Kaido stood with his hands on his hips, puffing his chest with pride.
"Ohyaji's right—Haki is the power that surpasses everything!"
"Worororororo—!"
"One day, I'll train my Haki to the absolute strongest level!!"
"Heh..." Shakky exhaled a puff of white smoke from her cherry lips and smiled charmingly.
"Big ambition for a little brat. But if you want to be the strongest, you'll have to surpass Klein-sama. That sounds a bit... unlikely."
As far as Klein goes—forget it. He'd never be surpassed in a lifetime.
Others might not know, but she and Gloriosa knew very well. Don't be fooled by how Klein spent his days drinking, partying, and fooling around with women.
He barely trained, didn't look like a Marine at all—more like a half-Celestial Dragon who just wanted to have fun.
But that guy's body...
It just... kept getting stronger for no reason. He often "beat" the two of them so thoroughly, they had to beg for mercy.
Kaido froze for a second, then with a cute expression scratched at the horns on his head.
"Eh? I guess that's true. Then I'll be the second strongest in the world!"
"Ohyaji is obviously number one!"
That made Os burst out laughing. "Man, with how sturdy Kaido's body is, he's bound to become a monster in the future..."
But speaking of monsters, Os's laughter faded.
He glanced around—surrounded by monsters.
With his ordinary talent, he truly couldn't compare.
At first, seeing this little guy grow horns, he thought maybe—like Loki—Kaido also had some ancient giant blood in him.
But if we're talking about real monsters...
The strongest monster...
Os looked toward the shattered island in the distance, where Klein stood amidst the ruins, and muttered,
"It still has to be Mr. Klein..."
He had never seen anyone more monstrous than Klein—not even Loki or Linlin could match him. The gap between them was like heaven and earth!
"Worororororo—!!" Kaido grinned widely, full of pride.
"Ohyaji is the big monster, I'm the little monster!"
If Klein had heard that, he'd probably hit him with a good ol' "Fist of Love" right to the head!
Can you speak like a normal person for once!?
On the side, Loki was deep in thought.
"Ohyaji just now used the ultimate technique of Hasshoken…"
"That was amazing!"
"And he actually combined Hasshoken with the Demonic Flame Kick…"
He'd been training in Hasshoken for three years now, but still couldn't grasp its secret technique.
'Hasshoken... maybe it doesn't have to be limited to fists,' Loki mused, feeling like he'd reached a breakthrough—but it was hazy, slipping just out of reach.
In his mind, he couldn't help but picture that massive war hammer—Iron Thunder.
Loki glanced down at his arms and thought,
'A few more years… then I'll ask Ohyaji to let me try out Iron Thunder.'
His blood was boiling. If he could combine Hasshoken with Iron Thunder, the power would be terrifying.
"An Admiral promotion ceremony must be incredibly grand and majestic, right?"
Newgate asked, eyes filled with envy.
If he could become a Marine Admiral himself, maybe protecting his homeland would be much easier.
"Of course," Gloriosa chuckled.
"Marine Admirals are the strongest force in the Marines. Naturally, every newspaper will report it!"
"Klein-sama's fame will spread across the entire sea!!"
"Known by all, feared by all!"
Her eyes sparkled with admiration.
"And Klein-sama is the youngest Admiral in history."
Shakky added,
"But at the same time, Marine Admirals carry heavier responsibility. Since Klein-sama is so young, he's bound to attract all kinds of pirates eager to challenge him."
Pirates will do anything for fame.
"Mamamama…" Linlin laughed heartily, overflowing with confidence.
"What's there to be afraid of? We can beat those pirates black and blue without Klein even lifting a finger!"
Kaido pumped his fist, which was already no smaller than a grown man's, swinging it with gusto.
"Exactly! No matter how many come, we're not afraid! One punch each!"
On the island—
Rampaging Bear Lincoln and Klein walked toward the Marine warships anchored at the island's edge.
Rampaging Bear had a strange expression.
"Klein, your strength is way too well-rounded. Just your Haki and martial arts alone are beyond me... and you didn't even need to use your swordsmanship or Devil Fruit…"
"You're a total freak!"
"Oi—" Klein shot back, annoyed.
"Can you not use the word freak to describe me?!"
Lincoln wiggled his eyebrows and grinned.
"C'mon, tell me. Just between us—how do you train?"
"You really wanna know?"
Lincoln nodded eagerly, his eyes brimming with curiosity.
Of course he wanted to know how Klein had gotten so strong, so fast.
Three years ago—
At the Marine Academy, during their first encounter, he could've crushed Klein with one hand.
Rubbed him into the dirt until he was shiny, even.
Now...
It was the opposite—he was the one getting crushed.
Damn it!
He should've taken advantage of it back then.
Lincoln recalled the battle just now—especially Klein's final combo move. It left him with lingering dread.
A true monster... how is he so good at everything!?
"If you really want to know," Klein smirked, "wire me 5 billion first. Gotta check if you're rich enough."
Lincoln's face darkened.
"Five billion!? That's daylight robbery—!"
"Five billion's just the entry fee. If you want the real secrets… you'll need at least 100 billion."
"One hundred billion..."
Lincoln gave up on the spot.
Klein, however, offered a piece of advice:
"If you've got nothing better to do, go punch some mountains."
"Punch... mountains?" Lincoln blinked. "That really works?"
Klein thought of Garp's training in the anime—how he used to punch battleships, and later moved on to mountains. That scene of him training Kuzan came to mind too.
"Try it and see. Just don't use Haki."
Lincoln nodded.
"I'll give it a shot later, see if it works."
The two soon reached the edge of the island—
And leapt onto the warship one after the other.
When Klein landed on the deck, the gazes of the surrounding Marine officers had completely changed from before.
Their eyes were filled with admiration and reverence—like people at the base of a mountain looking up at a god!
Before—
Klein was just a Marine Vice Admiral. Officially, he stood on equal footing with them, though in terms of experience and connections, he lagged behind.
Now?
He had bested the veteran Admiral Rampaging Bear and passed the trial.
The title of Marine Admiral was now his.
The difference between a Vice Admiral and an Admiral?
Absolutely massive.
"Klein, congratulations!" Instructor Carter beamed, his face flushed with pride.
"In just three years, you've become this strong. You've really shocked your old teacher!"
Kong added,
"Back then, I never imagined you'd leave us all in the dust like this…"
"You became an Admiral before me. Guess I'll be calling you Admiral Klein now!"
He looked deeply moved.
"By the way—have you thought of a code name?"
"Code name?" Klein blinked. He knew what that meant.
In the old days, Marine Admirals had titles like Black Arm, Steel Bone, Strategist.
In the new era, they tended to use animal-based names: Akainu, Kizaru, Aokiji, Green Bull, Fujitora…
Even the Admiral Candidates followed that pattern.