"Gion Momousagi?"
"No, she is at the same level as you. How can she be your adjutant? Even if I agree, she will not agree.
Momousagi is very accomplished in swordmanship and can be said to be the strongest swordsman in the Marines.
She is fully capable of leading a fleet to guard a sea area on her own.
Carlos spread his hands and said angrily:
"I am the Vice Admiral and an Admiral candidate of the main headquarters. I can't live without a deputy, right? Isn't it Marine's honor to go out?"
Sengoku shook his head, opened the drawer, and took out a stack of lists.
"This is the roster of Naval Headquarters officers. You pick one."
Carlos took it, glanced at it, and put it back on the desk.
"Marshal Sengoku, don't compare me to the average Vice Admiral. The focus of my mission is the New World, the Whitebeard Pirates, and the Big Mom Pirates.
"With the strength of these people, let alone helping me, I am afraid that their self-protection will be a problem."
Sengoku frowned.
"Manpower is scarce now. Those who are capable will either lead the fleet alone or be picked up by others. If you are not satisfied, there is nothing I can do."
After a while, he seemed to have thought of something.
"By the way, that guy should be able to solve your problem."
"Who?"
"Perhaps you haven't heard of his name. His name is Zephyr, and he and I used to be Marine Admirals together."
"Later, when he got older, he took a back seat and started training new people for the Marines. I heard that a group of students are about to graduate recently. You can go talk to him."
Naval Headquarters training ground.
"Patience! Persistence! Pay attention to your breathing rhythm!"
"As a soldier, the most basic and important thing is physical fitness!"
"If you don't train hard now, how will you catch pirates on the battlefield in the future?"
"The third formation! Pick up the pace!"
On the playground, more than a hundred sailors, covered with heavy loads, formed several square formations and ran hard.
The temperature is very high today, and the sun is mercilessly scorching the earth.
"Huhuhu——"
Heavy breathing came and went, and the sound of uniform footsteps gradually became messy.
Everyone was sweating profusely and exhausted, and their legs felt like lead.
But no one dared to slow down a little, everyone gritted their teeth and struggled to support it.
At the edge of the playground, a burly old man with purple hair crossed his arms and watched silently.
Although he didn't speak, the sharp glances he cast from time to time still gave everyone present an unparalleled sense of oppression.
No one present dared to show any slightest care.
On the other side of the playground.
Carlos sat on the stone bench, squinting his eyes slightly, enjoying the sunbath and observing silently.
Since receiving the S-level reward of Kryptonian blood,
As long as he stays in the sun, his body can absorb and store energy spontaneously.
Over the past few days, Carlos clearly felt that his strength, speed, physical strength and other aspects had improved visibly.
It is no exaggeration to say that it is completely worth the results of a month of hard training!
If this continues, his physique will reach an incredible level.
Surpassing Kaido isn't even a problem.
And under the influence of this energy,
He could also feel that various organs were subtly strengthening.
It is estimated that it will not take long to unlock a series of powerful abilities such as "super hearing", "super healing ability" and "heat vision".
"Hello, is there something wrong?"
While Carlos was deep in thought, a pure and lovely young girl walked over.
She has dark blue wavy hair,
The purple tights with lace front perfectly outline a wonderful and hot figure.
Under the black shorts is a pair of long, straight, white legs.
Black pointed high heels stepped on the ground, and there was a patter of footsteps.
Carlos looked up and down, causing the girl to frown slightly.
"My name is Ain, and I am a student of Teacher Zephyr. Who are you and what do you want here?"
Carlos retracted his somewhat arrogant look and said with a smile:
"I am Carlos, Naval Headquarters Vice Admiral, Admiral candidate. I am currently preparing to form a fleet. This time I came to see your teacher Zephyr to ask for a few people."
"Admiral candidate? You?"
Ain looked suspicious.
But when she saw the military rank on Carlos' cloak of justice, she was a little stunned for a moment.
Fortunately, she reacted in time,
Snapped!
She put her legs together, straightened her chest, and gave a vigorous military salute.
