Before long, all the navy personnel, except for Ryu, had gathered at the center of the town. The bodies of the villagers lay stacked there, and the soldiers worked silently to move and properly lay them out.
"Rear Admiral Hina!, that's enough!" Hina's aide said heavily, looking at the row of covered corpses.
"Wait!" Just as Hina was about to give the order, Ryu approached, dragging Lone Wolf Jax along.
"Ryu, what are you doing? Jax is the pirate we were ordered to bring back!" Hina's aide exclaimed, sensing something ominous as Ryu brought Jax forward.
Ryu glanced at the silent Hina , smiled, and ignored the aide, kicking Jax down to the ground. "Demon, your crimes cannot be washed away with death. For the lives of so many innocent people, I will take your head as a tribute!"
"Hahaha, they were just some lowly peasants! They should feel honored to contribute to my bounty!" Jax lay on the ground, laughing maniacally.
"Stubborn fool, repent in hell!" With that, Ryu struck down Jax, the captain of the Wolf Pack Pirates.
"Boss Ye!" After Ryu killed Jax, the soldiers looked at him with mixed expressions of admiration and concern.
"Since it's done, let's not linger on it. You're not Smoker!" Hina said, taking a puff of her cigarette, smiling.
"But, Rear Admiral! The higher-ups wanted all members of the Wolf Pack Pirates brought back for trial!" the aide replied, looking troubled.
"Lone Wolf Jax resisted fiercely and was killed by soldier Ryu during the battle. That will suffice! Now, let's bury the villagers on the mountain and leave!" Hina waved her hand, making a final decision.
Once everything was finished, as the warship left the island, it bombarded the entire town. The once peaceful and tranquil town was reduced to ruins; this was the World Government's order—destruction was the best way to cover up all evidence.
Days later, Hina returned to Marine Headquarters, and compared to the excited Ryu when they left, he was now more silent.
During the return trip, Ryu didn't challenge the officers; instead, under the pretense of preventing the pirates from escaping, he brutally beat the captured pirates in the prison, day after day, leaving the navy officers worried that Ryu might accidentally kill one.
It wasn't that they cared about the pirates' well-being; they were more afraid Ryu would face punishment. After this time at sea, everyone had gotten along well with him; he was strong yet down-to-earth, making the soldiers enjoy chatting with him, even the officers.
Additionally, when Ryu killed Jax, the system surprisingly awarded him 5,500 diamonds. Ryu was puzzled—previously, he had only received experience for defeating Jax, so why did he receive diamonds after killing him? This had never happened before.
But these thoughts were secondary to Ryu because, combined with the 1,700 diamonds from the Wolf Pack's vice-captain, he had gained a total of 7,200 diamonds from this voyage—a huge profit! With his previous 2,700 diamonds, he had enough for a ten-consecutive draw in the shop.
So on the first day of their return, Ryu secretly used the shop's ten-consecutive draw.
"Congratulations, host, you have obtained one Life Potion."
"Congratulations, host, you have obtained the basic movement technique manual 'Water Walking.'"
"Congratulations, host, you have obtained the basic movement technique manual 'Grass Skimming.'"
"Congratulations, host, you have obtained a white equipment long spear."
"Congratulations, host, you have obtained a large dish of chicken stew."
"Congratulations, host, you have obtained the basic technique manual 'Arhat Fist.'"
"Congratulations, host, you have obtained a set of white equipment cloth armor."
"Congratulations, host, you have obtained the advanced technique manual 'Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms.'"
"Congratulations, host, you have obtained a bag of rice."
"Congratulations, host, you have obtained a Qi Recovery Pill."
As the ten draws concluded, Ryu's attention was fully on the golden advanced technique manual 'Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms.' While he had suspected something good might come from the draw, his heart still raced when it actually appeared.
"Phew~ Calm down, calm down! This world is so beautiful, yet I'm so irritable; that's not good. Calm my ass!" Ryu gave up self-hypnosis and directly used the impressive-looking manual for the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms.
"Host does not meet the usage requirements; usage failed!"
The system's cold voice finally helped Ryu regain some composure.
