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

Ain glanced at Karl, and seeing that Karl didn't object, she decisively smiled and said, "Yes, Admiral Aokiji, I'll come with Karl tonight." Karl nodded slightly, tacitly agreeing with Ain's words.

Aokiji smiled and slowly walked past Karl, quickly disappearing into the distance.

"You mean, Admiral Aokiji invited us to dinner because of that matter?"

Carl spread his hands: "You're asking me? Who should I ask? Anyway, someone's treating, might as well go."

"I can't be bothered with you. I'm going to see Professor Zephyr. Do you want to come?"

Karl pointed to the headquarters building: "You go first! I need to go to Marshal Sengoku's office."

"Okay, come quick!"

.....

Marshal's Office.

"Karl, you're back? Was that big bird yours?"

"Hmm, the raven has changed a little. By the way, guess who I met in the East China Sea this time?"

"Alright, alright, I know you're the world's greatest swordsman now, but do you have to keep bringing it up all the time?"

Karl waved his hand: "No, that's not it. I met Vice Admiral Garp's grandson in the East China Sea."

Sengoku paused for a moment, then said, "Monkey D. Luffy?"

"Hey, you know that!"

"Nonsense, you have no idea how much Garp talked about that kid when he was born. He was practically wearing my ears out. How could I not remember him? What happened to him?"

"What do you think?"

Sengoku scoffed, "He went to become a pirate, so what? Garp and his family are all freaks!"

"What did you do to him?"

Karl shook his head helplessly: "What can I do about him? He hasn't caused any major trouble, so he should at least give Lieutenant General Garp some face, shouldn't he?"

"Hmph, with the Monkey family's temperament, they'll cause trouble sooner or later. This little monkey isn't one to sit idly by!"

Seeing that Karl didn't speak, Sengoku continued, "Now that you've met Karp's grandson, what do you think of him?"

"Not bad." Sengoku nodded. After all, he was Garp's grandson, so his talent was definitely top-notch. It was normal for him to gain Garp's approval.

"His abilities are quite good." Sengoku nodded again.

"His thought process is a bit off." Yes, yes, that's it, Sengoku couldn't agree more.

The Monkey family members have a completely different thought process than normal people. Take Garp, for example; he always manages to do some bizarre things. It's a miracle he hasn't suffered a stroke from anger over the years.

And his son, he quit his perfectly good navy job and insisted on joining some revolutionary army. Well, young people have drive, so let's be understanding.

"That's all! After all, I haven't met him many times, but this kid is definitely not the kind of pirate who makes a living by burning, killing, and looting."

Sengoku smiled and said, "If that's the case, given Garp's personality, he'd probably send his grandson to Impel Down himself."

"Luffy, you don't need to worry about this anymore. Smoker will keep an eye on them."

"Smorg?"

Sengoku took out a document and slammed it on the table: "Here, this is a message Smoker sent to me. His only purpose in coming to the Grand Line is to arrest the Straw Hat Pirates."

After quickly flipping through the pages, Karl shook his head helplessly. Smoker was indeed still going after Straw Hat Luffy.

"Well then, I wish them good luck! By the way, Marshal Sengoku, I'm going to the New World in the next couple of days, so don't come looking for me unless it's urgent."

"Don't worry, even if there's an emergency, it won't be your turn!"

.....

Nighttime, a restaurant in the Marineford residential area.

This restaurant is run by naval family members. The chef is very skilled, and Carl has eaten here before.

"Hello, which private room is Admiral Aokiji in?"

Upon seeing that it was Karl, the waiter covered his mouth in shock: "My God! Lieutenant General Karl, welcome, welcome! Please come in. Admiral Aokiji is in room 204 on the second floor. Your food will be served shortly."

Karl nodded slightly and put his arm around Ian's shoulder as they went upstairs.

"General Aokiji, I have a big appetite. Don't eat you out of house and home!"

"Just call me Kuzan. Karl, Ain, please have a seat."

Karl and Ian chose to sit opposite Kuzan, and shortly after they sat down, the waiter brought out the fragrant dishes.

After taking a few bites, Kuzan stared intently at Karl.

"Karl, do you remember what I asked you before? You said there was still plenty of time. Now, can you answer?"

Carl put down his chopsticks, and Ian, who was standing next to him, picked up a handkerchief and wiped his mouth.

"Kuzan, we both know the answer, don't we? I'm just a lowly vice admiral, asking me won't help!"

Kuzan shook his head: "Being too modest is not good, Karl. What kind of little vice admiral are you? You are a naval hero of the new era. Neither I nor Sakazuki have the prestige of you."