"Carlos Vice Admiral, please come with me."
After a while, the two came to Zephyr.
The people running around also cast some curious glances.
"Carlos? I heard your name. You were sent by the World Government, right?"
Carlos nodded.
Zephyr continued:
"Although I'm curious about the means you used to become an Admiral candidate, Sengoku must have his own reasons for doing so."
"Well, since you have found me here, for the sake of Marshal Sengoku, you can choose whoever you want."
Carlos shook his head and said seriously:
"It's too troublesome to assess each one one by one. Senior Zephyr, who is the strongest among these students?"
I just watched for a long time, and to be honest, not a single one caught my eye.
This group of young people in their twenties and late teens,
Although they are much better than ordinary recruits,
But judging from Carlos's perspective, their strength is at the level of petty officers at most.
In the New World, they would be just cannon fodder.
Zephyr couldn't help but frown and glance at Carlos, and said in a deep voice:
"Smoker, Hina! Step out of the queue!"
As soon as he finished speaking,
A man and a woman left the team and stood up.
The man has short silver hair, a cigar in his mouth, and his upper body exposed.
The woman has a slim figure and a dignified and beautiful face with a hint of valor and heroism.
Weight-bearing training that others viewed as extremely difficult,
For them, was as easy and comfortable as eating and drinking.
Not only was there no trace of fatigue on their faces, they didn't even break a sweat.
Zephyr nodded with satisfaction.
"They are the best among my students. Choose one of them!"
Although the potential of Smoker and Hina is not as great as that of Akainu or Aokiji,
But given time, becoming general-level officers shouldn't be a problem.
Among the students I've trained over the past few years, they are considered very outstanding.
After they graduate, their military rank must start at least as a major.
Even taking charge of some Marine divisions wouldn't be an issue.
However, Carlos put on a disappointed expression.
"They? Please forgive me, these two are probably only qualified to be interns.
"Sorry, I don't have the time and energy to take care of two burdens."
As soon as these words were spoken, the whole audience was in an uproar!
Everyone running circles on the playground stopped involuntarily and cast surprised glances.
Smoker blushed instantly, and regardless of the status gap, he strode up to Carlos and shouted loudly:
"Asshole! You'd better make yourself clear! What does it mean to only be worthy of being an intern?"
"This officer's words are too hurtful. With Smoker's bad temper, I'm afraid a fight will start!"
"It's hard to say, after all, the other party is a Naval Headquarters Vice Admiral, Admiral candidate!"
"I don't think it's anything special. I heard that this guy is a high-ranking official in the World Government, and he parachuted directly to the Marines based on his connections.
"He looks only two or three years older than Smoker. How strong can he be?"
"That's right, Smoker is a Logia user like the three Admirals! Normal attacks can't hurt him at all!"
"Now there's something good to watch."
The crowd's chatter continued, making Zephyr frown. The outstanding juniors he had trained were being belittled, which made him feel very humiliated.
But Zephyr didn't react immediately.
He forced down the dissatisfaction in his heart and said calmly:
"Intern? That remains to be seen. Both of them are Devil Fruit users. Although they have not graduated yet, their strength is enough to reach the level of commissioned officers.
"If you don't believe me, you can test it yourself."
Smoker's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Yes, sir, since you are an Admiral candidate, you must be very strong."
"Why don't you give us juniors some guidance."
He gritted his teeth as he said these words, emphasizing the word "guidance".
Carlos glanced at the other man and sighed softly.
"Fight? Forget it."
"With your current strength, you are not qualified to accompany me into the New World, so don't waste my time."
After saying that, he turned around and prepared to leave.
He still has a lot to do,
No time or interest in playing games with the other party here.
This time, everyone was dumbfounded.
"Hey... wait!"
"Stop!"
Smoker yelled from behind.
Carlos didn't stop and kept walking.
Suddenly!
Smoker dodged to a position about ten meters in front of Carlos, holding a dark seastone in his right hand and pointing it at him.
The palm holding the weapon trembled slightly, showing that Smoker's mood was not calm at this time.
