"Laugh while you still can!"
"The more smug you are now, the more miserable I'll make you in a moment."
"A good teammate hits hard—to motivate his comrade, of course. I really am a great guy!"
"Huuh—trying to compare muscles now?" Klein grinned, then shouted toward his warship:
"Hey! Loki, show him what real muscle looks like!!"
At Klein's call, Loki stomped to the edge of the colossal battleship Titanic, revealing his massive form.
After three years of training, Loki's muscles were defined and absurdly huge. His exposed arms were like the trunks of ancient trees, veins bulging like twisted roots.
"Oyahji!"
Klein smirked. "Give this Mr. Lincoln a little muscle show!"
Loki immediately raised an arm thicker than most ships' masts, clenched his fist, and flexed—his biceps ballooning with raw, explosive power.
Klein turned to look at the Rampaging Bear, who was now looking extremely sour-faced. Klein couldn't help but tease,
"Joy never disappears—it just transfers to someone else."
"How's that for size, Mr. Lincoln? How do my son's muscles stack up?"
"Sigh—" Klein gave an exaggerated sigh. "Even my seven-year-old son's muscles are several times bigger than yours. Shouldn't you reflect on whether you've been training hard enough?"
"Have you even tried?"
"....." Veins throbbed on Lincoln's forehead as his blood pressure skyrocketed. His brain went momentarily blank—he couldn't even come up with a retort to Klein's nonsense.
Because… Loki really was that jacked.
"Klein, this your son?!"Carter nearly popped his eyes out. "Damn, your old man's been busy—!"
"Your old man's the one who gets around!" Klein snapped back, vein bulging. "He's my adopted son!"
This damn sixth-ranked idiot—his words were more toxic than Magellan'sVenom Demon. Infuriating to the core.
All these "bargain bin dads" in this world… probably have grass growing over their graves already.
Wait, where was his old man buried again?
Klein could barely recall.
Marshal Oharden's pupils were trembling.
"This... this is the bloodline of the Ancient Giants! And his eyes… why are they so strange? Just looking at them gives me goosebumps."
He turned to Klein, visibly shaken.
"You actually took in someone with Ancient Giant bloodline as a son... You…"
"What kind of bullshit luck is this?!"
And this same Klein had not one, but two treasures—Gloriosa and Shakky!
Heaven help us.
What kind of absurd fortune is this guy packing?
Bullshit luck?
Tch.
Klein sneered internally:
"This is all from my own effort, okay? Sure, I've got the advantage of knowing the plot… but that's still me!"
"Bullshit luck? My biggest stroke of luck was getting to cheat in the first place!"
Klein curled his lips smugly. "Jealous? Envious? My son Loki has the makings of an Admiral!"
"Tch!" The Rampaging Bear, Lincoln, scowled. "Stop bragging about irrelevant stuff. Let's go! I'm gonna show you my strength!"
He shot off the deck, using Geppo to cover hundreds of meters in a flash, landing on the island's beach.
"Sashi-buri-dara." As the ship approached, Kong called out across the deck. "I really wanna see what that Devil Fruit of yours can do."
That S-rank Ninjutsu: Divine Departure from three years ago—he still remembered it vividly.
Unforgettable.
It had driven and motivated him in his training ever since.
"Sashi-buri-dara, Kong," Klein replied, eyeing the brawny Kong.
Compared to three years ago, Kong seemed calmer and more composed—clearly, he'd improved a lot.
He'd grown, no doubt. But… when would he finally make Admiral?
Kong leapt over and landed before Klein, his gaze complicated.
The first time he met Klein, the guy was just a Marine recruit.
The second time, he'd been Klein's exam proctor—only to lose.
And now, the third time… he stood witness as Klein sparred with Admiral Rampaging Bear to earn the Admiral title himself.
Only three encounters—but it felt like watching a firefly grow into the blazing sun.
Kong spoke.
"To you, it's been a while. But to me… I've been seeing you all the time."
