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

Sengoku's tone was somewhat proud: "Candidate Karl fought Enel for three days and three nights on Long Chain Island, finally defeating him and decisively killing him when he was about to escape, thus eliminating any future trouble."

"Karl? That name seems familiar."

An old voice said from the side, "Charmaco came to see us yesterday, saying that a navy man saved his son. That navy man is Karl."

Zhan Guo quickly replied, "That's right, it's him."

After exchanging glances, the Five Elders said to Sengoku, "Well, we certainly won't ignore the merit Karl has made this time, but the most important issue now is to mitigate the impact of this incident."

"We still need to discuss the issue of Karl's reward."

After hanging up the phone, Sengoku took a deep breath and smiled. If the Five Elders said so, it was basically a sure thing.

As for mitigating the impact of the Mary Geoise incident, he would naturally cover it up with another major event. He thought the new naval hero project would be quite good, but everything would have to wait until Karl returned.

"Bang~"

"Marshal Sengoku, Admiral Aokiji has brought Lieutenant General Karl back! They will be docking at the pier soon."

Zhan Guo's face lit up with joy: "Excellent! Where are they? I want to personally receive Karl."

......

Crescent Bay.

Karl was stunned by the scene before him as soon as he stepped down. Good heavens, even Sengoku came to greet him personally. What a show of respect!

Standing in the crowd, Ain looked at Karl with pride and whispered to Tashigi beside her, "See that? That's my boyfriend."

"I really envy you, Sister Ain. If other women knew, they'd probably be green with envy, wouldn't they?"

Ian scoffed, "Let them be jealous!"

On the other side, Sengoku tightly gripped Karl's hand and patted his shoulder: "You've worked hard, Karl. I didn't expect you to actually complete this mission. Where is Enel?"

"At this!"

Sengoku looked at the stretcher covered with a white sheet, lifted it, and immediately felt relieved when he saw Enel's iconic long earlobes. It was definitely Enel.

“Very well, Karl, come with me. I have some things to tell you.”

Sengoku then left with Karl, while the reporters nearby took photos like crazy, and of course, they didn't forget Enel either.

Good heavens, the Navy is incredibly efficient. The person was killed just after the news broke. How could they not be surprised?

If every pirate encounter were like today, where would pirates have any room to survive?

"Karl, you did a great job this time. You should remember what I told you last time, right?"

Karl's eyes lit up: "Is the title of Fleet Admiral Sengoku something for a naval hero?"

Sengoku nodded slightly and smiled, "That's right. The impact of this matter is far more profound than what you see in the newspapers. Do you know that the World Government has come to a standstill?"

"A shutdown? How is that possible?"

Sengoku revealed a meaningful smile: "How is it impossible? More than 100 world government officials died this time, many of whom were important officials."

The deaths of these people directly led to the shutdown of the world government, which greatly affected its daily operations.

The thought of the World Government's miserable state made Sengoku want to laugh out loud, but his professional ethics kept him from doing so; he usually wouldn't laugh.

"Think about it, the Mary Geoise incident directly shattered the Celestial Dragons' aura and severely damaged the World Government's prestige. They urgently need to save face."

"Otherwise, they wouldn't have given us the order to hunt down Enel."

"Whoever captures Enel is the hero, whether it's you, Kuzan, or Kizaru..."

"But thankfully, you succeeded, which makes me very gratified."

After saying a lot, Sengoku picked up his tea, took a small sip, and said, "Wait a few more days, and I'll build up your reputation. Before long, you'll be the new generation's...naval hero."

Karl's expression turned serious, and he said solemnly, "I will never let you down!"

Chapter 170 Reencounter with Smoker

Daughter Island, the Royal Palace.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible. I would never agree to the relocation of the entire clan."

Hancock raised an eyebrow: "I am the Empress of Amazon Lily, do I need your permission?"

Hancock's two younger sisters also advised, "Grandma New, your sister is only thinking about Amazon Lily. Besides, as long as we move away, regardless of whether we have the title of Shichibukai, we won't have to worry about Amazon Lily turning back into an ordinary pirate country and thus falling into a passive position."

"Yes, Grandma Niu, isn't that what you said when you advised my sister before? Why have you changed your mind now?"

Grandma New was speechless for a moment, because this was indeed what she had said before, but moving directly from Daughter Island had crossed her bottom line.

The Nine Serpent Clan has lived on Daughter Island for generations, which is their ancestral home. Every emperor of the Nine Serpent Clan has sworn an oath to protect Daughter Island with his life.

