One Piece: I am Imu-Chapter 274: Elite Among the Celestial Dragons

Starfish World, Red Earth Continent, Nevada Region near Mary Geoise.

Freezing winds raged incessantly, snow fell in abundance, and the temperature rarely rose above zero degrees.

Yet this inhospitable place was chosen as the campus of the prestigious Celestial Palace.

Despite being the education center of the Celestial Dragons, the academy's facilities were far from luxurious, not even comparable to the private academies of the nobility in many kingdoms.

In the center of the campus stood an imposing twenty-story black castle, its roof covered in a thick blanket of snow.

Around the castle, black towers with different functions were connected by long paths of dark stone.

In one of the courtyards, dozens of young men dressed in thin white uniforms, with the emblem of the Hoof of the Flying Dragon on their chests, were struggling in the snow.

Guided by one of the God's Knights, the students performed a series of martial arts movements. Not far away, another group, made up of slightly older teenagers, practiced dueling with wooden swords under the watchful eye of another of the God's Knights.

The cold bit at their faces, but no one complained or gave up. With determined expressions they continued to strike with their wooden swords, filling the air with the echo of the clashes.

Nearby, a group of much older students walked along the stone paths. They wore much more elegant white uniforms. However, their faces reflected worry and tension.

"Look at them..." A young girl with light brown hair and golden eyes said, holding a thick book against her chest. "I envy them a little."

"Because they still have time, right?" A black-haired young man replied, his calm gaze falling on the younger students.

"Yes... We don't know how many of us will manage to graduate and face the vast outside world. Otherwise..."

The young woman, frowning, left the sentence unfinished. They were both seniors, they had just gone through three days of final exams and were now heading to the castle to learn their results.

"Well, if we don't manage to graduate, at least we'll return to the Domain of the Gods to live a comfortable life without responsibilities, well, if we don't mention the unpleasant topic of having offspring. Doesn't sound so bad, does it?" Another young man in the group tried to joke, but no one laughed.

...

Ten minutes later.

Upon arriving at the hall on the 18th floor of the castle, the group was stunned. A young man with a tall, imposing appearance was already seated.

"Longinus? How come you're here so early?"

"I was just wondering why I didn't see you with the group." The young woman commented, approaching Longinus with a slight blush on her cheeks.

"After the exams, I took advantage of the time we still have at the academy to look for instructor Kastan and have a sparring session in body techniques. When we finished, I came here directly." Longinus replied with indifferent courtesy.

Longinus' words caused everyone's faces to immediately change.

Kastan is one of the God's Knights strongest in body techniques, and Longinus seemed not to be hurt in the slightest after facing him.

It wasn't long before the God's Knight in charge of Longinus and the others' class entered the classroom.

The God's Knight walked up to the podium, took out a Den-Den Mushi from his pocket and placed it on the table. Then, he swept his gaze across the twelve students present.

"In this Den-Den Mushi are the results of your final evaluations. Though I believe many of you already have an idea of ​​how you fared, as the standards were very clear." The God's Knight announced.

Below the dais, Longinus and the others nodded silently.

The final evaluation consisted of five parts:

Part 1: Theoretical assessment. It included written exams on English, mathematics, military strategy, navigation, geography, astronomy, history, agriculture, medicine, philosophy, among other elective subjects. With a maximum score of 500 points.

Part 2: Musical evaluation. Each student had to choose an instrument and play a piece. Several specialized teachers judged whether the performance was exceptional.

Part 3: Physical Evaluation. The student must master the six basic techniques of Rokushiki.

Part 4: Skills Assessment. This included the use of bladed weapons, hand-to-hand combat, archery, and the use of firearms. It was necessary to demonstrate mastery in at least one type of element or defeat the evaluator in combat.

Part Five: Haki Evaluation. It included all three types. In order to obtain the Elite title and successfully graduate, students had to master and awaken all three types.

If someone had mastered Busoshoku Haki and Kenbunshoku Haki, but not Haoshoku Haki, they had two options:

Graduate without the Elite title and join the God's Knights. This gave them a bit more freedom while still stationed at Mary Geoise, but they would still be subordinate to the Elite Celestial Dragons and could be mobilized at any time. Stay one more year at the academy and try to awaken Haoshoku Haki.

Those who did not master either Busoshoku Haki or Kenbunshoku Haki, or only one of them, automatically failed and had to repeat the year. If they failed again, they were sent back to the Domain of the Gods.

"Alright, let's begin." The God's Knight pressed a button on the Den-Den Mushi, and it projected a holographic screen into the air.

The title appeared on the screen: [Graduation Assessment Results of Grade 8, Class A, Celestial Palace. Sea Circle Calendar 1501.]

"First, I want to announce that there is only one student in the entire grade who has obtained the title of Elite."

Saying this, the God's Knight looked at Longinus.

"Yes, it's Cassius Longinus!"

