Chapter 28: Year-end Assessment

The year-end assessment was approaching.

The assessment venue was arranged in the central plaza of MarineFord, the battlefield of future top wars.

On the morning of the assessment day, the venue was already buzzing with people, and on the elevated platform were the high-ranking officers of the headquarters.

Garp, Tsuru were among the vice admirals present.

Akainu, Aokiji, and Kizaru also arrived at the assessment site today.

Akainu sat in his seat, looking coldly at the bustling crowd below, seeming out of place in the surrounding environment.

According to reason, someone of his position and temperament would never participate in this kind of year-end assessment for recruits. Since becoming an admiral, he had already become a leader of the hawkish faction in the Navy. His mind was full of carrying out his own justice, and his attendance rate could be said to be the highest among the admirals, making him a model worker in the Navy.

But even with his extraordinary strength, he felt somewhat overwhelmed because there were simply too many pirates. He also knew that he alone couldn't eliminate all the pirates.

This batch of new recruits may be the last group personally instructed by Teacher Zephyr. Despite not wholeheartedly agreeing with Zephyr's non-killing sense of justice, Akainu highly regards Zephyr's teaching abilities. Therefore, this time he also wants to find some outstanding talents to join his ranks.

Especially a new recruit named Uchiha Chika, he has heard this name more than once, both from subordinates and higher-ups.

Glancing at Kizaru and Aokiji on both sides, Akainu slowly spoke, "I didn't expect you two to come as well. Just a new recruit assessment, are you very interested?"

Kizaru, also with his legs crossed, was lazily trimming his nails with a nail clipper. He nonchalantly replied, "After sitting in the office for too long, it's good to come out and have some fun."

The only one not crossing his legs was Aokiji. He supported his chin and said indifferently, "If you two came, I don't see any problem with me joining as well."

Akainu snorted coldly and remained silent. However, the temperature around him started to rise continuously. Aokiji calmly sat on Akainu's right side, seemingly unaffected by the temperature change.

From a distance, the space where the two of them sat appeared in two colors, red and blue.

Sengoku, sitting in the middle, naturally noticed the discord between the two. He frowned and lightly tapped the armrest of his chair a few times, and the two of them quieted down as if nothing had happened.

Sengoku sighed softly. He knew that the reason Akainu and Aokiji couldn't get along was because of the incident with Ohara and the Buster Call.

Originally, it wasn't a big deal. Aokiji wasn't very concerned about the matter, but he was just following orders. The problem was that Akainu ordered the bombardment of a civilian-packed ship, and Aokiji watched helplessly as the ship sank. With his personality, he definitely couldn't turn a blind eye to it.

On the way back, the two of them were on edge and almost came to blows. It was only because Sengoku intervened that the situation was temporarily resolved. After this incident, Akainu's actions gained favor with the World Government, becoming an important qualification for his promotion to Admiral.

Later, Aokiji also became an Admiral. As Admirals, the two of them carried different senses of justice, creating this rift between them. If it couldn't be repaired, it would surely cause trouble in the future.

But repairing this crack was not an easy task. Thinking of this, Sengoku felt a headache.

The friction above didn't affect the enthusiasm below. Many staff officers and soldiers from the Marine Headquarters came to the scene to watch, in addition to the trainees participating in the assessment. They were all discussing the rewards for this assessment.

"Have you heard? The rewards for this assessment include a powerful sword and even a Devil Fruit!"

"I heard. Devil Fruits are treasures of the sea, worth billions of berries. Even if I serve in the Marines my whole life, I can't afford one!"

"Indeed. Knowing that the reward for this assessment is a Devil Fruit, I also want to join the training camp for fun!"

"Forget it, can you even get into the training camp? Only geniuses can get in, and those who enter the Elite Training Camp are the cream of the crop. Do you think you can just enter?"

"Alright, stop talking about these things. Do you know who the favorite to win this time is?"

"It's Uchiha Chika, I've heard that name a thousand times!"

"That's not necessarily true because many senior trainees who have already gone to sea for combat have rushed back to participate. Uchiha Chika may be strong, but they are like flowers in a greenhouse, lacking experience!"

"Senior trainees are also participating? Isn't that unfair to those who have just joined for a year?"

"Who knows, the Headquarters has agreed, maybe the overall level of this group of students is higher."

"Hey, no matter who ends up getting the reward, it has nothing to do with us. But it's not bad to witness the talent and broaden our horizons."

"Indeed, the battles will surely be exciting!"

"The groups have been announced, and the assessment is about to begin. Let's focus on watching the matches."

...

Today, Chika wore his favorite black robe with the Uchiha clan emblem. This time, the assessment allowed them to wear the most comfortable clothes they preferred.

He had received the information about his first opponent and glanced at the sheet in his hand before casually throwing it into the trash bin.

Bridge, who was next to him, saw Chika's action and curiously asked, "Chika, who is your opponent?"

Chika shrugged and said, "I don't know, all I know is that their name is Kurisu."

Bridge, eager to flatter, immediately said, "Truly worthy of Chika, not caring at all about who the opponent is!"

Glerfus, on the side, immediately added, "Indeed, just now someone kept looking up and down at that tattered sheet for more than ten times. I bet they even know what color underwear the person is wearing today!"

Steam rose from Bridge's forehead out of anger, and he fiercely said to Glerfus, "You know nothing! This is called being cautious. Do you even know what caution is? You better pray that we don't end up in the same group. This time, I'll make you understand why the flower is so red!"

Since the incident in the dormitory where Chika poured a bowl of chicken soup for Bridge, he had been training diligently and was currently in a phase of rapid improvement. Apart from Chika, no one else could match him.

(T/N: I assume "poured a bowl of chicken soup" means - giving a talk-no-jutsu)

Glerfus raised an eyebrow, a mocking smile appearing on his rough face, and disdainfully said, "Alright, I'll be waiting. Let me make it clear first. If you lose, you owe me a year's worth of cigars. And when you hand them to me, you have to say, 'Boss, let me light it up for you!'"

Bridge didn't back down either, asserting that if Glerfus lost, he would have to do the same, and the cigars would be provided by Glerfus!