Chapter 9: Marine Branch: We're Not Worthy

East Blue,

Sakura Island

Marine Branch 155

The Marine recruits in the recruitment office were yawning out of boredom. It wasn't the time for large-scale recruitment, and there weren't many people willing to join the Marines in the East Blue.

The table in front of them was knocked, and the annoyed Marine soldier raised his head to respond. However, when he saw a pair of purple eyes with peculiar patterns, a sense of fear involuntarily arose within him, and the words he wanted to say were swallowed.

The newcomer was naturally Uchiha Chika. Seeing the Marine in front of him hesitating to speak, he took the initiative to ask,

"Hello, is this the Marine recruitment office? I'm here for an interview."

"Ah, yes, it is."

The Marine soldier, who had regained his senses, wiped the sweat from his forehead and hurriedly replied. He then began to inquire about Chika's information.

"Name?"

"Uchiha Chika."

"Age?"

"16 years old."

The Marine soldier looked surprised at Uchiha Chika and thought to himself that he was quite young.

"What's your reason for joining the Marines?"

"Just for fun, I guess."

"Uh, very honest!"

"Do you have any special abilities?"

"Well... I can fly, breathe fire, summon lightning, control gravity and repulsion, open spatial gates... many things."

Hearing this long list of abilities, the Marine soldier looked at Uchiha Chika with a skeptical expression. If it were someone else, he would have scowled, but unfortunately, the impact of Uchiha Chika's eyes earlier was too great.

Seeing the expression on the Marine soldier's face, Chika knew he might think he was just babbling, so he briefly demonstrated a few ninjutsu techniques and then used Amenotejikara to levitate the entire branch building into the sky before gently placing it back in its original position.

"Now, can I join the Marines?" Chika turned his head to look at the Marine soldier and found that the soldier was completely dumbfounded, sticking out his tongue like a comical statue.

However, inside the Marine base, chaos had already erupted.

"Enemy attack! We're under attack!"

"The opponent is a devil fruit user, a very terrifying ability! Hurry, go out and see!"

"This is bad! We can't handle an enemy of this level."

"For justice! We can't retreat, let's charge out and see!"

A series of hurried footsteps resounded, and all the marines in the base rushed to the entrance, anxiously looking around to find the incoming enemy.

At this moment, the marine responsible for recruitment had regained his senses. Seeing the situation, he knew it was a misunderstanding caused by Chika's abilities. Suppressing his shock, he quickly approached a burly marine and saluted, explaining, "Reporting to Colonel Rode! There was no enemy attack. The commotion just now was caused by Uchiha Chika, who came to enlist."

As soon as his words fell, a clamor erupted among the marines.

"What? Caused by someone coming to enlist?"

"Are new recruits this terrifying these days?"

"You scared me! I thought we were sacrificing ourselves for justice!"

Colonel Rode looked at Chika, who was standing calmly, his face twitching. He spoke, controlling his emotions, "I understand, you may leave."

He then walked up to Chika, restraining his caution. After all, Chika's ability to effortlessly manipulate the entire building had startled him. He also realized that with the power Chika had just displayed, the entire East Blue likely lacked the ability to contend with him.

"Hello, I am Colonel Rode, the highest-ranking officer here. You are Uchiha Chika, here to enlist in the Marines?" Rode's tone carried a hint of caution. After all, Chika's previous display had left a deep impression on him. He also knew that with Chika's strength, he was more suited for the Grand Line, and their East Blue Marine Branch was unworthy!

"Yes, I am Uchiha Chika. I came here to join the Marines," Chika replied with a smile.

Receiving confirmation and seeing Chika's seemingly good attitude, Rode's relieved heart eased slightly, followed by a surge of excitement.

He knew he couldn't keep a talent like this. Chika was destined for the Grand Line. Rode's East Blue Marine Branch was not worthy!

However, he could recommend Chika to the Marine Headquarters! Recommending someone of such caliber would bring him significant credit and potentially several promotions!

Looking at Chika once again, Rode's eyes filled with fanaticism.

Feeling uncomfortable under Rode's gaze, Chika raised his hand and opened a door in the Door-Door Space, dropping Brand's corpse, the pirate flag, and a large black sphere onto the ground.

"What's this?" Rode asked, puzzled, as he looked at Chika.

"This black sphere is the corpses of Brand's pirate crew. The one that still somewhat resembles a human is the captain, whom I took care of on the way here," Chika explained.

Rode gasped, feeling a chill run down his spine. He was familiar with the Brand pirate crew, a group that had returned from the Grand Line. The headquarters had recently issued a warning and was planning to send reinforcements since the devastation caused by Brand's strength in the East Blue would be immense.

But now, this Brand, who had managed to escape from the Grand Line, had turned into a humanoid charred corpse before him. The other marines couldn't even maintain their human shape!

It was truly terrifying! Brand's power had left Rode with a new understanding of Chika's strength.

"Please enter the base first. We can talk more inside. To be honest, with your abilities, I don't think you'll stay here for long," Rode spoke again, his tone now ingratiating. He knew that someone with Chika's power, if sent to the headquarters, would definitely be admitted to the elite training camp. Upon graduation from there, Chika would become an officer at the headquarters with a rank even higher than his own, a height he could never reach in his lifetime. So, he couldn't afford to be the slightest bit negligent, whether in terms of strength or status.

Chika nodded with a smile and entered the base first.

Watching Chika's figure and thinking about his youthful face, Rode couldn't help but sigh in his heart: Why is there such a big difference between people?