Chapter 43 - The Pub, Part 1

Another week later.

Inside a brightly lit bar in one of the streets of Marineford Town, the sounds of hearty laughter and voices filled with joy reverberated the inside atmosphere.

The majority of these individuals were mostly marines having a good time with either their fellow colleagues or, more likely, their significant others.

And among these numerous people, there was a group of six individuals who all seemed to be in their early twenties, seated at a circular table that was not very large.

The six individuals in question all of a sudden hoisted their glasses, and shouted "Cheers!" before simultaneously beginning to down the contents of their glasses as though it were a contest.

"So, Victor, what are your plans now that you're about to graduate?" One of the six, a young man in his early 20s who sat among the group, inquired of Victor with a face covered in a broad grin.

His name was Zlatan, and he was one of Victor's friends from the elite recruits batch. He was a tall, strong guy with average looks. He has prominent cheekbones, a short goatee beard, and short, slicked-back black hair with two loose strands dangling from his forehead.

"I suppose, roam the seas, and get to work accumulating merit..." Victor responded to Zlatan's question.

"Are you so eager for promotion?" You're technically not even a graduate yet." Lilly, who was seated to the right of Victor, asked sarcastically after turning her head.

"I'll be soon... We'll all be, in another two weeks' time." He paused in the midst, seemingly thinking of something. "Ah... speaking of... I clearly remember the Fleet Admiral announcing you five to be ranked, Captain," he said showing a grin at the end.

All five of them broke into a chuckle. After all, the opportunity to skip over so many ranks immediately after graduation is not available to just anybody. They were ecstatic and beaming with pleasure at their accomplishments.

"Hmm... I guess..." Lilly gave a shrug, sounding nonchalant. However, it was clear that she was attempting to conceal the momentary expression of pride that had spread over her whole face.

"But what about you, Borsalino, or Sakazuki? What rank do you think they'll assign you...?" Another voice followed subsequently, and Lilly was rescued from her embarrassment.

In response, Victor shrugged and looked up at Lionel, the one who had posed the question. "I don't know... Perhaps the same, or even higher... I really can't say for sure...".

Lionel had a good-looking appearance, like Zlatan, except that he was shorter. He had eyes the color of turquoise and naturally maroon hair, which was styled into a bun.

Lionel heaved a sigh, and then his expression brightened once more as he continued, "I wouldn't be surprised even if the Fleet Admiral handed all three of you Rear Admiral ranks… You lot are fucking monsters…"

Victor doesn't want to talk about this. The conversations felt almost entirely focused on him, and his objective for the evening was simply to get to know more about the friends he had established over the last several months.

And maybe, depending on how the conversations go tonight, ask if they'd want to work under him.

But he wasn't in too haste to ask about it yet as he doesn't know whether they had made plans for something else, or work under anyone else.

Victor quickly swept his gaze over everyone in the room and said, "Enough about me... Please fill me in on the five of your future plans... I'm intrigued..." He stated that in a hurry while shifting the topic.

It had worked, and the five in question all made a pondering motion, followed by a brief pause. "Hmm... I plan to return to South-Blue, my home sea, and I want to eventually take over the command of the Marine Base there..." First to speak was the young guy who was seated in front of Victor on the opposite side of the table.

"You're kidding, right, Salah? The best eight of the whole elite's batch would never be allowed to squander their potential on the four seas. No way the Fleet Admiral would agree to that..." Lilly immediately raised her argument, looking eyes crossed at the young man named Salah.

Salah was a tall, curly-haired young guy with a brown complexion, bright green eyes, and abundant facial hair. He was a little bit taller than Lionel and had a build that wasn't too lean or too bulky.

"She's right, the Fleet Admiral would never consent to such…" Victor included as well.

"…"

Salah was silent and did not answer.

"We can always form a team, you know..." The young man who sat next to Salah suddenly made an unexpected suggestion.

He had short brown hair, notably small eyebrows, and brown colored eyes. He was shorter than Victor in height but had a more bulkier figure, as Victor obviously had a flawlessly toned physique.

=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=

AN:

This and the subsequent chapter were the most challenging for me to write. I am not extremely pleased with it. I lost count of how many times I had rewritten the conversations...

=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=

STONES STONES STONES, KEEP SENDING POWER STONES AND UP THIS PIECE TO THE SUMMIT... ☺☺☺✌

Please, do spare those precious stones, and see if we can raise my novel to at least top 20.

=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=

If you decide to support me, please understand that, I am beyond grateful.

https: // www.patrê0n.com / RyanFic

Thank you for your support.