Marine Commodore and Kingdom General

A line of warships spread across the vast sea, their hulls sturdy and cannons formidable. After easily crushing a band of pirates blocking their route, the pirate ships watching from afar scattered and fled. Yet the warships had no intention of pursuing those small-time pirates, merely cruising in silence.

"I heard Gregory and the others actually asked you to put them through two days of special training!" Commodore Adkin said, facing the sea breeze with an exaggerated expression.

"They were worried their strength wouldn't keep up with the training camp's pace, so they overcame their fear and asked me for help."

"What a tragic story. Even Vice Admiral Kizaru would be scared by that kind of insane training of yours." Adkin shrugged in mock mourning. "Sometimes I really don't understand why you push yourself so hard. With your talent, you'll eventually grow into a monster like Vice Admiral Kizaru."

"Who knows? Maybe there's always been a mad monster living inside my soul."

"Haha, that joke isn't funny at all!"

The bustling coastal harbor was filled with large ships coming and going, workers busy everywhere. Yet the widest stretch of the dock had been left vacant, with a large number of kingdom guards enforcing a blockade. Many merchant ships passing through paused to watch, privately wondering what sort of Big Shot could make the kingdom's dignitaries put on such a grand display.

"Hina is so disappointed. Big Brother Longinus still hasn't arrived?" Dressed in neat, crisp clothes, Hina still could not hide the youthful vitality radiating from her. She was undoubtedly the most beautiful sight at the harbor. If not for concerns about her powerful, excessively daughter-obsessed father, there would probably have long been people unable to suppress their restless hearts and going up to strike up a conversation.

"You're already getting impatient? Didn't you just visit Little Brother Longinus at the Marines G2 Branch three months ago?" Louis teased.

If anyone else had received this kind of treatment, Louis would have flown into a rage long ago.

However, he had always been deeply grateful to Longinus for saving everyone aboard his ship two years earlier. Moreover, he had kept an eye on Longinus's growth over the past two years and thought highly of his character and personality. At the very least, he would not stop them from being friends.

After all, because of his heavy-handed interference, Hina still had very few friends. Whenever he thought of that, he felt deeply ashamed.

"Dad~" Hina drew out the word in dissatisfaction. "You've got some nerve saying that. You haven't taken me to the G2 Branch for three whole months, okay!"

"Hasn't Dad been busy? You have to understand, the war has been intense these past few months, with fighting everywhere..."

"I remember that two years ago, Dad, you said you were defeated by those pirates because you weren't good at naval warfare..."

"Cough, cough. That didn't count as a defeat. At most, it was a stalemate where I was at a slight disadvantage. If I'd just had another half day, I definitely could have turned the situation around," Louis said, his old face reddening as he swore confidently.

"Those pirates' weapons and supplies definitely couldn't compare to your fleet, Dad. Forget half a day—once they ran out of shells, the situation would naturally turn around. But the problem is, there's no way you could have held out until then," Hina muttered softly.

"The battlefield changes by the second. When it comes to war, no one can say for sure," Louis argued stubbornly.

"Fine, let's put naval warfare aside for now." Hina sighed like a little adult, as though disappointed by his failure to live up to expectations. "But last time, Big Brother Longinus took less than a month in total to put down the civil unrest in the Hughes Kingdom. Meanwhile, your war has lasted over three months, Dad, and in the end you still had to rely on the Marines to mediate a peace. So having no time is entirely your own problem!"

"Cough, cough. Th-this..." Louis felt his head grow enormous, as if cruel reality had shredded every last shred of his dignity. Then, catching a glimpse of a fleet in the corner of his eye, he immediately changed the subject. "Hey! Look, it's the Marines! That should be Little Brother Longinus and his warships!"

Sure enough, Hina stopped tearing at the scars on her father's dignity. Instead, she stood on tiptoe and looked into the distance. "I see them, I see them! Big Brother Longinus is standing right at the front of the deck!"

Whew! I didn't expect I'd have to rely on Little Brother Longinus to save me in the end! Louis felt an inexplicable sorrow in his heart, then hurriedly resumed the imposing bearing of a kingdom general and shouted, "All of you, perk up! Don't let the distinguished guests from the Marines laugh at us!"

The warships steadily drew closer. The towering, imposing Steel Beasts gleamed with a cold metallic light, making many dockworkers watching from afar drop the cargo in their hands in shock. For ordinary people who had never left the sea their entire lives, it was no less than a baptism of the soul.

Even Louis could not help sighing. If he had possessed warships like these two years ago, then even if his troops had been poor at naval warfare, they likely could have crushed their enemies through sheer strength.

On the flagship, the commodore draped in a Coat of Justice walked at the front, with Longinus following closely behind him with a gentle smile.

As Louis strode forward to greet them, his heart was filled with shock. It seemed he had still underestimated Longinus's standing within the Marines. Those Marines of higher rank had actually taken half a step back of their own accord to highlight Longinus's leading role in this operation. Not one of them showed the slightest dissatisfaction, proving that Longinus had won over more than half of the marine base in these two years.

"Commodore Adkin, please come with me. His Majesty the King has already prepared a banquet in the palace."

"You must be General Louis, Guardian Deity of the Hisca Kingdom. Sorry to trouble you."

"Haha! How could I dare call myself any Guardian Deity before Commodore Adkin? You flatter me far too much."

Longinus, following behind the two of them, was slightly speechless. One was a commodore and the other a general; anyone unaware of the situation might have thought General Louis was the one calling the shots.

In reality, however, a commodore under Marine Headquarters carried far more weight than a kingdom general on the Grand Line. Even the Kings of these nations would not show the slightest disrespect when dealing with a marine commodore.

Although, as member nations of the World Government, those Kings held higher official status, the peace of these waters depended on the Marines. If they offended this marine commodore, they might receive special treatment in the future.

To say nothing else, if word got out that marine oversight in these waters was lax, the hyenas of the sea would surely rush in without hesitation to tear off several large chunks of flesh.

Even lodging a complaint with the World Government would be of little use in such matters. The result of mutual buck-passing and wrangling would only be that the issue was dropped.

There had once been nations that completely failed to take the Marines seriously. Before long, those member nations became pirate paradises. Their domestic economies then withered under the pirates' influence, declining day by day. Soon, they were expelled from the ranks of member nations because they could no longer afford the Celestial Gold, and were ultimately destroyed by the increasingly rampant pirates.

That was precisely why Louis had not stopped Hina from wanting to join the Marines. In any world, having a mighty tree to lean on was an eternal truth.

Thanks to Innocent Little Fatty for the 1,000 reward, Fathead for the 500 reward, White Noodles for the 100 book coin reward, and Zero for the 100 book coin reward. PS: Before the capture of the Sun Pirates, the commander of the G2 Branch was still Kizaru during his time as a vice admiral.