Due to excessive force, the knuckles turned blue and white.
"Speak clearly to me!"
"Why do you say I'm not qualified!"
Carlos stopped, shook his head slightly, and said:
"Do you need me to spell it out?"
"With your current level, you are probably strong enough to deal with pirates with a bounty of over 100 million. If you go to the New World, you will only be beaten badly...
Compared to Paramecia and Zoan fruits, Logia is indeed rare but powerful.
The moment you eat it – you will have advantages that the other two types cannot match.
With one-hand elementalization, you can almost become invincible in the world and the first half of the Grand Line.
But that's it.
Unless you focus on developing your fruit abilities or practicing Haki, your fruit will only serve as an assist.
Otherwise, if you go to the New World, you will only be beaten.
In the original plot,
Smoker is almost invincible early on.
But two years later, when he came to the New World, he was constantly defeated and beaten to the ground.
Although he has an abrasive personality, he can be considered an upright Marine.
He has the potential to become the mainstay of the Marines in the future.
But for now, he's still too green.
"It looks like we are about to see some action..."
"It's not like you don't know Smoker's temper. He carries a bad attitude all the time, which makes everyone unhappy. He'd probably beat up any dog passing by him.
"Although he is a thorn in the side, his strength is still noteworthy."
Seeing the escalating tension, everyone slowly gathered around, regardless of the risk of being scolded by Zephyr.
"Very good...
Smoker bit his cigar tightly, veins popping on his forehead.
"Come on! Have a fight with me!"
Carlos frowned slightly and said:
"Are you serious?"
Smoker's eyes burst with an astonishing fighting spirit, and he said word by word:
"Yes, I will make you take back what you said!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Smoker kicked his right foot sharply.
White mist billowed out of his lower body, and he rushed toward Carlos at an incredible speed!
However,
Carlos was faster!
Smoker felt his vision blur.
The next moment, a strong gust of wind blew in his face, causing his cheeks to hurt.
Smoker was horrified.
"So fast!"
"Crap! I can't avoid it!"
In this short moment, countless thoughts flashed through his mind.
Without any hesitation, he immediately activated his elemental transformation as an instinctive reaction.
His whole body turned into a ball of white smoke.
Although the speed of the other party burst out surprised him.
But he didn't panic at all.
In the elemental state, any physical attack is ineffective against him.
This is also why he dares to challenge a Marine Vice Admiral!
However, the next moment.
Smoker's expression suddenly froze.
He felt an irresistible force quietly burst out from his chest, like a mountain crushing him!
Smoker's vision went dark, and he spat out a large mouthful of blood, flying back nearly fifty meters like a meteor.
There was a loud bang!
He was embedded in the wall surrounding the playground.
Masonry debris flew everywhere, and smoke and dust billowed.
The whole place fell into dead silence.
Everyone stared in stunned silence at the scene before them.
After a while, the smoke and dust cleared.
Smoker lay limply in the rubble.
He had lost consciousness.
The crowd stared blankly, as if they were dreaming.
All this happened so fast no one could react; it felt like the battle was over before they blinked!
After a long time, people at the scene gradually woke up. They looked at each other and stammered:
"This, this, this! How is this possible!"
"What just happened?"
"I didn't see it clearly, but judging from this situation, Smoker was defeated instantly!"
"Isn't he a Logia user? How could he be knocked out with one punch?"
"The strength of the two of them is on a completely different level..."
Hina and Ain also had their eyes widened, speechless.
They knew Smoker's strength very well.
Maybe he was no match for a Vice Admiral, but they didn't expect the battle to end so quickly!
If they were in his place, the outcome wouldn't be different.
"What skillful Armament Haki!"
Zephyr sighed in admiration as he looked Carlos up and down.
"Sengoku didn't misjudge you. With your ability, there is no problem serving as Vice Admiral of the Naval Headquarters.
This strike was precise and deadly, not sloppy at all.
Even among Vice Admirals, this ability is exceptional.
After saying that, he looked at Smoker in the distance, focused.
"Carlos, do you want to compete with me?"