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

These are the words of true fans with a good tone, but those casual fans with bad tempers don't think that way.

"Who wants to stay in this godforsaken place! They didn't tell me before I came! Hey, let me go back right now!"

"What's the point of staying in this fake world? I'm just here to listen to music, I don't need to play house with you here!"

Each word was like a sharp knife, piercing Uta's heart, and her face grew darker and darker.

"Everyone, isn't it your own desire to gain freedom? To escape illness and bullying, are these all lies? And to stop worrying about pirates every day, are these also lies?"

"Are you deaf? I want to go back!!!"

"Don't do that, Uta is doing this for everyone's good!" "I didn't ask her to do that!"

"Me too!" "Shut up, all of you!"

"Uta is right!" "No way! I love going to school! I even want to be a Marine and fight the pirates!"

"Uta went too far!"

At this moment, all aspects of human life are clearly displayed before Uta.

It turns out that what the navy officer said was true; the world is far more complex than she believed.

Suddenly, Uta felt tired, and everything she had done seemed like a joke.

Plop...

Luffy stretched out his arm and hugged Uta: "Uta, what's wrong? Say something, Uta!"

Robin's eyes widened: "She's...asleep?"

Boom boom boom~

The world of Gege began to distort, and a huge vortex appeared in the sky, engulfing everything in this world.

real world.

Uta was already lying in Shanks' arms, fast asleep. Shanks smiled; thankfully, no disaster had occurred.

Meanwhile, the fans on Areggia Island gradually regained their senses.

"Huh, am I... asleep? Ouch? Why do I feel like I've been beaten up? That hurts!"

"Ah! I slept so well."

Luffy stretched and got up from the ground, then saw Shanks in front of him and immediately beamed with joy: "Shanks, I knew you'd come! How's Uta? Is he alright?"

Shanks laughed and said, "It's nothing, she just fell asleep."

Luffy grinned foolishly, scratched his head, picked up the straw hat from the ground, and put it on.

Shanks chuckled and pushed Uta, whom he was holding, towards Luffy: "Luffy, I need to ask you a favor, is that alright?"

Luffy put his arm around Uta and his expression turned serious: "Shanks, you tell me!"

"Take good care of Uta for me. Now, you all should leave here as soon as possible!"

Luffy was taken aback and asked, puzzled, "Why? Although Uta is my good friend, isn't she also your daughter? Shouldn't you be the one taking care of her? Do you want to abandon her again?"

“I also wanted to take her on a trip, but this time I really don’t have the chance.” After saying that, Shanks looked at Carl on the other side.

Luffy looked over and realized that the Navy had already surrounded the area completely. A group of Navy soldiers were staring at them menacingly, and Karl was holding a Den Den Mushi (sound-transmitting electric scooter) and seemed to be saying something.

"All naval officers and soldiers below the rank of vice admiral, listen to my order: immediately arrange for the evacuation of all civilians from Eregia!"

"All lieutenant generals..."

Chapter 348 The Incident on Aregia Island

Luffy's eyes widened; even though he was usually oblivious, he could tell what the Navy was up to.

"Shanks, are the Navy planning to arrest us?"

Shanks shook his head: "No, the person the Navy wants to capture is me!"

Luffy clenched his fist, looked at Shanks, and then at Karl.

For him, Shanks was his mentor, while Carl was his friend. Of course, Shanks held a higher place in his heart than Carl, after all, Shanks lost an arm to save him.

Although they didn't interact much, Carl saved Nami, taught Zoro, helped Chopper, and was also one of Robin's most cherished friends.

He really didn't want to fight Karl.

"Uncle Karl, why are you arresting Shanks? He's a good man, I can vouch for that! Can you please not arrest him! If you're going to arrest someone, arrest me instead!!!"

Karl chuckled and shook his head: "Luffy, you're one of the Emperors of the Sea, how come you're still so heartless?"

"We have a good personal relationship, and I know you very well. So, I have let you off the hook several times, intentionally or unintentionally. But don't forget."

Karl pointed to himself: "I am a Marine, and you, Shanks, are a pirate! We have always been on opposite sides."

