Pirates: Building High Walls Starting from the East Blue.

Chapter 25 Assessment

In the days that followed, the 16th Naval Division and the Konom Islands quietly digested their gains.

After Nami's careful calculations, the proceeds included not only pirate bounties and pirate ships, but also a portion of pirate treasure.

Although the pirates hid it very well, and if one wasn't careful, they might have sold it along with the pirate ship, with the help of Miss Little Thief Cat, anything valuable, no matter how well hidden, couldn't escape her eyes that emitted a strange light.

They've all been found one by one!

As mentioned earlier, some of these ships must be sold.

Not to mention that the Konom Islands and the 16th Naval Branch don't need so many ships, some of them are not suitable for civilian or naval use.

Therefore, it's better to sell it first and then buy a new one later.

Some of the ships from the Konom Islands will be used as cargo ships, and some from the 16th Naval Branch will be used as naval warships; they'll just need a new coating later.

Although all naval warships, regardless of their model, are built and ordered in a unified manner.

Strictly speaking, pirate ships are not suitable for use by the navy.

But there's nothing we can do right now. We can't find a suitable supplier for naval warships, so we have to make do with what we have for the time being.

If you want warships, you either have to build them secretly, buy them from black market dealers, or order them from the Navy Headquarters.

He built it himself. Even if he had shipbuilders, he wouldn't have blueprints for naval warships. Don't be fooled by the large number of naval warships on the sea; the technology involved in naval warships is quite advanced.

Especially large naval warships!

Furthermore, it is illegal to build naval warships privately at sea.

If you go to a black market dealer... the price is high and there's no guarantee. Besides, it's easier to find black market dealers in the Grand Line or the New World.

As for ordering from the Navy Headquarters?

Please, the 16th Marine Division is harassed by pirates every year and needs funding every year. Where will we get the money to order so many naval warships?

Isn't this telling the Navy Headquarters that the 16th Division has money?

How will we get subsidies then?

It's worth noting that even the five warships currently in service with the 16th Naval Division were acquired over the past few years through Sean's help and their own damage reporting.

Of course~

This could be an opportunity to use the damage to a naval warship to allow the Navy Headquarters to replenish it with another one.

By then, the 16th Marine Division will have 6 naval warships. In addition to the pirate-themed naval warships, the 16th Marine Division can be considered the strongest naval division in the East Blue, near the entrance to the Grand Line, in terms of the number of naval warships alone.

As for whether there are any naval branches stronger than the 16th Naval Branch in the other half of the sea area, Xia Che didn't know.

only.

Their strength is similar to that of the previous East Blue overlord, the Krieg Pirates. They were known as five thousand pirates with fifty pirate ships, but when they encountered a strong opponent, they could be cut to pieces by themselves.

If you lack the core capabilities, having a lot of equipment is useless.

Even strictly speaking, the number of marines under the 16 branches of the Navy is still less than that of the Krieg Pirates.

Of course, the naval branch has been recruiting marines all this time without stopping. Recruitment slogans have been posted, and a craze for joining the navy has been set up in the Konom Islands. It is estimated that even Smoker has heard about it by now.

For example, right now...

"Bang!"

The door was suddenly opened.

Shache, who was planning the development of the naval strength of the Konom Islands, looked up at Smoker, who had rushed in without even knocking. He took a sip of the black tea that Robin had poured for him and said helplessly, "Senior Smoker, you need to change your temper. Luckily, I'm not doing anything in there right now. If I were, it would be so embarrassing. No wonder you were demoted to this weakest sea. You still need to learn from me about interpersonal relationships."

"..." Upon hearing Xia Che's words, Smoker's face, which had been calm, immediately darkened.

Learn to learn?

What do you mean by "learn from me"?

To fish in troubled waters, deceive superiors and subordinates, and swindle funds?

Or should I learn from you and fish for pirates?

not to mention……

What makes you, a fellow demoted guy, better than him?

