Chapter 96
Chen Ye's plan was actually quite simple!
His only chance to assassinate a Celestial Dragon was after the Navy assessment when the Celestial Dragon representative appeared at the Navy headquarters!
Since the main storyline had not yet started, he couldn't use the plot to find a Celestial Dragon.
The world of "One Piece" had a massive map.
And the system only gave him seven days!
Trying to find a Celestial Dragon within seven days would be extremely difficult!!
So, he disguised himself as a marine, infiltrated the Navy headquarters, and looked for an opportunity to carry out the assassination!
However.
The Navy headquarters was filled with experts, and assassinating a heavily guarded Celestial Dragon in such an environment would be very challenging.
According to the information provided by Murong Chui Xue, after the Navy assessment, the top three would be coronated by the Celestial Dragon representative.
What Chen Ye needed to do was participate in the assessment under the guise of a fake marine, achieve a high rank, and await the Celestial Dragon representative's coronation!
Only in this scenario could he safely get close to a Celestial Dragon.
This was Chen Ye's plan!!
Extremely dangerous!
If any step went wrong, Chen Ye might fail the mission and face the pursuit of the Navy Admirals.
...
"Senior, can I sleep here? There's a window here that can blow away my smoke!"
The young Smoker, pointing to the bed next to Chen Ye, seemed a bit excited.
Becoming a marine was his dream!
"Of course!" Chen Ye smiled and said, "Also, just call me Mondo."
"Alright, Senior Mondo! Thank you for your generosity."
Smoker happily laid down his blanket, then suddenly asked, "By the way, Senior Mondo, do you mind my smoke? It's my fruit ability, and it actually doesn't affect you."
"I don't mind." Chen Ye smiled and shook his head.
"Senior Mondo, you're truly a kind and generous person!" Smoker said sincerely.
At this moment.
The dormitory door was pushed open again.
A nearly two-meter-tall burly man walked in.
Smoker and Chen Ye both looked at the burly man.
The burly man ignored them, scanned the dormitory, and found the best bed had already been taken by Smoker and Chen Ye. He then walked over with big strides.
He looked at Chen Ye's build, then at Smoker, deciding that Smoker might be easier to bully, especially since Smoker's constant smoking annoyed him. He shouted:
"Hey, smoke boy, you're on my bed. Move your dirty stuff before I get angry!"
Smoker, still somewhat green, was not foolish.
"The beds here are first-come, first-served. I got here before you!"
"I don't care when you got here. I said this bed is mine, so it's mine!"
Chen Ye sat on his bed, looking on with interest.
Smoker was quite helpless. He had just joined the Navy and didn't want to cause trouble.
But this burly man was clearly picking a fight, and Smoker was not one to swallow his anger.
The next moment.
Smoker's body suddenly expanded, turning into a smoke giant, his head almost reaching the ceiling, and he looked down at the burly man.
"An ability user!"
The burly man's face turned pale with fear, stammering.
"This is my bed. Do you have any objections?" Smoker asked.
"N-no objections..."
Hearing this, Smoker dispersed his ability, returning to normal size.
The burly man dared not look at Smoker again. Unexpectedly, he turned to Chen Ye and shouted angrily, "What are you looking at? Move out of the way..."
Boom!
The burly man hadn't even finished his sentence when he was sent flying.
Chen Ye calmly sat back on his bed as if nothing had happened.
Smoker was shocked.
Just moments ago, he had praised Senior Mondo as a kind and generous person! Now... he wanted to take that back.
...
The next day.
Early morning.
"Ring ring ring..."
An urgent bell suddenly rang in the new recruits' dormitory, waking many still-sleeping recruits.
"Newbies, get up quickly! Assemble in the square within ten minutes!"
The scolding voices of veteran soldiers echoed in the hallway outside the dormitory.
Countless new recruits had no choice but to grumble while getting up, washing up, and quickly putting on their new recruit uniforms to rush to the square.
When Chen Ye and Smoker arrived at the square, they found that ten large arenas had already been set up in the huge square.
In front of the arenas was a high platform for viewing, with many chairs clearly prepared for important figures.
"Senior Mondo, aren't we here for an assessment? Why are we gathering here?" Smoker asked quietly beside him.
Chen Ye smiled and said, "This should be the most important part of the assessment."
Smoker, not understanding, was about to ask more when suddenly, they heard exclamations nearby:
"Look, it's Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Fleet Admiral Sengoku is here!"
"And the three Admirals..."
All the new recruits looked towards the high platform at the front.
Chen Ye did the same.
Soon, he saw a group of high-ranking Navy officials walking out.
Leading them was a man wearing frog-like glasses, with long braided whiskers on his chin, and a seagull symbolizing the "Navy" on his military cap, under which was a head of explosive hair.
It was Fleet Admiral Sengoku!
Fleet Admiral Sengoku looked gentle, but Chen Ye knew that his strength was incredibly terrifying.
Behind Fleet Admiral Sengoku were three very tall men, each about three meters in height.
Seeing these three men, Chen Ye's eyes flashed.
Aokiji, Akainu, Kizaru!
These three men were the Navy headquarters' Admirals, representing the Navy's highest combat power!
Behind the three Admirals were more than a dozen Vice Admirals.
Hero Garp, Tsuru, Momousagi, and others were among them.
Actually.
Among the Vice Admirals, some individuals' strength was not inferior to the Admirals.
They were just more low-key and unwilling to take the Admiral position.
The most representative figure among them was Hero Garp!!
In terms of achievements, Hero Garp was far stronger than the three Admirals...
...
After all the important figures took their seats on the high platform, Fleet Admiral Sengoku stepped forward, looking down at the numerous new recruits, and began his speech.
"I am Sengoku, the Fleet Admiral. On behalf of the Navy, I welcome you all!!"
The new recruits in the square cooperatively cheered and applauded.
-------------------------------
[TN: I'm a little disappointed because the One Piece world in this novel doesn't follow the canon timeline.]