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

Kuzan grinned: "That's great! With you in charge of the Adventurers' Guild, I can rest assured. Now, does anyone have any objections? If not, then the Adventurers' Guild is officially established!"

"No!" "No objection!"

After the meeting, in the Marshal's office.

"Sakazuki, this is the structural model of the Adventurers' Guild. Of course, this is still just a concept and for reference only. From today onwards, you are the Admiral of the Navy Headquarters and the President of the Adventurers' Guild. It would be better if you personally designed the structure of the Adventurers' Guild."

Sakazuki glanced down and saw that the organizational structure was very clear, from the highest-ranking Adventurers' Guild Master to the lowest-ranking errand boy, with each level clearly defined and more streamlined than the Navy's structure.

Sakazuki carefully put away the documents, then looked up at Kuzan: "Why?"

"Sakazuki, we've been fighting for half our lives, are we going to continue like this?"

"Aside from our differing ideologies, we both want to contribute to the Navy and make it better. I won the competition for the position of Fleet Admiral. But this time, I hope you can win. I hope you can make the Adventurers' Guild a force to be reckoned with, no less than the Navy."

"You have that ability."

Sakazuki looked at Kuzan with a complex expression, his mind filled with countless thoughts, which ultimately coalesced into a smile.

"Your eloquence has certainly improved since you became a marshal!"

"Marshal Kuzan...."

Chapter 336 Egghead Island

On an unnamed island in the first half of the Grand Line.

Carl was grilling fish on the beach, surrounded by a mountain of holy shells.

That's right, today is the agreed-upon trading day with the Revolutionary Army. As usual, he pays the money, and the Revolutionary Army receives the goods.

However, the people who came this time surprised Karl.

"Tsk tsk tsk, Dragon, the Revolutionary Army and the World Government are locked in a fierce battle right now, and you still have time to come here in person to trade with me."

Dragon removed his hood and grinned: "Besides the trade, there are a few things I'd like to discuss with you. I wonder if General Karl would be interested in talking to me about them?"

Carl laughed and magically produced a stool from thin air, placing it beside him: "Sure, you can try my cooking too. Come, sit down."

"Let me ask first, how is your revolutionary army doing now?"

Dragon was slightly taken aback, then began to recount the recent situation of the Revolutionary Army, treating Karl as an insider at all.

Since the World Conference declared war on the World Government, the Revolutionary Army has entered a state of total war, stirring up a revolutionary wave across the four seas and the Grand Line, involving nearly 20 member states of the World Government.

Since there was no naval intervention, the Revolutionary Army's only opponents were the World Government and the armies of corrupt nations. With nearly ten years of accumulation, the Revolutionary Army made great strides and basically never lost.

The revolutionary army has now successfully overthrown the regimes of nine countries, but the remaining countries are facing fierce resistance and it will take some time to achieve victory.

After listening to Dragon's account, Karl nodded; it was pretty much what he had expected.

"It seems that it won't be long before the Revolutionary Army can gather its forces and launch a general offensive against Mary Geoise, right?"

Dragon shook his head: "This is nothing. If the Navy hadn't severed ties with the World Government, the Revolutionary Army would never have achieved such results."

"In order to launch a general offensive, the revolutionary army must obtain a key figure."

"Vegapunk?"

Dragon sighed and nodded: "That's right. Bartholomew has been infiltrating the Seven Warlords of the Sea all these years, fully cooperating with Vegapunk in his experiments, all in order to win Vegapunk over to the Revolutionary Army's side."

"Although Bartholomew has temporarily lost his self-awareness, Vegapunk has fortunately accepted the Revolutionary Army's ideology. As long as we help him break free from the World Government's control, Vegapunk is willing to join the Revolutionary Army and fight against the World Government together."

Karl stroked his chin, his mind replaying the intelligence report from yesterday: the Straw Hat crew had arrived at Vegapunk's territory—Egghead Island. If nothing unexpected happened...

"Isn't that great? Just do it your way. Wait, you're not thinking of asking the Navy for help, are you?" Karl stared at Dragon.

Dragon quickly shook his head: "No, don't worry. To be honest, it's already a blessing that the Navy can stick to its current stance and not help the World Government suppress the Revolutionary Army."

"That...."

Dragon looked at Karl intently: "Do you know Im?"

"Huh?!" Karl looked surprised.

Seeing this expression, Dragon breathed a sigh of relief: "So you really do know Im!"

Karl dropped the pretense and laid his cards on the table: "Yes, I do know Im, and I've even fought her."

"What???"

