THE ABSOLUTE HAKI IS COMPLETED

East Blue, Roxa Township – Marine 148th Branch.

A young man in simple sackcloth stepped through the gates of the Marine branch, his expression calm and steady.

At the front desk, a Marine soldier—clad in a standard white uniform with a blue neckerchief—was sprawled over the table, snoring.

"Hello, I'd like to sign up for the Marines."

"Huh?" The Marine soldier jolted awake, rubbing his eyes blearily.

"Cough… you're here to enlist, right?"

Shaking off his drowsiness, he fumbled under the desk and pulled out a recruitment form. Before handing it over, he hesitated and asked, "Are you… able to write?"

"Yes," the young man replied with a composed nod. He had been in this world for more than a decade—how could he not even be literate?

"That's good," the Marine sighed in relief as he passed the form forward. "If you couldn't, I'd have to fill it out for you."

Taking the form, the young man's gaze swept across the fields:

• [Name:]

• [Age:]

• [Place of Birth:]

• [Reason for Joining the Marines:]

• [Recommender (if any):]

…Just the usual enlistment details. Without hesitation, Solomon Carl grabbed a pen and swiftly filled in the blanks.

The Marine soldier reviewed the form but suddenly froze, eyes widening.

"Wait! Your recommender is… Vice Admiral Garp?!" His voice trembled with shock.

As a Marine stationed in East Blue, there wasn't a single person who didn't recognize that name. The Marine Hero. The man who cornered the Pirate King countless times and struck fear into legendary pirates like Rocks D. Xebec.

"I'm warning you, don't try to trick me—"

Before he could finish, Carl cut him off.

"I have a letter of recommendation from Garp. You can read it."

Reaching into his shirt, Carl produced a sealed white envelope.

The Marine snatched it up eagerly, breaking the seal with trembling hands.

"…It really is Garp's insignia."

As expected, Garp's personal correspondence wasn't meant to be read freely. Instead, the official Marine emblem stamped on the letter was all that needed verification.

"So, is everything in order?" Carl asked, his patience wearing thin.

"Ah—wait a moment! I need to get this checked."

The Marine hurried to the back, presumably to report to his superior.

Carl clicked his tongue. "Tch. What a hassle."

To be honest, he had never wanted to join the Marines in the first place.

But this world… was completely insane.

Pirates. Marines. The World Government… All of them were rotten in their own ways.

Sure, the Marines had corruption, but compared to the average pirate crew? They were far more tolerable.

A hundred pirates lined up for execution, and at best, one of them might be innocent.

Besides, even if people claimed the Marines were the World Government's lapdogs, at least Marine Admirals still had some degree of autonomy.

Unlike Cipher Pol, whose agents groveled before the Celestial Dragons like obedient dogs.

And there was one more reason he had to enlist.

Safety.

He was Solomon Carl—an ordinary man who had reincarnated into this world.

He had no absurdly durable Lunarian genes like King.

No monstrous physiology like Big Mom and Kaido.

No overpowered Devil Fruit like Kizaru, Aokiji, or Akainu.

No D-Clan plot armor like Monkey D. Luffy.

What he did have… was Armament Haki—an ability he had polished tirelessly for over a decade.

"In the end, I'm just an ordinary man."

Carl clenched his fist. A black sheen spread across his knuckles—Armament Haki, flowing like lightning across his skin.

"…Even after all that training, I still almost lost to that old man in our last spar."

Garp had only used his fists, yet Carl had barely been able to hold his ground.

Even so, he had achieved Top-Tier Armament Haki after more than ten years of grueling practice. Hardening. Emission. Internal Destruction.

As he pondered, the doors suddenly swung open, and a middle-aged man in a white Marine coat strode into the room.

"You. Solomon Carl—the one recommended by Vice Admiral Garp?"

"Yeah, that's me." Carl nodded.

"I'm Colonel Josh, commander of this branch." The man's expression turned strange. "I just spoke with Garp via Den Den Mushi. He said that if you want, you can report directly to Marine Headquarters. A warship will be sent to pick you up."

It was baffling. What exactly was Garp's relationship with this kid?

Carl, however, rejected the offer without hesitation.

"No thanks. East Blue is fine. I'm just an ordinary guy. Headquarters is way too dangerous."

Josh nodded approvingly. "That's true."

The Grand Line was a completely different battlefield from the Four Blues. Pirates there weren't just criminals—they were monsters. Even experienced officers could die if they weren't strong enough.

For a mere recruit to transfer there? It would be suicide.

"Alright. I'll get you registered."

With efficiency befitting a Marine officer, Colonel Josh quickly processed the paperwork.

Moments later, Solomon Carl officially became a Marine of the East Blue 153rd Branch.

[Ding!]

Suddenly, an electronic chime rang inside Carl's mind.

"Huh?" He frowned, glancing around.

"What's wrong?" Colonel Josh asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh… nothing." Carl waved dismissively.

Must've been my imagination…

But before he could brush it off, the mechanical voice echoed again—clear and undeniable this time.

[Sign-In System Activated!]

"???"

This time, Carl was sure—this wasn't a hallucination!

When he had first reincarnated, he had assumed that, as a transmigrator, he would be blessed with some OP cheat system like in the stories.

But after waiting and waiting—nothing happened.

By age five, he had begun training seriously, yet still, no sign of a system.

He had long abandoned such foolish fantasies.

For ten relentless years, he had worked himself to the bone, finally mastering Advanced Armament Haki just to give himself a sliver of security in this insane world.

Few people understood just how brutal this world truly was.

Here, human life was cheaper than dirt.

Carl had endured blood, sweat, and agony every single day. He had trained until his bones screamed, never once allowing himself to slack off.

Because he knew… in this world, only strength mattered.

And now, after all these years…

A system had finally awakened.