Chapter 242: Admiral Candidate

"However..."

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

"Before you spar with the Admirals, you must first have a match with Gion and Gion's companion, Chaton."

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

Sengoku shook his head: "That's not it, but they have been Admiral Candidates for a long time. After them, you are the third. No matter what, you still have to have a match."

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

Karl was silent for a long moment. Did "future conflicts" refer to who would become an Admiral first?

"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, I understand. In that case, when will Vice Admiral Momousagi and Vice Admiral Chaton return?"

"They have been waiting for you for a long time, at the training ground."

"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 Chaton, I've never had any conflict with him either."

"That's good. You are all Navy; just make sure you know your limits when you strike."

Karl nodded while standing up, looking like there was nothing else.

"Wait a moment."

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

Sengoku's expression turned serious, and he took a wanted poster from his drawer, showing 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 a child. Sure enough! He still ended up becoming a pirate."

"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, you aren't going to make me take care of him, are you?"

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

"Then what does Vice Admiral Garp say? Justice over family?"

"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 full?"

"Hmph~ The World Government is very dissatisfied with Gecko Moria recently. If Ace is willing to become one of the Seven Warlords, 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 wanted poster and relevant intelligence to Karl, he took a light 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 and waved at Karl with a smile. Karl leaped up and landed on Ain's warship.

It was a very standard military warship; the only special feature was the hull and the propulsion system, which gave the warship the ability to traverse the Calm Belt, thereby reaching the Four Seas quickly.

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

Ain hugged Karl's arm and acted spoiled: "Oh, I know. I've been with you for so long, haven't I seen enough of how things work?"

"I'm serious. In the future, 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, so she kissed Karl on the cheek with satisfaction and asked curiously: "Then what if I can't run and support doesn't arrive? What then?"

"I will avenge you..."

Ain was stunned and gave Karl a sharp pinch. If she died, that Hancock would probably laugh herself to death.

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

"Of course I'm going. It's a good chance for us to see Master Zephyr together. I heard he's training new recruits now! I happen to be looking for an adjutant in advance."

Arriving at the training ground, Zephyr was talking to Gion and Chaton, while Shuzo was guiding the new recruits in physical training. Seeing Karl and Ain approach, Zephyr revealed a smile.

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

"That's only because of your good teaching!"

Zephyr chuckled and patted Karl on the shoulder: "You're here to have a match with Gion and Chaton, 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 of the new generation of the Navy."

Chaton, standing to the side, felt a bit dissatisfied seeing Gion's attitude toward Karl; Gion had never treated him 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 Chaton 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 stunts 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, Chaton, who's going first?"

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

After speaking, Chaton 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! Is that really 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 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, stop spacing out, hurry and hide further away, or you'll get hurt!"

Tashigi quickly replied: "Oh, oh! I know!"

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

"Chaton, Karl, you are both colleagues. This is just a test. 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!" ===== CHAPTER 244 =====