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

"Lady Snake Princess is so happy today! I've never seen her this happy before!"

"So romantic! It makes me want to find a guy to kiss me too!"

Even after the engagement ceremony, Hancock remained absent-minded, often staring blankly at the ring, which even Carl found somewhat unbearable.

"Hancock, is this really necessary? We're just getting engaged, is it really that big of a deal?"

Hancock rolled her eyes at Carl: "My dear, you don't understand. I was just thinking that when we get married, we must let the whole world witness our wedding."

Karl coughed, covering his mouth. "Um, don't forget Ain."

Hancock's face immediately fell, and she pouted, saying, "Alright, witness our wedding. By the way, I'm the first one, right?"

"What, the first one?"

"Is that the pure gold ring the first one you gave me?"

Carl held up four fingers: "I swear, you think you're the first."

"Hmph, that's pretty much it."

......

Alabasta, Spice Bean Restaurant.

Smoker looked at the figure in front of him and took a deep breath. He recognized the tattoo; it was the symbol of the Whitebeard Pirates.

"That's the Whitebeard Pirates' mark. Why is he here?"

"What is the purpose of this famous pirate coming to this country?"

Without turning his head, Ace said, "I'm looking for someone, my brother."

After saying that, Ace turned to look at Smoker, whose lips curled up slightly: "Your brother is that Straw Hat Luffy, right? Well, you are both Vice Admiral Garp's grandsons."

"So, what should I do?"

"Just obediently get caught! Whether it's you or Straw Hat Luffy, there's only one destination for you: Impel Down."

"Haha, sorry, I refuse."

Smoker shook his head: "This is really troublesome. I only wanted to capture Straw Hat Luffy, but now I have to capture you two brothers as well!"

puff~

Smoker was immediately enveloped in a large amount of smoke, which quickly filled the entire room.

"Eat, eat, eat, eat, eat~~~~"

bang~

Luffy, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, rushed straight into the restaurant like a starving ghost reincarnated, completely ignoring Smoker standing in front of and behind him. He buried his head in Smoker's back, but unfortunately, Smoker had already been passively transformed into an elemental.

Luffy passed right through Smoker's body, failing to send Smoker flying, but instead landing directly in Ace's arms.

"Hey! Ace?"

Ace's eyes widened in shock: "Luffy?"

Then Luffy slammed on the brakes, stopping precisely in front of Ace. He grabbed the food from the table and stuffed it into his mouth, gesturing wildly at Ace as he ate, muttering something unintelligible.

Ace looked at Luffy with a doting expression: "You're still the same as ever!"

With his mouth stuffed full, Luffy forced a smile and continued eating.

"Straw Hat Luffy, Fire Fist Ace, it seems I can take you both down this time."

"Smoke Annihilation Array!!!"

Huhuhu~

The high-speed flow of smoke created air currents, producing a whooshing sound. While enveloping Luffy and Ace, the civilians were also pushed away by the materialized smoke to avoid being drawn into the battle.

"Luffy, now's not the time to eat! This guy's a real pain!"

"Ace, I know him, he's very strong! I can't beat him!"

Ace chuckled lightly: "It's alright, leave it to me!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ace was engulfed in blazing flames, which mingled with Smoker's white smoke. Smoke and fire were neither mutually exclusive nor mutually incompatible.

Smoker seemed to realize this as well, and raised his dark fist to charge at Ace.

"Armament Haki? I didn't expect the Paradise Navy to possess such Haki. It seems I underestimated you!"

Ace was slightly surprised, but he wasn't stupid. He grabbed Luffy's neck and quickly retreated, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

If Luffy weren't around, Ace might be interested in playing with Smoker, but with Luffy around, it's best to leave.

Huh? Where is everyone? Smoker looked around.

"Damn it! That guy got away!"

Smoker waved his hand to disperse the smoke, then looked at the figure running wildly in the distance and said quietly.

"You can't run away."

Chapter 240 Akainu's Invitation

"Major General Smoker, I'm so sorry, we're late!"

Smoker waved his hand, indicating that it was nothing to worry about; he had just wandered over by himself and hadn't expected to have such an unexpected gain.

"Alabasta is truly an amazing place. Straw Hat Luffy, Fire Fist Ace, and that scheming Crocodile... Heh, it's quite a lively place!"

"W-what? Portgas D. Ace, the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, is in this country too? Why would he be here?"

Smoker shook his head: "I don't know. As things stand, Alabasta is a very complex place..."

"Bring me the Den Den Mushi."

"Yes, Major General Smoker."

In the Land of Women, Carl was accompanying Hancock on an inspection tour of her territory when the Den Den Mushi (snail phone) started ringing.

"Who is it?" "It should be Smoker."

Should I leave?

Karl shook his head and answered the phone: "Hey, Smoker, have you come to the Grand Line?"

"I arrived a long time ago, and I'm in Alabasta now."

Karl grinned: "Alabasta, haha, what are you doing there all of a sudden? Could the Straw Hat Pirates be in that country too?"

After a moment of silence, Smoker said, "I knew I couldn't hide it from you. Just now, I ran into Straw Hat Luffy and his brother, Fire Fist Ace, in this country."

"Fire Fist Ace? He's here too?"

"That's right. He doesn't seem to have come specifically to see his brother. If I'm not mistaken, he's here to find that traitor from the Whitebeard Pirates, isn't he?"

"Indeed. What's wrong? Do you need any help?"

"No need for that. I just came to confirm. Wait for my good news!"

Then Smoker hung up the phone, leaving Carl completely bewildered. Why was Smoker playing this trick too?

"What's wrong? Is something the matter?"

Carl put his arm around Hancock: "It's nothing, it's nothing. I haven't had much to do lately. By the way, what day is it today?"

"Uh, I'm not quite sure, Tuesday?"

Karl slapped his forehead. Oh no! He'd almost forgotten that Akainu was treating him to dinner tonight.

"Ahem, sorry, I do have something to do tonight."

Hancock smiled slightly, gently brushing the solid gold ring on her ring finger, and said, "It's alright, my dear, go ahead! I'll be here waiting for you to come back."

"You're so kind. It's still early, and there's no one around. How about we have some outdoor combat training?"

Hancock blushed, then immediately activated her Observation Haki. After confirming that no one was around, she grabbed Karl's hand and led him into the forest.

Naval Headquarters, Marinevandor.

Sakazuki disembarked from the warship and headed straight for the headquarters building. He stopped as he passed the guards and asked in a deep voice, "Is Vice Admiral White Raven at Naval Headquarters?"

The gatekeeper was startled when he saw Akainu's face, which looked like he owed him a fortune. He said tremblingly, "No, I don't know. Anyway, I haven't seen Vice Admiral White Raven for several days."

After saying that, the gatekeeper closed his eyes. He had heard before how ruthless Admiral Akainu was. He was sure that Admiral Akainu had noticed his lazy little trick just now. How would he treat him?

"I understand. If Lieutenant General Bai Ya returns today, please be sure to inform him that I am waiting for him, understand?"

"Ah, oh, yes, Admiral Akainu!"

......

night.

Karl arrived at the small restaurant where he had eaten with Aokiji last time, right on time. Yes, the same private room. As soon as he entered, he saw Akainu sitting in the spot where Aokiji had been sitting, looking at Karl expressionlessly.

Wearing a rose on his chest, a dark red suit, a navy cap, and black leather gloves, he is the classic Akainu.

"Karl, you've arrived. Please have a seat."

Karl smiled, pulled out a chair and sat down opposite Akainu, looking at him with a half-smile: "Admiral Akainu, are you here to talk to me about the next Fleet Admiral?"