell me you are too scared to fight like a bitch!!" He shouted with vigour.
"Who is afraid of who!! Come, come, I will beat you up so bad your mother won't even recognise you!! Three months, right? I will see you in 3 months!!" With that, Grus left the room, leaving behind a Raiden who was smirking evilly to himself.
He already had three people down, including Smoker and Hina.
What, you say he never asked them about their opinions!? Do they dare have any opinions? They were in, whether they liked it or not. That's how friendships worked.
As for losing against Grus Prince, that thought never even crossed his mind.
[Ding!! Detecting Host Intentions. Creating a New Mission...]