One Piece: Starting as a Marine Lieutenant, I Slack Off and Get Stronger

Overall, Carl is an extremely difficult opponent.

"The young are formidable..."

Chapter 145 White Crow Candidate

Karl grinned, condensing a ball of white holy light and merging it into Akainu's body.

Akainu's injuries began to heal slowly at a visible speed, and it was estimated that he would be fully recovered in about ten minutes.

"Admiral Akainu, let's go!"

Akainu rarely showed a smile, nodded, and looked at the warship not far away.

Back on the warship, Sengoku called out to Karl, "Karl, come in with me."

"Huh? Oh, right away!"

After Karl left, Akainu walked over to Aokiji and Kizaru, and looked at the nameless island gradually being swallowed by the sea, sighing, "Our era is finally coming to an end."

Aokiji chuckled and shook his head: "I don't think so. Sakazuki, you've been in the Navy longer than me. How many monsters like Karl have you seen?"

“Two.” Akainu looked at Aokiji and continued, “One is you, and the other is him.”

"I originally thought Smoker would be the next you, but unfortunately, he wasn't."

Aokiji said calmly, "So, our era has not passed. Karl's existence merely means that the Navy has gained another admiral-level combat force. Perhaps one day, when one of us becomes the Fleet Admiral, he will step up."

"This is a good thing for the Navy, isn't it?"

Sakazuki remained silent, vaguely sensing that Kuzan seemed to be hinting at something, but having just experienced a major battle, he did not want to discuss the matter in depth with Kuzan.

It's too early to talk about these things now!

"Karl, I saw everything you did just now. You certainly didn't disappoint me. Zephyr has trained another promising talent!"

Karl smiled slightly: "Marshal Zhan Guo is too kind."

"This is your appointment letter. From this day forward, you are a candidate for General of the Headquarters, with the title of White Raven, Karl. Accept it!"

He saluted, accepted the appointment letter, and shouted slogans—all in one smooth motion.

"Ding~ Congratulations, host, your military rank has been promoted from Lieutenant General to General Candidate. Daily mission rewards have been changed to 9 designated attribute enhancement cards + 5 random rewards (can be stored). The probability of obtaining rare rewards has been increased to 9%."

Karl smiled. Three years had passed, and the reward had finally increased. However, to become a general, one either needed to expand the general ranks or wait for the right opportunity, which would take another three years.

The next day, news broke that Karl had been nominated as a general candidate.

At first, people were skeptical. How could a 28-year-old young navy man become a candidate for the navy's top combat force? But after learning a little about Karl's resume, they immediately stopped questioning him.

Are you kidding me? A navy that can suppress a region in the New World and that even the Four Emperors dare not provoke, if he doesn't become an admiral candidate, who will?

The Grand Line, Paradise.

"Lieutenant General White Raven? What? It's him!!!"

Ace looked solemnly at the familiar face on the newspaper. He would never forget that face. Rear Admiral, no, now he was an Admiral candidate.

As a member of the Navy, I have a piece of advice for you: there are only two kinds of pirates: dead pirates and pirates trapped in Impel Down...

He has remembered those words to this day, because he was the first man to recognize that he was a descendant of the Pirate King at a glance, and the only Marine besides his grandfather who knew that he was Roger's son.

"Hey, Captain Ace, what happened? You look really nervous!"

Ace forced a smile: "It's nothing, just another candidate for Admiral."

"A candidate for general? Let me see, it's him?"

Ace asked curiously, "What? You know him?"

Skar exclaimed excitedly, "How could I not know him? He's the most handsome man in the world, the dream of countless girls! I'm so envious! If I could be as handsome as him, why would I bother being a pirate!"

Ace tapped Skar on the head in annoyance: "What's the use of being handsome? In the end, it's strength that matters on the high seas."

Skar scoffed. "That's not necessarily true. All the noble ladies in my hometown are fans of that navy guy, constantly saying they won't marry anyone but him. If I could marry one of those noble ladies..."

"Alright, alright, shut up. Instead of worrying about this, you should be more concerned about whether we'll run into the Navy next! I've heard there are a lot of Navy branches along this route!"

Scal shrugged nonchalantly: "What's there to be afraid of? We have you here, Captain! You're an invincible Logia-type! No matter how many Marines come, we have nothing to fear!"

Ace smiled helplessly. Invincible? Perhaps!

