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

Punch after punch, Garp beat Luffy like a grandson, and everyone present fell silent.

Carl, who was also enjoying the spectacle, sat to the side, chin in hand, watching the drama unfold. Robin slowly walked up to Carl and asked, "What brings you here?"

"You've survived another Buster Call! As your friend, I should at least check on things!"

"Looks like you're really lucky. It's a good thing I didn't participate in this Buster Call! Otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to escape!"

Robin smiled faintly: "Then we should thank you?"

“I’ve heard about what happened on Enies Lobby. You should thank your companions instead! Do you still think this is just a temporary resting place for them?”

Robin shook his head, smiled, and said, "This place is very nice. I'm not planning to leave."

......

After Garp's careful care, Karl clearly felt that Luffy had changed a lot. First of all, his face had become bigger and he had a lot more bumps on his head.

He seemed a little resentful in his eyes, but Garp didn't want to fight anymore, as he might accidentally turn Luffy into an idiot.

"You keep talking about Shanks all the time, do you even know what kind of pirate he really is?!"

Luffy blinked, his mind replaying what his grandfather had said about the Red-Haired Pirates, but he couldn't remember it clearly, and his head ached.

"Shanks? Are Shanks and the others alright?"

Garp chuckled: "How are they? They're doing incredibly well."

"Among the countless pirates in the world today, only four pirates reign supreme over the latter half of the Grand Line like emperors. They are known as the Four Emperors, and Shanks is one of them."

"The only forces capable of contending with the power of these four are the Marine Headquarters and the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Once these three powers lose their balance, they will generate a tremendous force that could cause the world's balance to collapse!"

Robin was slightly shocked. She had been living in the four seas for a long time and only came to the Grand Line in recent years. She really didn't know much about the Four Emperors.

Is Shanks, whom Luffy keeps mentioning, really this kind of person?

The others reacted similarly to Robin. With a grandfather who is a naval hero and a mentor to a pirate who is known as one of the Four Emperors, Luffy's background is truly terrifying.

Luffy didn't quite understand, but it seemed that Shanks was doing quite well, so he took off his straw hat and looked at it nostalgically.

"It's good that Shanks is alright..."

Garp's eyes widened: "Nothing? Are you kidding me? Didn't I just tell you? Shanks has had a really tough time these past few years!"

"Ah! What?"

Garp glanced at Karl without showing any emotion, then said calmly, "In recent years, Shanks' crew has changed batch after batch. Do you know why?"

Luffy swallowed hard: "Why?"

"Because Shanks' crew was all killed by a powerful Marine! Only Shanks and a few of his old subordinates survived; everyone else is dead!"

"In order to replenish his crew with fresh blood, Shanks had to recruit new crew members. However, the powerful Navy launched attacks on the Red-Haired Pirates time and time again, so it was difficult for any of Shanks' new crew members to survive for more than a year."

"Didn't you used to always go to the tavern to see Shanks in Windmill Village? He had a lot of people back then, right? How much do you remember?"

Luffy clenched his fist, his mind replaying his childhood: the Shanks Pirates, the tavern, Makino, Lucky Roux, Uncle Beckman...

"Although I can't name some of them, I'm sure I'll recognize them when I see them."

Garp sneered and said, "I'm sorry, you no longer have a chance, because of the Red-Haired Pirates who landed in Windmill Village back then, only 5 members remain, including Shanks!"

By first praising and then criticizing, Garp used this method to make Luffy understand that being a pirate is not so easy.

As the saying goes, there's always someone stronger, and there's always someone better!

Even a pirate as powerful as Shanks can be hunted down and killed, let alone small fry like you.

To be honest, if he hadn't spoken to Karl years ago, Luffy probably wouldn't have even made it out of the East Blue.

Chapter 261 Useful Pirates

"What? How could this be... Shanks is very strong, how could even his own crew..."

"Who did it?"

Karp said speechlessly, "You really are hopeless! That person is standing right in front of you, hey! Karl, tell me, am I telling the truth?"

Karl, who was whispering to Robin, shrugged, turned to look at Luffy, and smiled faintly after seeing Luffy's shocked and angry eyes.

"Luffy, a few years ago I accompanied Vice Admiral Garp to Mount Gorpo. You were just a kid then. When you shouted to your grandfather and us that you wanted to be a pirate, I said something to you. Do you remember?"

Luffy blinked and said seriously, "I don't remember."