"Besides, I just wanted to hear your thoughts. Who do you think is more suitable to become the Fleet Admiral?"

Karl rubbed his temples and sighed helplessly: "You may not know, but Marshal Sengoku asked me this question a long time ago."

Kuzan's eyes lit up: "Oh? So what did you say?"

"Kuzan, I think you'd be a better candidate to become the next Fleet Admiral than Akainu."

Upon hearing this, Kuzan smiled, but Karl's next words made his face freeze.

"However, what matters more to the World Government is the idea of ​​becoming Fleet Admiral. They need an obedient Fleet Admiral, and Sakazuki is, in their eyes, very obedient."

"This is Sakazuki's advantage, and a huge one at that!"

Kuzan asked, somewhat puzzled, "Why?"

"How do you think I got the Medal of Honor? It's because I did a dirty job for the World Government, which made them think I was on their side."

"what?"

Chapter 235 Tips

"The power of the world government is far greater than you can imagine."

"Kuzan, you should be able to sense that Fleet Admiral Sengoku and the others strongly support you becoming the next Fleet Admiral, but they never tell you directly. Do you know why?"

Kuzan looked at Karl seriously: "World Government?"

"That's right. Even Fleet Admiral Sengoku only has the right to recommend the next Fleet Admiral, not the right to appoint him. Who becomes the next Fleet Admiral mainly depends on the World Government's decision."

"Although Sakazuki doesn't have as many supporters in the Navy as you do, he is highly regarded by the World Government, which is his greatest advantage."

According to the original storyline, Aokiji was already prepared to become the Fleet Admiral and was just waiting for the official announcement. However, the World Government notified him that there would be a duel, and whoever won would become the next Fleet Admiral.

Karl found it absurd. For a Marine Admiral, strength is important, but not that important, because no matter how strong you are, you still have to guard the Marine Headquarters and become a bound spirit, so you basically don't have many opportunities to fight.

Therefore, for the vast majority of naval personnel, it is not important whether the admiral is the strongest in the navy. What is more important is the admiral's ideology, stance, ability to lead the navy further, and ability to maintain the navy's righteous image.

The large number of Marines leaving after Akainu's rise to power in the original storyline shows that Akainu's ideology was too extreme, and any Marine with any sense of purpose could not accept it.

Aokiji, on the other hand, was not as moderate as Akainu in this regard. Even though he was constrained by the World Government, he would not drag the entire Navy onto the World Government's ship and take a radical and extreme path.

"Then what do you mean..."

Karl said calmly, "You need to have the merit of crushing Sakazuki so that the World Government will shut up and you can become the undisputed candidate for Fleet Admiral."

Kuzan certainly knew the importance of merit, but where could he find merit that could surpass Sakazuki's?

"You make it sound so easy, but credit isn't so easy to come by. You can't expect me to storm into the territory of the Four Emperors and fight them to the death, can you?"

Karl's lips curled up slightly: "Don't worry, the opportunity will come soon, not long."

Seeing Karl's mysterious smile, Aokiji was slightly taken aback. Karl's words must have a deeper meaning.

His mind immediately flashed back to the navy's recent movements...

"You mean, the Whitebeard Pirates?"

Karl nodded: "That's right, the opportunity lies with the Whitebeard Pirates. You should know that Whitebeard is old and doesn't have long to live."

"But it wouldn't matter if he died on the Moby Dick or at the hands of pirates, so he has to die at the hands of the Navy, which means there will inevitably be a battle between the Navy and the Whitebeard Pirates."

"And this battle is your chance to shine."

Aokiji remained silent for a while, then took a deep breath and said, "I understand."

The atmosphere then became quiet, and Ain, who had been silent for a while, quickly said with a smile, "Don't just stand there! Come on, let's eat!"

Ian picked up a piece of meat and stuffed it into Karl's mouth: "Karl, try this, it's delicious!"

"Karl, you've been a candidate for general for a few years now, and it might not be long before we have to call you General White Raven."

Karl swallowed the food in his mouth, waved his hand, and said, "That's all just speculation. From now on, there's only one general candidate: me, Gion-nee, and Chaton. Aren't they all general candidates?"

"No, although they are all candidates for admiral like you, you are different from them. You are a naval hero, and your strength is obvious to all. If we had to choose one of the three of you to become an admiral, I think no one would choose you."

Karl grinned and said modestly, "I don't care. It would be better if I could become a general, but it doesn't matter if I can't."

"You're quite magnanimous..."