Sea Circle Calendar: 1520
North Blue, G-64 Marine Branch
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At the age of sixty, Bai Ye made his decision to awaken the cheat ability he had acquired.
In an instant, an incomparably powerful force surged into Bai Ye's body, flowing through his limbs and bones!
His vision became sharper.
His hearing grew more sensitive.
Under the spotless white shirt, his muscles began to bulge.
At the same time, the aura exuding from Bai Ye's aged body changed entirely.
If, in the eyes of others, Bai Ye had previously been a veteran Marine on the verge of retirement, then now he appeared as a lion radiating sheer dominance.
Even though he was aged, his presence was suffocating and chilling.
The most terrifying part:
The lion had opened its eyes!
[Ding! The host has unlocked 60% progress of the template 'Yamamoto Genryūsai'...]
[Zanpakutō: Ryūjin Jakka, unlocked and summonable]
[Shinigami ability: Kidō, unlocked]
[Physical Technique: Ikkotsu (One Bone), unlocked]
"60% progress...!"
At that moment, Bai Ye clenched his fist tightly, veins bulging and pulsing with power.
Feeling the unparalleled strength coursing through his once-aged body, he turned to gaze at the town he had lived in for over thirty years—a town that had been mercilessly reduced to ashes by the World Government's artillery in mere moments.
"...Enough is enough."
Bai Ye's eyes grew colder.
As he stood there, the voice of Marine Vice Admiral Flying Squirrel crackled once more from the Den Den Mushi beside him.
This time, the tone was sharper, laced with a menacing threat.
"Colonel Bai Ye of the G-64 branch! Think carefully about your actions! Even if you're about to retire, the Marine will not hesitate to deal with a defiant veteran!"
"Ah."
Hearing this, Bai Ye's expression darkened, his cold eyes flashing with disdain.
"Defiant veteran? At sixty years old?" he sneered.
He thought about the fate of former Admiral Zephyr.
If the World Government's tyranny wasn't appalling enough, the corruption at the upper echelons of the Marine Headquarters made it no better.
"Go ahead. Try me," Bai Ye said coldly, picking up the Den Den Mushi without hesitation.
For someone with nothing left to lose, fear was no longer an obstacle.
Bai Ye, now retired, had nothing holding him back.
The destruction of his home had removed any lingering attachments.
"You—!"
The Flying Squirrel's voice barely escaped the Den Den Mushi before Bai Ye smashed it into the ground, shattering it into pieces.
At the Same Time, Naval Headquarters
"You bastard! How dare you, as a Marine, ignore direct orders from headquarters!"
Flying Squirrel stood abruptly, veins bulging on his forehead as he glared at the now-disconnected Den Den Mushi in his hand.
As a staunch hawk within the Marine, Flying Squirrel had always supported the World Government's agenda.
Even the brutal methods employed in North Blue to intimidate the local kingdoms had his approval.
In his eyes, sacrifices were necessary to achieve greater goals—even if it meant innocent civilians had to die.
But this?
For a Marine branch leader to openly defy headquarters in public?
For a veteran to go against orders, undermining the Marine's chain of command?
This was intolerable.
And it made Flying Squirrel seethe with rage.
"Bai Ye…" he hissed, clenching his fist.
A Marine veteran of forty years, nearing retirement, should have understood the importance of obeying orders.
Yet, Bai Ye had the audacity to question the World Government's actions and defy orders.
This insubordination made Flying Squirrel burn with anger, his disdain for the old Marine intensifying.
Even so, he didn't take Bai Ye's rebellion seriously.
In his mind, the Marines of the G-64 branch in North Blue would never dare intervene against the World Government.
After all, the World Government was a behemoth that had ruled the world for 800 years.
As for Bai Ye?
Flying Squirrel's lips curled into a sneer of contempt.
A sixty-year-old veteran trying to challenge the World Government?
Ridiculous.
Even the so-called "Four Emperors" of the sea in the New World—figures like Whitebeard—wouldn't dare make such a futile attempt.
Flying Squirrel's confidence remained unshaken.
He saw no reason to panic or concern himself with the actions of a single retired Marine.