Chapter 140

Sengoku grinned and stroked his beard in surprise: "Oh? You have a study of tea leaves?"

Karl smiled without answering. Just kidding, he had drunk more tea than Sengoku had peed; no one understood tea leaves better than he did.

"I know a little, I know a little. By the way, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, I was doing just fine at the G10 Base, why did you suddenly have me go for this Admiral Candidate thing?"

"Actually, I had the intention of making you an Admiral Candidate three years ago, but Staff Officer Tsuru felt you were still young and needed to settle down a bit more, so..."

Karl quickly said: "But I'm still very young now! I'm only 28. There isn't a Vice Admiral at headquarters younger than me! How am I qualified to be an Admiral Candidate? Fleet Admiral Sengoku, why not just let me continue guarding the G10 Branch!"

Sengoku's expression changed, and he said irritably: "Stop putting on an act in front of me. Do you think I don't know what you do at the base every day? Good grief, you've been living better than I have, ahem."

"In short, it's a waste for you to stay at the G10 Base. Regardless of whether you can become an Admiral Candidate, I need you to take action, exert your power, and practice the path of justice!"

Karl scratched his nose nonchalantly to hide his embarrassment.

"You'll stay at Marine Headquarters for these next few days. In a few days, Admiral Admiral Admiral Admiral Admiral Kuzan, Borsalino, and Sakazuki will come over to test your strength. You should prepare yourself as well."

"What? Is becoming an Admiral Candidate this troublesome? I have to fight all three Admirals?"

Sengoku shook his head: "That's not it. They are mainly there to bear witness and prove that you truly possess the strength to be an Admiral Candidate. You can fight whoever you want!"

Karl breathed a sigh of relief. That scared the heck out of him.

Being besieged by the three Admirals—who could withstand that!

"However..."

Karl looked up at Sengoku, thinking, can you finish what you're saying all at once?

"Before you face the Admirals, you must first have a match against Gion and Kake."

Karl frowned: "Is this also a condition for becoming an Admiral Candidate?"

Sengoku shook his head: "That's not it, but the two of them have been Admiral Candidates for a long time. After them, you are the third. Regardless, you still have to have a match."

"This way, there won't be any conflicts in the future."

Karl was silent for a long moment. By future conflicts, did he mean who would become an Admiral first?

"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, I understand. Since that's the case, when will Vice Admiral Momousagi and Vice Admiral Chaton return?"

"They have been waiting for you for a long time. They are at the training grounds."

"Karl, you two shouldn't have any grudges, right?"

Karl raised an eyebrow: "How could that be? Sister Gion has always taken good care of me. Although I'm not familiar with Vice Admiral Kake, I've never had any conflicts with him either."

"That's good. You're all Marines; you must have a sense of proportion when you strike. Just keep that in mind."

Karl nodded while standing up. It seemed there was nothing else.

"Wait a moment."

Karl turned to look at Sengoku: "Fleet Admiral, is there anything else?"

Sengoku's expression turned serious as he took a wanted poster out of a drawer. On it was a youthful face.

"Fire Fist Ace, a pirate from the East Blue who recently arrived in the Grand Line. A Logia-type Flame-Flame Fruit user, captain of the Spade Pirates, with a bounty of 350 million Berries."

"You should know him, right?"

Karl nodded: "I've met him once. Back then, he was still just a child. Sure enough! He still ended up becoming a pirate."

"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, you wouldn't want me to take him out, would you?"

Sengoku shook his head gently: "That's not it. I just wanted to confirm with you, after all, he is that bastard Garp's grandson."

"Then what does Vice Admiral Garp say? Eliminating kin for the sake of justice?"

"It's hard to say. Based on my understanding of Garp, he probably wouldn't. The reason I'm telling you this is to have you invite him to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea."

Karl was stunned: "Seven Warlords of the Sea? Aren't they already full?"

"Hmph~ The World Government has been very dissatisfied with Gecko Moria recently. If Ace is willing to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Moria will be removed from the list."

"If he is unwilling... then you capture Ace and send him to Impel Down."

Karl took a deep breath: "Understood."

After Sengoku handed the bounty poster and relevant intelligence to Karl, he took a gentle sip of tea and said with a smile: "Alright, this mission isn't urgent. You should resolve the Admiral Candidate matter first."

