3 Chapter 2

"One!"

"""ONE!!!"""

"Two!"

"""TWO!!!"""

"One!"

"""ONE!"""

Upon the instructor's call, all the marine trainees bent their arms in the push-up position,

"Two!"

"""TWO!!!"""

Before raising them back up after the word 'Two' being spoken out of instructor.

The trainees were expressing pain and exhaustion. Their frail arms shook, threatening to collapse at any moment. Their sweat poured over the training ground like rain, and their attires were drenched beyond belief.

And yet, in the middle of this sweaty training session, I found my state drastically better than the other trainees—although my arms were just as thin as them, and my body, which puberty hasn't hit yet, was smaller than the most.

"Halt—! You may rest!"

And after who-knows-how-long passed, the instructor finally called upon checking the time through his watch. With groans here and there, all trainees simultaneously fell on the ground, huffing and wheezing intensely. I too was one of them, but with enough strength to quickly raise my body back up.

Smoker was Smoker indeed; he, from the start, was different than those of the cannon fodders.

"Hu…" Letting out a light breath, I gazed at the view of the lively Logue Town, as if the execution of Gol D. Roger was forgotten.

'Two months already passed by since my transmigration, but here I am, still unable to believe that I am in the world of One Piece.'

After Captain Merlin had me enlisted, I was placed with these fellow peers in this training school. Among us, the talented trainees will be sent to the headquarter, Marineford, and be groomed as an officer. Marine, in terms of system, followed the ideal of meritocracy,

'...Although not completely,' I thought as I shifted my gaze to the side, where a huge and burly trainee, who didn't seem to be as exhausted as the others, similar to me, 'Those whose parents are marines themselves, have a headstart.'

And additionally,

'The fellows whose parents are quite well-known,' I turned my gaze to the frail-looking trainee, whose arms were crossed and his face was in a visible frown during the whole training session, having refused to conduct the training, 'Causing nothing but a trouble, yet due to the statuses of that guy's parents, the instructors are unable to make fault out of his troubling actions.'

As to why the parents of so-called high statuses will send their children here? I presumed that it was to 'knock' the arrogance out of their children—although it didn't seem to be working.

'However, above all, the problem lies in the fact that...'

Their eyes. Whether the ones who had a headstart, or the ones from a noteworthy background, they currently were looking at me with envy and amazement. The fact that the frail boy of no known background was running as the number one trainee of this school, was obviously getting on their nerves.

Teens tend to be immature. Acting out of impulses, the lack of rationality leads to an action based on one's instinct and selfishness.

'I should be prepared for whatever may be coming in the future.'

With a grimace, I leaned down and grabbed a towel that lied beneath me, before hanging it around my shoulder and walking away, leaving the other trainees by themselves.

__________

During the evening, the meal is served. Afterward, an hour of free time is given, although limited within this Marine training facility.

But in this free hour, there isn't much to do. Considering that after this free time comes the 8-hour-long sleep thanks to the voice of the Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp, the trainees usually go to sleep early for an extra bit of rest.

In other words, this is the time when I can enjoy solitude. During this hour, I usually go up to the top floor of the building and view the starry night—which was considered rare in my previous world.

"…And the stars here are different," I muttered to myself while stargazing, "Big dipper, sirius, and other constellations, I cannot find them no matter how many times I observe."

Do you find me strange, that I've adjusted to this life too well?

Do you consider me numb, with there being no sense of loneliness and depression within me, but optimism instead?

Truthfully, I too don't have an answer for this. Perhaps whoever transmigrated me did something within me, so that I won't face implications regarding those types of concerns.

Creak—

Then, the doorway that leads to the inside of the building opened, jolting me awake from my moment of stargazing.

"As I expected,"

From within, three burly teens revealed themselves, walking at me with dark expressions on their faces.

"you are here again, Smoker."

Without turning around, I spoke, "...You guys again?"

"Well?" The one in the middle asked, "Have you made your answer?"

I groaned in annoyance, facepalming as I did so.

'There are way too many Helmeppos here, for Nika's sake!'

