Chapter 43: Faction Struggles Within the Navy!

The Officer Training Camp wasn't very big, housed in a low, three-story building right next to the sports field. It had originally been a Navy dormitory, but the place was old and had long been abandoned. Not long ago, Admiral Zephyr had decided to turn it into his own teaching facility and had it fully renovated.

After half a month of waiting, Ortoren finally got his wish and joined the Marine Headquarters Officer Training Camp, becoming part of its very first class.

On the day he was officially registered, he was automatically granted the rank of Captain in Marine Headquarters. Once he earned all the required credits and received Admiral Zephyr's approval to graduate, he would be immediately promoted to Commodore, putting him on the same level as Momonga and the others.

By then, though, Momonga and Yamakaji would probably already have reached the rank of Rear Admiral.

Ortoren didn't care much about that. He had joined the Marines midway through his career, so starting at this level was already more than he could have hoped for. He owed a lot to Garp and Zephyr for not holding his past against him.

As far as he knew, very few in the Marines were aware of his true identity—likely just a handful of the highest-ranking officers. A few days earlier, during a casual conversation with Kuzan, Ortoren had hinted at the topic. From Kuzan's reaction, it seemed even he didn't know, which meant the secrecy was being kept well.

As one of the "diligent trio," Ortoren was up early as always, starting the day with exercise before meeting up with Momonga and Yamakaji. After their workout, they went straight to the mess hall for breakfast, then headed to the school.

The first Officer Training Camp had only one class. Zephyr was even considering keeping it that way for future intakes, at least until the camp was officially established as the Marine Headquarters Higher Military Academy.

The classroom wasn't large—just three dorm rooms knocked together. When Ortoren and the others arrived, it was still empty.

"Do you guys have any idea who else is joining this training camp?" Ortoren asked casually as he took a seat, glancing at Momonga beside him.

Momonga was busy straightening his suit, clearly hoping to make a good impression on Admiral Zephyr. Without looking up, he replied, "I know a few. I've heard that Onigumo, Dalmatian, and Doberman—Commodores like me and Yamakaji—are also in the first class. But the two of us don't get along with them, so we're not exactly close."

"As for the rest, I heard there might be some promising recruits brought in from outside Headquarters, but I don't know them. From Headquarters, below Commodore rank, there's… Captain Strawberry, and…"

He trailed off, turning to Yamakaji.

Yamakaji was leisurely rolling a cigar. Meeting Momonga's gaze, he said slowly, "There's also Captain Stainless and Captain Cancer. The rest, I'm not sure about."

"Why are you rolling a cigar here? That's going to ruin Admiral Zephyr's first impression of you!" Momonga said, exasperated.

"I heard Admiral Zephyr's a big fan of cigars. Who knows? He might actually appreciate it," Yamakaji said with a laugh.

Seeing the two of them bicker yet again, Ortoren didn't even bat an eye. That was just how they were—constant arguing, but good friends all the same.

Still, from what Momonga had said, it was clear they didn't know much about their future colleagues—those who would one day also serve as Vice Admirals in Marine Headquarters—and had little to no interaction with them for now.

Then again, Ortoren figured that was normal. At the moment, they were either Commodores or field-grade officers, ranks that were everywhere in Marine Headquarters—especially in the Justice Fortress office building, where you couldn't walk a hallway without passing dozens of them.

It was only after rising to flag rank, starting from Rear Admiral, that you'd have more frequent interactions with the same group of officers. And once everyone reached Vice Admiral, they might not be considered the absolute top brass, but they'd still be among the true high-ranking leaders of the Marines—a small enough circle that you'd see each other constantly, naturally becoming familiar.

In fact, Ortoren could already sense a certain pride in both Momonga and Yamakaji. They got along with him because he was on their level—or even above it. For anyone who couldn't keep up, they simply wouldn't bother investing the time to build a connection.

Seeing that Momonga and Yamakaji had stopped arguing, Ortoren spoke up again.

"You said earlier that you don't get along well with some commodores. What do you mean? Do you have conflicts?"

Momonga's attention was drawn back to Ortoren. He shook his head.

"There's no real conflict. It's just that our ideas and views are different, so we don't mesh well. Sometimes, during meetings, we even end up arguing over these differences."

"Is it because of factions?" Ortoren asked with a smile.

Momonga hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"You could say that. So, you know about the Marine factions? Looks like Garp-san has talked to you about this..."

In truth, Garp had never told Ortoren about any of this—probably because he couldn't be bothered with such trivial matters. But Ortoren didn't point that out. Instead, he leaned in with interest.

"Tell me more. Garp-san doesn't seem too willing to discuss these topics."

Momonga, at least in his younger years, had been quite the chatterbox. Seeing Ortoren's interest, he brightened.

"Our Marines are basically split into three factions: the hawks, the doves, and the moderates. Each represents a different stance and set of beliefs. The hawks are hardliners—they believe in fighting violence with violence, absolute justice, and so on. They tend to be more cold-blooded and aren't exactly friendly toward the lower ranks.

Opposite to them are the doves. Compared to the hawks' hardline approach, the doves are more peaceful, preferring to resolve problems through non-violent means. They also support timely justice—less radical, more measured.

Finally, there are the moderates. Simply put, they try to maintain a balance, though some might say they're just fence-sitters."

From his tone, Ortoren could tell Momonga was speaking with a certain personal bias. If he had to guess, Momonga was probably leaning toward the doves.

"Who are the top figures in these three factions?" Ortoren asked quietly.

Momonga grew cautious at the sensitive question. He glanced around to make sure no one was nearby before continuing.

"The factions aren't that large. Only those at the rank of Rear Admiral and above can truly get involved. Most of us commodores just know bits and pieces—enough to make a choice later on. As for the leaders, what I know is all gossip, so take it as just talk."

Ortoren nodded for him to go on.

"They say the hawks don't currently have a true leader. Before becoming Fleet Admiral, Kong was their big boss, but once he took the top post, he had to stay neutral, so he stepped down. Even without a formal leader, the hawks have continued to grow, thanks to Fleet Admiral Kong 's prestige and influence."

Ortoren made a mental note of that.

"What about the doves?"

"The doves used to be quite strong. Admiral Zephyr and Garp-san were their leaders. But some years ago, Admiral Zephyr went through certain changes that shifted his views, and now he's considered a leader of the moderates. That said, he's lost interest in faction politics altogether. So, while he's a nominal leader of the moderates, in reality, he doesn't participate in any faction struggles," Momonga explained.

"So, the moderates are the strongest now?" Ortoren asked in surprise.

"That's right. The Fleet Admiral is clearly in the moderate camp, and Admiral Sengoku seems to have been one of their leaders from the start. Now, with Admiral Zephyr's reputation backing him, everyone believes Sengoku will be the next Fleet Admiral. The moderates are very powerful." Momonga nodded.

In any large political group, internal divisions are inevitable. Different stances and factions naturally emerge. The Marines, despite being a military force, are also a political entity—one that's existed and expanded for over eight centuries. There's no way they'd be free of factional struggles.

Today, Ortoren had gotten firsthand insight into the Marines' factional landscape from Momonga. He was about to ask more when the door slid open and several Marine officers walked in together. They were likely the "new students."