After leaving the headquarters building, Karl headed straight for Crescent Bay.

"Over here!" Ain stood on the warship, smiling and waving at Karl. Karl leaped up and landed on Ain's warship.

It was a very ordinary standard warship; the only special features were the hull and the propulsion system, which gave the warship the ability to traverse the Calm Belt, thereby reaching the Four Blues quickly.

"From now on, you are a Marine officer. Ain, you must never push yourself too hard. If you can't win, run. If you can't run, call for reinforcements. As long as you are alive, you won't have to worry about not having a chance for revenge."

Ain hugged Karl's arm and acted Move Move Like a spoiled child: "Oh, I know. I've been with you for so long, even if I haven't eaten pork, haven't I seen a pig run?"

"I'm serious. From now on, when I'm not by your side, everything will depend on you. I don't want to rush over in a hurry only to see your corpse."

Ain knew Karl was concerned about her. She kissed Karl on the cheek with satisfaction and asked curiously: "Then what if I can't run and reinforcements don't arrive? What then?"

"I will avenge you..."

Ain was stunned and pinched Karl irritably. If she died, that person Hancock would probably laugh herself to death.

"Alright, stop messing around. Now I'm going to the training grounds to have a match with Sister Gion and Vice Admiral Kake. Do you want to come and watch?"

"Of course I'm going. It just so happens we can go see Master Zephyr together. I heard he's training new recruits now! I can also scout for an adjutant in advance."

Arriving at the training grounds, Zephyr was talking with Gion and Kake, while Shuzo was instructing the new recruits on physical training. Seeing Karl and Ain approach, Zephyr revealed a smile.

"Hahaha, Karl, you brat, you've finally returned. Truly not bad! Your strength has improved quite a bit!"

"That's only because you taught me well!"

Zephyr chuckled and patted Karl on the shoulder: "You're here to have a match with Gion and Kake, right? It just so happens I'll act as the referee, so you don't go overboard with your strikes."

"That's great. I'll leave it to you, Master Zephyr."

Gion walked up to Karl with a smile: "So fast! When I first met you, you were still a Major, and now you're on equal footing with your sister. You truly are the strongest Marine of the new generation."

Kake, standing to the side, felt a bit dissatisfied seeing Gion's attitude toward Karl; Gion had never treated him Move Move Like that.

"Karl, I won't hold back. Being an Admiral Candidate is all about strength. If you can't even pass our test..."

Karl glanced at Kake indifferently and interrupted with a smile: "Candidate Chaton, please don't hold back. Otherwise, don't blame me if you get hurt."

"You!"

Zephyr frowned and shouted loudly: "Enough! Don't pull these things in front of me. Everything is decided by strength."

"Shuzo, pause the training. Arrange for the new recruits to watch from the side and let them see how the strong fight."

"Gion, Kake, who's going first?"

Kake said impatiently: "Master Zephyr, let me go first! So Karl doesn't go overboard and hurt Gion."

After speaking, Kake flashed what he thought was a handsome smile at Gion. Gion curled her lips helplessly and looked at Karl with an innocent expression.

"Oh my god! It's actually Vice Admiral White Crow. Is he going to become an Admiral Candidate so soon? He's only 28, right?"

"So what if he's 28? Vice Admiral White Crow is a man who can easily defeat pirates with bounties of over a billion. If you ask me, he should have become an Admiral Candidate long ago."

A girl wearing glasses among the new recruits looked at Karl curiously, her eyes full of longing. Of course, the longing was for the two swords hanging at Karl's waist.

"The Black Blade Shusui of the 21 Great Grade Swords, the Cursed Blade Raiu. I really want to see them!"

"Hey, Tashigi, don't space out. Hurry and hide further away, or you'll get hurt!"

Tashigi quickly responded: "Oh, oh! Got it!"

The training ground had been cleared, leaving only Karl and Kake. The new recruits watched from afar to avoid being caught in the aftermath of the battle.

"Kake, Karl, you are both colleagues. This is just a match. I don't want to see any accidents happen. Do you understand?"

"Don't worry, Master Zephyr. You know me; I have the best sense of proportion when I strike!"