January 12
Jon didn't have to wait long. Three days later, he received the official commendation from Marine Headquarters—his rank was successfully promoted by one grade, making him a Marine Lieutenant.
A lieutenant at not even 19 years old—while not entirely unheard of, it was still a rare achievement.
However, Jon didn't feel particularly excited about the promotion. After all, he hadn't even reached a major rank yet—there wasn't much to celebrate.
What Jon was really anticipating was when he would finally get to set sail again. He had been waiting for Tsuru to summon him for the next mission.
"Another failure?"
Jon looked at the lifeless flower in front of him with a hint of regret.
He had tried countless times to restore life to a dead plant, but nothing had worked.
He used to believe that once his abilities were developed enough, he might be able to make "dead wood bloom again" and reverse the cycle of life and death for plants.
But now it seemed that such a thing was nearly impossible. Once a plant lost its life force, he couldn't revive it—nor could he control it or use it in battle.
In short, he could only manipulate living plants.
Though disappointed, Jon wasn't discouraged. His Devil Fruit ability was already powerful. No Devil Fruit ability was truly "perfect"—every power had its flaws. Not being able to control dead plants was likely the limitation of his fruit.
But perhaps calling it a "flaw" wasn't entirely accurate. It was more that his expectations were too high, so the inability to achieve perfection felt like a disappointment.
Jon had once imagined that if he could control any wood, including processed timber, few could match him in naval combat.
Most ships were made of wood. If he could control the wood of a ship, he could dismantle it in an instant.
But now, that dream seemed unreachable, since the wood used for ships was lifeless. He couldn't manipulate dead wood.
Jon could freely control the wood he created himself but couldn't manipulate pre-existing, lifeless wood.
Another limitation was that Jon couldn't create plants he had never encountered before, even if he knew about them from books.
He had read many books on botany and learned about countless plants in this world.
But unless he physically interacted with a specific type of plant, he couldn't recreate it with his power.
That was why Jon had asked Tsuru to help him collect rare plant seeds—so he could cultivate them, experience them firsthand, and expand the range of plants he could produce.
The more types of seeds he acquired, the stronger his abilities would become.
Of course, different plants consumed different amounts of energy.
Common plants were easy to create and consumed minimal stamina.
Powerful and rare plants required much more stamina to produce.
For example, if Jon were to control a tree that could grow to over 100 meters tall, it would take an enormous amount of his stamina.
If he tried to grow such a tree from a seed, he would likely have to exhaust all his strength and might still not be able to grow it to its full size.
This was why Jon was desperate to get as many types of plant seeds as possible to expand his "plant library" and enhance his arsenal.
In this world, there were countless types of plants.
Jon recalled a scene from the story where Usopp had been sent to the "plant island" after being hit by Bartholomew Kuma. That island was filled with an incredible variety of plants, many of which were extremely powerful.
However, Jon only vaguely remembered that part of the anime. He hadn't paid close attention at the time, so he couldn't recall the name of the island.
And since that island was dangerous, Jon decided to wait until he became stronger before seeking it out.
A few days later...
"Jon."
One morning, Gion arrived at Jon's small courtyard after a long absence.
"Gion? What brings you here?"
Jon had spent most of his time recently researching his Devil Fruit abilities. He had taken time off from his usual training with Tsuru's team, so he hadn't seen much of the female marines. Gion, being especially busy, hadn't appeared even once.
"The Vice Admiral is looking for you."
Gion answered his question and then looked at him in surprise.
"Huh, Jon... have you gotten taller?"
Jon blinked. "Have I? I hadn't noticed. But is that strange? I'm not even 19 yet—of course, I'm still growing."
Jon had always been a bit frustrated about his height. His father had been over two meters tall, yet Jon was only about 1.8 meters at 17 years old. He had thought he'd stop growing there—but thankfully, that hadn't been the case.
Since arriving at Marine Headquarters, he had kept growing. In the past year and a half, he had grown from 1.8 meters to nearly 2.1 meters.
At this rate, he figured he could grow another few dozen centimeters.
If so, he could finally relax. His goal was to become an admiral, and it would have been awkward if he were much shorter than the other admirals despite having the strength to match them.
Now it seemed that this worry was unfounded—men could continue growing until their early 20s.
"By the way, Gion, is the Vice Admiral calling me for a mission?" Jon asked cautiously.
Gion shook her head. "I don't know. You'll have to ask her yourself. Let's go—she's waiting."
Jon didn't waste any time and immediately followed Gion to Tsuru's office.
Knock, knock.
"Come in."
Hearing the voice from inside, Jon opened the door.
When he entered, he was surprised to see someone else besides Tsuru.
"Jon, kid! Surprised to see me? Bet you are—bet you're excited! Wahaha!"
The loud, boisterous laughter came from none other than Vice Admiral Garp, who looked as smug as ever.
Jon's face twitched. Surprised? More like annoyed!
"Vice Admiral Garp."
"Huh? You used to call me Uncle Garp. Why the formal tone now?" Garp asked with a puzzled expression.
Jon didn't even bother responding. Do you even realize how ridiculous you are? Where's your dignity as an elder?
"Vice Admiral, you called for me?" Jon turned toward Tsuru.
Tsuru nodded. "Yes, but wait a moment."
She then looked at Garp.
"Garp, didn't you say you're short on people?"
"Short on people? When did I say that? I didn't—" Garp looked confused.
Tsuru's eyes narrowed as she snapped,
"I said you said it—so you said it."
Garp flinched and shrank back. For all his bravado, he didn't dare act up in front of Tsuru.
"Yes, yes, yes—I said it. Just now, in fact!"
Tsuru finally looked satisfied and turned to Jon.
"You heard him. Garp is short on people. Your next assignment is simple—you'll join his crew and assist in hunting pirates."
"Yes, Vice Admiral!"
Jon's heart soared with joy.
This was the opportunity he had been waiting for. Joining Garp on a mission was perfect for him.
As one of the strongest Marines, Garp only set out to hunt notorious pirates. Jon's abilities might not yet match those of great pirates, but with Garp, he would undoubtedly encounter powerful opponents.
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