Chapter 30: A New Era, Marine's Monster
Tsuru, Garp, and Chiba all fixed their eyes on Sengoku, each with a different mix of displeasure and concern.
Sengoku raised his eyebrows. "Why are you all looking at me like that? This was a direct order from the World Government, nothing to do with me."
Garp snorted. "Nothing to do with you, huh?" He folded his arms, unimpressed.
Caught in their gazes, Sengoku softened his tone. He laughed a little, saying, "Alright, alright. I may have helped things along. I did send the best Foundation Building Pills and Breaking Barrier Pills to old Kong and mentioned Chiba's potential as a future Marine Admiral. I didn't expect Kong to take it so far and hand down an appointment for Alternate Admiral."
Tsuru shook her head and sighed. "Sengoku, you know better than anyone that standing out too much attracts danger. You've pushed my grandson right into the storm. What if the World Government, the Five Elders, or the Celestial Dragons turn their eyes on Chiba? How do we protect him then?"
Sengoku hesitated, searching for a response. "Yes, Chiba's research is impressive, but so far, it's mainly been directed toward strengthening Marines. Why would the Five Elders or Celestial Dragons be interested?"
Tsuru frowned and replied, "You're overlooking something important."
"What's that?"
"Time," Tsuru said. "All of Chiba's accomplishments have come within a single year. Imagine what he could do in ten years. His research could very well lead to methods or medicines that could extend life spans by centuries. What do you think the Celestial Dragons would do if they knew he was on the verge of that discovery?"
Sengoku's face went pale as he absorbed her words. He had personally experienced the effects of Chiba's Divine Power Awakening Method, and if Chiba kept refining his techniques, he could indeed achieve such breakthroughs sooner rather than later.
"Are you saying they'll seize Chiba to force him into researching for them?"
"It's only a matter of time," Tsuru replied. "The World Government wouldn't promote an eighteen-year-old to Alternate Admiral unless they had plans. And we all know the Celestial Dragons' nature too well. They believe they're entitled to everything. If Chiba were to develop life-prolonging techniques, they wouldn't hesitate to use him until he's no longer useful."
Garp's expression darkened, his fists clenched. "Let them try. With me here, I'd like to see anyone who thinks they're brave enough to lay a hand on my grandson."
Garp's strength had surged since advancing to the second level of Giant Elephant Prison Suppressing Strength. His physical power had reached new heights, filling him with renewed confidence. Even against the Celestial Dragons or Im, he would not back down.
But Chiba knew that Sengoku's intentions, while somewhat reckless, came from a place of trust. Sengoku wanted Chiba to continue his work for the Marine's future and saw him as a key player in wiping out pirates and bringing order to the world.
Yet Chiba's vision differed. To him, the Celestial Dragons were the true threat.
Celestial Dragons held the reins of power over this world. They preserved their dominance by maintaining order and suppressing progress. They lived in luxury, isolated from the sufferings of the common people, enjoying the best of everything while denying it to others.
But Chiba's research threatened that order. His advancements would eventually disrupt the status quo. Where the Celestial Dragons wished to sustain their power, Chiba's work would spark a new age. His knowledge represented change, and in their eyes, that made him a danger.
Chiba knew he was far from ready to challenge the Celestial Dragons, let alone Imโthe enigmatic figure seated upon the Void Throne, the shadowed ruler of the world.
Im commanded formidable forces. Marine itself, with its countless elite soldiers, was just one of five divisions of power under Im's control. Alongside the Marines, there were four other forces, each tasked with maintaining the balance of power in the world.
The Marines boasted many top fighters. Vice Admirals alone numbered over a dozen, and the ranks of Admirals included some of the most fearsome combatants: Kizaru, the incoming Fujitora and Green Bull, and Alternate Admirals Momousagi and Chaton.
Chiba knew he could handle a Vice Admiral, but an Admiral was another matter. And facing the full power of the Marines alongside four other power divisions was unthinkable at his current strength.
However, Chiba's potential was his greatest advantage. With his exceptional understanding and rapid growth, he had surpassed the typical Vice Admiral level in just a year. This was all while dedicating much of his time to research rather than pure combat training. Now, with advanced techniques like the Divine Power Awakening Method and access to the best Foundation Building and Breaking Barrier Pills, he was poised to grow even stronger.
Given time and resources, he could eventually reach the power level of the Admirals, the Four Emperors, or possibly even surpass them. For now, what he needed most was timeโand, of course, the endless research materials Marine Headquarters could provide.
He turned to Garp with a small grin. "Relax, Grandpa. The World Government hasn't made a move on me yet. And if they do, I can always hide on some remote island. No matter how strong the World Government is, they won't find me that easily."
He was mostly trying to reassure Garp. In truth, he knew that only by staying within Marine could he access the resources he needed to grow strong enough to face the world's greatest threats. Leaving Marine wasn't an option, not while he was still cultivating his power.
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๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ข๐ค๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ญ๐ฅ๐ง๐๐จ๐จ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐๐ง๐๐ฉ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐จ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ค ๐จ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ค๐ง๐ฉ ๐ข๐ ๐ค๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ ๐๐ค๐ช๐ง๐ฃ๐๐ฎ. ๐๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐๐ช๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐จ ๐ข๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ง๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ฃ๐๐!
๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ธ๐ ๐๐ผ:
โข ๐ฝ๐ค๐๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐ค๐ฅ๐๐จ๐๐ช
โข ๐ ๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ
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๐๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป, ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ป๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ:
โข ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐: ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ด๐ฑ+ ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐จ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ค๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฎ๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ก๐จ๐.
โข ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ต๐ผ๐๐-๐ข๐๐: ๐๐๐๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ ๐จ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐ก ๐จ๐๐ค๐ช๐ฉ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฎ ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐๐จ ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐ค๐ง ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐จ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ค๐ง๐ฉ!
๐ฌ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐น๐ ๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐บ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ผ ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐ฝ๐ ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ผ๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐. ๐๐ณ ๐๐ผ๐'๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐, ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ท๐ผ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐!
๐ ๐ ๐ค๐๐ฃ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฌ: ๐๐๐ฉ๐ง๐๐ค๐ฃ.๐๐ค๐ข/๐๐ค๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ง