Chapter 25: The Special Operations Unit
Garp briefed Ian extensively on the details of forming his own unit. For Ian to have his own command at his current rank of Commodore was a special exception within Headquarters. The unit's specifications would be organized according to the standards of a Rear Admiral's command authority.
The basic Marine complement consisted of 800 personnel, including the 50 veterans Ian had brought from his branch. These fifty were currently undergoing a one-year special training program at Headquarters and would automatically rejoin the unit upon completion. Therefore, the current total number of soldiers was 750.
Next, the cadre level was the key information in Garp's briefing.
One Headquarters Captain would serve as Ian's direct adjutant, possessing certain decision-making powers!
One Headquarters Captain would follow Ian when not on other missions and could be dispatched by Headquarters at any time—a "roving" officer!
One Headquarters Commander would handle daily affairs and emergency business, occasionally leading the team on smaller missions!
One Headquarters Sergeant—Ian's application had been approved internally, and Nami would continue in this position.
The main members of Ian's team would be the four subordinates listed above. Ian was quite surprised to have the authority to command two Headquarters Captains. Although only one was a direct adjutant and the other was a roving officer, it was still a very powerful lineup. There were almost no incompetent or useless Captains under Marine Headquarters.
Ian was particularly looking forward to the elites Fleet Admiral Sengoku had selected for him.
...
When they arrived at the conference room, the door was open. Ian could sense quite a few people standing inside—likely the cadres Sengoku had chosen for him.
"Commodore Ian, reporting in!" Ian saluted politely upon entering. Simultaneously, his eyes quickly scanned the people present.
"Vice Admiral Garp, Commodore Ian, good morning!"
"Vice Admiral Garp, Commodore Ian, good morning!"
"..."
Several of the reserve team cadres present saluted Garp and Ian as they approached. When Ian saw the girl at the front, his eyebrow twitched.
Wasn't this the little Peacock he had beaten up?!
There was a profound meaning in Peacock's eyes, and her lips were slightly raised. Her saluting hand brushed against her cheek, as if secretly sending some kind of signal to Ian. Ian didn't dare look at her for too long because... Peacock's grandmother, Vice Admiral Tsuru, was also present!
In the conference room, aside from the three standing Peacocks, there were three others: Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Chief of Staff Tsuru, and Admiral Kuzan.
Seeing Ian arrive, Sengoku stood up first and gestured toward the three people in the middle of the conference room. "Ian, as of today, your training at Headquarters has concluded. These three are all elite Marines who have served at Headquarters for many years. Let them introduce themselves. You'll be working together as a team for a long time, so you need to get to know each other better."
Ian's face remained calm as he nodded slightly. Apart from Peacock, he was indeed seeing the other man and woman for the first time. They looked familiar, but he couldn't place them with specific characters yet.
"Commodore Ian, I am Peacock, a Captain of Marine Headquarters. I am a Devil Fruit user, the Whip-Whip Fruit user. We are the same age. This time, I took the initiative to request to join Commodore Ian's team! As Commodore Ian's direct adjutant, I will fulfill my duties to the best of my ability. Hehe."
What she said earlier sounded fairly normal. It was just the weird "hehe" at the end that made people overthink it, and it felt more and more off.
I never expected she would actually take the initiative to apply to join the team? Could she really be addicted to getting beaten by Ian?
As he entered, Ian had secretly prayed that Peacock would be the "roving" officer. But she was his direct adjutant! Does your grandmother know you're playing with fire like this?
Ian's eyes unconsciously swept over Tsuru, who remained expressionless as usual, as if the Peacock who had just spoken had nothing to do with her.
Before Ian could think further, another middle-aged man stepped forward with an imposing presence. After all, Ian was only eighteen years old; surprisingly, there was a middle-aged man among his subordinates. Ian figured they lacked confidence in such a young cadre and had sent an experienced "roving" officer.
Snap!
The middle-aged man suddenly snapped to attention and saluted Ian earnestly. He looked like he was about to report loudly but ended up speaking in a low voice: "Commodore Ian, I am Captain T. Bone! I'm forty-nine years old this year and am honored to be your subordinate. Also, I'm a swordsman, skilled in close combat. I have my own team at Headquarters, so I may not always be by your side. But during my tenure, I am at your disposal!"
Upon hearing the name, Ian immediately recalled the character. The ship-slicer, T. Bone! He looked skinny with a fearsome face, but he had a very kind heart and was always willing to help others. Although he was only a Marine Captain now, in a few years, he would become a powerful Vice Admiral. Unfortunately, his kindness was also his fatal weakness, and he would eventually be betrayed and killed by the civilians he protected.
After T. Bone finished, the last blonde girl took two timid, awkward steps forward. The girl wore pink headphones and a cropped short-sleeved shirt. She had on special gloves, apparently to better protect her hands. Her most unique feature was her two-layered pants: striped leggings on one leg and baggy camouflage pants on the other.
"Commodore Ian, my name is Skylark, a Commander at Marine Headquarters. I'm a sniper, and I'm also good at compiling daily information and intelligence. Besides, I admire you... Ah! That's not what I meant! It's you... you're a rising star in the Marines; most of the young people admire you! Don't get me wrong, I... that's all I have to say."
Ian: "..."
A little fangirl?
Skylark was extremely nervous and incoherently blurted out a lot of irrelevant things. Hearing the name and the identity of a sniper, Ian immediately made the connection. In a few years, this girl would also be a member of the SWORD unit! Her sniper rifle wasn't an ordinary soldier's weapon; it was specially modified using the advanced technology of the Science Unit. Even more interestingly, according to rumors... she was the daughter of Admiral Akainu! Though there was no solid evidence, for a Commander to have access to advanced weapons from the Science Unit and possess the combat talent to join the SWORD unit—who would believe she didn't have internal connections without some backing?
So our team is the "nepotism team," huh?
Ian had many thoughts, but he managed his expressions perfectly, showing no emotion.
"Hello, everyone. I am a young Captain and a young leader. I hope for your guidance and cooperation in the future. If there's anything I'm not doing well, please feel free to communicate with me. We can work together to improve and achieve some results at sea. Start small, then grow big—step by step, to become stronger and create more glory!"