"It's okay if you don't remember, I can say it again: there are only two kinds of pirates, dead pirates and pirates in Impel Down."

The Straw Hat crew members present immediately changed their expressions. If anyone else had said those words, they might not have been so offensive, but since the person who said them was the Marine hero Karl, they were going to have to think twice.

For a moment, everyone held their breath and stared intently, their hearts pounding.

Seeing the tense atmosphere, Karl smiled and said, "But now we need to change that statement."

There are only two kinds of pirates: useful pirates and useless pirates.

"The reason Shanks is still alive is because he can keep Kaido of the Beasts and Big Mom in check, preventing the New World from falling into chaos, which is why he is still alive."

"The reason I keep hunting them down is because they've been too powerful these past few years, so it's normal to suppress them."

"When he's no longer useful, hehe..."

After saying this, Karl revealed a meaningful smile that sent chills down the spines of everyone present.

"It may sound a bit cruel, but it's the truth. Only the strong can gain true freedom. Shanks is strong, but not as strong as me, so his freedom is just a joke to me."

"Because I can take away his freedom at any time if I want to."

"Of course, so are you."

Karp sighed and patted Karl on the shoulder: "Hey Karl, you don't need to tell them so much!"

"If I don't say it, someone else will say it for me sooner or later. There's nothing wrong with knowing in advance."

Garp remained silent for a while, then nodded and said earnestly, "Luffy, Garp isn't trying to scare you, and neither is Grandpa. Being a pirate is really not that simple."

"Listen to Grandpa, join the navy! It's not too late to turn back now."

Luffy first slowly lowered his head, as if seriously considering Garp's words, but soon he raised his head again, looking intently at Garp.

"If Shanks can't defeat you, then I will! I will never give up on my dream!"

Luffy's words, spoken with a head full of bumps, were strangely comical. If it were anyone else, Karl would have slapped them across the face, but not Luffy.

Because he might actually be able to do it, after all, he's the one using the real cheat code.

What kind of garbage cheat is his system? It's been seven years and he's only showing signs of being invincible. Luffy caught up in less than two and a half years. It goes without saying whose cheat is the real one, right?

In comparison, Carl is only slightly better than Shanks.

Let's not even talk about Kaido and Big Mom; it's obvious they bought their cheat codes from Pinduoduo, and the after-sales service wasn't up to par.

"Maybe that day will come! Good luck!"

No sooner had Karl finished speaking than Garp raised his fist and grabbed Luffy, yelling, "You blockhead! I just finished talking to you and you didn't listen to a word I said! You're driving me crazy!"

Bang bang bang, Luffy got beaten up again.

Meanwhile, Zoro finally returned. He didn't walk back on his own; if it weren't for the two kids leading the way, Zoro could have gone straight to Laugh Tale.

"Phew, I guess I'm too late after all? So many navy soldiers, damn it! I guess I'll just have to give it my all."

Zoro drew his sword, assumed a fighting stance, and charged towards the Marines without hesitation.

"Where did this guy come from? Why are you hitting him without even asking what happened?!"

"Lieutenant General Karl! Lieutenant General Karl! We're under attack!"

Karl turned his head and saw that it was Zoro. He said, "Where did that guy go?"

"Stop! Zoro!"

"Huh? Karl!"

Zoro also noticed that something seemed amiss. No wonder the Navy hadn't launched an attack; it turned out Karl had arrived. Well, then everything was alright.

"If you're here to inform Luffy, look, he's inside. Go find him yourself!"

Then Zoro came in and saw Garp beating Luffy. After some investigation, he learned that the person beating Luffy was his grandfather.

No wonder he beat Luffy like a grandson! Oh well, it's alright now.

"This is Luffy's grandfather!"

Back in Branch 153, he had heard Karl mention that Luffy's grandfather was the Marine hero Garp, but today he finally met him in person.

He looks a bit violent, no wonder Luffy has such a strong will to live. If he weren't so resilient, he probably would have been killed by his own grandfather long ago.

"Luffy, Grandpa came to see you this time. Now that you're alright, Grandpa can leave in peace."

Luffy nodded: "Okay, goodbye Grandpa!"

The next second, Garp raised his massive fist and slammed it into Luffy's head: "Is that all?"

"Don't you feel sorry? You idiot! I'm the grandfather you'll never see again!"

Luffy clutched his head and cried out in anguish, "What do you want me to do?! All I've been doing is getting beaten up!"

"Even so, I still want to be loved by my grandson, you idiot!"