At the same time, Longinus' results appeared on the holographic screen:

Theoretical evaluation: 486 points

Musical evaluation: Piano (level S)

Physical evaluation: Mastery of the six basic techniques of Rokushiki.

Skill evaluation: Fencing (level S), Hand-to-hand combat (level S), Archery (level A), Firearms (level A)

Haki evaluation: Haoshoku (awakened), Kenbunshoku (awakened), Busoshoku (awakened)

"Wow!" The remaining eleven students exclaimed in surprise.

Once everyone calmed down, the God's Knight was preparing to continue showing the results of the other students, when someone knocked on the door.

[Knock, Knock, Knock]

The God's Knight frowned, but still indicated that the person could enter.

Then the door swung open, and then Rosinante walked in with a bright smile on his face.

"Pardon the interruption. The director wishes to see Cassius Longinus in his office."

The God's Knight nodded and looked at Longinus. "In that case, you should go with Attendant Rosinante."

"Yes."

Longinus stood up and left the classroom with Rosinante under everyone's envious gaze.

The two walked in the corridor, one after the other.

"Longinus, there will be three big surprises next, you must look forward to it!"

Rosinante smiled as he walked. Although he was the director's assistant, they were both eighteen years old, so they had become friends over the years.

"Three?" Longinus raised an eyebrow in surprise. "As I recall, the academy rules state that graduates receive only one high-level resource."

"That's true, but the director mentioned that two additional rewards have arrived, specifically for you. They said that a genius deserves treatment commensurate with their talent."

Rosinante patted him on the shoulder and, with a genuine smile, added: "It seems that they value you very much. Congratulations!"

"Then can you reveal what they are?"

"If I tell you now, wouldn't it be funny? Just a few more steps and we'll get there. Don't be impatient."

Rosinante shook his head, still smiling, but Longinus shrugged indifferently.

"If you don't tell me, I can guess. It's probably a Devil Fruit, and since I'm a swordsman, I'm sure it's a sword as well."

"As for the third one... hmm, could it be some Teigu from that other world?"

Rosinante shrugged and then made a gesture with his fingers, as if sliding a zipper, from one side of his lips to the other.

...

[Knock, knock, knock]

"Come in."

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After hearing the voice, Longinus opened the door to the director's office and walked in calmly.

Rosinante, on the other hand, carefully closed the door behind him, leaving him alone in the room.

This made Longinus a little confused. However, he did not insist that Rosinante stay. Instead, he calmly walked up to the desk and then greeted the director.

"Very well. You truly are the pride of the Celestial Dragons." The director nodded with satisfaction upon feeling Longinus' aur.

"Thank you for your praise, director." Longinus answered calmly.

"The Cassius Dynasty is very lucky. Right in this era when the World Government has begun its conquest of other worlds, a genius like you emerges."

"I assume Rosinante has already informed you why I called you here."

"He told me that you would give me three rewards for my graduation, but he didn't mention what they would be."

The director nodded. "I'm glad that boy knows what he shouldn't reveal."

"However, I must correct something: these rewards are not part of the academy, but of Lord Imu."

"Lord Imu?" Longinus asked, unable to hide his surprise.

"Exactly!" the director replied enthusiastically, rising from his chair and looking in the direction of Mary Geoise.

With fanatical fervor, the director recounted how Imu, after remaining in meditation for nearly nine hundred years in Pangaea Castle, had emerged four years ago, bringing with him almost divine miracles such as the Dimensional Gate.

Longinus listened to each word with a mixture of astonishment and admiration. Each sentence seemed to resolve the doubts he had had for years about the sudden changes in the World Government and the Celestial Dragons.

"So, this academy was created by Lord Imu?"

"Of course!" The director stated vehemently. "Only Lord Imu could reform the Celestial Dragons, confining the useless ones in the Domain of the Gods while giving hope to the talented ones like you."

Longinus' eyes were filled with fervor and gratitude. To him, the creation of this academy had not only shaped his character and abilities but had saved him from becoming a useless being like the other Celestial Dragons.

The director, seeing Longinus' expression, approached him with a smile and placed a hand on his shoulder, then said in a deep voice: "I hope that you will not disappoint Lord Imu's expectations for you and dedicate your entire being to his cause and to safeguarding the interests of the Celestial Dragons."

"Yes!" Longinus responded loudly and decisively.

The director turned around and took the white box from his desk, and with a smile handed it to Longinus.

"Open this. Here's your first reward."

"Although most Devil Fruits are just toys that we, and even disdain to have to eat them, have to admit that some Devil Fruits have value."

"Especially now that the World Government is fighting against other worlds, they will definitely bring a lot of help to you who have just graduated."

Longinus opened the box, revealing the devil fruit inside that seemed to emanate a scorching heat.

"This is the Fire Dragon Fruit, a Mythical Zoan with potential comparable to Kaido's Azure Dragon Fruit."

After hearing this, Longinus nodded and was very satisfied with the fruit.

Without hesitation, Longinus took the fruit and consumed it entirely, ignoring the horrible taste.

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