"Let's go! There's nothing there, and I've got nothing to do. How about we head to the training ground and spar?"
Smoker blew a ring of smoke and looked at Karl with a grin. Karl smiled back, but there was a sly glint in his eyes.
It seems Smoker doesn't realize that his Armament haki has awakened! After all, he's not as informed when he's off duty.
"Looking at you, your strength hasn't improved recently?"
Smoker sighed and waved his hand: "Oh, well... Just barely noticeable progress, nothing to talk about."
Karl laughed foolishly
Ten minutes later, at the training ground.
Both of them stood on opposite sides of the field, empty-handed. Smoker had his hands in his pockets and a cigar in his mouth. He wasn't aware of who he was dealing with.
"This time I'll use my elementalization. I hope you won't lose too badly."
Karl smiled and nodded: "Don't worry, just bring it on!"
"White Python!"
Smoker launched the first attack.
He first turned his hands into smoke, then transformed the smoky hands into two giant pythons and directed them at Karl. No matter how Karl tried to dodge, it was useless, as this move had a built-in tracking and locking system.
"You won't escape!"
"Really?"
Karl activated his Observation Haki, sensed the two giant pythons chasing him from behind, and suddenly turned around and struck them with his storm leg.
"Storm Leg·Slash"
The blue wave precisely sliced through the body of the giant python, but it was only temporary. The smoky giant python quickly fused together, suffering no damage.
"Ha-ha-ha! I told you, it's useless!"
Unaware, Karl had already appeared in front of Smoker with a moon step, stood before him, and covered his right hand with a layer of Armament Haki, bam!
To Smoker's amazement, Karl's fist struck him directly on the head, sending him flying forward.
"Ah! It hurts!"
That year, Smoker held his head with both hands, bewildered after the beating.
The pain, too painful!
Perhaps it was the most painful time since he became a user of natural abilities.
"Ah! That's how much it hurts when your Armament Haki awakens!"
At this moment, Smoker slightly doubted life. He joined the Navy when he was young and had been rising and falling for over a decade. In the end, his rank was not as good as Karl's, and even his strength lagged behind.
They were able to fight on equal terms a few months ago. Even when he read in the newspaper that Karl and Marco were equally matched and wounded Hawk Eye, he thought Karl had a solid foundation and strong physical skills.
Who would have thought he had really awakened his Armament Haki?
"I awakened it during my internship."
"So early!?" Smoker was stunned.
Karl nodded, "Yes! At that time, I almost died!"
Smoker fell silent and sat on the ground, thoughtfully shifting his feet, saying nothing.
Only then did he realize he had been too lazy. After a bit of thinking, he came to a positive conclusion.
Yes, he was lazy.
He was always fixated on the Navy's vices, corruption, and enabling evil, but forgot the most important thing for a naval officer, strength.
After finishing the training camp, he mostly fought real tough battles, jumping between suspensions and capturing pirates, and didn't have time to train properly.
How could he become stronger that way?
On the other hand, Karl had to face the sea emperor Kaido, the beast, on his first mission, and then the long-famous Phoenix Marco and the world's greatest swordsman Hawk Eye.
And what about him? No opponent to boast about, and each time he intimidated those small fry with the power of his fruit!
Even Hina, who graduated in the same class as him, is now on missions in the New World with Chief of Staff Tsuru, facing the monsters of the New World.
In front of Karl, he felt like a complete failure, a weakling who complained about everything.
"Karl, as a friend, I ask you a favor!"
"Just say it! If I can, I will."
Smoker took a long breath, leaned in toward Karl, and lowered his noble head: "I want to be your assistant."
"What?"
Karl looked at Smoker in bewilderment, scratched his ear, and thought he had heard wrong.
Could such words have come from Smoker's mouth?
"Yes, I want to be your assistant and undertake missions with you to fight pirates because only by following you will I have the opportunity to encounter stronger enemies!"
"I can become stronger!"
Smoker let go of his pride in this moment. He had only one goal: to catch up with Karl and become stronger!
Outwardly, Karl appeared surprised, but in truth, he was very pleased inside. He was worried that Ain's crew wasn't enough, but he hadn't expected Smoker to come to him voluntarily. Perfect.
Ain on the left, Smoker on the right, this lineup is just a dream!
By the way, if Smoker followed him, he wouldn't fall to the level of guarding Rookie from entering the grandline, and he should thank us!
Karl helped Smoker to his feet and patted his bicep: "Great, it's settled, let's go! Let's go find Fleet Admiral Sengoku Go!"
Smoker was touched by Karl's straightforwardness. Karl was such a good brother!
A good brother for life!
Knock-knock-knock!
"Come in!"
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, I want to ask you something."
Semgoku looked at Karl and Smoker, who had entered, and gradually understood, so he nodded: "Continue!"
"Here's the thing, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Smoker was recently suspended? I want him to become my assistant and fight crime alongside me."
Sengoku looked at Smoker, and his index finger regularly tapped on the table.
Suddenly, Smoker's expression became tense, and he sincerely said, "Fleet Admiral Zhan Go, I promise to follow Karl's commands in the future and never act on my own."
Hearing this, Sengoku slightly nodded, and his expression relaxed.
In his opinion, Smoker was definitely a potential naval officer, one of the few outstanding talents in the new generation of the Navy, but it was a pity that he was impulsive and arrogant.
Initially, he planned to give Smoker some time to calm down, and when his character matured and he could stand on his own, to use him again. Now it seems that this can be done earlier.
"Smoker, Karl is an excellent Navy commander, and there is much you can learn from him."
"I hope that you can learn from him, so I agree with your request."
After Sengoku finished speaking, he stood up and looked at Karl and Smoker: "The future is yours, young people..."
Thus, Karl successfully acquired a formidable fighter.
Therefore, when dealing with pirates whose bounties are below 200 million, Ion and Smoker can be used directly, and Karl can fish without worries.
No, it's not fishing; it's training for Ain and Smoker, yes, that's it.