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

"Tsk tsk tsk~ Hawkeye! I heard you hurt him, is that true?"

Karl rolled his eyes: "Of course it's true, it's been published in the newspapers. But Mihawk is really something. Although his physique isn't top-notch, his domineering aura and swordsmanship are truly formidable!"

"If you ask me, the strongest among the Seven Warlords of the Sea are Mihawk and Bartholomew Kuma."

Smoker exhaled a smoke ring and nodded in agreement: "That's right, but I think Crocodile is pretty strong too."

"I heard that this guy once fought Douglas Bullet, a crew member of the Pirate King, to a draw, and even managed to escape unscathed after challenging Whitebeard."

Carl stared at Smoker in shock, thinking, "When did you, with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, start believing rumors?"

The claim of escaping unscathed is probably just that Whitebeard wanted to take him in as a son, but Crocodile refused, and Whitebeard was too lazy to pursue him.

Such old stories have some credibility, but not much.

Judging from his experience, it's already absurd enough that he was evenly matched with Marco and narrowly lost to Hawkeye, yet there are still a bunch of people on the high seas who firmly believe it.

"Don't believe those rumors, I'm telling you, those kinds of rumors are the most unreliable... Damn it, this guy saw me!"

Smoker looked at Carl strangely, then saw Mihawk walking straight toward them, his sharp gaze fixed on them without any emotion—or rather, on Carl.

"You've gotten stronger again! I knew I hadn't misjudged you! It's a pity..." After saying that, Mihawk shook his head in disappointment and turned to leave.

Karl knew perfectly well what Mihawk was regretting: he regretted not being able to draw his sword and fight him right away!

"Phew~ This guy's eyes are really scary. By the way, Mihawk seems to value you a lot?"

Carl shook his head decisively: "No, he doesn't value me. He's just bored. I'd better avoid him from now on."

At least until he mastered the art of slacking off, Karl had no interest in fighting Hawkeye; it would be a thankless and arduous task.

Moreover, if they were to win, things would be even worse. Given Mihawk's personality, he might very well hand over the title of the world's greatest swordsman to him.

In that case, he will be met with a constant stream of challengers, so how can he then enjoy slacking off?

About half an hour later, the nerdy, no, the great guy Gecko Moria also arrived.

If it weren't for the fear of Moria coming after him for debts, Karl would have loved to personally meet Comrade Moria.

What a great guy! He gave me a sword and helped me complete the mission for free. The other Shichibukai should learn from him!

Looking at Moria's bloated figure, Smoker couldn't help but sneer, "Hmph! This guy can become a Shichibukai? The World Government's judgment is really terrible!"

You're not allowed to talk about Moria Giegie like that! You have no idea how hard he works!

“Smoker, that’s not right of you. There’s a reason why he became one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Don’t let Moria’s chubby appearance fool you; his abilities are far from simple.”

Smoker immediately became interested: "From what you're saying, you've met him before?"

"Of course! This guy is based in the Devil's Triangle. His ability is to bring the dead back to life!"

Smoker looked at Moria in shock, then at Carl, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"Resurrected from the dead? How...how is that possible?"

Carl patted Smoker on the shoulder and said meaningfully, "A guy who can make a name for himself on the high seas isn't so simple!"

Moria is a man who went toe-to-toe with Kaido!

Chapter 70 Smoker's Awakening

"Let's go! There's nothing much to see, and we have nothing else to do anyway, so how about we go to the training grounds and practice?"

Smoker exhaled a smoke ring and looked at Carl with a smile. Carl smiled back, but a sly glint flashed in his eyes.

It seems Smoker is unaware that he has awakened both types of Haki! After all, he's on a mission and his information network isn't always up-to-date.

"Judging from your appearance, your strength has improved recently?"

Smoker sighed and waved his hand: "Oh, it's just a tiny bit of progress, nothing to brag about."

Karl chuckled, "You're trying to act like you're in Versailles with me?"

Ten minutes later, at the training ground.

Both men stood empty-handed on either side of the training field. Smoker had his hands in his pockets, a cigar dangling from his lips, seemingly oblivious to the concept of an opponent.