"Oh?" Klein raised a brow. "Stalking me? You into guys?"
"Don't get the wrong idea!" Kong caught Klein's odd look and quickly waved it off. "You've been my goal. I've been training like crazy, trying to catch up to you."
"My bad, then" Klein grinned. "But anyone who's been defeated by me? Sorry—not possible to catch up"
Unless you're like that Deserter King, Koby, with his 200x Effort cheat.
With 200x effort…
Ten years becomes two thousand years of training. Damn! That's scarier than those 'two-thousand-year-old beauties' from old novels.
"So confident." Kong smiled faintly. "With your talent, catching up is nearly impossible. But giving up just because it's hard? That's the act of a coward."
"My training is for me—not anyone else."
No wonder he was the future Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. Dude sounded like a walking speech generator.
"Thanks for the compliment." Klein laughed. "We'll talk more later. Right now…"
His expression sharpened. An intense aura exploded around him, kicking up a whirlwind.
He shot toward the island, landing lightly on the sand.
Face calm, he said,
"Mr. Lincoln, I'm afraid I won't be holding back."
"?"
A question mark popped above Lincoln's head.
"Kid, when I was at my peak, you weren't even—"
Before he could finish, his pupils contracted sharply.
Klein had vanished.
Soru!
In a blink, a jet-black fist was frozen just two or three centimeters in front of his face, reflected in his widened pupils.
A blast of wind from the blow slapped across his Armament Haki-hardened, glossy black face.
Klein smirked.
"Why the long face, Admiral Rampaging Bear—"
"Poisoned, maybe?"
"You bastard!" Sweat gathered at Lincoln's temples. He shot backward dozens of meters.
"That speed!!"
"Calm down."
He'd been careless—caught off guard. No Observation Haki. His eyes alone couldn't keep up.
Good thing Klein held back. If he hadn't, that punch would've nailed Lincoln square in the face.
"No honor in that attack?" Klein twitched a brow. "I did hold back, you know. Could've ended this already."
"You ready now?"
Lincoln steadied himself.
"Can't let my guard down against a freak like you."
"Muscle Burst Step!"
In a flash, his thigh muscles inflated like overfilled balloons.
BOOM—
The beach cratered beneath his feet. Lincoln shot forward like a cannonball, blackened arms swinging.
"Brute Force: Black Fist!!"
A howling gust surged forth as he punched, the air rippling visibly.
"Dragon Claw Fist!"
Klein's eyes gleamed red. His arm lashed out like a sea dragon, a black claw seizing Lincoln's fist.
CLANG—
Klein's "Dragon Claw" gripped the punch like a steel trap, completely halting its advance.
"So this is that 'famed strength' of yours? Eh—kinda average." Klein bared his silver teeth with a grin.
His expression oozed smugness. Lincoln's fury reached a boil.
"Kid! That was just the warm-up! Don't get cocky!!"
He lifted a knee like a train engine, aiming to slam it into Klein's chest.
But Klein lifted off the ground—still gripping Lincoln's fist—into a one-handed handstand, then twisted midair.
"Demonic Flame Kick!!"
From midair, Klein lashed out a burning kick, leg engulfed in intense flames—his entire lower leg now a glowing branding iron!
The heat shimmered in the air. That kick carried explosive power.
Lincoln crossed his arms in defense.
BOOM—
The impact numbed Lincoln's arms and sent him stumbling back.
Thud, thud, thud—
Each retreating step embedded his feet deeper into the sand.
After a few paces, even his thighs were half-buried. His eyes trembled.
"This brat… this power… what the hell is he made of?!"
But Klein gave no breathing room.
He landed—and in the next instant, streaked across the sand like a streak of brilliant blue aurora.
"Demonic Flame Kick: Night Guy!!!"
The orange flames around his foot turned blue in an instant—blazing even hotter.
The Azure Beast of the Pirate World had arrived in full glory!
As if confirming the classic truth once more:
"The Flame-Flame Fruit… even dogs wouldn't eat it."