Master for Bullet

"Y-you! Who the hell are you?!" Mantoudiya stared in terror at the naval fortress drawing closer in the distance.

He was a sorry, ridiculous sight, his whole body bound tightly above the little boat by a thick, long vine that spiraled upward.

He had tried to turn invisible and ambush the man, but who could have known that this incredibly tough giant vine would suddenly grow out of the deck?

Yes, incredibly tough. He had slashed at it countless times with his sharp, saw-edged forelimbs, trying to break free.

But all he could do was nick its green outer layer, which then healed again at a despair-inducing speed.

"I asked you who you were first," Vidal said, standing on the deck without looking back. "But it doesn't matter. Someone at the base will recognize you."

It didn't take much thought to guess that a guy who attacked a man to kill him and steal his boat had something to do with pirates.

"No! No!!" Mantoudiya panicked and struggled even harder. He still had a dream to fulfill; he couldn't be caught like this!

He probably wouldn't be killed, but he had heard that being locked up in the legendary Impel Down was worse than death.

More importantly, he was used to his freedom. He didn't want to be locked in prison until he died.

Unfortunately, all his struggling, resistance, curses, and pleas were completely useless. Before long, the boat passed through the wide-open iron gates and entered the fortress.

"Lord Vidal!"

"Lord Vidal!"

Vidal had just stepped off the boat when he noticed something was wrong. Why were these marines looking at him so fervently?

"Bring a pair of Seastone Handcuffs and cuff him. He's probably a pirate, so find out who he is," he said to the marines beside him, pointing at the guy on the vine.

"Yes, sir!"

Vidal waited at the harbor for a while. Only after the marines had successfully cuffed Mantoudiya did he let the vine wither away.

With marines of all ranks watching and saluting him in an unusual manner along the way, he finally returned home, utterly bewildered.

As soon as he entered the living room, he saw his family gathered around the coffee table, laughing and chatting. Sure enough, little Enel was sitting in Bullet's lap, eating an apple the latter had peeled for him.

"Vidal!" Mrs. Enid's smile grew even brighter when she saw her son.

"Hey, son." Vice Admiral Cornell turned around with a smile. "Well, did you win or lose your agreed match with Issho?"

Bullet had briefly told him about it earlier, so he was curious about the outcome too, though he didn't think Vidal would lose a fight against someone his own age!

Bullet looked straight over as well, his hand stopping in the middle of peeling the apple.

"I won!"

Vidal sat down beside Bullet and promptly snatched Enel into his own lap, giving them a straightforward answer.

Issho was strong, but he was no match for Vidal yet. In particular, after they had fought until the sun came up the next morning, Vidal declared that he could go another day!

But Issho couldn't.

"Hahahaha, I knew it!" Vice Admiral Cornell laughed happily, proud once again of how outstanding Vidal was.

Even that Issho was no match for this man? Bullet marveled inwardly as he resigned himself to Vidal ruffling his hair.

"Oh, right. Before you came back, Bullet and the others did something remarkable too. Come on, tell Vidal about it!" Vice Admiral Cornell said with a smile, picking up his coffee from the table.

With no choice, Bullet calmly recounted what the Konoha Squad had accomplished that day, and Vidal finally understood what was going on.

"So that's what happened. No wonder those marines at the base were looking at me like that."

Word must have gotten out that a few marines from the Konoha Squad had personally taken down a pirate with a bounty of ten million.

Every soldier wanted to grow stronger, then use that greater strength to earn more military merit and rise to a higher rank.

"So I've decided to make the Three-Three System Tactics an official training program at Navarone Fortress. Oh, and your Konoha Style Body Technique too."

Vice Admiral Cornell thought the most valuable part of the Konoha Style was Shadow of the Dancing Leaf, the move that increased speed.

Though its effect was far inferior to Soru, it was enough for most privates first class and junior officers.

Moreover, it came from the same lineage as Soru. If they continued to grow stronger, they would also be able to get started on mastering Soru more easily than others.

After talking with Bullet just now, however, he also understood that the Konoha Squad's quick mastery of the Three-Three System Tactics had much to do with their being handpicked veteran elites.

Most ordinary marines would need at least five or six months to get a basic grasp of the fixed routines. Responding flexibly in actual combat would be even harder.

But that was all right. At most, it would take only a year, which was hardly a problem for the Marines.

Seeing that they had finished discussing business, Mrs. Enid deliberately coughed twice at her husband. Vidal looked over in puzzlement.

Vice Admiral Cornell pressed his lips together, then spoke. "Well, we don't think it's suitable to send little Enel to Marineford."

"Exactly. He's only six, and he hasn't even been with our family for half a year," Mrs. Enid said, bringing the matter out into the open.

"Besides, once you get there, you'll be busy at the special training camp, and Bullet will be attending the naval academy. Who will take care of Enel?"

Vice Admiral Cornell cut in. "Actually, I think it would be better if Bullet didn't go either. We can teach him here whatever he can learn at headquarters. He can report there once he's grown up."

"Besides, would a vice admiral at headquarters personally take him under his wing?"

Vidal hesitated. He looked down at little Enel in his arms. He really was too young.

And just as his mother had said, the child had only been with the family for a few months. Sending him away to board in Marineford like this would be rather heartless.

On top of that, Vidal had some new ideas about Enel's future, and those ideas conflicted somewhat with being a marine.

"All right, then. Enel can stay, but Bullet has to come to headquarters with me," Vidal said.

The boy in his arms was a little unhappy to hear that. He really wanted to go with his older brother, but Mrs. Enid and Vice Admiral Cornell treated him very well too.

And although he was young, he was quite smart. He understood that even if he went with Bullet, they would hardly have much time together.

So he didn't make a fuss and simply listened in silence.

"Why?" Cornell couldn't understand what his son was thinking.

"I'm planning to find him a teacher there, someone who can guide him for half his life!" Vidal said firmly to his father, then looked at the older boy beside him.

"You said before that you'd definitely surpass me and defeat me someday, right?"

"That's right!" Bullet met Vidal's gaze without backing down. Vidal smiled. "Then let's make a deal."

"As long as you can defeat the master I find for you, I'll accept your challenge!" After saying that, Vidal was actually filled with mischievous delight.

Who knew when the kid would be able to beat that big shot? As for whether the man would accept him, that probably wouldn't be a problem.

After all, his eldest son was a super genius in body techniques, however one looked at it!

A reader once said that Bullet was the kind of person you had to stay stronger than at all times, and I completely agree.

I'm sure many readers who've finished this chapter have already guessed who Vidal plans to find as his master. So what do you think the chances are that he can beat his master and then beat Vidal?

Please send me some recommendation votes! As for a site recommendation, I've given up thinking about it for now. There's been no news at all, but I believe there'll be at least one before the book goes premium.

Also, a very, very, very big thank-you to Taihao Xishi for the hundred-point tip! Although a hundred points isn't much, it means a lot to me. It was the first tip I've received on Qidian, and I even took a screenshot to remember it!

You might not know this, but when I suddenly saw your tip yesterday, I was moved. That feeling greatly eased my anxiety about all sorts of things. Thank you, thank you!