Karl frowned, feeling a bit hesitant.
To be honest, he'd planned to visit the East Blue last.
After all, the East Blue really was weak. There weren't many Marine branches, and going there at the end as a vacation—wasn't that perfect?
Besides, as someone from the North Blue, shouldn't he point the spear at his own hometown first?
"What? You don't want to go?" Garp snorted.
"Fine! I hear you've gotten a lot stronger lately. Come on—let's head to the training grounds and let this old man see just how much you've improved!"
Karl's face went pale. He waved his hands frantically.
"No, no, no! Vice Admiral Garp, that won't be necessary! East Blue it is—of course we can go!"
If you'd said that earlier, I'd have agreed on the spot!
We're all Marines—we don't fight our own people!
"Hmph! At least you've got some sense," Garp said smugly.
"Perfect timing too. I'm heading to the East Blue right now. Let's go together!"
"Vice Admiral Garp, you're on leave again?" Karl asked.
Garp nodded.
"Yeah! When Shanks finally shows his face, I'll go chase that bastard in the New World."
What could Karl say to that?
Good luck, Shanks.
Ten Minutes Later
Crescent Bay
"Look! The man behind Rear Admiral Karl is—"
"It's Vice Admiral Garp! The Hero of the Marines!"
Karl and Garp walked toward the port, chatting and laughing. Garp suddenly frowned at Karl's ship.
"This is your warship? Why does it have no character at all?"
Karl smiled without replying.
Why no character?
Playing dumb to bait the tiger, obviously.
No wonder you can't catch Shanks!
The moment anyone sees your dog-head warship, they turn around and run—how could you ever catch anyone like that?
"Look," Garp said proudly.
"Mine's great, right?"
Karl glanced at the approaching dog-head warship and immediately flattered him.
"It's amazing. Matches your hat perfectly."
"Hahahaha! Of course it does!"
"Alright, move it—keep up with me!"
Karl jumped onto his warship and ordered it to set sail.
"Nelson, follow Vice Admiral Garp."
"Yes, sir!"
Smoker walked over slowly, looking a bit confused.
"Why are we following Vice Admiral Garp? Didn't you say—"
"Relax," Karl cut in.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku already approved it. But we have to investigate secretly."
"We'll start by arresting a batch of corrupt Marines and see how it goes. Garp insists we begin in the East Blue."
Smoker's eyes lit up.
"That's great! Wait—East Blue? You mean the Weakest Sea?"
Karl glanced at him.
"What? You don't want to go?"
"No, that's not it," Smoker replied quickly.
"It's just… the East Blue, you know. There probably isn't much corruption there."
"After all, there aren't even any decent pirate crews."
If he were told to guard the East Blue—no way.
Absolutely not. Not even if you beat him to death.
Karl shook his head.
"You're wrong about that. Forget it—you'll understand when we get there."
He handed Smoker a thick stack of documents.
"These are the profiles of all East Blue branch commanders, plus their annual reports from last year."
"Go through them. Pick out the ones you think are corrupt."
Now Smoker was fired up.
He snatched the files eagerly.
"Leave it to me! I'll expose every last one of those embezzlers!"
Ain watched Smoker march off, amused.
The last time she'd seen him this excited was when he was developing his abilities.
"So—it's really happening?" Ain asked.
"The Integrity Commission?"
Karl nodded.
"More or less."
He glanced at her outfit and paused.
"Hey—did you change clothes?"
"Do I look good?"
"Sportswear. How good could it look?"
"Though… you do look good no matter what."
Ain's lips curved upward slightly.
Karl really knew how to talk.
Then her brows knit together with mild dissatisfaction.
"You said you'd guide my training, but you still haven't done it. Did you forget?"
"How could I?" Karl replied.
"I was just worried you'd get discouraged. Are you sure you want to do it now?"
Ain nodded seriously.
"Yes. Lately I've felt like I've hit a bottleneck."
"If I push just a little more…"
She didn't finish the sentence.
Only she knew—since boarding Karl's ship, she and Smoker had handled almost all the fighting. It was nonstop real combat, and the gains had been huge.
If she were given enough pressure now…
She might awaken Haki.
"You want to awaken Haki?" Karl asked.
"Yes."
Karl immediately understood.
She was just like he had been—
one step away from awakening.
"Hahaha! Then let's do it!"
On the Deck
Ain looked at Karl with a solemn expression. With a Soru, she instantly rushed forward.
Karl didn't counterattack. Instead, he focused on defense, familiarizing himself with Ain's current strength while carefully adjusting his own power to match hers.
After several failed attempts, Ain kicked Karl in the chest, using the recoil to pull back.
Karl brushed the dust from his chest.
"Not bad. My turn."
Whoosh!
In a blink, Karl was right in front of her.
A dense, relentless barrage of attacks enveloped Ain. The force wasn't overwhelming, but the moment she relaxed, she'd be knocked flying.
As she parried and evaded, Ain felt herself enter a strange state.
In her vision, Karl's fists seemed to slow down.
Their trajectories became clearer.
Next punch… from the front-left.
Next… from the upper-left.
Gradually, Ain stopped parrying altogether.
Her body swayed fluidly, almost boneless—seemingly random, yet every movement perfectly dodged Karl's attacks.
"Ain, you can do it!"
The watching soldiers thought she was about to give up and immediately started cheering.
After all, Ain was one of the few young women on board—and definitely the most eye-catching.
Ding.
Ain's eyes lit up. She smiled.
After dodging Karl's punch, she clenched her right fist and swung at his face—
then stopped just before impact.
"Hahaha!" Karl laughed loudly.
"So you've awakened it. Congratulations, Ain."
It had come naturally—neither fast nor slow.
Armament Haki would still take time, though. That one was closely tied to physique; without the body to support it, even an awakened Armament Haki wouldn't be strong.
"That's why…" Ain said softly.
"What's with all the excitement here?"
The Marines on deck straightened instinctively, eyes blazing with excitement as they looked at the towering figure before them.
"V-Vice Admiral Garp!"
"The Hero of the Marines!"
Most of the younger Marines were Garp's fans—enough to show just how legendary his reputation was.
"Very nice!" Garp laughed heartily.
"Young lady, awakening Observation Haki at such a young age—at this rate, you'll surpass Karl before long!"
Ain shook her head shyly.
"Vice Admiral Garp, you're joking. My talent isn't that good."
"That's true," Garp said seriously.
"Karl here is basically a monster."
"Hey, brat," Garp added, cracking his knuckles.
"My hands are itching. How about you and I spar?"
Karl: Please no. This is my newly acquired warship.
"Ahem," Karl coughed.
"Uh… my stomach's not feeling well. I need to use the restroom."
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