Turning around, I faced three teens who were looking at me with an annoyance of their own, while pocketing their hands within their pockets.

"If not, I will say it once again, for the final time," The one in the middle held his huge hand out at me, "Join Loid's line. He promised us the title of a Marine officer, along with a place on his ship in the future. Considering the fact that his father is none other than a Commodore, this is worth the deal."

This dude's name is Bratty. He, along with his two friends, are whom I call 'brain-dead jockies.' They showcase excellent performances during physical training, while screwing up every other things; I've already noted that they would serve as the great cannon fodders.

"Tch, come on," Bratty said impatiently, leaning down at me, "he said that this is the last time. Don't make him angry."

"Look," I said with a deadpan, "do you think being a marine is a joke? Is it children's play to you guys?"

"HEY!!" The guy on Bratty's left, Sally, huffed and puffed angrily at me, "What did you just say?!"

Akin to an ox, his nostrils expanded and retracted—oh, I just sighted a booger—oops, too much information.

I raised my hands up in a confusion, "What did I say to anger you?"

Then, I, by reflex, took a step back to dodge an impulsive punch from the guy on Bratty's right, Donny.

"Really?" I ducked just in time for Bratty and Sally to punch each other's fists, causing them to cry in pain.

"Loid told us to, oww," Bratty spoke while holding his bruised knuckle, "kill you if you don't accept his offer this time around!"

"Kill?" I was flabbergasted, "What is he? A pirate?"

Bending my torso to the left, I dodged Donny's right fist, which ended up slamming onto the door that was right behind me.

"Ahhh!!! My hand!!!" Donny screamed while rolling on the ground, with his right hand now swollen to a comical degree.

"D-Donny!!!" Bratty shouted with widened eyes, before directing his anger at me, "Smokerrrr!!!"

Lowering his body so that his head was pointed at me, Bratty charged at me like a bull.

"Raaaaaa!!!!!"

However, right before his head collided on my chest, I sidestepped casually, causing Bratty's head to slam onto Sally, who was standing back up wobbly,

Thud.

knocking Sally unconscious.

"S-Sally!!!!" Bratty cried while falling to his knees in a panic.

Standing next to the door, I sweatdropped.

'...Yeah, I'm out of here.'

Grabbing the doorknob, I twisted it and opened the door, only to see a pink-haired girl standing behind it with widened eyes.

Of course, she was none other than Hina, known as Smoker's colleague in the canon. A pretty fellow she was, and along with the fact that there were barely any females in this training facility, Hina was being dashed here and there by the smelly boys, only for her to reject their confessions with cold words.

Currently, she was standing in front of me, with her widened eyes headed at the scene behind me, at three jockies.

"Uh... hi?" I said awkwardly before turning around to see three jockies, "Don't mind them. They just had a fight among themselves—"

"As if Hina is going to believe that," Hina said coldly, causing me to sigh, for I expected her to react like this.

"I know that it looks as if I am in the wrong right when you just came, but it isn't. I—"

"Owww, my hand!!!" I was interrupted by Bratty's sudden cry, causing Hina's eyes on me to become colder.

"Hina is reporting this to the instructors." Hina looked at me with a frown, "These unnecessary beatdowns that you've given to those three, go against Marine's ideal of justice."

"I'm telling you! I didn't punch them even once!" I raised my hands up to express my innocence, but much to my chagrin, it was to no avail.

And on the next day, I was labeled as the problem kid, with the news having been spread across the entirety of the trainees.

"Trainee Smoker!!" Upon the start of the training session, I was called out by an instructor, "As a punishment, you will be doing double the exercise of the rest of the trainees, for six months!"

'F***,' I thought to myself, and shifted my eyes to where Hina was standing still—

"—Ow!"

"Where are you looking at, Trainee Smoker!!"

"F***—oh s***, I've said the wrong word, I meant aye—" I froze during my statement, before rubbing the back of my head,

"Ehe..."

"Trainee Smoker!!!"

The three jokies, along with the skinny dude with long blonde hair, Loid, were laughing their asses off from the back.