Marineford Marine Headquarters, at Crescent Harbor.
The sea breeze swept in, carrying the scent of salt and ambition. Three hundred Marine Academy Students, neatly arranged by class, formed a square formation on the pier. Their luggage lay beside them, signaling the long journey ahead.
At the very front, the stalwart figure of Zephyr stood with his hands behind his back, his sharp gaze sweeping over the crowd one by one, assessing each young face before him.
"After four months of training, half a semester is almost over, and we have taught you most of what needed to be taught. As long as you haven't been slacking off, I believe you'll have gained a lot..." Zephyr began, his voice deep and authoritative, breaking the morning silence. "Now, this old man will take you to undergo a mid-term examination, heading to the battlefield together to engage in battle against Pirates! Those who perform exceptionally will be given higher ranks upon graduating from the Marine Academy. Even if your usual performance is poor, as long as you accumulate enough merits on the battlefield, it wouldn't be surprising if you're awarded the rank of Colonel upon graduation..."
After Zephyr finished his speech, the Marine Academy Students immediately grew excited. Enthusiastic whispers spread among them. Some who usually performed poorly were even already fantasizing about holding the rank of Colonel after graduation, their eyes gleaming with dreams of instant promotion.
Sephiroth, in response to this, merely scoffed inwardly. Lack of talent, inadequate effort, and still dreaming of achieving great feats on the battlefield? Are they perhaps not afraid of dying quickly! His mind drifted, recalling the rigor of his own training, and how many of them were merely going through the motions.
A moment later, the Marine Academy Students boarded ten different Marine ships, which were arranged by class. Besides them, one hundred and twenty navigation personnel were also assigned to these ships, ensuring smooth sailing.
With sails raised, the ten Marine ships defied the wind and waves, gracefully sailing out of Crescent Harbor towards their destination in the vast ocean of the Grand Line.
Twelve days passed in a flash. The long voyage on the Grand Line always encountered various surprises: massive waves crashing against the hull, unexpected swirling currents, upward currents like inverted waterfalls, and giant Sea Kings that always mysteriously emerged from the depths.
However, every time a Sea King appeared, the Marine Academy Students would cheer excitedly, "Extra meal! Extra meal!" Each Marine ship had at least a Rear Admiral-ranked officer stationed on it, and the leader of the entire fleet was Admiral Zephyr himself. For them, Sea Kings essentially came to be served as food, fresh protein to replenish their energy after strenuous training.
Among the fleet, on one of the First-Class Marine ships, in a somewhat dimly lit cabin, Zephyr stood before a long conference table. He reached out and pressed the Den Den Mushi shell on the table, and a beam of light immediately shone onto the white projection screen on the wall. A sea chart and related island photos appeared before the Marine Academy Students' eyes, exuding an aura of serious mission.
Zephyr, holding a pointer, indicated the projection and began to explain the general situation to everyone. "This time, we will head to Marine Fortress G8 for support. Near the sea area under their jurisdiction, there is an island called Hannibal." He paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the serious faces before him. "That is the starting point for an underground navigation competition held by pirates every few years. At that time, nearly a hundred pirate crews will participate in this competition, including many pirates with bounties exceeding ten million Berries. Therefore, your mid-term exam mission this time is to intercept and block them on their way to their destination."
Maynard, sitting beside the long conference table, raised his hand, a bewildered expression clearly visible on his face. "Zephyr Sensei, since we already know the pirates' starting point is Hannibal, why don't we just directly attack there?"
Hearing this question, Zephyr couldn't help but rub his forehead and sigh softly. "Hannibal has over 400,000 residents. If we send a large number of personnel to conduct a search, it's easy for them to be discovered. If those desperate criminals are provoked and take the island's residents hostage, we'll be in a difficult dilemma. Furthermore, the pirates' underground navigation competition isn't an easy one. During it, there will also be mutual killing and looting. Often, some of them are already eliminated through internal strife at the beginning of the competition, and by intercepting and blocking them midway, we can directly reap the benefits."
