Even if Hailan were to grow into an Admiral someday, having only strength would make him nothing more than a strongman. If this world didn't have the oppressive Celestial Dragons, learning from Vice Admiral Borsalino and being a strongman wouldn't be too bad. At least, life would be comfortable.
But you can't rely solely on personal strength if you want to overthrow the Celestial Dragons, who oppress the people. You need power.
Compared to the Navy Headquarters, East Blue is more suitable for Hailan to develop his first batch of loyal supporters.
"Is there anyone among you who is dissatisfied with me?"
Hailan walked casually among the assembled soldiers, exuding the arrogance of a privileged officer's son who only got his command due to his father's influence.
If a clean-cut, broad-shouldered soldier stood up and shouted, "I am dissatisfied," then beat up Hailan and shouted, "In the military, we recognize strength, not status," it would be a perfect scene.
But the soldiers in Loguetown didn't have the guts for that.
"If no one is dissatisfied with me, then why is no one even standing properly? Do you think you're spectators at the Loguetown cooking competition?"
At Hailan's angry roar, the soldiers quickly adjusted their postures. Wagner and Belle-mère, who had already been standing properly, stood even straighter.
"This is the 'Town of Beginnings and Ends,' the last stop for pirates entering the Grand Line from the East Blue."
"But what about you? You all got taken down by just one person, me. What if it had been pirates or assassins? Do you think you'd still be standing here on this training ground?"
Murmurs rose from the crowd: "With the resources from the headquarters, bullying us poor branch soldiers is nothing to brag about…"
"That soldier is right. Branches don't have the resources of the headquarters to train you. And headquarters soldiers shouldn't bully branch soldiers."
"But what will you do when you encounter pirates returning to the East Blue from the Grand Line?"
"What if someone hires Grand Line assassins to kill you?"
Hailan walked over to the soldier who had spoken, dragging him out from the ranks.
"I was in the back… I spoke quietly… How did he find me?" the soldier thought in horror.
"So you think reasoning will make them put down their weapons?" Hailan asked, his cold demeanor terrifying the soldier.
"No… No, sir…"
"Want to compete in something?"
"Don't worry, I won't use the Six Styles."
Terrified, the soldier was too scared to speak.
"Let's compete in marksmanship."
"Lieutenant, bring two rifles!"
Following orders, Wagner handed a rifle to the soldier and kept one for himself.
"Fifty paces. If you hit me with one shot before emptying your magazine, you win."
Wagner was concerned, "Sir, this…"
"Shut up!" Hailan barked. "Has no one taught you? Don't interrupt when a superior is speaking! Run five laps around the field and then rejoin the ranks!"
"…"
Wagner felt like a thousand sheep had just trampled his heart. Why not make me run laps earlier?
"Sir, I…" the soldier stammered, unsure what to do.
"What, do you look down on the headquarters' strength?"
"No, I don't…"
"Then shoot!!"
Bang!
Startled, the soldier's finger twitched, accidentally firing his rifle. But the bullet only sparked in mid-air, and the headquarters' major stood still, unmoved.
"What…"
None of the soldiers could see what had happened.
"Again!" Hailan ordered.
Bang!
This time, with everyone watching, they saw Hailan intercept the bullet mid-air with his shot.
"Oh my god, he shot down the bullet!" someone exclaimed.
Even Wagner stopped running, stunned.
Perception and Calculation!
These were the two major abilities granted to Hailan by the system. With superhuman vision, he could see the bullet leaving the barrel, and his calculation ability allowed him to predict the bullet's trajectory based on wind speed, gravity, and angle. Combined with his trained body, intercepting bullets was a piece of cake.
Although Hailan's body was that of Zephyr's son, his soul was that of an Earthling. And no matter how much an Earthling trained, they couldn't reach this level of calculation accuracy. But this world had many geniuses with exceptional calculation abilities.
Not to mention East Blue's legendary sniper, Yasopp. Even beside Major General Kongming was a sniper and sergeant named Ganzhe, who could easily intercept bullets with bullets. Others might not specialize in this skill, but catching bullets with bare hands or slicing bullets with knives was commonplace.
The system merely bridged the gap between Hailan's Earthling soul and the local souls.
"Monster… monster…" the soldier's gun slipped from his hands, his eyes wide with terror.
Belle-mère, who initially wanted to challenge Hailan after hearing he wouldn't use the Six Styles, reconsidered. Although she might not win, she could showcase the branch navy's spirit. But now, that seemed like self-humiliation.
"Anyone else want to try? Guns, hand-to-hand combat, swordsmanship… Lieutenant, why did you stop running? Another five laps!"
"Uh…"
Though Wagner had to run more laps, he felt it was worth seeing such a spectacular performance.
"If no one speaks, it means no one has objections, right?"
Hailan walked around the formation again. This time, not only did no one speak, but the soldiers' postures became even straighter.
"Good."
Hailan grinned, "Then go back to sleep. Dismissed!"
Just as the soldiers thought it was over, Hailan's voice rang out again, "Tomorrow… no, today at 6 AM, everyone is to get up for morning training!"
"Six AM?"
The soldiers were stunned. For this group of branch soldiers, that was asking too much.
"Starting tomorrow, I will personally train you to the headquarters' Zephyr instructor's standards. Don't fall behind!"
"If you perform well, I'll take you to hunt Sea Kings over the weekend, so you can taste fresh meat and replenish your nutrition!"
Training to the headquarters' instructor Zephyr's standards and eating Sea King meat? Many soldiers were already getting excited.
The "give a big stick first, then a sweet date" tactic was old but adequate.
And sure enough, the initial complaints turned into fresh, excited discussions. Even Wagner, who was running laps, felt more motivated.