In the naval base of Water Capital.
At the port, a group of naval soldiers stood upright in four rows.
They were waiting on the shore for a warship with a dog - head figurehead approaching from the distant sea level.
Sephiroth was wearing a set of recruit uniforms. He wore black military boots, blue trousers, a white short - sleeved shirt, a blue scarf around his neck, and a white naval cap. He stood in a row with nine other recruits.
Although three days ago, he had taken out three officers of the Watson Pirates and received a bounty of 49.6 million.
But...
At that time, he hadn't officially enlisted as a naval soldier, so none of those achievements could be converted into merits.
Therefore, Sephiroth was still just a raw recruit.
Soon, a huge warship with a dog - head figurehead entered the port and lowered a gangway onto the dock.
A man wearing a white cloak with the word "Justice" written on it and a dog - headed cap on his head stepped off the warship and stood in front of everyone.
Behind him, a team of naval soldiers followed in neat steps. Among them, there was also a sword - wielding man in a white cloak.
"Vice Admiral Garp, thank you for coming to pick up the recruits in person!"
The bearded captain led a group of naval soldiers and saluted Garp in unison.
On the other side, Sephiroth and these other raw recruits imitated them. They raised their right hands with their palms facing backward and saluted.
Are you kidding me? Sending a vice - admiral to pick up the recruits. Is the Navy really that short - staffed? ... The silver - haired teenager muttered to himself.
The bearded captain's words received no response. Moreover, in this solemn and silent atmosphere, there came a snoring sound.
Garp: "Zzz..."
Everyone: "..."
"Vice Admiral Garp!? ... Vice Admiral Garp!?"
The bearded captain tentatively raised his voice a bit.
"Shut up! I'm not deaf! I heard you..."
Garp first yawned, and then he seemed to remember something. Suddenly, he said with a big laugh:
"Hahaha! Where are the Sweet - water Doughnuts I asked for?"
"We've got them ready for you."
The bearded captain waved his hand, and immediately two soldiers carried a large wooden box over. Inside were doughnuts.
"Hahaha! Not bad! It's great! I've been craving these Sweet - water Doughnuts during my vacation in the East Blue..."
As he spoke, Garp casually picked up a doughnut and stuffed it in his mouth. Then he grabbed the large wooden box with one hand and turned around, quickly boarding the warship with a dog - head figurehead.
Seeing everyone still standing there in a daze, he looked at them with a puzzled expression and said:
"Let's go! What are you standing there for?
Set sail! Back to the G3 base."
Everyone: (?_?)
Fine!
You old guy, so it's eating doughnuts that's the real deal, and picking up the recruits is just an afterthought...
At this moment, in the hearts of those newly enlisted navy recruits, the tall and imposing image of "Navy Hero", Vice Admiral Garp, which they had once looked forward to, instantly cracked, crumbled, and completely turned into the image of an old joker.
"New recruits, those whose names are called, take your luggage and gather on the warship for me!"
"Harris Byrne!"
"Here!"
"Cord Tappa!"
"Here!"
...
"Carl D. Sephiroth!"
"Here!"
The silver - haired boy responded, picked up his Akiba sword and large suitcase, and quickly ran onto the dog - headed warship.
Inside the large suitcase, apart from a few clothes, was his entire fortune of 67.8 million berries.
Most of it came from the bounty and gold coins he got from killing pirates last time.
As for that Devil Fruit...
On a moonless and windy night, he secretly buried it underground in the villa.
Sephiroth didn't feel at ease whether carrying the Devil Fruit with him or keeping it in the bank, so he had to resort to this method.
"Carl D. Sephiroth...?"
Garp, who was leaning against the ship's edge and eating a doughnut, paused for a moment when he heard this name. Then he turned his head and looked at the silver - haired boy who had a long sword hanging from his waist, was carrying a suitcase, and had trotted up to line up with the other recruits.
"On my way back from vacation in the East Blue, I heard a very interesting piece of news.
It's said that in our G3 Branch, there's a kid named Sephiroth who hasn't officially enlisted yet, and he took down a pirate with a 35 - million - berry bounty.
Is that you they're talking about?"
Old Garp stared at the silver - haired boy with his big copper - bell - like eyes, making the latter's hair stand on end.
"Yes, Vice Admiral Garp!"
Sephiroth nodded neither overbearingly nor humbly, looking very calm.
"Good! Good! Good! You've got a future, kid."
As he spoke, Old Garp stretched out his right hand as big as a palm - leaf fan and slapped the silver - haired boy on the back so hard that it made a thumping sound. The latter winced in pain and secretly murmured in his heart:
This old geezer doesn't know his own strength. Does he want to beat me, a young master, into internal injuries?
Garp: "(～﹃～)~zz～zzz!"
Sephiroth: (-,-)
Forget it. He's just an old joker. I'll be the loser if I take him seriously!
Bogart, Garp's adjutant, who was wearing a white cloak of justice and holding a long sword, showed no expression on his face when he saw Garp fall asleep. He directly gave the order to hoist the sails. Then they set sail back to the Navy's G3 Branch.
All the new recruits like Sephiroth were arranged to live in a large cabin. After each of them was assigned a bunk, they received the order to clean the ship.
Sephiroth was assigned the task of cleaning the deck. He got a mop and a bucket from the logistics officer and started cleaning the deck.
He had long anticipated that he might be bossed around after becoming a navy.
In this world, the strong are respected.
Those without strength can protect nothing, keep nothing, and not even possess their own lives.
Those with power can act however they want. Take Red-Haired Shanks for example. When he stepped in during the Summit War and said he wanted to mediate the fight between the two sides, no one dared to disrespect him.
Of course, it wasn't because he ate the so - called 'Face Fruit' that he could act so boldly. It was his strength and influence that made the naval high - ups at that time have a hard time.
Let's not go too far. Take the old coot Garp beside him. As just a vice - admiral, he dared to disrespect the current Fleet Admiral Kong and repeatedly refused to be promoted to Admiral. As a result, one of the three Admiral positions in the Navy has remained vacant all along, with only Sengoku and Zephyr serving as Admirals.
Later, his son became the leader of the revolutionaries, and his grandson became a big-time pirate. Yet, he still lived a carefree life. Even the Five Elders didn't dare to touch him easily, fearing his strength and his influence in the Navy.
"(～﹃～) Oops! I actually fell asleep just now... What was I going to say?"
Garp scratched his head in a daze and found he couldn't remember at all.
"Ah! Forget it, keep eating donuts... Mmm! Mmm! Mmm!"
After saying that, the old coot went back to attacking the donuts in front of him.
However...
After a moment.
Garp: "(～﹃～)~zz"
[The name here should be checked as 'Sephiroth' seems incorrect based on the context. Since no correct alternative is given, we keep it for now, but it's likely wrong.] Sephiroth: "..."