"This time I'll be using elemental transformation, so I hope you don't lose too badly."

Carl smiled and nodded: "Don't worry, come on!"

"White Python!"

Smoker launched the first attack.

He first turned his arms into smoke, then transformed the smoked arms into the shape of two giant pythons and aimed at Karl before striking. No matter how Karl dodged, it was useless, because this move had a built-in tracking and locking system.

"You can't escape!"

"is it?"

Karl activated his Observation Haki, sensed the two giant pythons chasing after him, and suddenly turned around, delivering a powerful kick.

"Storm Foot - Broken"

A blue slashing wave precisely severed the giant python's body, but only temporarily. The smoky python quickly reformed, unaffected.

"Hahaha! I told you, it's useless!"

Little did they know, Karl had already used Moonwalk to get in front of Smoker, standing in front of him, his right hand covered with Armament Haki, bang!

To Smoker's astonishment, Carl's fist slammed into his head, sending him flying.

"Ahhh! It hurts!"

That year, Smoker covered his head with his hands, completely bewildered by the beating.

It hurts, it hurts too much!

This was probably the most intense pain he had ever experienced since becoming a Logia-type Devil Fruit user.

"Ouch! That hurts so much! When did you awaken your Armament Haki?!"

At this moment, Smoker was having some doubts about life. He had joined the Navy at a young age and had experienced ups and downs for more than a decade, but in the end, his rank was lower than Karl's, and his strength was also lagging behind.

Just a few months ago, they were able to fight each other on equal footing. Even when we saw in the newspapers that Karl and Marco were evenly matched and that Hawkeye was injured, we just assumed that Karl had a good foundation and strong physical skills.

Who would have thought that he would awaken Armament Haki?

"I awakened during my internship."

"So early!?" Smoker was dumbfounded.

Carl nodded: "Yes! I almost died that time!"

Smoker was speechless for a moment, then sat cross-legged on the ground, blankly, without saying a word.

Only then did he realize that he might have been too complacent, and after thinking about it for a while, he got an affirmative answer.

Yes, he became lax.

He was always fixated on the navy's corrupt practices, bribery, and aiding and abetting evil, but he forgot that the most important thing for a navy is strength.

After graduating from the training camp, he basically fought real tough battles, constantly switching between being suspended from duty and catching pirates, and didn't even have time to train properly.

How could someone like him possibly become stronger?

In contrast, Karl's first mission involves facing Kaido, the ruler of the seas, followed by the renowned Marco the Phoenix and the world's greatest swordsman, Dracule Mihawk.

What about him? He doesn't have a single opponent he can boast about; he always bullies those weaklings with his Devil Fruit ability!

Even Tina, who graduated in the same year as him, is now carrying out missions in the new world with Staff Officer Crane, facing the monsters of the new world.

In Karl's presence, he was a complete loser, a weakling who blamed everyone else.

"Karl, as a friend, I'm asking you for a favor!"

"Tell me! As long as I can do it."

Smoker let out a long sigh, bowed his head to Karl, and said, "I want to be your lieutenant."

"what?"

Carl stared at Smoker in disbelief, picked at his ear, and wondered if he had misheard.

How could Smoker say something like that?

"Yes, I want to become your second-in-command and go on missions with you to fight pirates, because only by following you will I have the chance to encounter stronger enemies!"

"Only then can I become stronger!"

Smoker had abandoned his pride at this moment. He had only one goal: to catch up with Carl and become stronger!

On the surface, Carl looked surprised, but in his heart he was overjoyed. He had been worried that one henchman wouldn't be enough for Ain, but Smoker had delivered himself to his doorstep for free.

With Ian on the left and Smoker on the right, this lineup is simply dreamlike!

In fact, if Smoker had followed him, he wouldn't have ended up guarding the newbie village. He should thank us!

Karl helped Smoker up and patted his biceps: "Great, it's settled then, let's go! We'll go find Admiral Sengoku!"

Smoker was touched to see Carl so agreeable; Carl was truly a good brother!

Good brothers, forever!

Knock knock knock!