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16- A Doctor on Board and a Troublesome Vice Admiral
—Now we have a good doctor on the ship, in case Smoker gets everyone poisoned again. He'll get along well with the guys in Marineford —said Kara with a smile.
After all, the doctors in Marineford didn't care about appearances, only medical talent.
The Marine ranks for doctors were treated differently since they were valuable assets in combat. Although they had ranks like all marines, they were also divided into students, interns, doctors, and masters. Chopper fit perfectly into the high-ranking doctor category. He was only a little short of becoming a master and teaching others… something that would surely make him happy once he found out. But it was better for him to realize it when he got to Marineford so it wouldn't go to his head.
After that, everyone quickly set sail for Alabasta. Although Kara didn't really care about going where Luffy was, she felt a little guilty for following him after stealing another crew member from him.
—Everyone, welcome Tony Tony Chopper! He is Sister K's student, so he is a good doctor. Applaud! —Clap, clap, clap!— Kara announced while pointing at Chopper and clapping with a smile.
—Welcome, Doctor Chopper —said Tashigi with a smile.
Meanwhile, Zoro simply nodded in greeting.
—Even if you call me a "good doctor," that won't make me happy, you bastard —said Chopper, twisting in a strange way.
—By the way, he's a reindeer who ate the Human-Human Fruit —Kara added, making sure no one said anything that might offend him.
—Ah, so it's because of a Devil Fruit… then it's normal —the soldiers said naturally. After all, Smoker, a man made of smoke, was among them, and it wasn't uncommon for marines with Devil Fruits to pass through Loguetown from time to time.
—Then, let's go bother Crocodile! —said Kara with a grin.
Smoker ran a hand over his face in frustration, realizing they were about to enter Crocodile's territory with the woman known for fighting Warlords whenever she got bored.
—So, Kara isn't the captain of this ship? —Chopper asked, confused, as he spoke with Tashigi, who quickly became fond of the little reindeer.
—No. Although Kara is the highest-ranking officer, this ship belongs to Smoker —Tashigi replied—. Actually, Vice Admiral Kara should have her own warship, even bigger than this one —she added, thinking about it carefully.
—My warship? Sengoku took it away when I went out to hunt Sea Kings and, by accident, destroyed Aokiji's warship —Kara said casually upon hearing the conversation.
—Aokiji? You mean Admiral Aokiji? —Tashigi asked in surprise.
—Yeah —Kara replied, laughing—. Hahaha, now that guy has to travel by bicycle across the sea.
She laughed even more as she remembered how she had "accidentally" sunk an expensive warship belonging to an admiral.
—That's what he gets for helping the old man catch me —she added with a vengeful smile.
After all, when she was a child, before joining the Marines, Kara had managed to escape all the way to the West Blue with the help of a giant bird she befriended.
At that time, Vice Admiral Kuzan had a mission nearby and had apparently heard about Kara from Garp. So, he captured her and called Garp to come pick her up… which resulted in Kara getting a good beating from her grandfather.
That resentment lasted for years, and as soon as Kara had enough rank and strength to mess with Kuzan, she did so with full rights, destroying several of his warships in revenge.
Once, after helping the base's doctors, she got sick and sneezed on Aokiji's ship… which ended up reduced to rubble.
Obviously, after the fourth warship was "accidentally" destroyed, Kuzan refused to be assigned another one, and Sengoku decided to take Kara's ship away so things would be even.
—Promoting you to vice admiral was probably the Marines' biggest mistake —Smoker muttered, frustrated, realizing the crazy things this woman started doing once she had enough rank to only take orders from Sengoku and the admirals.
Even among the three admirals, they held back from giving her missions or orders, fearing she would end up doing something unpredictable.
The only one who still assigned her search and rescue missions was Aokiji, because whenever it came to saving innocents, Kara got completely serious.
With Akainu, however, things remained tense after their fight. Even if they were in the same room, the pressure they generated made it seem like they would start fighting at any moment.
As for Kizaru, she got along with him quite well… or rather, Kara avoided being near him because he was even lazier than she was and left all the work to others. More than once, Kara had to do Kizaru's work just because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
—So, we're not going to sail? —Chopper asked, returning to the topic of warships.
—Technically, no. I'm stationed at Marineford, though I go out from time to time when a base needs support… or when they want me to rescue a vice admiral under attack. But those guys are quite strong, so if I go out, it's to face powerful pirates, on the level of the Warlords or maybe even the Emperors —Kara explained calmly.
Chopper, who had already heard about the Warlords, immediately got scared.
—So every time we go out, we'll have to fight super powerful pirates? That's terrifying! —he exclaimed, hugging Zoro's leg.
—Don't worry. I've already faced several of those guys. If I can't defeat them, I just have to escape —Kara responded confidently.
—But Miss Kara, isn't Marineford restricted to officers only? Aren't Zoro and Chopper just apprentices? —Tashigi asked curiously.
—There's no such rule —Kara replied indifferently—. It's just that the place is full of strong people, so ranks go up easily. They meet the minimum entry level.
Zoro frowned. Though it bothered him to be told he had the "minimum level," he was also interested in knowing that there would be strong people to practice with.
—Oh, but doctors rise in rank based on their medical skills —Kara added as she remembered something—. So it's likely that Chopper will outrank you when we get to Marineford —she said, giving Zoro a teasing look.
—Tsk. I don't care about ranks; I just want to fight the strongest in the Marines —Zoro said, frowning.
—You need a higher rank for that. Otherwise, it would be disrespectful —Smoker interrupted—. Although I'm not the best example, it's not good to get on the bad side of your superiors —he added while lighting another cigar.
—We just need to catch a couple of pests with bounties over 50,000,000, and you can rise in rank quickly… If you want, I can help you do it faster —Kara said while pulling out a bag of chips.
—I don't need your help. I can take on any pirate that comes my way —Zoro replied with excitement.
—Make sure to record every defeat, so we have proof of your heroic deeds —Kara said mockingly as she stuffed her mouth with junk food.
—Why do we have to record it? —Chopper asked, confused.
—Because without witnesses or proof, the credit for the victories goes straight to their commanding officer —Kara explained casually—. Meaning, me —she added, pointing at herself.
—If you can single-handedly defeat a pirate with a 100,000,000 bounty, you can be promoted from private to captain in one go. That's the current record for fastest promotion —Kara said while continuing to eat.
—Is that even possible? That's like nine ranks up… —Tashigi said, surprised.
—Well, I did it in half a month. I'm not like lazy Smoker, who took years —she said mockingly, while Smoker growled in annoyance. After all, in the East Blue, where he was stationed, there were hardly any strong pirates.
—Well, seriously speaking, the captain rank is where the strongest are divided. Beyond that, rising in rank becomes nearly impossible. You have to hunt pirates like crazy to prove your skills —Kara explained with a serious look—. For now, your strength is close to that of an average captain. But if you fought Smoker, you'd lose, so don't get overconfident.
—Captain in a month, huh… I'll give it a shot —Zoro said confidently.
—Hey, hey. I could have done it much sooner, but I had to track down that slippery pirate and take him down along with his entire crew —Kara complained.
But Zoro was no longer listening. He simply went to grab his weights to continue training.
Tashigi, though she was a master chief petty officer, wasn't going to let Zoro surpass her, not when she had been in the Marines much longer than him.
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