Hearing this, everyone suddenly understood. The Marine strategy became clear. Sending a small elite force to intercept at sea would indeed be more efficient in terms of results than laboriously sending a large number of personnel into the city to search and chase.
"Based on the intelligence we have currently gathered, there are some criminals who should be given special bounties this time: 'Blood Hand' Mor with a 94 million Berry bounty, 'Twin Blades' Sosa with an 81 million Berry bounty..." Zephyr emphasized, his voice full of warning. "I hope everyone can remember the relevant information well. From now on, this is no longer a game of pretend, but a battle on a real battlefield."
In the evening, the ten Marine ships arrived at the entrance of Marine Branch G8. This was a large circular fortress, covered with a large number of cannons around its exterior. To enter, unless there was permission from within the fortress to open the large gate and enter through the strait, one could only break in from the air. However, even if another ship broke in, they would likely still face the fate of sinking or being captured, as G8 Fortress also had a large number of cannons configured within it. It could be said that this fortress was fully armed, like a porcupine both inside and out, ready to face threats from all directions.
After the identities of the ten Marine ships from Marineford were confirmed, the gate of G8 Fortress slowly opened accompanied by the roaring sound of large machinery, and the fleet then passed through the strait entrance, sailing into the wide inner bay channel, heading towards the pier.
On the deck of a Marine ship, Gion looked at the giant cannons on the cliffs on both sides and commented with a soft sigh, "Isn't the firepower configuration of this fortress a bit too exaggerated? Why are there so many cannons configured inside too?"
Hearing this, Sephiroth looked up at the sky, now colored golden-red by the setting sun, and unconsciously murmured, "Perhaps... because guests from the sky occasionally appear here?"
"Sky?... That's impossible, isn't it?" Gion wore a suspicious expression, raising her head and glancing at the half of the sky still colored red by the setting sun.
"This is the Grand Line! Some things here cannot be explained by common sense..." Sephiroth smiled but didn't explain further to her. The existence of Sky Islands at an altitude of 10,000 meters was considered by many to be merely a rumor, at best just casual after-dinner conversation, and not worth taking seriously.
There were two main ways to reach Sky Island. The first way was near Jaya Island, utilizing an upward current called the Knock-Up Stream to launch a ship directly to Sky Island. The success rate of this method was either zero or one hundred, but in actual operations, most of it was zero, not a fifty-fifty chance. The second way, upon first entering the Grand Line, was to choose one of the seven routes whose altitude gradually increased, starting from 'Western Sky Peak', and overcome various difficulties and obstacles to reach the Sky Island at an altitude of 10,000 meters and enter the Sky Route. However, even after traversing half the Grand Line on the Sky Route, one would eventually have to descend to the Blue Sea, go to the Sabaody Archipelago to coat the ship to withstand deep-sea pressure, enter Fish-Man Island, and only then could they proceed to the final part of the Grand Line, the New World.
Sephiroth suddenly thought that at this moment, it seemed Enel hadn't yet become the god of Angel Island and Upper Yard, and he also hadn't plundered all of Shandora's gold. Perhaps he hadn't even eaten the Goro Goro no Mi... An opportunity! I'll find a time in the future to go with Tesoro and clear out all the gold from Shandora! Hmm?!... And I also need to make a trip to Enel's hometown, Birka Sky Island, to see if I can find traces of the Goro Goro no Mi! His mind was filled with grand plans.
The fleet sailed towards the pier, stopping only briefly, and the Marine Academy Students did not disembark. After Zephyr discussed briefly with several officers from G8 Fortress, seeing that the Marine ships had finished replenishing fresh water and food, he ordered the fleet to follow ten Marine ships from G8 Fortress and leave the fortress together, rushing at full speed towards the destination of the underground navigation competition, Paldeia. Their mission had begun.