One Piece: Mandala Swordsman

Chapter 56 On the Importance of Following the Right People

The Navy is a long-established righteous organization, but in layman's terms, it is also the largest armed and violent organization, and the completeness of its system has given rise to factions.

Driven by ideals, by their own conscience, or by self-interest, they pursue different kinds of people.

From the perspective of naval cadets, officers at the headquarters level are already unmatched, enough for them to strive for for several years or even more than a decade. However, as the top student in the training camp, a specially recruited individual, who defeated Onigumo (just kidding) and received high praise from Zephyr, Roman has definitely seen many admiral-level officers.

Among them, the five major generals who hold greater power are Onigumo, Doberman, Storoberry, Flying Squirrel, and Fire Mountain.

Among them, Ghost Spider and Doberman follow Sakazuki, Storobelli supports Borsalino, and Flying Squirrel and Fire Mountain lean towards Kuzan.

That's why it's so important to follow the right people, right? The five of them are all elite lieutenant generals who will be able to carry out the Buster Call in the future. They are also known as the "Five Good Men". A lieutenant general who can carry out the Buster Call is extremely important. You should know that the Buster Call of Ohara was carried out by Kuzan and Sakazuki. The five of them are all young major generals now. Although they are young and promising, there are still shadows of power among them to some extent.

Because of Professor Zephyr's exceptional status among the younger generation, officers from headquarters would always take time to visit the training camp.

However, some people act out of respect and love for their teachers, while others have ulterior motives.

Zefa saw everything clearly, but he was only concerned with education now. He let the young people do whatever they wanted, as long as it didn't interfere with his normal teaching. He was still very open-minded. He was happy if his students could have a good future, and that was the meaning of his role as an instructor.

Roman received exceptionally intense attention.

Because of the strict training of Master Zefa, the students often train from sunrise to moonrise.

Therefore, a group of officers who did not have overseas patrols or anti-piracy missions would often visit after get off work.

Borsalino and Kuzan would occasionally come to visit, but Sakazuki never did. This diligent vice admiral often worked until he was the only one left in the building.

He will then hone his skills and develop his Devil Fruit abilities. Because the Magma-Magma Fruit is incredibly powerful, Sakazuki will even take a small boat to a nearby deserted island to train until late at night.

Then, the next day, he got up earlier than the chickens to continue his military duties.

Roman doesn't know if Sakazuki is tired, but Sakazuki has certainly been putting his beliefs into practice. No wonder people call him a monster; he truly is a monster, not only in terms of strength, energy, stamina, but also in terms of willpower.

So despite the admiral's frequent outspokenness, his superiors were quite tolerant of him.

Roman understood perfectly; if she were the boss, she wouldn't fire such an employee either.

However, for his colleagues and subordinates, life was indeed very stressful.

To understand his style of doing things, just look at Ghost Spider and Doberman; it's like getting a glimpse of the whole picture through a tube.

When the two arrived at the training camp, their expressions softened only when they saw Teacher Zefa; when they saw other trainees, they looked at them as if they were condemned prisoners being led to their execution.

Roman sensed a deep resentment in the way Onigumo looked at her, and she often chose to ignore it.

She's currently just a trainee, and if she has a conflict with Onigumo, who's already a major general, and it erupts, Onigumo might be the one who loses face, but she'll definitely be the one who suffers.

However, most of the Navy's high command knew that Roman had been chosen by Kuzan, and that Kuzan had secured her opportunity to come to the training camp. Therefore, Doberman and Onigumo didn't put much thought into her, but they were still somewhat... hostile?

In short, as soon as the two of them stepped into the training camp, Roman would immediately do everything he could to run as far away as possible.

In contrast, the flying squirrel and the burning mountain showed her kindness.

Huoshaoshan is the gentlest of the five. Even when smoking a cigar, he always has a gentle smile. He is approachable and good at encouraging others.

The flying squirrel is serious and rarely smiles. He is used to being solemn, but he has a firm sense of justice and cherishes the talents of his younger generation.

Straubelli was often expressionless, showing no joy or sorrow, and seemed to have no obvious preferences, but Roman was very interested in his skull.

All three of them paid considerable attention to her, and their attitudes were generally positive.

In fact, regardless of factions, the navy is a unified whole. Although they have different inclinations, their absolute interests are aligned.

Even Kuzan and Sakazuki, despite their mutual dislike, still share a bond of camaraderie.

However, whether out of goodwill or resentment, there is another obvious reason why they are paying attention to Roman.

They all used knives or swords.

Onigumo uses eight swords, Storoberry is a dual-wielder, and the other three wield swords with one hand.

Of course, being good at using swords doesn't mean you can only use swords. Physical skills, domineering aura, and swordsmanship complement each other.

As major generals in the headquarters, they are all masters of the Six Styles, possessing genuine general-level strength.

Fortunately, she is quite good at Haki, swordsmanship, physical combat, and Roman techniques. Although she cannot be considered an expert in the Six Styles, she is still passable. Of course, this cannot be revealed, as she would normally have no way to access the Navy's Six Styles.

Therefore, Roman's own sparring sessions are actually quite instructive for the five major generals.

"She's very fast, and her swordsmanship is clean and swift. My eyes can barely keep up with her body speed," Huoshaoshan said, giving his approval after seeing Roman draw her sword.

Of course, this is definitely not his full strength. After all, Roman's opponent is a student, not a pirate. If he went all out, he would probably be killed on the spot.

"Kids these days are really something; they might be classmates in the future," Storobelli said slowly, watching Roman's actions.

"No matter what, she's just a little girl now. Aren't you overestimating her?" Doberman said with dissatisfaction.

The flying squirrel watched the whole time. He wasn't good with words, and Onigumo's face was always very ugly; he couldn't even utter a word.

The only young major general who had ever fought Roman knew that she was more than capable. Right now, she hadn't even used her domineering aura, but in her sparring with him, she used it with ease, demonstrating ample combat experience and an arrogant attitude—she was practically the epitome of a troublemaker.

As a result, after a few words from Teacher Zephyr, she was praised as a good student who was diligent in training and humble in character, which Onigumo just couldn't understand.

If Roman knew what Ghost Spider was thinking, she would definitely give him a good lesson and teach him the meaning of "a wise man submits to circumstances."

Roman naturally had to make the choices that were most advantageous to her in different environments and play the role that would benefit her the most.

Roman is also an expert in the survival strategies of the bureaucratic system.