Chapter 14: Strength Test

He stayed in his small building for three days, during which he had dinner with Gion once.

Coincidentally, they ran into Kaji again at the restaurant. This unfortunate guy saw his goddess with another man and assumed they were intimate. He couldn't even eat and hurriedly left with tears and snot streaming down his face.

Of course, Chika was already used to such situations, and since Gion didn't say anything, he didn't care either.

On the fourth morning, after Gion finished breakfast, Gion came to inform him that the enrollment date had arrived. They immediately headed to the training camp together.

Upon arriving at the training camp, they noticed a considerable number of new recruits reporting for duty. In the center of an open space stood a machine resembling Earth's Fist Strength Testing Device, used in One Piece to test Haki.

The officer in charge of the test hadn't arrived yet. The students who had come to report were gathering in groups of two or three, discussing the upcoming test.

Everyone had a hint of nervousness on their faces. After all, they had finally made it to Marine Headquarters and had the opportunity to participate in the Elite Training Camp. No one wanted to fail the first test, the Haki test.

However, this device was fair. It didn't matter who you were, as long as you reached the passing line, you could enter the training camp. At the same time, it was cruel. Many people who came here had participated before, no matter how they trained, they couldn't meet the standard. For them, that line seemed like an insurmountable barrier.

At that moment, Gion was explaining the details of the test to Chika.

"When it's your turn, you'll strike the soft pad on that machine with all your strength. If the value on the display screen reaches 300 or above, it means you've passed."

Chika expressed that he could definitely reach that value, but Gion shook her head. She looked into Chika's eyes and emphasized seriously, "The Chief Instructor of the training camp is the former Admiral Zephyr, and the current Admirals and many Vice Admirals at Headquarters were his students. The Fleet Admiral has recommended you to him, so this time you must give it your all and not let him down."

Upon hearing this, Chika was moved. Since coming to Headquarters, Sengoku had taken care of him a lot, and he wasn't an ungrateful person. So this time, he wanted to show his best.

"Don't worry, Gion sister. Just wait and see," Gion confidently smiled and made a promise.

Gion didn't say anything further. She slightly bent over and tidied Chika's clothes, making him feel a bit embarrassed. He waved his hand and said it wasn't necessary.

Gion chuckled, covering her mouth. "You still get shy, huh? When you steal the limelight later, you can't look messy. So many people will be watching you."

Chika rolled his eyes and suddenly pinched Gion's hand that was resting on his clothes. Taking advantage of Gion's momentary distraction, he used Shunpo to disappear from the spot.

"You little brat! If you have the guts to touch, don't run away!" Gion, realizing what happened, swung her fist toward the air and jokingly scolded, "If I embarrass myself later, I'm holding you responsible!"

Chika, who had "escaped" from Gion, appeared among the crowd waiting for the test to begin, ready for the test.

After a while, the test official arrived at the testing site. He briefly mentioned a few things to pay attention to and then announced the start of the test. The students whose names were called stepped forward for the test.

The first student to test appeared a bit nervous and only achieved a Strength value of 280. Fortunately, they had a second chance, and the second time they adjusted their mindset and achieved a score of 318, successfully passing the test.

The test started off with a success, providing a boost to the following students. One by one, more people passed the test.

Among them, there were a male and a female student who caught Chika's attention.

The guy was named Binz, and the girl was named Ain. Both of them had impressive strength, achieving scores of 410 and 520, respectively. Compared to most who barely reached the passing line, these scores were already outstanding.

However, their strength alone was not enough to make Gion remember their names. What truly piqued his interest was that their names reminded him of a One Piece theatrical film: "Z."

This film mainly told the story of Zephyr's (Z) mad actions after leaving the Marines, with Binz and Ain accompanying him.

At the same time, these two were also the last batch of students trained by Zephyr. This indicated that the incident that caused Zephyr's disappointment with the Marines, the destruction of the Whitebeard Jr. Pirates, would occur during the sea training of this batch of students.

As for this Whitebeard Jr., Chika naturally had no fear. He was confident that once he completed his training, it would be effortless for him to prevent this incident from happening. However, it was always good to be mentally prepared in advance.

Slowly, everyone around participated in the test, and Chika unexpectedly became the last one.

The test official glanced at Chika, who stood alone in the testing area. It was widely known that the first and last person to showcase would easily attract the audience's attention, and they would also be more prone to nervousness.

However, the test official noticed Chika's calm demeanor and the absence of any nervousness. He nodded inwardly, thinking that Chika was indeed the person Sengoku had specifically instructed him to observe.

Arranging Uchiha Chika to go last was Sengoku's intention. Currently, the Marines were in need of military power, and talented individuals like Chika were meant to grow as quickly as possible. By attracting more attention and gaining greater fame, it would be advantageous for future assignments and avoid meaningless procedures. It had to be said that the current special circumstances were making Sengoku somewhat impatient.

"Uchiha Chika!" the test official loudly announced the last name on the list.

"Here!"