Chapter 25: Upcoming Year-End Assessment

"Senpai, this is the lunchbox I prepared for you!"

On the way from the dormitory to the training grounds, Chika was "ambushed."

With a smile, he accepted the lunchbox from a female student. As soon as she handed it to him, she covered her face and ran away before Chika could say anything.

After the girl left, Chika opened the door space and placed the lunchbox inside, looking at the various lunchboxes and gifts taking up a large portion of the space. He rubbed his temples, trying to estimate how much Bridge and the others could eat.

Just as he was about to close the door space, another female student approached him, holding a lunchbox.

This time, the familiar face that appeared was Ain, whom Chika had met on the playground.

Ain glanced at the door space that Chika hadn't closed yet, a trace of sadness flickering in her eyes. She placed the lunchbox behind her and joked with Chika,

"You're quite popular, Senpai. Looks like I arrived late?"

Upon seeing Ain, Chika's smile also faded from his face. He made a "helpless" expression and looked at Ain,

"I didn't want this either. Ever since I had a fight with Smoker, it seems like I've become famous."

After saying that, he extended his hand towards Ain.

Ain looked at him strangely, wondering what he was up to.

"The lunchbox you made looks good. I haven't eaten yet, so why not give it to me?"

Of course, Chika didn't miss Ain's previous expressions and actions. He admired this strong-willed girl and naturally didn't want to make her feel down.

Ain appeared a bit unsure,

"Um, but you still have so many lunchboxes..."

"I don't know those people, so I don't dare to eat randomly. I can trust your food."

Seeing Ain still standing there, Chika swiftly took the lunchbox from her hand and then swiftly ran away, his voice echoing from a distance,

"Hand it over!"

Watching Chika's figure disappear until it was out of sight, Ain smiled brightly, resembling a blooming white orchid.

...

Today's training ended, and Zephyr did not immediately announce dismissal. Instead, he left all the students with an announcement.

"The training for your first year is coming to an end. Next month, we will have the year-end assessment, which will be a practical assessment. The top three students will receive rewards such as Devil Fruits and the High Grade Sword."

As soon as these words were spoken, the students below erupted with excitement.

It was expected that there would be a year-end assessment, so that wasn't surprising. The key point was the rewards—how could the top three students receive Devil Fruits or the High Grade Sword?

What exactly were Devil Fruits? It could be said that eating a Devil Fruit was the fastest way to enhance one's abilities in this world. Moreover, if someone consumed a powerful Devil Fruit, it could even enable an ordinary soldier to ascend to great heights!

And the High Grade Sword was even more tempting for students specializing in swordsmanship. Which swordsman didn't dream of having a fine sword as their weapon?

Everyone's faces were filled with eagerness, secretly vowing to achieve second or third place. As for first place? Wasn't that already reserved for Uchiha Chika? Everyone naturally assumed that first place belonged to Chika, including Zephyr.

Zephyr had anticipated the reaction of the crowd. There were rewards in previous years as well, but nothing as outrageous as this. After all, even in the Marines, Devil Fruits and the High Grade Sword were not easy to come by.

After thinking it through, the only possibility Zephyr could come up with was that Sengoku was finding every possible way to reward Uchiha Chika.

For the past few months, Chika's stunning performances time and time again had made Sengoku, the old man, unable to contain his excitement. Coupled with the relationship between Gion and Tsuru, Sengoku had completely regarded Chika as the next potential admiral.

But this was for the best. Talent should be valued, and as much help as possible should be provided during their growth. Anything done after they have grown would only be icing on the cake.

Zephyr was undoubtedly an upright and traditional Marine. However, this didn't mean he was rigid. After experiencing the loss of his wife and child, Zephyr's perspective had slowly shifted.

It should be noted that when Chika joined the Marines, he had bundled all the pirates of the Brand Pirates into a black ball, which was completely against his philosophy of not killing.

In the past, Zephyr would have had some prejudices against Chika, but now, he had no emotional fluctuations and silently supported Chika's actions in his heart. He was also wholeheartedly sharing his knowledge with Chika.

Zephyr believed that Chika would definitely become an admiral or even higher in the future. He had stepped back and watched Chika's continuous growth, experiencing a long-lost sense of accomplishment. Now, Zephyr saw Chika as a kind of hope.

At this moment, Chika was also very excited. He didn't need the High Grade Sword for now, but the Devil Fruit would greatly enhance his abilities.

Since absorbing the Dojondo Fruit, Chika hadn't encountered any new abilities to absorb. The Devil Fruit he would receive as a reward this time would most likely be good enough, sufficient to awaken the second tomoe of his Rinne-Sharingan.

With each tomoe awakened, the visual power of the Rinne-Sharingan would improve. Chika had a premonition that when he obtained the third tomoe, his Rinne-Sharingan would be able to activate exclusive techniques like Madara's Mangekyou Sharingan and Sasuke's Amaterasu.

When he was ambushed by Orochimaru and his Rinne-Sharingan was activated for the first time, his visual power was drained before he could develop any exclusive techniques. That had always been Chika's regret, and he was determined to obtain the Devil Fruit this time!