I was currently standing in front of an unassuming building. It only had the word "Marine" written on top of it.
This was the SWORD headquarters.
I had come here to submit my application to join SWORD. Since I had already resigned from the Navy, it was only a matter of submitting the application and probably undergoing a test of abilities.
Walking inside, I saw a completely bland hallway leading to a room at the end, where there was a door. I knocked on the door once I was in front of it. "Come in," a voice called from beyond the door.
Opening the door, I saw a young man sitting alone with a document in his hand, which he put away as soon as he noticed me entering the room.
Prince Grus. Prince Grus is a muscular young man with fluffy, green shaggy hair and purple eyes. He wore an open red shirt that revealed his torso, with a brown fur coat draped over his chair. A Marine hat with an oversized bill sat on his head, and rings adorned each of the four fingers on his right hand.
"Koby, right?" he asked, looking at me. I nodded, closed the door behind me, and walked to the middle of the room.
"What do you want?" he asked with such a serious tone and expression that I found it almost comical for a second.
"I want to join SWORD," I said, matching his seriousness. "I joined the Marines mainly to save people, not just capture thieves and kill pirates. The Navy doesn't seem to allow me to follow my own ambitions and goals. So I want to join SWORD!" I exclaimed, clenching my fist. Taking a second to calm down, I looked at him, but his straight-faced expression hadn't changed.
"Place the application on the desk and follow me," he finally said after a minute of staring at my face, standing up as he spoke.
He walked out the door first, followed by me.
"You know what you're getting into, right?" he asked as we walked.
"Yes, I'm absolutely sure," I replied with unwavering stability, or at least I thought I was.
"If you're in trouble, the government will just throw you away," he said again as we entered another room, which was filled with the necessary equipment for working out.
"Yes, I know that. It also means that the government can't order me to do anything against my wishes," I said, noticing the enormous space in the center of the room, which had a sand-like ground.
I noticed the ground begin to shift, and slowly, two legs followed by the rest of the body were being molded, almost like clay.
The Glorp Glorp Fruit-eaten by Prince Grus. He could create golems with it, a detail I had almost forgotten.
"I'm going to test you now," he said, looking at me with a smile-no, it was a full-on evil grin. "If you want in SWORD, beat them all."
Without warning, the golem dashed at me. Of course, I saw this coming and reacted far too quickly for the golem to follow. My Observation Haki alerted me to its movements, and my Rankyaku swiftly sliced through it.
Though that wasn't the end, as the two halves rejoined, much like how Gojo fans wished he did.
This time, he wasn't alone. Their numbers had grown to three, and they all dashed at me from the front, back, and side.
Of course, I couldn't just stand by and watch as they attacked. So, I charged recklessly at the first golem, swiftly dodging its punch by jumping onto its arm and using it like a trampoline to launch myself toward the golem behind me.
I punched through the golem as it fell, and it began to shift. I didn't have much time to focus, as I was immediately attacked by the other two golems while one recovered.
"You know!" I called out as I jumped over a low kick and punched one in the head, causing it to fly off the ground.
"I can destroy all of these with ease," I said, immediately feeling like an idiot as I found myself locked in place while a golem snuck up behind me and held me in a full nelson.
'What the hell happened to my Observation Haki? Is it because I got too excited and lost control?' I didn't have much time to focus on my thoughts as I gasped, spittle flying from my mouth as the two golems punched me in the stomach.
"You should focus!" Grus's voice rang out as he watched from afar, his hands crossed behind his back, looking like the fucking Morpheus from The Matrix.
Shaking my head a little, I focused all my strength and channeled it into a single kick at the golem that was coming to punch me for a second time.
My kick connected with its chin, and guess what? Apparently I can kick heads off!
Considering one golem was able to restrain me when it got the drop on me, I'd definitely say they have much more endurance and strength than I do at the moment.
I freed myself by going through the golem that was holding me from behind; the kick generated enough kinetic energy for it to crumble.
"Okay, that's enough!" I exclaimed as I used Shave to arrive in front of the golem and punched it with all my might. It didn't change the weather or anything, but it was enough force to destroy the golem.
I looked at the golem and saw it wasn't making any moves to join us anytime soon. I guessed Grus was tired; a single glance at him confirmed my suspicion.
Using Shave once more, I appeared in front of another golem and backhanded it, sending it reeling to the ground. Of course, only its body fell, as its head went flying who knows where.
Once again, I disappeared and appeared next to the last golem. This one had grey skin and was rugged, with prominent muscles standing out on its body. It radiated power, at least from the perspective of a low-ranking marine like me.
With a swift punch and two kicks, I obliterated it and its surroundings, the force creating shockwaves around me.
"Well, welcome to SWORD, Koby!" Prince Grus said, currently just a Navy captain, welcomed me into the SWORD with a grin.
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This would be the absolute timing for a time skip.