"Rorschach, aren't you up yet? Let's go out to the town and have some fun!"
Early in the morning, before dawn, Rorschach, still groggy from sleep, heard a clear female voice coming from outside the door.
"Just a moment."
Rorschach struggled to get up from the hard bed.
Looking down at his body covered in white bandages, he couldn't help but smile bitterly.
Just a few days had passed, and his old injuries hadn't healed yet, and now he had new ones.
If this were in his past life, he would have probably ended up on the hospital's blacklist.
As he got up, the first thing Rorschach saw was a neatly folded set of military uniform by his bedside.
Due to his injuries, he had been granted a special three-day leave by General Adilar.
After three days, he would officially start the officer training program at the branch.
In this era, the navy places a high emphasis on the strength of its soldiers, so daily training is indispensable.
From General Adilar himself to the newly enlisted third-class recruits, all soldiers in Branch 177 undergo daily training tasks according to their ranks.
Theoretically, even though Rorschach had advanced six ranks at once, he was still a new recruit who had only joined recently, so he was supposed to receive training according to the standards for new recruits.
However, his astonishing performance on the training field yesterday led Adilar to decisively assign him to the officer training level in the branch.
The room he stayed in last night was in the officers' building within the branch's residential area.
It was a decent private suite with an independent bathroom, kitchen, and living room.
The furniture was complete and new, obviously never used by anyone before.
If nothing unexpected happened, this place would be his home for quite some time.
"I feel like this is unreal. I never expected that just after leaving Flameleaf Island, I would become a Navy Lieutenant."
Rorschach touched the white military uniform in front of him with some emotion.
The officer uniform was somewhat like a suit, completely different from the new recruit sailor outfit, making it look very formal.
The uniform was made of a soft and elastic fabric, which was much more comfortable and flexible than Rorschach had expected.
Wearing this seemingly formal clothing would probably also be convenient in combat.
There was no mirror in the room, and afraid that Skye would wait too long, Rorschach quickly put on his clothes, placed the white military cap on his head, and opened the door.
In the corridor, Skye was waiting impatiently.
"Are you done, Rorschach? You're so slow, like a girl."
She stopped complaining when the door opened, and a handsome young officer stepped out with a smile.
The young man was tall and well-proportioned, broad-shouldered and narrow-waisted, with a handsome face and bright blue eyes.
Without activating his life-return state, his silver hair, about a meter long, flowed down from under his cap to his shoulders.
His outstanding appearance, combined with the white military uniform and cap, made him look even more distinguished and dashing.
"You look great."
Skye watched with a bit of dazed admiration.
"Sorry for the wait. Let's head to the town. I'm also interested in this place. By the way, what about Daos and Uncle Dino? Skye, are you okay?"
"Oh, I'm fine. Let's go. Daos has some work to do and can't come, so don't worry about him. We'll bring him some local specialties from the town."
Skye shook her head, hands behind her back, and followed Rorschach out of the residential area.
Along the way, every officer and soldier from Branch 177 they passed smiled and nodded at Rorschach, making him feel a bit overwhelmed.
Skye smiled and said, "You're now a celebrity in Branch 177. Look, everyone recognizes you wherever you go."
Rorschach touched his nose and smiled wryly, "But I'm still a newbie."
"A newbie?" Skye said with a hint of sarcasm, "Is there a new recruit who defeats 500 recruits in training and is directly promoted to lieutenant?"
"Skye, if you keep praising me, my pride will reach the sky." Rorschach quickly interrupted Skye, fearing that someone passing by might overhear.
"Hehe, but it's the truth." Skye said, skipping ahead, "Come on, don't let my father see us. Otherwise, he'll make me stay at the base again!"
"I'm coming."
On the top floor of the Branch 177 office building, Akainu watched the two with a dark expression.
General Adilar, ignoring them, stepped forward with a serious demeanor.
"Brother Sakazuki, the warship is ready. Let's set sail."
"Okay."
"Wow, it's so lively here."
Skye exclaimed as she walked a short distance ahead of Rorschach.
"Indeed, it's bustling, like a market."
The streets of Qianyan Town were wide, more than ten meters across.
On either side of the road were three- or four-story buildings, with the first floor being occupied by shops.
Looking around, Rorschach saw shops like taverns, fruit stalls, clothing stores, weapon shops, and more.
The streets were crowded with pedestrians, vendors shouting on the sidelines, and people bargaining.
Pedestrians on the street were dressed in various outfits and sizes.
There were fishermen in sailor uniforms, bounty hunters with swords and guns hanging from their waists, and navy soldiers in military uniforms.
Here, Rorschach saw a completely different atmosphere of life compared to Flameleaf Village.
People on the streets wore smiles, and spoke confidently.
Shopkeepers dared to argue loudly with navy soldiers and told non-buying bounty hunters to leave.
Pedestrians were not in a hurry and occasionally stopped to chat and smile with acquaintances.
"It's no wonder that a place with a naval base is so different. People here don't worry about pirate attacks, so their mental attitude towards life is different. Unlike Flameleaf Island, where people live repetitive lives due to heavy taxes and heavenly gold, working like zombies."
Though both regions were in the North Sea and only a few hundred miles apart, their living conditions were vastly different.
Thinking about the people in Flameleaf Village who had never lived a comfortable day in their lives and ended up being slaughtered by pirates, Rorschach suddenly felt a bit disinterested.
"Rorschach! The grilled meat here is so delicious, come try it!"
Skye's sharp voice broke his wandering thoughts.
The young man looked up to see the girl standing in front of a barbecue stall, holding a large amount of skewered meat and eating it eagerly with her cheeks puffed out.
"I remember you didn't bring any money." Rorschach said, a bit embarrassed as he walked towards her.
"No need for money." Skye smiled with a face full of satisfaction, which made Rorschach feel much better.
"Why is there no need for money? Did General Adilar inform the town's vendors in advance?" Rorschach asked, puzzled.
"No, no."
Skye shook her head vigorously and pointed to the owner of the barbecue stall behind her.
"Do you see who this is?"
"Huh?"
Rorschach paused for a moment, then turned and looked.
"Young John from the old man's family, today's barbecue is free. Eat as much as you want."
The familiar voice made Rorschach freeze in place.
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