And what else do you want to do in there?

Smoker pointed at the boy with pink hair and a round face next to him with an annoyed look and said, "This guy heard that you're recruiting Marines here and wants to join the 16th Marine Branch."

As soon as he finished speaking, the boy next to him stood up on his own initiative, looking at Xia Che with excitement.

"Captain Shacher, my name is Coby. Please let me join the 16th Marine Division. I hope to become a powerful Marine like Captain Shacher and capture all the pirates."

Although he didn't know what had happened, when he woke up and saw that everyone had been captured, he guessed that they must have been captured by the two marines.

It's unbelievable that just two marines could capture so many pirates.

Especially after learning that the male navy officer was actually the commander of the 16th Marine Division, Koby believed that... Colonel Shacher must be an extremely capable navy officer. Therefore, when he heard that the 16th Marine Division was recruiting marines, he always wanted to give it a try.

But they can never find an opportunity, or rather, they are afraid of not being recognized.

After hearing that they were to be sent back to their island, he became very nervous. Finally, he mustered up the courage to ask Colonel Smoker, and was then brought over by Colonel Smoker.

however.

"Koby..." Upon hearing this name, Xia Che looked up in surprise.

After looking at the pink hair, he guessed who the kid in front of him was.

Unexpectedly, this time when we were catching pirates, we even brought this guy along.

He raised an eyelid, ignoring Smoker's mocking expression after hearing Coby say, "Arrest all the pirates!" His eyes fell on Coby, and he crossed his hands in front of his chin, saying seriously, "Although the 16th Marine Division is severely lacking in marines, we recruit the best and brightest, the men of the sea. And you..."

Although he hadn't finished speaking, Koby already understood what he meant and lowered his head in disappointment.

It's normal for someone as cowardly as him to be rejected.

But thinking that he had finally mustered up the courage to come this time, he would definitely regret it if he gave up now. So he took another deep breath, looked firmly at Colonel Xia Che in front of him, and was about to say something when...

At this time.

"But as a naval captain, for the sake of the navy's justice, I'm willing to give you this opportunity." As if guessing what Coby was going to say, Shache interrupted him directly, looked at Coby again, and said in the tone of a naval captain, "As long as you pass the exclusive test of the 16th Naval Branch, you can become a member of the 16th Naval Branch."

The words were spoken.

"???"

Robin, who had been keeping quiet and trying to minimize her presence, looked up at Shache with a puzzled expression.

When do the marines of the 16th Division of the Navy have their assessments?

Why didn't she know?

Isn't it all the same recruitment and assessment system passed down from the Navy Headquarters?

The requirements for the marines in the branch are slightly lower.

now.

Even Smoker, who was watching boredly from the side, turned his head curiously. What was this about the Navy's 16th Branch having its own assessment?

To be honest, as a fellow naval captain who had been demoted from headquarters, Smoker was very curious about what kind of assessment this even more talented naval captain would set.

"I...I...I..." Upon hearing that Colonel Shacher was actually willing to give him a chance to be tested, Koby became excited. He clenched his fists and shouted loudly, "I will do my best! Thank you, Colonel Shacher, for giving me this opportunity. I will definitely not let Colonel Shacher down."

"Very good!" Xia Che nodded in satisfaction, his hands still crossed, but his expression turned serious again. Looking at Koby in front of him, he once again exuded the aura unique to a naval captain, and asked solemnly, "In that case, let me personally conduct the assessment!"

As soon as he said that...

Koby: ? ? ?

Colonel Xia Che personally conducted the assessment?

Before he could react...

"Here's the question!" Under everyone's gaze, Xia Che asked directly, "If the Navy and pirates are engaged in a large-scale war, and you are on the battlefield, and the war is nearing its end, with the Navy having achieved all its objectives, but the pirates are still not eliminated, and the battlefield is littered with corpses, witnessing your comrades and familiar faces dying one by one, how would you react in this moment of grief?"

(End of this chapter)