His primary task is to leave the Grand Line as soon as possible, head to the New World, compete with the powerful figures who roam the seas, and realize his dream!

Nobody can stop us!!!

Alabasta.

“Mr. 0, this is today’s newspaper.”

Crocodile took the newspaper, and after reading its contents, he gave a disdainful smile: "Tch, it's that guy again."

The woman hidden in the shadows chuckled softly: "What, you also know this world's most handsome man?"

"This is none of your business, Miss. All Sunday, just mind your own business."

Robin pursed her lips and left the smoke-filled room, while Crocodile picked up the newspaper and began to read it carefully.

"This guy has gotten stronger again!"

Crocodile originally didn't care what happened to Karl, but he remembered this young Marine ever since he fought Whitebeard and escaped unscathed a few years ago.

"The plan is about to begin. Once I obtain Hades, the whole world will tremble before me, hahahaha~"

Robin, who was outside, could hear Crocodile's arrogant laughter and shook her head helplessly.

Naval Headquarters, Crescent Bay.

"Ain, be careful out there. If you encounter any problems you can't solve, call me anytime, understand?"

Standing on the warship, Ain smiled and waved: "Don't worry, I'm not a child anymore!"

"Yesterday you called me 'Dad'...and gave me all the cookies!!!"

"Get lost! I'm not talking to you anymore, I'm going to catch pirates!"

Karl waved goodbye, and only after the warship disappeared did he look at the raven beside him: "Let's go, let's go to Daughter Island."

What does it mean to distribute rain and dew equally?

As for inviting Ace to join the Seven Warlords of the Sea? We'll see. Anyway, he won't join, so the invitation is just a formality.

Capture Ace? Forget it, Teach will handle it anyway, so he won't get involved. It'll save Garp trouble for him and make things easier for himself.

The raven flapped its wings happily and flew towards Daughter Island. It didn't know anything else, it only knew that once it got to Daughter Island, there would be endless meat to eat, and two-legged creatures would massage it and stroke its fur, making it incredibly comfortable.

"quack!"

Chapter 146 Daily Life on Daughter Island

Daughter Island, coastline.

"My dear, look! The float is moving! A fish is coming up! What should I do?"

Carl raised an eyebrow, quickly put down his fishing rod, and ran to Hancock's side, shouting, "Hurry, hurry, pull harder!!! Go for it!"

"So heavy!"

"let me help you!"

Karl grasped Hancock's hand, imbued the fishing rod with Armament Haki, and then used tremendous force to create a miracle!

A nearly five-meter-long blue giant fish was thrown directly onto the shore, trying repeatedly to flip itself over, but unfortunately, it did nothing but get covered in sand.

"Wow! What a huge fish! I'll cook it myself tonight!"

Karl's face suddenly turned pale, and he said with a heavy heart, "Ahem, Hancock, maybe we should just forget about it! You are the emperor of the Kuja tribe, how can you cook yourself? Let the chefs do it!"

"Ah? But this is something I caught with great difficulty! Wait, alright! Are you complaining that my cooking is bad?"

Hancock puffed out her cheeks, turned her face away in a cute and innocent way, her puffed-out cheeks conveying an expression that said, "I'm unhappy, come and coax me."

"How could that be!" Carl hugged Hancock tightly, gently stroking her soft skin with his hand.

After some comforting words, Hancock quickly smiled, since she wasn't really angry; she just wanted Carl to coax her.

"By the way, my dear, I read in the newspaper that you're now a candidate for general. Does that mean you won't have to stay in the New World all the time anymore?"

Karl put his arm around Hancock, looked at the calm sea in front of him, and said with a smile, "More or less. Now I basically only need to deal with some emergencies and special missions. I don't need to take care of ordinary pirates anymore."

"That's wonderful! You must come to visit me often from now on, okay?"

Seeing that Carl didn't respond, Hancock looked up at Carl, snuggled into his arms and acted coquettishly. If Carl didn't agree, she would rub him until his skin was stubble.

"Okay, okay! I promise you, I'll come and spend a week with you every month, how about that?"

Hancock's face lit up with joy, and she smiled sweetly, hugging Carl's neck and giving him a kiss.

"Great!"

But then, Hancock said somewhat dejectedly, "Ah, if only I could be by your side."

"There will be an opportunity, you know? There is a treasure in this world called pure gold, which can make people live forever."

Hancock tightened her grip on Carl's hand, her mouth agape in astonishment: "Immortality? This... how is this possible?"