Watching the flames slowly swallow the pirate ship, Karl let out a quiet sigh.
"It's finally over…"
Zephyr had not lost his students.
He had not lost his arm.
And Weevil never got the chance to become a Shichibukai.
If that was the case, then Zephyr likely wouldn't end up dying at the hands of the Marines in the future either.
As for being disappointed in the Marines?
Karl didn't think it mattered much anymore.
As long as you didn't expect anything from the Marines, you couldn't be disappointed.
From the very first day he joined, he had always thought this way.
It wasn't that he'd never considered changing the system—but reality was simple.
He was insignificant, and words without power meant nothing.
For now, he still wasn't strong enough to change the Marines.
But Karl believed that day wouldn't be far off.
After all, he was only 24 years old.
Out on the sea, several Marine warships slowly approached.
The personnel aboard the training ship were transferred over—officially signaling the end of the internship.
Once they returned to Marine Headquarters, they would be formally assigned to their posts and begin real service in the Marines.
Two Days Later — Marineford
Zephyr sat calmly across from Sengoku, handing over a neatly organized report.
"This is the internship summary report for the 24th Training Camp. Take a look."
Sengoku accepted it and began reading in silence.
The office echoed only with the sound of pages turning.
When he reached the part detailing Karl's command in annihilating the Firearm Pirates, defeating the Hunter Blade Pirates, and assisting Zephyr in bringing down Edward Weevil, a smile appeared on his face.
"Hahaha… Zephyr, you've trained another outstanding student."
"This Karl—he's truly a talent."
"Rich combat experience, steady command, excellent battlefield judgment—hm?"
Sengoku paused.
"He awakened both Armament and Observation Haki during combat?!"
He looked up sharply at Zephyr.
That was unbelievable.
Even Akainu and the others had only awakened Haki after countless battles.
Once they did, their growth skyrocketed.
Yet Karl had awakened both forms in a single life-and-death battle.
That level of talent was terrifying.
The only puzzle—
Why had such a person remained unknown for so long?
Hearing Sengoku's praise, Zephyr showed a rare, proud smile.
"He already showed signs of awakening earlier," Zephyr said calmly.
"He just lacked sufficient pressure."
"Weevil gave him exactly that."
"To be honest, if he still couldn't awaken under life-and-death pressure like that, I wouldn't know how he ever would."
Sengoku nodded in satisfaction.
At last, a true prodigy had emerged from the new generation—
and one whose ability could directly strengthen top-level Marine combat power.
Once Karl matured, Marine strength would rise to an entirely new level.
Such a talent deserved special treatment—and accelerated promotion.
After some thought, Sengoku made his decision.
"How about this," Sengoku said.
"I'll first promote Karl to Marine Headquarters Major."
"After he spends some time under Kizaru—accumulating merit and seniority—we'll let him command his own unit and build prestige."
"That way, future promotions will be fully justified, with no room for dispute."
"What do you think?"
Zephyr nodded.
Sengoku's reasoning was sound.
Within the Marines, promotion depended on three things:
Strength
Merit
Seniority
Only by meeting all three could one rise smoothly.
Headquarters Major wasn't excessive for Karl—
after all, he had already been a Captain before.
He was only moving up one rank.
No matter how talented Karl was, skipping straight to Rear Admiral would raise far too many eyebrows.
Karl, somewhere else, would later think:
Heh… just you wait.
One day, you'll see someone jump straight from civilian to Admiral.
"You're the Fleet Admiral," Zephyr said flatly.
"You decide."
"As long as you know what you're doing."
With that, Zephyr stood and left.
Meanwhile — Karl
Ding!
[Career Quest — "Training Camp Turmoil" completed. Calculating rewards…]
Total slacking time accumulated: 732 hours. Mission greatly exceeded.
Random reward draw in progress…
🎉 Congratulations! You have obtained a Devil Fruit:
Zoan-type · Bird-Bird Fruit, Model: Raven
[Career Quest — "King of Slacking" unlocked]
Requirements:
Accumulate slacking time — 500 / 1000 / 2000 / 3500 / 5000 hours
Rewards:
Stage-based rewards (Advanced / Special Attribute Enhancement Cards + Random Rare Rewards)
Current rank detected: Marine Headquarters Major
Daily task rewards upgraded:
3 Designated Attribute Enhancement Cards
Random rewards ×3
Rare reward probability increased to 3%
Karl, who was reading the newspaper, froze.
"…What the hell?"
"5000 hours… if I slack off 8 hours a day, that's 625 days."
"Less than two years. Easy."
After a quick calculation, he tossed the thought aside.
There was no need to rush anyway—this kind of thing accumulated naturally.
What really mattered was the upgraded daily rewards.
Those were the real deal.
"Oh right… I just got another Devil Fruit too."
Karl checked his system inventory.
A round, dark-purple Devil Fruit sat quietly inside.
Seeing it was just a standard Zoan, he immediately lost interest.
"I currently have 10 Advanced Attribute Cards and 8 Normal Attribute Cards."
"System—use all of them on Physique."
His Physique was already at C+.
This should be enough to push it to B-tier.
After enhancement, Karl's stats were:
Host: Karl
Age: 24
Physique:B-
Perception: D
Willpower:C-
Haki:
Armament Haki: LV1
Observation Haki: LV1
Special Traits:
Still as a Maiden
Swift as a Hare
Devil Fruit: Holy Light Fruit
Awakening Progress: 13.6%
Active Skill:
Fragile as Paper (Usable)
His Physique now far surpassed his other attributes—
especially Perception.
Willpower, on the other hand, grew naturally alongside strength, so there was no need to invest in it deliberately.
Next strategy:
Focus entirely on Perception.
Perception affected reaction speed, insight, and greatly amplified Observation Haki.
Karl's goal was clear—
A true all-rounder.
"Hey, Smoker, did you hear?"
"Hear what?"
"I'm a Headquarters Major now! Oh, and I also awa—"
Click.
Smoker hung up instantly.
He knew Karl too well.
This call was 100% to flex.
Trying to show superiority in front of him?
Dream on.
That night, Smoker stood by the window, the room thick with smoke, three cigars clenched in his mouth.
He thought all night and still couldn't figure it out.
When he graduated, he had only been a Second Lieutenant.
So how the hell had Karl somehow jumped straight to the same rank as him?
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