Advanced Technique Manual: Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms: Originally named "Eighteen Dragon Palms," it was created by Xiao Feng, who simplified the essence of his sworn brother Xu Zhu's Tienshan Liuyang Palm technique into this powerful palm technique, passed down through the Beggar's Sect. Usage requirements: Strength 300, Internal Energy 100.
After reading the description and checking his attributes, Ryu realized he had just barely broken through 100 in both strength and energy, far from the 300 points needed for the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms.
"Damn it!" Ryu was frustrated. He finally got his hands on an advanced technique but couldn't learn it due to the high strength requirement, which he knew he wouldn't meet anytime soon.
At this point, he took time to look at the other items he obtained from the ten draws: two basic movement technique manuals and one basic technique manual, which were decent gains.
As for the Life Potion and Qi Recovery Pill, they acted as health and energy restoratives in-game but had miraculous effects for treating injuries and replenishing internal energy in reality.
The remaining food and equipment didn't warrant much comment; the food was acceptable for restoring some stamina in emergencies, while the white equipment was practically worthless to Ryu at this stage.
After organizing his gains, he decided to learn the three basic manuals immediately. During the rest of the voyage, aside from practicing the new skills, he took out his frustrations on the captured pirates.
"Rear Admiral Hina , thank you for your care during this time; I'll take my leave now!" Upon returning to Marine Headquarters, Ryu sought out Hina . Although things had been unpleasant, he understood that it wasn't entirely her fault.
Hina merely nodded lightly and walked away without saying a word.
"Ryu, I heard you accomplished quite a bit on this voyage! Your promotion notice may come down in a few days!" After returning, Ryu first reported to his superior, Commodore Brannew, who seemed already aware of his achievements.
"Thank you, sir. Do I still need to participate in training today?" Ryu smiled, not taking it to heart.
"No need. Since you participated in an ocean mission, you can rest for three days in the dormitory. That's the standard procedure. You can resume training after three days!" Brannew was always buried in his paperwork, and Ryu had never seen him absent during working hours.
Three days later, when Ryu began training again, Major Brannew brought him a promotion order, elevating him to Corporal (Private First Class) in a single leap, officially making him a petty officer. He was assigned a small single room in the barracks. (TL : Whats corporal rank in one piece?)
"Your promotion to Corporal was greatly aided by Major Hina . We all know you're strong, but the marine values contributions, so take it slow. I believe you'll have no problem becoming an officer in the future!" Brannew smiled as he handed Ryu his new appointment.
"Thank you, sir!" Ryu saluted and left to pick up his new uniform from the supply department.
Aside from his promotion, he had also earned significant military merit, which could be exchanged for good items at the supply department, including Sea-Prism Stone and Devil Fruits. However, given his current merit, he could probably only exchange for slightly better weapons.
In the following days, aside from training, Ryu began actively challenging naval officers. When not on ocean missions, he was either training or challenging others, slowly gaining a reputation at MarineHeadquarters.
"Kid, looks like you're doing well at Marine Headquarters!" One morning, while practicing his Purple Mist Divine Art, Ryu was surprised by an unexpected visitor.
"Old Garp? What are you doing here?" Ryu felt indifferent towards Garp's earlier neglect after bringing him to the marine headquarters; he knew he had to rely on himself.
"I came to see if your skills have improved!" Garp, who had been smiling, suddenly launched an attack at Ryu.
"Damn it!" Ryu quickly used the Grass Skimming technique, barely dodging Garp's strike with his internal energy.
"Oh~ Not bad, kid! Looks like I need to take this seriously!" Garp, surprised that Ryu had evaded him, chuckled and removed his justice cloak.
Ten minutes later, Garp left, laughing heartily.
"What the hell? That old man just came to beat me up?" Ryu lay on the ground, unable to move, completely baffled.
From that day on, Garp would occasionally come to find Ryu. At first, it was merely one-sided sparring, but gradually he began to teach Ryu combat techniques during their sparring sessions. Ryu eventually realized that Garp was genuinely trying to mentor him.
Thus, while learning from Garp, Ryu also brought up questions he had about his training. Eventually, Garp even crafted a training plan for him, leading to rapid improvement in Ryu's strength.
..............
Started editing the chapters now for an easier read^^
FREE 2 CHAPTERS IN >>...patreon.com/CuteSelfieCat