"Since Kuzan took office, the Navy's primary objective has been to eliminate the remaining emperors of the sea."

"Big Mom is dead, Kaido has been executed, and only Shanks is left."

"The end of the Red-Haired Pirates and the Great Age of Piracy started by Roger should also come to an end. No one can stop it from happening."

Then, Karl stepped forward, staring intently at Shanks: "This is a battle between the Navy and the Red-Haired Pirates. Are you sure you want the Straw Hat crew to join in, Shanks?"

Just as Luffy was about to speak, Shanks stopped him.

"Shanks?"

Shanks reached out and placed his hand on Luffy's straw hat, just like he did back then: "Luffy, you've already become a pirate captain who can stand on your own. It's quite surprising that you've become my equal in less than three years."

"Now, continue your journey toward your dreams!"

"But Shanks!"

Shanks shook his head: "Luffy, you have your path, and I have mine. Take your crew and leave this place!"

Luffy stood there, tears welling up in his eyes. He had imagined countless times what it would be like to meet Shanks on the high seas, but he had never thought it would be like this.

"Shanks..."

Shanks sighed and patted Luffy's head: "Luffy, let's go! This is a battle between the Red-Haired Pirates and the Marines. I will not allow anyone else to interfere."

"Go!"

Luffy stood there, refusing to move, stubbornly staring at Shanks.

Meanwhile, the Straw Hat crew, having woken up, immediately rushed over.

"What happened?" Nami asked, looking at Luffy standing between Karl and Shanks, somewhat puzzled.

Sanji lit a cigarette, looked around, and said calmly, "The war is about to begin."

Chopper exclaimed nervously, "Is Mr. Karl going to arrest Luffy? Is there some misunderstanding?"

"Chopper, you've misunderstood. The war I'm referring to is the war between the Navy and the Red-Haired Pirates."

"Uta's concert is probably just a smokescreen. The Navy's real purpose is to lure Shanks to them through Uta so that they can capture him."

"What should we do? Shanks is Luffy's mentor, he definitely won't stand idly by. Should we also get involved in this conflict?"

Sanji shook his head: "I don't know, let's see... Luffy choose!"

Everyone fell silent, looking worriedly at Luffy in the eye of the storm.

Shanks glanced at Karl, then leaned close to Luffy's ear and whispered, "Luffy, the last red Road Poneglyph is in Elbaf. Go find it! Once you get to Laugh Tale and find One Piece, you'll know everything. Please, don't linger here."

After saying that, Shanks looked at Uta beside him, then at the Straw Hat crew standing high above, and immediately made a decision.

"Scent..." Luffy hadn't finished speaking when his body went limp and he collapsed to the ground. Looking down, he saw that he was handcuffed with a pair of dark sea stone handcuffs.

"I'm sorry, Luffy."

With a whoosh, Shanks, carrying Luffy in one hand and Uta in the other, vanished from his spot and reappeared in front of the Straw Hat crew the next second.

"General Karl!"

Karl held out his hand, signaling not to make any rash moves, then looked up at the sky and said with a smile, "Don't worry, Shanks won't run away."

"You're Luffy's crewmates, right? I'm entrusting Luffy to you. Here's the key made of seastone. Please open it for him when the time is right!"

Shanks glanced at Zoro, handed him the key, and said, "The Navy's target is me. They won't stop you. Take Luffy and leave here!"

Shanks, I'm not leaving!

bang~

With a clean and swift chop, Luffy, already weakened, immediately passed out.

"I'm entrusting Uta to you as well, thank you very much." Shanks slowly bowed, demonstrating his craftsmanship.

The Straw Hat crew stood there, somewhat surprised. To be honest, they hadn't expected Shanks, one of the Emperors of the Sea, to be so... "approachable"?

Whoosh! Before they could react, Shanks had already vanished from the spot.

......

Seeing Shanks standing before him again, Carl smiled and called out to the Den Den Mushi, "Have all the people been evacuated?"

"Reporting to General Karl, 20% of the population has not yet been evacuated. Please give us a little more time."

"Okay~ Alright, notify me as soon as the evacuation is complete."