A plane that can fly for two full days.
That alone left Luo Lan utterly stunned—it was like his entire worldview had just shattered.
"It really has that kind of range?"
"In theory, yes. But we'll only know how it performs after the test flight," Hodis nodded.
Luo Lan gave a silent thumbs up in his heart.
As expected of an EX-level aerospace scientist—impressive!
"Oh, right. The aircraft doesn't have a designated code name yet. Marshal, please name it before the test flight."
"A name, huh..."
Luo Lan rested his chin on one hand as he stared at the warplane before him.
Something about its design looked incredibly familiar. At first, he couldn't place it, but now the memory surfaced.
Since that's the case...
"Alright, let's designate the model as P-51. Code name: Mustang. What do you think?"
"Mustang... I like it! It fits perfectly. All of our Admirals are named after animals, so it's in line with tradition."
Hodis nodded in agreement.
Luo Lan blinked in surprise.
All of the Admirals are named after animals?
Wait… Fujitora and Green Bull, sure. But Hawk-Eye...
Hold on.
Right. A hawk is also an animal.
Makes sense.
They never intentionally chose animal names, yet somehow, it ended up fitting the Navy's naming tradition anyway.
---
A few minutes later—
A Jun Lin soldier specialized in "Rokushiki Moon Step" entered the cockpit.
After a series of checks, he activated the engine.
The propeller at the aircraft's nose began to spin rapidly.
The runway was cleared. The fighter jet began to taxi forward, picking up speed fast.
And then—
It took off, soaring into the sky.
Luo Lan's eyes widened once again.
It had only needed about 100 meters of runway to lift off.
That was insane.
If he remembered correctly, back in his past life, the original Mustang needed several hundred meters to take off, right?
But this?
100 meters?
Absolutely ridiculous!
"Hodis, what's its top speed?"
"Close to 1,200 kilometers per hour."
"Wait—1,200 km/h?!"
Holy crap—that's practically supersonic!
Is that even possible for a piston-engine propeller plane?
Luo Lan had no idea where to begin criticizing this madness.
"What about its weapons?"
"Ah, that's up next. Marshal, take a look!"
Hodis pointed at the plane performing a series of maneuvers in the sky.
The next moment, it dove sharply.
Then—
Ratatatatatatat!
On the ground, a three-meter-wide circular area was instantly torn up, dust flying everywhere.
Dead accurate.
"Wait, hold up. You're telling me this is the first test flight, and you're already conducting ground attacks?"
Luo Lan couldn't help but complain.
Normally, shouldn't that be something tested after countless flight tests?
These people...
Really going all-in from the start?
"Marshal, is there a problem?"
"Nope. No problem. As long as you're happy."
Fine.
You really can't judge things in the One Piece world by Earth's standards.
Besides, the test pilot was a Moon Step expert with a physical strength stat of 800. Even if something went wrong, he'd survive.
Worst case? The plane crashes.
Nobody dies.
Who needs aviation safety regulations anyway?
---
An hour later—
The pilot completed all the test programs.
From advanced tactical maneuvers to air-to-ground and air-to-air targeting.
He even performed a flyby just 30 centimeters above the ground.
From initial shock to eventual numbness, Luo Lan had seen it all.
Next up was the long-range endurance test.
After landing and refueling (with cola, no less), the plane took off again.
But Luo Lan wasn't planning to stick around for two straight days.
He wasn't crazy enough to just stand there watching it fly nonstop.
After a quick word with Hordis, he left.
Now that they had a combat-ready aircraft...
It was finally time to establish the Navy's aviation force.
There was no time to waste.
To that end, Luo Lan summoned Momousagi and Hina for a meeting.
As for the other Admirals...
Fujitora and Green Bull weren't back yet. Hawk-Eye? Clueless about this stuff.
So, only the two women were called in.
Both had extensive experience leading troops and conducting joint operations.
"I believe we should prioritize three criteria for selecting pilots."
"First, physical strength."
"Second, proficiency in Moon Step."
"Third, marksmanship."
Hina spoke first, having understood the aircraft's combat style.
Her three points were in line with Luo Lan's thinking.
Momousagi added her own thoughts afterward:
"I agree with the basics, but I also think piloting skill should be a key factor."
True.
But there was one problem...
"You're right, Sister Gion. But the issue is time. In order to assess someone's piloting skill, they have to be trained first."
"And with the time we have, we might only manage to train one batch of pilots—no room for additional screening afterward."
Luo Lan shook his head.
Optimistically, they had a little over a month.
But that was best-case scenario.
If things went south, they might have less than half a month.
Obviously, that wasn't enough time to train a large number of pilots and then pick the best ones from the bunch.
"So, here's what we'll do. We won't send all Jun Lin troops for training—that would interfere with their cultivation."
"Instead, let's select 200 candidates based on Hina's criteria. Then, we'll narrow that down to 100 to form the first naval air squadron. How does that sound?"
It was a well-considered plan.
It wouldn't affect too many soldiers and still gave room to filter for top talent.
Luo Lan had already asked Hodis about the production speed of the aircraft.
The answer?
If they had enough manpower and funding, they could mass-produce around 100 P-51 Mustangs per month.
"Agreed!"
"Agreed!"
Both women nodded.
It was clearly the optimal solution under current constraints.
"Alright then, I'll leave the selection process to you, Sister Hina."
"Pull candidates from any division—intel, logistics, doesn't matter. As long as they meet the requirements, they're eligible."
Luo Lan was placing a lot of importance on the air unit.
So, he gave Hina full authority over the pilot selection.
All departments were to cooperate unconditionally.
Just then—
Knock knock knock knock...
"Come in!"
"Luo Lan! The patrol blimp just sent word—there's a sailing ship approaching fast!"
The office door opened, and Robin, hurried to get inside.
She didn't even have time to greet Momousagi and Hina.
She immediately turned to Luo Lan and shouted.
---
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