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

Chapter 110 Colonel Mouse

The 16th Naval Division is located on a small island in the middle of the ocean.

This branch isn't particularly strong; it only has about ten small warships. Having more wouldn't be of much use, since there aren't many big fish in the East China Sea. A few small warships are enough for daily use.

"Reporting, sir! People from Naval Headquarters have arrived!"

The mouse, who was eating a cheese stick, was startled and dropped the cheese stick on the ground.

"What? Naval Headquarters? Who is that?"

The naval soldier swallowed hard: "It's Rear Admiral Carl from the Navy Headquarters."

Colonel Mouse's face immediately turned very ugly. He wondered if his embezzlement and bribery had been discovered, but then he thought it was unlikely.

Only he and a few close confidants knew about the bribery. They had all received money, so how could they possibly spread it?

The mouse's expression shifted between anger and uncertainty, but finally he gritted his teeth and said, "Come with me to meet this Major General Karl!"

Cluck cluck bang~

The warship docked steadily at the shore, and Carl, along with Einsmoker, was the first to disembark and land at the 16th branch.

Colonel Mouse, who had just arrived, grinned obsequiously: "Hehe, Major General Karl, hello, I am Mouse. May I ask what brings you here, Major General Karl?"

Carl glanced at Colonel Rat indifferently. Sure enough, he had a rat-like face and was practically a human-shaped rat. He couldn't be bothered with him.

Smoker snorted and looked at Colonel Rat with a dangerous gaze, wishing he could beat him up right away.

Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, and seeing Smoker's undisguised hostility, Colonel Mouse was alarmed. Oh no, something bad was about to happen!

"Bring the prisoner here!"

At his command, Nelson escorted the Arlong Pirates to the island. The moment Colonel Rat saw the fish-men, his face turned ashen and his heart pounded wildly.

It's all over, it's all over!

With the Arlong Pirates captured, how could his dirty secrets with Arlong remain hidden?

"Holy crap! This is the Arlong Pirates! Great! These despicable criminals have finally been brought to justice! Congratulations!"

Smoker laughed sarcastically, "Stop playing the mouse. Don't you really know why we're here?"

The rat swallowed hard, stammering and not daring to speak, its eyes darting around, unable to look directly at the wounded fish-men.

"They really won't shed a tear until they see the coffin!"

Smoker pulled out the evidence of Colonel Rat's collusion with the Arlong Pirates and threw it in Colonel Rat's face.

"Are you still going to pretend you don't know? Or should I have these guys tell you themselves?"

Pfft!

Colonel Mouse immediately knelt on the ground, sobbing and saying, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I was bewitched, I'll never do it again, please let me go!"

Smoker snorted and grabbed the rat by the collar, lifting him up.

"Let you go? What about the civilians harmed by the Arlong Pirates? How will the Navy's reputation be repaired? Huh?"

"What are you doing? I'm the branch officer! What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and save me!"

The surrounding naval officers hesitated, reluctant to raise their guns. Carl patted Smoker on the shoulder, signaling him not to get so agitated.

He then addressed the Marines of the 16th Branch, saying, "I am Lieutenant Commander Karl from the Marine Headquarters. During my voyage, I captured the Arlong Pirates and learned that Colonel Rat of the 16th Branch was in cahoots with the Arlong Pirates."

"Colonel Rat has accepted bribes from the Arlong Pirates and has condoned and protected them. The evidence is conclusive. Please lay down your weapons and cooperate with the investigation."

Many naval personnel in the 16th branch had long harbored resentment towards Rat, but upon hearing Carl's advice, they immediately laid down their weapons and began exposing Rat Colonel's various misdeeds.

As the saying goes, when a wall falls, everyone pushes it down. In the past, they dared not utter a word because of Colonel Rat's authority, but now...

In any case, Colonel Rat's face was ashen, his heart was dead, and he glared hatefully at the tied-up Dragon gang.

If it weren't for those damned good-for-nothings, how would I have been discovered?

With the help of his allies, Smoker uncovered several more of Colonel Rat's cronies who were aiding and abetting the evildoers, even surpassing Rat in their wickedness. Catching them was no problem at all.

......

Thanks to the enthusiastic reports from naval officers and soldiers, almost all the high-ranking officers of the 16th branch were implicated and arrested, a total of 7 people, the lowest of whom was a naval sergeant.

However, this move left the 16th branch without anyone to take charge. To address this, Karl appointed Major Gitt, a major general, as the head of the 16th branch to oversee its daily operations.

After half a day of effort, the anti-corruption operation of the 16th branch has entered its final stage, and all corrupt naval officers have been imprisoned.

