The year is 1518, early in the month, according to the Marine Calendar.
We find ourselves at the Marine base, G-5 Branch.
"Roya, boss, you're finally back!" Barto cried, clinging to Roya's leg, tears streaming down his face. The last two months at the base had been incredibly dull without him.
"Get off me," Roya said, pushing Barto away with a look of distaste.
After two months away, the G-5 Branch looked as run-down as ever. The difference? Now, Roya was a Rear Admiral in charge.
Inside the Base Chief's Office, Maynard slung his fishing gear over his shoulder, ready to leave. He waved goodbye to Roya. "This office is all yours now."
"Vice Admiral, where are you going?" Roya asked, surprised.
"Fishing!" Maynard exclaimed, patting his bag. After returning from Matsuba Island, he'd had a revelation. He realized it was better to focus on his hobbies than waste time on the G-5 Branch Marines. At least it'll improve my mood, he thought.
He needed someone to take his place. Once Roya became a Vice Admiral, he could step down as Base Chief and head back to Headquarters for a fresh start. Until then... I'll enjoy every day!
"You can make your own decisions, no need to ask me," Maynard said. "Oh, and my official Base Chief seal is in the drawer. Feel free to use it."
"Wait, Vice Admiral Maynard!" Roya called out, trying to stop him. Maynard was a capable Vice Admiral from Headquarters, and Roya wanted his help to share the workload. "Vice Admiral, you're the Base Chief!"
"No, I'm not." Maynard grabbed the doorknob, turning back to give Roya a meaningful look. "You're the Base Chief!"
Bang!
The door slammed shut.
Clap, clap, clap!
Lu Yun clapped her hands happily. "Senior, congratulations on becoming the Base Chief!"
"..."
Roya didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Oh well, it was only a matter of time, he thought.
He sat in the Base Chief's chair, propped his feet up on the desk, and savored the moment. "Lu Yun, get me some coffee."
"Yes, Senior," she replied.
Soon, coffee and a newspaper were delivered. Roya took a sip, but something still felt off. He looked closely at Lu Yun, his eyes landing on her glasses. His secretary's outfit isn't right.
Roya grabbed a pen and quickly sketched on a piece of paper. He handed it to Lu Yun. "Lu Yun, your future uniform will be based on this."
"Ah, Senior, this..." Lu Yun blushed, looking at the drawing of a white shirt with a short skirt and black stockings. Is Senior finally making a move on me? she wondered. She clenched her fists. I've been preparing myself to dedicate myself to scientific research. After all, Senior let me examine his body, so I should make some kind of contribution. "Yes, Senior," she said.
"Mm."
Roya felt much better. As the boss, how can I not have a beautiful secretary with eye-catching clothes? This is probably a tradition, right? "Oh, right, tell Smoker and the Unit Commanders of each Division to gather in the conference room in half an hour."
"Understood."
A new broom sweeps clean, he thought. He was now the Acting Base Chief of G-5. He didn't plan to make too many new rules, but he at least had to clarify the responsibilities.
A G-Series Fortress could have up to ten combat Divisions, with ten thousand soldiers. G-5 only had two thousand, making it the smallest, so there was plenty of room to grow. I need to expand the troops, he thought.
----
Half an hour later, inside the conference room, the six Unit Commanders and Smoker sat around the table, the atmosphere tense.
The 11th Division merging with G-5 meant the original Unit Commanders' power would likely be divided or even replaced. Overhead and the others were willing to follow Roya because his interests didn't clash with theirs, but Smoker and the others were different. They didn't want to give up their troops.
"Yo, everyone's here," Roya said, walking into the room. He went straight to the head seat. "The reason I called you here today is to reorganize the troop strength of the G-5 Branch!"
Overhead and the others felt their hearts sink. So that's what it is.
Roya looked around, seeing their worried faces. He smiled. "No need to worry too much. What's yours will not be taken away."
"I plan to expand from six Divisions to ten combat Divisions, which means there will be ten Unit Commander positions!" he announced. "The condition for becoming a Unit Commander is simple: the capable will lead. If anyone disagrees, just have a battle. Whoever is stronger gets the position."
Overhead and the others looked relieved. The most important rule in G-5 was that whoever was stronger was the boss; otherwise, they wouldn't have followed Roya in the first place.
Roya continued, "As for subordinate allocation, the G-5 Branch currently has limited troops, so you'll have to figure it out yourselves. But one thing: each Division can have a maximum of 300 people."
"Get them ourselves?" Overhead and the others exchanged delighted glances. Roya is helping us! they thought. With their reputation in the G-5 Branch, Marines would naturally prefer to follow them.
Roya looked at Smoker. "No objection, right?"
"No," Smoker replied coolly. He liked these rules. Being a Unit Commander and recruiting Marines depended on his own ability.
"Hina has no objection either."
"Behehehe, I have no opinion either." Hina and Barto agreed.
"Good, then it's settled," Roya said with satisfaction. "As for the numbering of the combat Divisions, you can negotiate it yourselves. No problem with that, right?"
"No!"
The First Division would be more prestigious than the Tenth. The closer to the front, the stronger. It was the rule.
Overhead raised his hand. "Roya, you said we're establishing ten Divisions, but we only have nine people, so we're missing one. And we don't have enough warships, either."
"I'll take care of the warship issue. As for the missing Unit Commander, someone will fill it soon, no need to worry," Roya replied, a smile playing on his lips.
G-5 had six ships, plus the 11th Division warships from G-1, for a total of seven. They were still short three large warships. I'll use medium and small warships for now, and there will always be a solution.
As for the Unit Commander position, back at Marine Headquarters, he had a junior sister who had applied to come to G-5.
"Any other questions?"
"No!"
"Alright, I'll give you one hour to negotiate the Division numbers, then immediately summon all Marines of G-5 to gather at the center training ground!"
"Yes!"
----
One hour later, all the Marines of the G-5 Branch were gathered at the training ground. Even Maynard, who was fishing, came to watch the excitement.
At the front of the formation, Smoker, Overhead, and the others stood in a row, with their Division numbers displayed in front of them.
First Division, Unit Commander Smoker.
Second Division, Unit Commander Barto.
Third Division...
Tenth Division, Unit Commander Hina.
Except for Hina, who wasn't interested in the rankings and chose the Tenth Division, the other Unit Commanders had fought for the numbers. Overhead and the others had even betrayed each other, and they all ended up with bruised faces.
The Marines quickly learned the reason and started choosing sides. To Overhead and the others' surprise, Hina was the first to fill her ranks, and hundreds of Marines regretted being too late.
"Bastards, you're all abandoning Royalty for beauty!"
"Captain Overhead, we're not close!"
The personnel allocation ended quickly. Overhead and the others wore dark faces, cursing and complaining. Many of their subordinates had joined other Divisions, especially the Tenth.
Smoker also looked unhappy. The First Division had less than 30 people in total, making it the smallest of all the Divisions, even less than the Tenth.
Roya, however, was satisfied. Recruiting soldiers was now urgent.
When fighting Whitebeard, he'd suffered from having too few troops. While ordinary soldiers weren't very useful in high-level battles, quantity could lead to quality. I want to expand the G-5 Branch to be as well-manned as G-1, to be fully prepared for the upcoming war.
The Seven Warlords of the Sea aren't just one person!
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[T/N:
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