Now it was Dragon's turn to be shocked. He couldn't understand it at all. As a naval hero, it was already quite remarkable that Karl knew of Im's existence. But he never expected that Karl had actually met Im and even fought him.

This is absolutely wonderful!

What's he here for? He just wants to get information from Karl!

"Just how strong is Im? A person who has lived for nearly a thousand years..."

Before Dragon could finish speaking, Karl said calmly, "You don't need to worry about that. Although Im is strong, she is not so strong as to be despairing. She can be defeated."

"Instead of worrying about Im's existence, you should think more about how to deal with the World Government's true trump card - Uranus."

After all these years, Karl still doesn't understand what Uranus, the Heavenly King, really is, which shows how well the World Government is hiding it.

The deeper it is hidden, the more extraordinary Uranus's power must be, and the greater the cost of its use. Otherwise, after the Revolutionary Army declared war, the World Government would not have simply ordered the delivery of an island to flex its muscles, especially using technological weapons developed by Vegapunk.

Therefore, the World Government will definitely not consider using Uranus until the very last moment; it is their ultimate trump card, similar to a nuclear weapon.

“Uranus..…”

Dragon took a deep breath and looked at Karl gratefully: "Thank you for telling me this."

"This is hardly news, just something I said offhand. But to be honest, if you're planning a decisive battle with the World Government, don't forget to bring your son along."

"Luffy?"

Dragon was slightly taken aback. Ever since Luffy was born, he hadn't paid much attention to his son. But as news of the new emperor's ascension to the throne spread across the seas, he truly realized that the son he had secretly protected two years ago had grown into one of the sea's overlords.

"You have a fine son. He is now one of the Emperors of the Sea, and the one that the World Government fears most."

"Because of his Nika fruit? I know that."

After the Ohara incident, he met Vegapunk, and during that conversation, Vegapunk mentioned Joy Boy and the Nika Devil more than once.

The World Government's desire to cover up the truth of history is largely due to its attempt to conceal Joy Boy's existence.

"You know this, that's enough. According to the Navy's intelligence, the Straw Hat crew is on Egghead Island, which is Vegapunk's territory. If nothing unexpected happens, the World Government will take action against them soon."

"The Navy cannot interfere in this matter, but you can!"

"Alright, enough of that, let's get down to business. Here, all the Holy Light Shells are here. Where's my Beli?"

......

Naval Headquarters, Marinevandor.

Stepping onto Crescent Bay, one can sense that the atmosphere at the Naval Headquarters is quite unusual, filled with a sense of intense competition.

There was no way around it; after Akainu was confirmed as the president of the Adventurers' Guild, he immediately announced that the Navy would conduct an elimination test in a month, requiring all Navy officers below the rank of Vice Admiral to undergo the test.

If you fail the assessment, you will be discharged from the Navy.

If Kuzan had said this, perhaps some people wouldn't have believed it, but the person who said it is Akainu, Sakazuki.

He's serious!

Chapter 337 Hancock's Surprising Day

Ten days later, on the Sky Island, in the Kingdom of Women.

"yue!"

"Lady Snake Princess, are you alright? You haven't been feeling well these past few days. Perhaps you should see a doctor?"

Hancock waved her hand: "No need, I'm perfectly healthy, there's nothing wrong with me, I probably ate something bad and I feel a little nauseous."

The maid looked at the Snake Princess's slightly haggard face with worry and heartache, and couldn't help but say, "Snake Princess, is it possible that you are pregnant with Lord Karl's child?"

“Impossible…” Hancock retorted instinctively, but then her eyes widened in surprise.

No, that might actually be true!

In the past few years, in order to conceive Carl's baby, she has studied a lot about pregnancy, but no matter how she tried, she did not experience the symptoms described in the books.

Karl and she had tried a few more times recently, so maybe she really is pregnant?

Even if the chances are slim, we should still give it a try, right?

"Quick! Go and call the doctor!"

The maidservant quickly replied, "Yes! Lady Snake Princess, I'll go right away!"

Half an hour later...

"Congratulations, Lady Snake Princess! Based on your current physical condition, it can be confirmed that you are pregnant. You are about two weeks along. Is this timeframe correct?"

Hancock counted on her fingers. It had been exactly two weeks since Karl last visited the Land of Women, but Karl only stayed for less than three days before leaving. She must have gotten pregnant around that time. That makes sense!

"Yes, yes, yes! Karl and I did *that* two weeks ago. So, does that mean I'm really going to be a mother?"

The doctor said with a smile, "Of course! Congratulations, Lady Snake!"

Tears welled up in Hancock's eyes as she gently stroked her unchanged belly: "Thank goodness, I am finally pregnant with Karl's child!"