"Thank you all for your cooperation, which has enabled us to root out these bad apples. Here, I would also like to give you a piece of advice: never forget our original aspiration and keep our mission firmly in mind."

The naval personnel from the 16th branch nodded in unison, watching the Seastone warship depart from the base.

From beginning to end, they all thought that Karl had only accidentally discovered that Captain Rat was a corrupt Marine during the process of capturing the Arlong Pirates, and no one had any idea that Rat was actually their main target.

This was also Karl's intention. It was a secret investigation and a secret arrest. If word got out, it would alert the suspect and affect the subsequent operations.

Carl's goal was simple: first, to arrest a group of corrupt navy personnel, then send them to Marineford for a public trial, thereby announcing the establishment of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).

The East China Sea is just the beginning; the next step will be the South China Sea, the North China Sea, and the West China Sea. In short, we will first investigate all four seas.

Inside the lounge, Carl and Smoker were smoking.

"Smoker, you did a good job this time, but you still need to work on your temper and not act impulsively."

Smoker sighed, "I know, but I just can't help it. These black sheep just make me angry. I'm being very restrained by not beating them up!"

"That's why you need to calm down! How can I entrust the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) to you if you're like this?"

Smoker was taken aback: "Leave it to me? Don't you want to...?"

"Of course not. I will only preside over it for a period of time, and then I will hand it over to you so that I can rest assured."

Smoker grinned: "Hehe, this...."

Regardless of what Smoker thought, Carl had already prepared to hand over the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) to Smoker; he just wanted to make a splash and then leave.

While it's enjoyable to slack off in the office all the time, it's also quite boring. Going out to catch pirates is a different story. For Karl, it's like a paid vacation, so he can't stay in his position as the Commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption forever.

Anyway, Smoker can't be his top henchman forever; he'll eventually have to go out on his own. And this is exactly what he likes to do, so it's much better than his previous fate guarding Loguetown.

"Keep it up, Smoker! You still have a lot to learn!"

Chapter 111 A Special Day

May 1, 1514, the Grand Line.

Nearly four months have passed since Carl and his team set off for the East China Sea, and their anti-corruption journey has finally come to an end.

"Phew~ It's finally over. Thank you all for your hard work these past few days!"

Over the past few months, Karl led the fleet across the four seas, though he mostly visited naval branches.

However, the results were also gratifying, no, they should be described as tragic, a tragedy for the navy.

Because a large number of corrupt naval personnel can be found in every sea area, and these bad apples exist in every navy, the navy has a very poor reputation in remote areas that it has not taken care of, which seriously affects the image of the navy.

In total, their secret investigation resulted in the arrest of more than 200 corrupt naval personnel, 20% of whom were officers.

Some fell silent in the face of irrefutable evidence, while others rose up in resistance, attempting a final stand, but all were suppressed by Smoker and obediently tied up and sent to Marineford's small prison.

Smoker nodded matter-of-factly: "Yes, I've certainly had a tough time, but you..."

After spending several months together, Smoker finally understood what kind of scoundrel Carl was.

While he was screening potentially corrupt naval personnel, Carl was drinking tea and reading the newspaper.

While he was gathering evidence of corruption and investigating everywhere, Carl took Ian on trips and sightseeing.

When he confronted the corrupt navy head-on, even resorting to force, Carl was present, but he did nothing; it was all under the guise of training him...

It's one thing if it's only for a day or two, but the problem is that this guy does this every day. If I hadn't never beaten him, he would have rebelled long ago!

Hearing Smoker's tone, Carl scratched his head nonchalantly: "Hmm, it seems I can hand over the Independent Commission Against Corruption to you with peace of mind after the public trial!"

Smoker scoffed, pretending not to care, but he was actually extremely concerned.

This pie in the sky has been talked about for months, and finally we can start eating it! Was it easy for him?

bang bang bang~

"Come in!"

The door to the lounge opened, and Ian and Nelson walked in carrying a large cake, their faces beaming with smiles: "Happy Birthday!"

Smoker looked at Carl with a bewildered expression, and Carl looked at Smoker with a bewildered expression as well.

Smoker was the first to react, quickly pulling out a lighter to light the candles and grinning, "Hahaha, Carl, happy birthday!"

"Thank you! How did you know it was my birthday today?"

Nelson bluntly stated, "Major Ian told us, so I..." His voice trailed off as Ian used Death Stare.

Karl walked up to Ian and stared intently at her: "Thank you, Ian. I'll definitely give you a surprise for your birthday!"

"As long as you like it..."

"By the way, when is your birthday?"