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

"Your grandfather is the naval hero Garp, my senior. I'll let you go today for your grandfather's sake."

Smoker, standing to the side, was exasperated: "Hey, is it really okay for you to be so blatantly letting us win?"

"Hahaha, so what? After all, his name is Monkey D. Luffy, and his grandfather is the Marine hero Monkey D. Garp! Getting by through nepotism... how pathetic!"

"Besides, isn't this kid going to become the Pirate King?"

"Then we'll wait and see, until he becomes the Pirate King. Roger, for example, relied on his immense strength to confront the Navy head-on, defeat countless competitors, and finally find Laugh Tale, becoming the world's recognized Pirate King."

But Luffy, the Pirate King, is different. He got the Marines who were chasing him to go easy on him because of his grandfather's connections as a Marine hero. Isn't that much easier than Roger's situation? Right?

Without a doubt, Karl is already a top-tier master of sarcastic remarks, a feat that even Kizaru would have to admit defeat to, as his offensive capabilities still need improvement.

How aggressive is Karl? Just look at Luffy now.

His fists were clenched so tightly they cracked, his face was dark, and he was gritting his teeth.

"Grandpa is grandpa, and I am me. His being a Marine has nothing to do with me becoming the Pirate King!"

Before Karl could answer, Luffy suddenly stretched his arm back and shouted, "Gum-Gum Rocket!"

Zoro's pupils contracted, and he quickly shouted, "Luffy, don't be impulsive! You are..."

Smoker was enveloped in smoke, seemingly preparing to make a move, but Carl stopped him.

Karl stood there, silently unleashing his invincible divine skill.

"Iron block..."

clang!

The fist struck Karl with a crisp sound. Luffy, on the other hand, withdrew his arm in disbelief and frantically blew on his fist, as if that would alleviate the pain.

"Straw Hat Kid, you're a long way from fighting me! Smoker, let's go!"

Smoker was taken aback: "Just like that? He attacked you! When did you become so good-natured?"

"Heh, didn't I just say? I'll let him go for the sake of Lieutenant General Garp."

"Besides, it would be a waste of resources to capture a pirate who doesn't even have a bounty."

"Alright, alright, stop talking to me about this. Sometimes I really don't understand what you're thinking."

Chapter 215 Life is impermanent

"You'll know when the time comes."

Carl kept everyone in suspense, then turned and left.

In fact, for Karl, a living Luffy is more valuable.

First, the Straw Hat Pirates are not true pirates; they are more like an adventure group with little threat to society, so there's no reason for him to target Luffy.

Secondly, Luffy has no conflict of interest with him at this stage, and with Garp around, even if he captures Luffy, Garp will find a way to get him out. After all, he doesn't even have a bounty, so he can easily say that Luffy just went astray.

Third, Luffy is a great tool. He can unintentionally help Karl accomplish many things that he cannot do directly, and you don't have to worry about him dying inexplicably. Don't ask, just do sit-ups.

In short, Luffy is still very useful, and targeting him would do more harm than good. Karl would never do something so thankless.

Smoker turned to look at Zoro, Luffy, and Coby, and said with a smile, "You guys are lucky today."

Seeing that the two despicable Marines were really abandoning him, Luffy panicked: "Don't go! Aren't you Marines? How can you let a pirate go?! Damn it! Gum-Gum..."

In other words, you're not leaving today unless you beat me to death!

Seeing this, Zoro immediately hugged Luffy: "You can't possibly beat them right now, they're not on our level..."

After saying that, Zoro turned to look at Kirby. His face was ashen, like a salted fish who had lost his dreams, and he was filled with a low mood. But Zoro didn't know what to say.

After all, the fact that he was caught red-handed hanging out with pirates...

Meanwhile, in the office of the 153rd branch base leader.

"Sorry, please bear with me for a moment!"

Nami winked playfully at the two tied-up marines, then tiptoed into the office, where a rummaging sound soon followed.

"Hey, why isn't it here? Did someone tell me something wrong? No way!"

Nami looked around with some confusion, but her eyes lit up as she realized that a deep red safe was hidden behind the wooden barrel in front of her, almost perfectly blending into the red wall.

"yeah!"

Nami excitedly pushed aside the wooden barrel, grabbed the handle with one hand and the gear with the other, and was about to use her skills to open the safe when her expression changed.

