Chapter 104: Ain Awakens

Karl frowned, feeling somewhat hesitant.

To be honest, he had planned to visit the East Blue last. After all, the East Blue was truly weak, with very few Marine branches; wouldn't it be delightful to go there at the end as a vacation?

Besides, as someone from the North Blue, he should naturally point his spearhead toward his own homeland first!

"What, you're unwilling? Fine! I hear your strength has improved quite a bit; come, come, come, go to the training ground with me. Let me see exactly how much you've improved!"

Karl’s face turned pale, and he waved his hands hurriedly: "No, no, no, Vice Admiral Garp, there's no need for that. Going to the East Blue first? Of course, that’s perfectly fine!"

If you had said so earlier, I would have agreed long ago! We’re all Marines; our own people shouldn't fight our own people!

"Hmph! I suppose you're a sensible lad. It just so happens I'm heading to the East Blue now, let's go together!"

"Vice Admiral Garp, are you on vacation again?"

Garp nodded: "That's right! I'll go back to the New World to hunt down that bastard Shanks once he shows his face."

What could Karl say to that? Good luck, Shanks!

Ten minutes later, Crescent Bay.

"Look! The man behind Rear Admiral Karl is... the Hero of the Marines, Vice Admiral Garp!"

"What? Let me see!"

Karl and Garp walked toward the harbor, chatting and laughing. Then Garp said: "This is your warship? Why does it have no distinctive features at all?"

Karl smiled without a word. Why no features? To play the pig to eat the tiger, of course!

If he didn't do that, how would he ever catch Shanks? The moment others saw that dog-head warship of yours, they’d turn around and run immediately. It would be a miracle if you could catch anyone!

"Here, look, my warship is quite a sight, isn't it?"

Karl looked at the dog-head warship slowly sailing over and complimented it: "It’s magnificent, it matches your hat perfectly!"

"Hahahaha, of course it does. Let's go, hurry up and follow!"

After saying this, Karl jumped directly onto his warship and ordered the vessel to leave Crescent Bay.

"Nelson, follow Vice Admiral Garp."

"Yes!"

Smoker walked over from the side, his expression strange as he asked: "Why are we following Vice Admiral Garp? Didn't you say..."

"Pah! Don't worry, Fleet Admiral Sengoku has already agreed, but we must investigate in secret. We'll start by arresting a batch of corrupt Marines to see the results. Vice Admiral Garp insisted that we go to the East Blue first."

"That's great! Wait, you don't mean the weakest sea—the East Blue?"

Karl glanced at Smoker indifferently: "What, are you unwilling?"

"That's not it. A place Move Move Like the East Blue, you know, I doubt there's anything worth being corrupt about there. After all, there isn't even a decent pirate crew."

In any case, if he were asked to guard the East Blue—no, he wouldn't go to the East Blue even if it killed him.

Karl shook his head: "That's where you're wrong. Never mind, you'll understand when the time comes. Here, these are the files on all the branch commanders in the East Blue and the annual reports they submitted last year."

"Study them and find out who you think are the corrupt Marines!"

Smoker got excited at the mention of this. He snatched the files from Karl's hand and began flipping through them: "Leave it to me! I guarantee I'll root out those guys who are lining their own pockets!"

Ain watched Smoker walking toward them and found it somewhat amusing. The last time she saw Smoker this excited was when he was developing his abilities.

"Is the Anti-Corruption Bureau a done deal?"

Karl nodded: "Just about. Hey, why did you change your clothes?"

"Do they look good?"

"It's just a tracksuit, how good could it look? It’s just that you’re naturally good-looking."

The corners of Ain's mouth lifted slightly; Karl always knew how to say nice things. However, she frowned, looking slightly dissatisfied: "You said you would guide my training, but you haven't fulfilled your promise yet. Did you forget?"

"How could I? I was just afraid you'd be discouraged. Are you sure you want to do it now?"

Ain nodded seriously: "Yes, I feel Move Move Like I've hit a bottleneck recently. If I work a little harder..."

Ain didn't finish the sentence. Only she knew that after boarding Karl's ship, she and Smoker had taken on all the fighting duties. It was all real combat, and she had gained a lot during this period.

If she were given a little pressure, she might just awaken Haki!

"You want to awaken Haki?"

"Yes!"

Karl understood immediately. Ain was just Move Move Like him back then; she was only one step away from awakening.

"Hahaha, then let's do it!"

On the deck, Ain looked at Karl with a solemn expression and charged forward using Shave.

Karl did not launch a counterattack but adopted a defensive strategy to familiarize himself with Ain's current strength, then adjusted his own power to the same level as hers.

After several attacks yielded no advantage, Ain kicked Karl in the chest and used the recoil to create some distance.

Karl patted the dust off his chest and said calmly: "Not bad. Now it's my turn!"

Whoosh!

In the blink of an eye, Karl rushed in front of Ain, enveloping her in a barrage of attacks. Although the force wasn't great, if Ain relaxed her vigilance for even a second, she would be sent flying.

In the process of parrying his moves, Ain seemed to enter a marvelous state. In her vision, Karl's fists were getting slower, and their trajectories were becoming clearer.

The next punch, front left...

The next punch, upper left...

Gradually, Ain stopped parrying. Her body swayed left and right as if boneless. It looked chaotic, but she managed to dodge Karl's fists perfectly every time.

"Go Ain, you can do it!"

The soldiers watching the fight seemed to think Ain was about to give up and immediately cheered for her. After all, Ain was one of the few young women on the ship, and the most beautiful and pleasing to the eye at that.

Ding!

Ain's eyes lit up, and she revealed a smile. After dodging Karl's punch, she clenched her right fist and swung toward Karl's face, stopping suddenly just before making contact.

"Hahaha, it seems you've awakened! Congratulations, Ain."

It was a natural progression. This speed couldn't be called fast, but it wasn't slow either.

However, Armament Haki will require some time; after all, this thing is closely related to one's physique. If the physique does not meet the standard, even if it is awakened, the strength will not be high.