[OPFS] Chapter : 2

By the time I reached the front of the base, I was already late by about two or three minutes, but my student tendencies kicked in, thinking it was no harm to go late by five minutes. I took in the sight of the base from the front, and it was a new sight for me. It looked like the outer part of the walls were lined with metal sheets, which might be to protect the base from gunshots and cannon balls. And then I rejuvenated the memories of the base and made a mental map of the base. Being a chore boy, I and a couple of others had to clean the whole base, so now I know where everything in the base is.

The base had a lot of sparring rooms for training and an armory with a lot of cutlasses, swords, and guns. 300 marines were stationed in Loguetown, with captain Smoker as the highest-ranked, who took charge just this year. This base is like the HQ for the whole East Blue, as it is the biggest island nearest to the entrance of the Grand Line, the stopping point for most of the pirates, and a famous spot for being the place where the pirate king was executed.

Daily, I have my breakfast in the base's mess hall, clean the base, and replace equipment in the training yards by 11 and then do my own training with the others, have lunch around 1 pm, and get back to training. The training is divided mainly into three parts: swords, rifles, and other specific training that could be done with the help of marines who specialize in that field, if they are willing to help or have been ordered by Captain Smoker.

I reached the reporting desk that all the marines in the base should report to before entering the interior of the marine base. At the desk is a man giving me a look that looked slightly remorseful and then became rigid.

"You know the rules of the base set by Captain Smoker Logan; you'll have to do an extra ten laps around the training ground with full equipment for being late." said the man.

At first, I couldn't comprehend what was said, as it was said in a soldier type voice that I had little experience with, but the instincts of the kid kicked in, and I immediately blurted out, "Yes, sir!" in the same rigid kind of voice.

The man's face softened a little, and he asked, "Why were you late?"

Thinking of a good lie, I said, "I went to my father's grave to visit him" in a slight, solemn voice.

I am a good liar when I want to be. The guy seemed to have bought it, checked in the register, and said, "Even though it's your first time being late, rules have to be followed by all, so no excuses, now go and have breakfast and get to work!" The last bit was said a little harshly, but I guess that was the way the military, or in this case, the Navy, worked on undeniable orders.

So here I was cleaning the base with a mop after eating in the mess hall, a little more than 'usual' as I have done the extra punishment; by usual, I mean a lot compared to what we eat on earth, even by army standards; guess it's a one piece world thing.

While eating, I tried to get my thoughts in order, as I did not want to make the people here notice the change in behavior. So I need to make mine and the kid's thoughts become one as soon as possible and not take the risk of having a split personality. For that, I have to meditate more, resolve all issues, and also not forget who I am, as I'll go back to my original body later, hopefully not for a long time.

After cleaning the base, I met with my one and only colleague. "Good morning, Tashigi-san!".

By the way, I forgot to mention that my colleague doing chores is Tashigi. She is nearly the same age as me too. 'Her age is way too close to that of Kuina. I always had a doubt that she might be Kuina, with her memory getting lost.

"Good morning, Logan-san. Did you get punished today for being late?" she inquired.

"Yeah, and I have to do ten extra rounds!" I said sheepishly, rubbing the back of my head.

"So would you be able to spar after training like usual?"

I understood her plight; the kid previously had less stamina than her, so she isn't sure if I would be able to continue after that punishment.

The thought of testing my limits came to me, so I said, "Yeah, a short breather after completing the punishment, and I would join you." deciding to play a little, I said, "I wouldn't like to miss a spar with you, Tashigi-chan." I said a bit off-handedly.

She blushed immediately, but it was a small one. Then she recovered and said, "You still have a long way to go if you want to defeat me in a sword fight, Logan, I still hold the record of 30 wins and zero losses." She said it a bit smugly.

"It is only for a little time, Tashigi-chan. I am going to surpass you before this month goes down; enjoy it while it lasts," I said confidently, knowing there was not much difference in both of their swordsmanship, even though she was better than him by a little. In that regard, he always lost due to not thinking of what the opponent was going to do and running blindly and my slightly lesser stamina.

From this day on, it is going to be different.

"Let's go, Tashigi; we have to go to the training grounds now, or we'll be late." saying that I turned around, left the cleaning supplies room, and went towards the training grounds.

I was feeling excited, as this is going to be my first marine training drill.

**An hour later**

I was feeling exhausted after the workout was done, but I still have doubts about my ability to complete it. I had done twenty-five rounds around the field with 40 kilos of equipment on my back. Each round is a kilometer. By that calculation, I had run 25 km in just an hour with 40 kilos on my back.

It's just mind-blowing what I can do in our world with this body; maybe I can ask whoever has brought me here to let me keep this body's vitality with me after leaving. I went to do push-ups and pull-ups, 50 of each, all the while having the weight on my back. This is only the basic training that marines get; I need to go even further, to the level of being much faster and much stronger than this, but how..?

I need to think about it tonight as I am otherwise occupied with doing this ridiculous amount of physical exercise right now and sword training later, argh!... But I need to persevere and endure to enjoy this chance given to me to its fullest.

After the HELL was over.. for that day…

I took a leave for the next day as I had to come to terms with all the knowledge of this kid. He gave the excuse of going to be too sore the next day, and the bruises Tashigi gave me today seemed to have convinced the Chief Petty Officer.

Now here, I am thinking of a plan of action or training from here on in my apartment. I need to prepare a new training regimen for myself; maybe ask that doctor at the base that I met today. He is a good guy in his late 40s who treated my bruises and cuts.

Hmm, that's what I am going to do tomorrow, after acclimating to whatever memories this body still has... And don't forget about the ladies... good-looking doesn't even do justice to the ones in this world. I think Oda might be an admirer of female forms of the highest class, what with most of them having hourglass figures.

For now, though, it is imperative that I move to the Grand Line, and if lucky, then to the Navy HQ in the next 2 years, as training is much harsher there, and I guess it would be my best chance to rise through the ranks fast. For that, I need to be the strongest, or at least top three, in Loguetown for that to happen.

So, for the next year, that would be my goal, where being able to beat Tashigi in a duel and being in the top five in physical strength at the base are like sub-goals.

With those things in mind, I laid down on the bed to start the process of acclimating to the memories.