On the shore of Branch 177, Dos watched the little girl, Skye, biting her lips and tears streaming down her face as she ran back to the base. His expression was astonished.
"Hey, are you stupid, Rorschach?"
"The poor girl made you a lunch box full of love, and you say it's not delicious?"
"Even if she turned the toast into black charcoal and made the meat porridge look like a black lump, it's a love-filled lunch box. Do you understand the meaning of a love-filled lunch box?"
"Even if it wasn't delicious, you should've cried and said: It's so delicious! Thank you! I loved it! These are the correct techniques of love, boy!"
Rorschach was lying on the beach, completely exhausted, while Dos was massaging his cramped muscles.
Listening to Dos's comments, a bitter smile appeared on his face.
"I didn't want to, but... it was just too bad. I even considered the black stone tasty."
"What a boy."
Dos glanced at the strange pile of black things beside Rorschach.
"Dos, do you want to try?" Rorschach said with a trembling hand, picking up a shiny black piece that looked like metal.
"What's this?"
Dos hesitated for a moment.
"It's a Northern specialty, steamed emperor fish."
"Emperor fish?"
Dos's lips moved, but he couldn't muster the courage to taste the fish piece that looked like metal.
"This is a love-filled lunch box from the little girl, I can't eat it. Besides, I already ate in town, and I'm full now."
The two exchanged glances, mutually avoiding the topic of the love-filled lunch box.
"How was the training today? Can you cope?" Dos asked as he coughed, taking some ointment from the medicine box and starting to apply it to Rorschach's swollen chest and abdomen, making him cry out in pain.
"Training? That's not training, it's a trip to hell."
Rorschach recalled his suffering throughout the day.
In the first half of the swimming training, he was brutally beaten by rubber shells fired from the ship and hollow bullets from the shore, causing him severe pain.
But in the second half, Rorschach relied on his superior endurance, and when the other officers' energy was depleted, he led the team, making Richard and his fellows the next victims of the shells.
After swimming training, it was time for heavy running, which seemed more natural to Rorschach.
According to training standards, each person had to carry a 500-pound stone and run three laps around the island.
Each lap was approximately 12 kilometers.
Three laps became 36 kilometers.
Carrying a 500-pound weight is a significant feat on land, but in this world, that weight is nothing.
Additionally, officers who lagged behind were shot at with hollow bullets and harshly scolded by Major Jennifer.
"You are such failures! You're worse than a rookie, thinking you're the elite of the Northern Sea, but you make me feel ashamed of you!"
"Faster! Faster! If you don't run faster, I'll add another lap!"
After the heavy run came the 10,000-meter frog jump training.
Then handstand and one-finger push-up 1,000 times, sit-ups 2,000 times, sandbag punches 5,000 times, and wooden man strikes with a wooden sword 10,000 times.
After this series of extreme training, only Rorschach and two veteran officers from Branch 177 remained.
As for Richard, from the northern island of Mignon, he collapsed during the running phase.
No one expected the rookie Rorschach to last until the end.
Even Major Jennifer was impressed by Rorschach's endurance and announced that she would give him extra training tomorrow.
Rorschach was about to cry.
After a day of training, all the officers were suffering from muscle pain, as if they had returned to the base on stretchers carried by soldiers.
Then the military doctors at the base provided them with massages and applied ointments.
And the base's restaurants prepared meals rich in nutrients for them, including rare meats from sea creatures.
Due to the high consumption, each officer ate excessively.
The daily food cost for just 32 officers was significant, not to mention the cost of training thousands of soldiers at the base.
A few days later, Akainu and Rear Admiral Adira returned to Flameheart Island after a period of absence.
Then Akainu prepared to depart and return to the Marine headquarters.
On the shore of Flameheart Island, Rear Admiral Adira and several branch officers came to bid farewell to Akainu.
Rorschach, dressed in white military uniform, stood in the front row, looking at the giant figure in front of him with a complicated expression.
"Boy, don't let your talents go to waste."
For the first time, Akainu spoke to Rorschach.
"When you grasp the essence of darkness, you will truly understand the weight of the word justice."
"Although you have experienced a dark past, your understanding of this world is still superficial. Don't rush to understand the world, strengthen yourself first, so you can stand firm in the sea storm."
Akainu took out a small red notebook from his pocket and tossed it to the bewildered Rorschach, surprising Adira.
"This notebook contains my insights during my training on the six Marine techniques. You can try training on it in your spare time."
"Thank you, Uncle Sakazuki! I will do my best! I won't let you down!"
Rorschach took the notebook seriously and placed it in his chest.
After that, Akainu gave some orders to Adira, then turned around and boarded the warship, disappearing from Rorschach's sight.
"Dad! Why can't we take Rorschach with us?" Skye cried out in panic as she ran towards him.
"To see the rainbow, you must go through the storm. Northern Sea men must prove themselves."
"But..."
Skye opened her mouth, stomped her foot hard, and rushed towards Rorschach, grabbing his hand.
"Rorschach, come with us! You can train at Marineford too; there are many wonderful grandpas and grandmas who can teach you a lot."
"Skye."
Rorschach smiled and patted her head, his blue eyes shining with unprecedented determination.
"Northern Sea men must prove themselves from the Northern Sea."
"Don't worry, we will meet soon at the fortress of justice in Marineford."
"Okay."
Skye bit her lip, her eyes filling with tears.
"It's time to go! Goodbye, real men don't need tears! Hahaha, boy, I'll be waiting for you at the Marine headquarters, don't make me wait too long."
Dos leaped high and boarded the warship.
"Boy, if you want to eat my food, come to Marineford as soon as possible!"
The fat chef waved a frying pan, laughing loudly.
"Dos, Uncle Dino, Skye, everyone! Goodbye!"
Rorschach waved vigorously as he watched the warship sail away, the Marine seagull symbol of justice rising on the sails, slowly gaining speed and leaving the port.
"Rorschach, come quickly to find me!" Skye cried out, unable to hold back her tears, and ran to the side of the ship, waving her hand.
"Salute!"
Rear Admiral Adira shouted.
All the officers and soldiers of Branch 177 raised their right hands in a unified salute.
"I will."
Rorschach tightly grasped the notebook given to him by Akainu, his eyes shining with strong determination.
In the salty sea breeze on the shore, distant whispers could be heard.
"Uncle Dino, I want to learn cooking."
"Oh? That requires great seriousness; cooking is not a simple skill."
"I'll do my best!"
"Dos, I want to learn medicine."
"Medicine? Don't joke, medicine won't save this world; it's better for you to learn martial arts from your father. Ah, why are you hitting me?"
"I don't care; I want to learn, and if you don't teach me, I'll tell on you, saying you're doing secret human experiments and that you're an evil doctor."
"No, no, I haven't done anything like that..."
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