Chapter 71

"Let's go! Nothing more to see. Since there's nothing to do, how about we go to the training ground and practice?"

Smoker blew a smoke ring and looked at Karl with a smile. Karl returned the smile, but a hint of cunning flashed in his eyes.

It seemed Smoker didn't know he had already awakened both types of Haki! After all, while executing missions outside, news wasn't that well-informed.

"Looking at you, have you made progress in your strength recently?"

Smoker sighed and waved his hand: "Sigh↑ Eh↓ just a little bit of progress, not worth mentioning."

Karl laughed dumbly; he was being humble with him.

Ten minutes later, training ground.

Both stood empty-handed on either side of the training ground. Smoker had his hands in his pockets, chewing on a cigar, not knowing what an opponent was.

"This time I will use elementalization. I hope you don't lose too miserably."

Karl nodded with a smile: "Don't worry, just come at me!"

"White Snake!"

Smoker launched the attack first.

He first turned his arms into smoke, then transformed the smoke arms into the shape of two giant pythons, aiming at Karl and striking. No matter how Karl dodged, it was useless, because this move came with a tracking and locking system.

"You can't escape!"

"Is that so?"

Karl activated his Observation Haki, sensed the two giant pythons chasing from behind, turned around abruptly, and kicked with a Tempest Kick.

"Tempest Kick: Sever!"

A blue slashing wave accurately severed the bodies of the giant pythons, but it was only temporary. The smoke pythons quickly merged back together, unaffected in the slightest.

"Hahahaha! I told you, it's useless!"

Little did he know, Karl had already used Moon Walk to arrive in front of Smoker. Standing before him, he covered his right hand with a layer of Armament Haki. Boom!

In Smoker's shocked eyes, Karl's fist slammed straight into his head, and his whole body flew out.

"Ahhh! So painful!"

That year, Smoker held his head with both hands, beaten into a state of confusion.

Pain, too painful!

This might have been the most painful time since he became a Logia user.

"Ah! It hurts to death! When did you awaken Armament Haki!"

At this moment, Smoker was doubting his life. He had joined the Navy since he was young, floating and sinking for over a decade, only to find that his rank was lower than Karl's, and even his strength had fallen behind.

Clearly, a few months ago they could still fight back and forth. Even when he saw in the newspaper that Karl had fought Marco to a draw and injured Mihawk, he just assumed Karl had a good foundation and strong physical skills.

Who could have guessed he had actually awakened Armament Haki?

"Awakened during the internship mission."

"So early!?" Smoker was dumbfounded.

Karl nodded: "Yes! That time, I almost died!"

Smoker was speechless, sitting blankly on the ground, saying nothing.

Only then did he realize if he had been too slack. After thinking for a while, he got a definite answer.

Yes, he had been slack.

He was always entangled in the Navy's crooked atmosphere, corruption, and aiding evildoers, but forgot the most important thing for a Navy officer: strength.

After graduating from the training camp, he basically hadn't fought any real hard battles, jumping back and forth between suspension and catching pirates, not even having time to train properly.

How could he become stronger Move Move Like this?

Looking at Karl, his first mission was to face a sea overlord Move Move Like Kaido of the Beasts, followed by the long-famous Phoenix Marco and the world's greatest swordsman, Mihawk.

And him? He didn't have a single opponent he could brag about, always bullying small-fry with his fruit ability!

Even Tina, who graduated at the same level as him, was now executing missions in the New World with Staff Officer Tsuru, facing the monsters of the New World.

In front of Karl, he was a complete loser, a weakling who complained about heaven and others.

"Karl, as a friend, I ask you to do me a favor!"

"Go ahead, as long as I can do it."

Smoker let out a long breath, leaned down toward Karl, and lowered his noble head: "I want to be your adjutant."

"What?"

Karl looked at Smoker in disbelief, picked his ear, suspecting he had misheard.

Could such words come out of Smoker's mouth?

"Yes, I want to be your adjutant, execute missions with you, and fight pirates, because only by following you will I have the chance to encounter stronger enemies!"

"I can become stronger!"

Smoker had abandoned his pride at this moment. His goal was simple: to catch up with Karl's footsteps and become stronger!

Karl appeared surprised on the surface, but he was already overjoyed inside. He had been worried that Ain alone wasn't enough of a fighter, and he never expected Smoker to deliver himself to his door for free.

Ain on the left, Smoker on the right—this lineup was simply dreamy!

Come to think of it, if Smoker hung out with him, he wouldn't end up guarding the newbie village. He should be thanking him!

Helping Smoker up, Karl patted his bicep: "Great, it's settled! Let's go! We're going to find Marshal Sengoku!"

Seeing Karl so straightforward, Smoker couldn't help but feel moved. Karl was truly a good brother!

Good brothers for life!

Knock, knock, knock!

"Come in!"

"Marshal Sengoku, there's something I'd Move Move Like you to agree to."

Sengoku looked at Karl and Smoker walking in, gradually understanding the situation, and nodded: "Go ahead!"

"It's Move Move Like this, Marshal Sengoku. Since Smoker was recently suspended, I want him to be my adjutant so we can fight evil together."

Sengoku looked at Smoker, his index finger tapping the desk rhythmically.

Smoker's expression suddenly tightened, and he said sincerely: "Marshal Sengoku, I promise to follow Karl's commands from now on and will never act on my own."

Hearing this, Sengoku nodded slightly, his expression softening.

In his view, Smoker was definitely a Navy officer with potential, one of the few excellent talents among the new generation of the Navy, but unfortunately, his temperament was impetuous and he was arrogant.

Originally, he had planned to let Smoker settle for a period of time and only reuse him when his personality matured and he could stand on his own. Now it seemed it could be moved up.

"Smoker, Karl is an excellent Navy officer, and there are many things about him worth learning."

"I hope you can learn something by his side. Therefore, I agree to your request."

After saying this, Sengoku stood up and looked at Karl and Smoker: "The future is yours, young men..."

Just Move Move Like that, Karl successfully gained a powerful fighter.

In this way, when dealing with those pirates with bounties under 200 million, he could directly let Ain and Smoker take action, and Karl could slack off with a clear conscience.

No, this wasn't slacking off; this was training Ain and Smoker. Yes, that's it.