Chapter 492

The next day.

The tremors in Marineford had cooled.

Yesterday's training camp graduation had ignited the entire Marine Headquarters.

After a day's interval.

The atmosphere of shock began to subside.

Of course.

Lu En's name, however, was deeply etched into every Marine's mind.

He was revered, admired, and worshipped by ten million Marines.

Lu En, merely five years old, already possessed combat power equivalent to a Vice Admiral—a terrifying prospect no Marine could have imagined.

Therefore,

as yesterday's news spread,

they felt Lu En's name thundering in their ears, and would not forget it for a long time.

Discussions about Lu En raged fiercely throughout Marineford.

On this day,

the Admiral's office.

Admiral Kong, seated at his desk, silently studied the countless documents before him, lost in thought.

After a long while,

he picked up the stacks of documents and began flipping through them.

Upon closer inspection,

these documents…

were clearly the detailed intelligence files of every trainee from this cohort!

Among them,

Lu En's file was included.

Also included were the files of Smoker, Tina, and others—"033"—all delivered into Admiral Kong's hands.

As for where these files came from?

Naturally, they were passed up from Master Zefa.

As the head instructor of the training camp, Master Zefa knew these students intimately.

Every file he personally compiled was meticulous and thorough, with virtually no errors.

After completing these files, Master Zefa submitted them to Kong, who, as Admiral of the Marines, would decide each graduate's future path and rank.

Among these trainees…

who would remain at Marine Headquarters?

Who would be dispatched to Marine branches stationed on islands across the Four Seas?

No one knew.

The decision rested entirely in Kong's hands.

Even Master Zefa, a Marine Admiral, had no authority to interfere.

"This is truly troubling…"

"There are too many outstanding recruits this cohort; I can't possibly keep them all at Marine Headquarters. Some must be reassigned to the Four Seas' branches."

Kong rubbed his temples, thinking to himself.

Marine Headquarters did not currently need so much combat power.

On the contrary…

in recent years, pirate numbers across the seas had grown steadily.

The Marine branches on the Four Seas were critically lacking in sufficient strength to hold their posts.

The islands of the East Sea, West Sea, North Sea, and South Sea all suffered from severe shortages of Marine forces and urgently needed elite Marines to garrison them.

Thus,

Kong could not possibly keep all yesterday's graduating elites at Marine Headquarters.

"Two-thirds dispatched to garrison the Four Seas."

"One-third retained at Marine Headquarters."

Quickly, Kong made up his mind.

Trainees dispatched to garrison the Four Seas' branches must serve a full term before being reassigned back to Marine Headquarters for promotion.

Therefore,

this also served as a trial for these trainees.

To temper their character!

Only a select few would be allowed to remain at Marine Headquarters.

Soon after,

Kong had finished sorting through the documents on his desk.

He had already assigned the paths of the vast majority of trainees.

Including the assignments of Smoker and Tina.

Smoker was dispatched to Loguetown in the East Sea, to garrison the island known as the Beginning and the End.

Loguetown was an exceptionally unique place.

The birthplace of the Pirate King, Luo Jie,

It is also a land of death.

Every year,

Loguetown attracts countless pirates.

Therefore,

Loguetown's Marine branch requires a sufficiently powerful Marine to guard it.

And Smoker precisely meets these stringent conditions.

As a Logia-type ability user, Smoker is virtually invincible in the East Blue region; no pirate could pose him any threat.

Thus,

Loguetown's stability can be guaranteed one hundred percent.

"For now, let Smoker guard Loguetown for a while. I hope he can endure the monotony and thoroughly hone himself there."

Thought Kong.

Then,

he turned to Tina's intelligence file.

Ultimately—

he decided.

To keep Tina assigned to Marine Headquarters.

Next,

it took roughly half an hour.

Kong finally completed arranging the future paths of all the cadets.

Among them,

two-thirds were assigned to Marine branches across the Four Seas.

Only one-third could remain at Marine Headquarters.

Phew!

He exhaled heavily and stretched his arms slightly.

Handling these matters had left him mentally and physically relaxed.

Yet…

His gaze remained fixed on one particular file on the desk.

That file,

belonged to Lu En!

Only Lu En deserved Kong's special attention.

"How should I assign this boy, Lu En?"

Kong felt troubled.

Lu En was too outstanding!

Too excellent!

At just five years old, he had displayed combat power briefly matching Master Zefa's—clearly rivaling most Vice Admirals, among the elite of Vice Admirals, a top-tier power of the Grand Line.

Thinking of this, Kong could not help but keep Lu En at Marine Headquarters.

Such a monster…

If sent to the Four Seas,

in Kong's view, would be a sheer waste.

Moreover,

Lu En was too young.

This made Kong deeply uneasy.

If Lu En were sent to guard a Marine branch in the Four Seas, might he, as he grew older, develop different thoughts toward the Marines?

Kong could not guarantee against it.

The only thing he could do was keep Lu En at Marine Headquarters as much as possible.

That way, he could prevent such undesirable outcomes.

If the Marines lost a prodigy like Lu En…

Merely imagining it sent shivers through Kong, the Admiral.

"Lu En should remain at Marine Headquarters."

"That way, I won't have to fear Lu En developing rebellious thoughts as he grows older. If I let this boy go to a Marine branch in the Four Seas, things would become uncontrollable."