One Piece Shadow Army – Read Fanfic

What is the Marines?

The Marines is an organization directly under the World Government, tasked with maintaining law and order across the world’s seas under the banner of “Absolute Justice.”

Its headquarters is established on the island of Marineford in the Grand Line, considered a symbol of peace in the “Great Pirate Era.”

At this moment.

In the Grand Line, at Marines Headquarters.

Several enormous white flags fluttered in the wind, bearing the seagull emblem symbolizing peace, with a cross-shaped wrench in the center.

Large warships were docked at the crescent-shaped port below. These ships regularly patrolled the various seas of the Grand Line, capturing pirates they encountered.

This routine repeated daily without exception, simply because it was the duty of Marines Headquarters to drive out evil in the name of “Absolute Justice.”

Among these many warships, one ship from Loguetown in the East Blue was quietly docked at the edge.

After reuniting with Major Karn, Curls wore a rare smile.

He had missed seeing Major Karn off at the end of his recruit period, and today, they were finally reunited, which made him genuinely happy.

“Instructor Karn, long time no see. Have you been promoted to Colonel at Headquarters?” asked a slender, short-haired girl with red-framed glasses as she disembarked from the ship from Loguetown.

Karn hadn’t forgotten the girl’s name, a slight smile curling his lips.

“Tashigi, long time no see.”

Then Karn explained:

“During this time, you all have had your ranks promoted, and I haven’t been idle at Headquarters either. I captured two major pirates during a mission, so I’ve been promoted to Colonel.”

Curls wasn’t too surprised, as Major Karn’s strength was evident. Seizing the opportunity to capture pirates and get promoted was normal.

“Major Karn!”

At this moment, another Marines officer wearing a Marines coat disembarked from the ship.

Karn looked at this former subordinate and corrected, “Long time no see, Mode. You should now call me Colonel.”

“Yes, Colonel Karn.”

Mode immediately saluted.

No other Marines personnel disembarked from the ship; only Curls, Tashigi, and Mode had come from the Loguetown Naval Base. Smoker recommended both Tashigi and Mode to join the elite training camp.

The Elite Training Camp!

This is a place where Marines Headquarters concentrates its educational resources to cultivate the backbone of the Marines.

Anyone who enters the elite training camp and graduates can become a powerful Marines officer, which is very attractive to ordinary Marines personnel.

Each Marines branch has a certain number of recommendation slots. However, being recommended doesn’t guarantee entry into the elite training camp. The camp only accepts those who pass the initial assessment, as it aims to train elites. Therefore, spots are limited, and only those who pass the initial screening can enter.

Officers like Curls, who are directly reserved for the elite training camp, are rare.

In modern terms, it’s like being admitted without having to take the entrance exam.

After welcoming Curls and the others, Karn began to lead them away from the port.

“Alright, I’ll take you to familiarize yourselves with your temporary accommodations. Follow me closely and try not to get lost.”

…

In Marineford.

The tallest building is the Marines Headquarters Tower!

It is an extremely tall, classical tower. The lower part consists of gray-black marble walls, with the large characters for “Marines” engraved on the surface.

The upper part comprises layers of floors, with intricate eaves tapering upwards in perfect proportions, exuding an ancient charm.

If one could look down from the top floor of the Marines Tower, they would see that Marineford is shaped like a crescent.

Under Colonel Karn’s guidance, the three Marines personnel from Loguetown crossed the vast square and arrived at a residential area with numerous buildings.

Besides combat facilities, the island also has many residential facilities, home to the families of Marines personnel. Marines soldiers in white uniforms often walked around, so the four of them didn’t stand out.

As they walked, Curls’ appearance and demeanor caught some attention and sparked discussions.

“Hey, look at that young Marines guy. He’s wearing a Marines coat at such a young age!”

“Yeah, he looks like he’s only about eighteen or nineteen. Is he an officer ranked Ensign or higher at Headquarters?”

“He’s probably not from Headquarters. Given the timing, it’s the elite training camp period, so many navies from the Four Seas are here. Their ranks are usually three grades lower compared to Headquarters. Here, he would be a Petty Officer.

“Yeah, that’s about right. My son is the same age and is only a Sergeant at Headquarters. Too bad he didn’t inherit all my good looks; otherwise, he could compete with this kid’s handsome face.”

Although they had walked far, Curls’ keen hearing picked up their conversations. The last speaker was a man in his fifties, still somewhat handsome despite his age; he must have been quite striking when he was younger.

After crossing several streets, Karn led Curls, Tashigi, and Mode to a row of dormitory buildings with many cleaned and prepared empty rooms.

“You’ll rest in these rooms from now on. I’ve already arranged the rooms and paperwork. The mess hall is over there, where all Marines personnel can eat for free.”

“Alright, it’s getting late, and I have some duties to attend to. My quarters are in the building nearby. Feel free to come to me if you need anything. Get some rest.”

After carefully instructing them, Karn left the dormitory building.

Watching Karn leave, Curls, Tashigi, and Mode felt a bit puzzled.

Why did Major Karn seem reluctant to spend much time with them? Could it be because of the strict discipline at Marines Headquarters?

After exchanging glances, Mode suggested, “It’s only five o’clock. How about we go eat?”

“Let’s go.”

Curls took the lead. There’s no reason to skip a free meal.

…

Since the initial assessment for the elite training camp was still five days away, the recommended Marines personnel were relatively relaxed.

After dinner, most returned to their rooms to rest.

Curls didn’t sleep. Besides only needing three hours of sleep a day, he was too stressed to sleep.

This was the legendary Marines Headquarters!

Although he hadn’t yet met the top three Admirals, Curls felt an immense invisible pressure. His strength in the East Blue was decent, but this was the Grand Line.

As one of the three major powers of the Grand Line, Marines Headquarters was teeming with experts. Many Marines personnel here mastered the Six Powers and Haki.

Leaving [Lanlos] and the twelve [Shadow Knights] to protect his family had significantly reduced Curls’ overall strength.

Aside from his Shadow Fruit ability, his top-tier swordsmanship was hardly noteworthy at Marines Headquarters.

It seemed he needed to seize every moment to train and improve.

…

Late at night.

The night was dark, with only a few stars twinkling outside.

This dormitory building housed many rooms occupied by candidates recommended by various branches for the elite training camp.

With five days left until the initial assessment, most had relaxed and fallen asleep.

Curls was meditating in his room, hoping to break through his current bottleneck in precise swordsmanship and reach the next stage, Cutting Steel.

The surroundings were pitch black and silent, but Curls could still sense the sound of dust falling. This heightened sensitivity was due to the amplification from his Shadow Fruit.

Suddenly, Curls snapped out of his meditation, his eyes fixed on the figure outside the window.

It was a plain-looking middle-aged man in a Marines uniform and coat, peering through the window at Curls.

The man, upon seeing Curls’ reaction, wrote down a score on the report board in his hand and then disappeared silently.

It was the Shave technique of the Six Powers!

Curls’ eyes narrowed. He had learned this skill before coming here, so he recognized how the officer had appeared and disappeared so suddenly.

Wasn’t the initial assessment supposed to start in five days? Or was this a secret assessment?

Ten minutes later, the plain-looking officer finished his assessment and left the dormitory building. On his report board, he had scored each person’s vigilance and reaction, with the lowest score being 1 and the highest 10.

Most scores were below 6. Those who scored above 6 had excellent vigilance and reflexes.

Although Curls had a reserved spot in the elite training camp, the assessing officer still recorded his score.

Next to the name Charlotte Curls, the score read: 10!

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