Because she didn't do anything, she just opened it!

There are only two possibilities. First, the safe had been opened before she arrived, but she forgot to close it.

The second possibility is that this place has already been taken by someone else.

Nami, with the lowest possible hope, opened the cabinet door and exclaimed with delight upon seeing a rolled-up parchment in front of her: "Found it! The Grand Line chart! It really was here!"

However, after Nami opened the nautical chart...

It was a comical pirate flag design, the most striking feature being the skull's large red nose, with several large characters deliberately written on it.

I, the great one, will accept the Grand Line charts without hesitation. --- Buggy

"It's not a nautical chart, this symbol is... Captain Bucky?"

The man known as Buggy the Immortal—of course, that's just the name from the East Blue; Karl prefers to call him... the Clown King.

Nami looked annoyed, but quickly composed herself.

"On second thought, this means that the Grand Line chart is with Buggy. Now, as long as I find a way to get close to Buggy, I'm sure I can find the Grand Line chart!"

This has been one of Nami's goals for many years, because a certain man once said that he hoped to meet her on the high seas someday.

"Oh no, someone's coming!" Nami skillfully climbed out the window and left the office.

A minute later, Carl and Smoker walked into Monka's office side by side.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"

With a whoosh, a flash of light appeared, and the Marines who had been tied up by Nami were freed.

"You, you are... Vice Admiral White Raven, the naval hero mentioned in the newspaper!!!"

"Vice Admiral Carl, I... I joined the Navy because of your deeds. You... you're my fan! No, I'm your fan!"

Karl smiled slightly: "No need to get excited. By the way, how did you end up tied up?"

"It was an orange-haired thief who attacked us..."

Smoker stroked his chin: "Orange hair, what a coincidence! Is it a woman?"

"Yes, she has short orange hair and is... very pretty."

Smoker sighed, "We were just talking about how that little girl was doing today, and now she's turned out to be a thief. This is truly..."

"Why are you rambling on like this? Aren't there enough kids rescued by the Navy? Some of those brats even grow up to be pirates!"

Without the Arlong Pirates, and without having to pay protection money with their hard-earned cash, Nami still ended up going down the same old path. What can Karl say?

It just goes to show how unpredictable life is, like a large intestine enclosing a small intestine.

"Alright, didn't you say you wanted to collect evidence? Hurry up and collect it, the Holy Light will be here soon."

......

The port of Shellstown.

After the three of them had eaten and drunk their fill, they prepared to leave. To be precise, it was Luffy and Zoro who prepared to leave.

Luffy remained cheerful, his naturally strong heart quickly allowing him to forget the unpleasantness of the execution ground, especially after hearing Zoro talk about how powerful that guy named Karl was.

This is easy to understand.

Karl is a naval hero, and his grandfather is also a naval hero. If his grandfather can beat him up without any resistance, then Karl, who is also a naval hero, can certainly beat him up without any resistance either.

He was a little surprised to learn that Karl was also Zoro's target, but he was also happy, because this was the kind of partner Zoro was looking for.

"Coby, what are you going to do now? You can't be a Marine anymore, so maybe..."

Coby shook his head firmly: "No, Mr. Luffy. Even if I can't become a Marine, I don't want to be a pirate. But I will strive to become a strong person, just like Mr. Luffy."

Luffy chuckled and patted Coby on the shoulder: "Hahaha, that's good! I thought you were going to do something rash! In that case, we're off!"

Goodbye! Coby, goodbye!

Coby took a deep breath and smiled, "Goodbye, Mr. Luffy!"

One day, we will definitely meet again somewhere, Mr. Luffy. Even if I can't become a Marine, I will try my best to become a brave person!

We'll definitely meet again, Mr. Luffy!

Not long after Luffy and his crew left, Morgan, wrapped in bandages and shackled, was taken aboard the Holy Light, his final destination—Imperial City.

"Major Grell, as the position of base chief of Branch 153 is temporarily vacant, I hereby appoint you as the acting branch chief of Branch 153 in my capacity as the base chief of East Sea Rogge Town, until a new base chief is appointed by headquarters."

"Yes, Major General Smoker, I guarantee..."

As the sun set, the Holy Light departed from the port of Shells Town...