Chapter 45 - Graduation, Part 1

Sea Circle Calendar 1494, the month of May | Victor, age 16.

The sun rose in the east, bathing the world in a warm golden light and ushering in a new day.

It has been a whole month since the decisive fight that Victor fought against Sakazuki. After the majority of their serious injuries had improved, they were, — along with Borsalino, — discharged back home, with Victor being the first of the three of them.

Victor was released one week after the battle, while Sakazuki and Borsalino, three weeks later.

Today, a large number of Marines were seen gathered at the Marineford training ground as it was the day Fleet Admiral Kong had planned the graduation ceremony for members of the elite squad to take place.

Victor, Borsalino, and Sakazuki along with the rest of the soon to be graduates from the 1492 Marine elites recruits batch, all stood upright, — neatly arranged in a formation,— on the platform in the middle of the training ground.

The audience seats were filled with marine soldiers, and there was a separate platform arranged, where nearly a hundred or so young men and women sat who were wearing training uniforms.

Victor had already taken a quick look, and he immediately recognized two faces from the One-Piece manga he had read in his previous life.

One was a tall man with curly-black hair, while the other was a beautiful girl with long, wavy-black hair and a mole on the right side of her face, just below her red lips.

And indeed, Lilly had confirmed his presumption that they were the most recent selection of young men and women for the subsequent group of elite recruits.

Because, according to his recollections, Kuzan joined the Marines in the year 1494 of the Sea Circle Calendar.

The next significant element was the large stage set up in front of Victor and the rest of his colleagues. This time, unlike during battles, the seating area for high-ranking Marines was set up on the training ground.

There sat Kong, Sengoku, Zephyr, Garp, Tsuru, and a few more Vice-Admiral ranked marines.

In addition, a large number of what appeared to be Marine justice cloaks of various appolets were neatly folded and stacked on a large table to the right.

After a few minutes, when the appointed time had passed, Zephyr rose from his seat and approached a podium on the right.

"First and foremost, congratulations to everyone in front of me for successfully completing the two-year marine elites training program, passing both the theoretical and combat assessments, and graduating..."

Victor and the others stood solemnly listening to their chief instructor Zephyr's speech.

After taking a handout from the inner pocket of his cloak, Zephyr continued in his hoarse voice, "At the start of this batch two years ago, a total of 128 trainees were admitted; however, only 32 of you passed with sufficient scores to be awarded your rank here today in this ceremony.

This is not to say that everyone else failed; it simply means that they were unable to demonstrate enough potential to be awarded a minimum rank of Lieutenant." Zephyr paused for a moment to allow his students to process the statement.

He went on, "That's correct, all of you here in front of me would be given the rank of Lieutenant as the lowest, with the best performers obviously receiving a higher rank than that.

But before we begin the ranking, I'd like to say a few words as your colleague and as someone who has spent nearly his entire life fighting for justice in the Marines."

Zephyr's gaze was drawn to Kong, who simply nodded, giving him permission. It then focused solemnly on his students.

"This isn't a playhouse, and death is very common here."

Zephyr sighed and there was a brief pause.

"But we can't... We can't let our actions go too far."

His tone darkened and became solemn.

"We can't fall into grief... We must channel our grief and rage into strength and take on the burdens of our fallen comrades. We must always maintain our resolve... Do you understand what I'm saying? Recruits!"

Victor sighed, thinking about the irony that would befall this old man if he hadn't been transmigrated to this universe.

He clenched his fists.

"No, there is still a chance for the same incidents to happen... But I'd never let it... I'd never let fate have her way with him..." He made a promise to himself.

The students all cried out loudly, "YES SIR!!", when they heard Zephyr's hoarse voice. And hearing his students all speak in unison made the veteran only sigh deeply.

After all, he was well aware that this was purely a spur of the moment. And it was impossible to know what fate had in store for them, what kind of justice they valued, or what kinds of tragedies they would face.

Following a brief moment of silence, "Time does not wait for anyone...

Let us get started with today's main agenda...

I will now start announcing everyone's rankings...And I'd like to invite our Fleet Admiral, Mr. Kong, to come and hand over the marine justice cloaks to them." He said this as he turned to face Kong.

The latter stood up and walked before coming to a halt in the middle of the recruits' lineup, in line with Zephyr.

"When I call your name, please march forward and stop in front of the Fleet Admiral," he said after another brief pause, and the recruits all looked nervously at their Fleet Admiral.

This was a legendary presence in the world, unquestionably a man who stands at the pinnacle of the world's power hierarchy alongside a few others.

Before announcing the first name, Zephyr turned his head, first towards the table on the right, where a Rear-Admiral stood.

"Nicklas Bendtner, Recruit ID 065. Finished 23rd in the battle competition and 7th in the theoretical examination. You have been promoted to, Lieutenant!"

The Rear-Admiral quickly took one of the Justice cloaks from the neatly folded stack, brought it to Kong, and handed it over.

The recruits all began murmuring quietly, and some even turned their heads left and right subconsciously in search of Lord... *Cough*... Bendtner.

Zephyr's announcement surprised everyone because they had all assumed that the ranking would be based on how far they had progressed in the combat assessment.

However, after a while, they all realized. It was discovered that the higher-ups had also considered the theoretical examinations.

After all, why hold a theoretical exam if it would yield no results?

The individual in question marched out with visible pride, making his way neatly towards Kong. Despite the fact that he had received the lowest rank of those to be awarded in this ceremony, he did not show any dissatisfaction in his face.

After all, this is the rank of Lieutenant, not just any rank. There are many ranks that follow it, such as Lieutenant Junior Grade, Ensign, Warrant Officer, Petty Officer, Seaman First Class, and so on.

Furthermore, lieutenant-ranked officers are already regarded as a middle-level powerhouse in the marines. Receiving such a rank so soon after graduation can be considered a significant accomplishment.

Time passed slowly as one recruit after another was awarded their rank, followed by the Fleet Admiral himself putting on the justice cloak on the shoulders of the said recruits.

"Kylian, Recruit ID 096, finished eighth in the battle competition and eleventh in the theoretical examination.You have been promoted to, Captain!"

When the number of recruits reached 20, the rank got upgraded to Lieutenant Commander, then to Commander when it had reached 13, and finally to Captain rank when it reached the final eight.

"Zlatan, recruit ID number 056. Top eight in the battle competition and ninth in the theoretical examination. You have been promoted to, Captain!"

"Lilly, recruit ID number 012. Top eight in the battle competition and sixth in the theoretical examination. You have been promoted to, Captain!"

"Salah, Recruit ID number 024. Top eight in the battle competition and eighth in the theoretical examination. You have been promoted to, Captain!"

"Lionel, recruit ID number 061. Top eight in the battle competition and first in the theoretical examination. You have been promoted to, Commodore!"

This is the same as starting as a high-level officer immediately after graduation. A rank that many ordinary marines with limited strength consider to be a lifetime goal.

Leonel's promotion to Commodore came as no surprise; after all, he finished in the top eight and took first place on the theoretical exam.

Except for the three at the very front of the line-up, nearly everyone had received their respective ranks by this point.