Ch 1: Participating in the Marines Auditions
Ten years have passed since the execution of the Pirate King and the beginning of the Great Pirate Age.
Our story begins in Louguetown, known as the City of Beginning and End in the East Blue.
A 10-year-old boy, about 1.4 metres tall, with silver hair in a shoulder-length ponytail, grey eyes and a wheat complexion, emerged from the sea. Although the boy's body showed signs of malnutrition, his balanced and slightly muscular body was quite remarkable.
He had previously heard from a fisherman from the same village that swimming was a very effective workout. So he practised swimming every day.
After the boy came out of the sea, he put on his old, patched grey shirt over the rocks on the shore. The faded black shorts he had worn in the sea were still wet. He had no other clothes to change into.
After putting on his shirt, he put on his belt with two identical daggers inside. After preparing everything, he took one last look at the sea.
'I don't have enough time for fishing today. I am not good at fishing anyway. I'd better hunt animals in the forest." The boy thought with a sigh as he looked at the sea.
Then he set off towards the forest. After walking in the forest for about 10 minutes, he saw a deer. The boy quietly tried to approach his prey. But the deer had sensed the boy and ran away. The boy started running after the deer in an effort to catch the deer, but he could not catch up.
Sighing with disappointment, he set off in search of another prey. After spending another 20 minutes, the boy finally managed to hunt a small rabbit. He can't afford to hunt animals like tigers and snakes. So he hunts less aggressive and weaker animals. But that wasn't always possible. So he often tried his hand at fishing. But because he also had difficulty fishing, his body showed signs of malnutrition. As a boy who wanted to join the Marine Corps, he didn't think stealing was the right way to go.
He cleaned and cooked the rabbit he caught and ate it. Then he set off for Loguetown. After an hour's walk, he reached the Loguetown gate. Under the strange looks of the people around, he proceeded towards the Navy Headquarters. After arriving at the Naval Headquarters, the sailor learnt that the tryouts would be held at the training ground and went there.
At the entrance of the training area, booths were set up for registration. Standing at one of the registration booths, the boy met an ordinary-looking Marine in his mid-20s holding registration papers in his hand. Looking at his clothes, it was obvious that he was an ordinary soldier without any rank.
"I want to sign up for the Marine draft." The boy approached this ordinary soldier and said.
The soldier first looked at the boy, then handed him a piece of paper and a pen full of questions.
The boy checked the questions and started answering them in order. Thanks to his parents, he had already learnt to read and write.
Name and surname?
- Mart D. Silver
Your age?
- 10
Place of Birth
- Heisha Village
Why do you want to join the Marine?
- My village was destroyed under pirate attack. My family, relatives, friends and acquaintances were all killed. I went hunting in the forest at the time. When I came back, I saw that everyone had been killed. I saw a town full of corpses. I don't want this to happen to anyone else. I don't want anyone else to suffer because of the pirates.
After thinking for a while and writing the answer to the last question, he handed the paper to the soldier. The soldier checked the text and gave Silver a sympathetic look and allowed him to enter the election area.
Elections are held every 3 months. Therefore, although they live in a big town, the number of participants is not high. However, the selections are quite easy since there is a constant need for soldiers. The main reason for the selection is to check whether the participants have any physical discomfort to fight. The requirements to join the Marines are 1km run, 10 sit-ups, 10 push-ups and 5 pull-ups. Therefore, everyone can easily participate if they do not have a physical disability. Then there is a 3-day control period. Since sea power is very effective, the backgrounds of the participants can be checked one by one in a short time. Then there is a 3-month basic training.
During these 3 months, those who want to become soldiers are given basic physical training, basic combat training, basic aiming training and basic sword training. After 3 months of training, soldiers are taken into reserve forces. Afterwards, they are recruited to the required area according to the order of completion of the training.
When he arrived at the training area, Silver checked his surroundings. After counting the number of participants, he realised there were 300 participants with him. Except for himself, the youngest was an ordinary-looking young man around 15 years old.
At this time, a white-green-haired sailor soldier with a captain's crest on his shoulder came to the area. The sailor had two cigars in his mouth. He was wearing black trousers, black boots and an open white buttoned jacket. On the shoulder of the jacket was the captain's coat of arms. Behind him was an 11-year-old girl with glasses and dark blue hair. The girl was holding a sword in front of her with both hands, almost the same size as her own. Soldiers of various ranks were following her.
Silver learnt that this man was Smoker. He came from the Marine Headquarters, the headquarters of the Marines. He was rumoured to have eaten devil fruit and was quite powerful. He'd arrived in his hometown of Lougetown six months ago.
After Smoker arrived, the auditions began. Meanwhile, he was also looking for a good seedling.
As the selection was quite simple, everyone who completed their turn joined the sailors. Soon it was Silver's turn. Silver performed quite well because he had been through such training before. She had more control over her body than her peers.
Silver was very happy to have performed well and joined the sailors. Meanwhile, she was unaware that Smoker, who was watching the audition from the sidelines, was paying attention to her.