She had sworn an oath, and Hancock had sworn an oath, to abandon Amazon Lily, which, in her view, would be a breach of that oath.

Hancock sighed softly and said earnestly, "Grandma New, I know your concerns, because I have had them too."

“But Karl once said something to me that changed my mind.”

"Daughter Island is not a place, it is the people."

"As long as the Nine Serpent Clan exists in this world, then everywhere can be a Daughter Island. Why confine our people to this island?"

Granny New was stunned, her eyes filled with shock. Finally, she sighed and said to Hancock, "You were just captivated by that Marine. Sigh~ You are the emperor of the Kuja clan. I hope you won't regret it."

Hearing Granny New's tone soften, Hancock smiled and said, "No, Granny New, once you arrive at our new home, you'll understand why I'm so determined to go."

"Lady Snake Princess, Lady Snake Princess! This is today's newspaper, please take a look!"

Hancock's expression changed, and she quickly took the newspaper from Margaret's hand and began to read it.

"What? Darling, you killed Enel so quickly... Didn't he say he was going to 'feed' him before killing him?"

After a moment of confusion, Hancock's gaze was quickly drawn to Carl's photo in the newspaper, and she exclaimed in admiration, "No matter what angle you look at him from, he's so handsome!"

Grandma New looked up, wanting to read the newspaper, but unfortunately she couldn't even reach Hancock's thigh, so she had to ask Mary Gord for help.

“Grandma New, come and see for yourself!” Marigold grabbed Grandma New and placed her next to Hancock, and they started reading the newspaper together.

Unlike Hancock, Granny New quickly realized that something was amiss with the contents of the newspaper.

The entire article is praising Karl's achievements. Yesterday's newspaper was talking about the criminal Enel, and today...

This scene seemed familiar.

Grandma New vaguely remembered that the last time a navy officer was praised so highly in the newspapers was 43 years ago, when the navy officer who was praised to the skies was named Garp.

"Hiss~" Grandma Niu gasped. "No way?"

Could it be that Carl, who has captured Hancock's heart, will be the next naval hero?

Grandma New was about to say something to Hancock when she turned her head and saw Hancock holding her face and staring at Carl's picture in the newspaper.

Seeing this, Grandma Niu shook her head. Women who fall in love are truly incomprehensible.

But on second thought, Hancock and Carl seem like a good match. Hancock really knows how to pick a husband!

Malinvando.

Karl and Ian walked side by side, or rather, not quite together, but they were very close. Behind them was a bespectacled, confused little follower who stared at the two knives at Karl's waist with a perverted look.

"Lieutenant General Karl! I admire you very much. Could you please give me your autograph?"

A little boy excitedly held up a pen and paper, asking Karl for his autograph. Karl squatted down, patted his head, and said with a smile, "Of course, what do you want me to write?"

Little Radish Head's eyes lit up, and he excitedly said, "May I become a powerful Marine like you when I grow up! Is that okay?"

"Haha, of course."

Karl quickly wrote down his blessings, signed his name, and left with Ain.

Little Radish Head watched Karl's retreating figure and secretly vowed that he would train hard and become a powerful naval officer as soon as possible, fighting alongside Vice Admiral Karl!

"You have so many fans now! It feels like everyone along the way is an admirer of yours."

Karl smiled slightly, put his arm around Ian's shoulder, and said, "And you? Are you my fan?"

Ain gave a snort: "I'm not, but Tashigi definitely is. She idolizes you a lot!"

Karl turned to look at Tashigi behind him. When Tashigi saw Karl looking at her, she was startled, like a frightened rabbit. She stood there helplessly, her face flushed.

"I think she's more interested in my knife, haha!"

Since Ian started leading the team on her own, the two have had less and less time together, but Ian has indeed matured a lot.

When they first met, if it weren't for the fact that Ain still acted like a little bird in front of him, Karl would have almost thought he had mistaken her for someone else, because her demeanor had changed so much that Karl didn't even dare to recognize her.

If I had to say who she resembles the most, it would be Gion-nee, since they are best friends.

"Karl, Ian, long time no see, tsk tsk, you two are still together after all!"

"Smorg?"

Carl was stunned and almost didn't recognize him. Was this the same Smoker he knew?

A proper suit, tie, and slicked-back hair—he doesn't look like a navy officer; he looks more like a business elite. Is this the change that comes with becoming a director?

"Hahaha, what's wrong, don't you recognize me?"

Carl nodded: "You were the same a year ago, how come you are now..."