The Man the Vice Admiral Took Notice Of

Why use a butcher's knife to kill a chicken?

Leiyin thought so.

If he handled it himself, he could get rid of him quickly. Besides, he wanted to see how strong the Cat Tiger Beast was in this world, and it would also help improve its combat experience.

The Marines had already been scared half to death by the Cat Tiger Beast's sudden appearance. Even Lieutenant Commander Ryan temporarily halted his advance.

What the hell is this kid?

A Summoning Technique user?

While everyone was silently making wild guesses, the Cat Tiger Beast let out a roar and pounced at Ryan.

"Six Powers—Shave!"

Seeing that things were going badly, Ryan quickly dodged with [Shave], and the Cat Tiger Beast missed.

However, although Ryan had used [Shave], Leiyin, who was watching from the side, clearly saw the path of his escape.

That was because Leiyin had now activated the three-tomoe Sharingan.

The three-tomoe Sharingan?!

After returning from [Sacred Buddha Ridge], Leiyin had learned quite a few [Water Release] and [Earth Release] techniques from the Tanuki Sword Sage. His strength had increased by a great deal, and his chakra had risen considerably as well. After several more days of training, Leiyin discovered that he could now activate the three-tomoe Sharingan.

Ryan's [Shave] was not especially fast, which was why Leiyin had been able to capture every one of his movements.

"He's over there!"

Leiyin pointed with one hand. Without the slightest hesitation, the Cat Tiger Beast fired a B-rank [Water Dragon Bullet Technique] in the direction he indicated. A huge water dragon roared forth, blasting Ryan into view. When everyone looked over, Ryan had already been drenched like a drowned rat.

Seeing this, the Cat Tiger Beast pounced again. But to everyone's surprise, Leiyin's hands flashed through hand seals and he dispelled the Summoning Technique. The Cat Tiger Beast vanished on the spot and returned to [Sacred Buddha Ridge].

Leiyin slowly walked toward the drenched Ryan. Ryan awkwardly got to his feet and shook the water from his body.

Seeing Leiyin's terrifying strength, all the Marines fell silent. Who would still dare step forward?

Ryan looked at the kid before him, wariness showing in his eyes. "Just who are you, kid?"

"Someone from a different dimension than you," Leiyin said indifferently.

In truth, that statement was not wrong. Whether in terms of strength or origins, Leiyin was not a person from the world of the Pirate King.

Hearing this, Ryan's pride was greatly provoked. He snarled, "Don't get cocky, kid. I'll take you down myself!"

Leiyin merely smiled. "Save your strength. I have ten thousand ways to defeat you. If you want to try again, I'll be happy to oblige at any time, Lieutenant Commander."

Leiyin had not sounded as if he were joking in the slightest. Everyone had seen the strength he had displayed just now. This "magic," which resembled the power of a monster, was not something an ordinary person could deal with.

Did this look like a Private Third Class talking to a Marine lieutenant commander?

Ever since Ryan had joined the Marines, praise and honor had followed him everywhere. When had he ever suffered such humiliation?

And to make matters worse, his opponent was merely a lowly Private Third Class?!

Lieutenant Commander Ryan was beside himself with rage. "You—you! I'll have you expelled from the Marines!"

Leiyin still only smiled faintly. "Suit yourself."

And so, Ryan left with his soldiers in a fury, while Leiyin continued training in the open space as if nothing had happened.

Ryan had not been joking, either. As the lieutenant commander and de facto ruler of the local area, he did possess that kind of authority.

"Marine Private Third Class Leiyin has shown contempt for military law, disrespected his superior, and assaulted his comrades. By law, he is to be expelled from the Marine base immediately and never employed again!"

Those words were Ryan's formal statement and his punishment of Leiyin.

The nerve of this lowly Private Third Class! How dare he rebel against me? If I can't discipline even you, how am I supposed to be a lieutenant commander? If I can't beat you, I'll drive you out of the Marines and ruin your future! That was what Ryan thought.

It made sense, too. He was a dignified Marine lieutenant commander and the actual authority in the area. For him, something like this was of course—

No!

The officer who rejected his decision was a captain.

This captain was no ordinary captain. He was a captain of Navy Headquarters.

Not only was he a Headquarters captain, he had also been personally dispatched by Vice Admiral Garp.

At that point, everything became clear.

When Garp had left, he had not left Leiyin alone in Rogue Town. Instead, he had sent a captain to watch over Leiyin and prevent him from doing anything too outrageous. The local senior officers in Rogue Town knew nothing about this. They only knew that the captain had been sent by Headquarters for an inspection, making him equivalent to an "inspector."

Garp had not expected Leiyin to nearly turn Rogue Town upside down.

However, the captain did not tell Garp about any of this. He simply watched everything Leiyin did in silence, because he believed Leiyin had done nothing wrong.

When Garp left, he told the captain to keep a close eye on Leiyin. That man possessed unfathomable strength, and his potential was beyond imagination. Hearing such an order, the captain naturally did not dare slack off. Thus, he knew everything Leiyin had done here.

Inside the lieutenant commander's office at the Rogue Town Marine base.

Ryan spoke righteously to the captain. "Mr. T Bone, this man has no regard for military law and even assaulted his superior. Should someone like him really be allowed to remain in the Marines?"

That's right. This captain was T Bone, later known as the Ship Cutter. At the time, he was a Marine Headquarters captain under Garp. He had a long horse-like face and looked rather frightening. He was even missing a tooth, but he was an upright man full of justice, whose catchphrase was, "Do a hundred good deeds a day." In the original story, he was the Marine Headquarters colonel sent to escort Nico—Robin. However, he would not become a colonel until many years later.

T Bone tapped the desk with his index finger and said indifferently, "Do you think I don't know that?"

"Hm?"

"He beat Sergeant Beck because Beck was bullying civilians in the street, and he stood up for justice. He beat Captain Lake because Lake was his big brother. They tried to use their numbers to bully the weaker party, but they never expected their opponent to be that strong, and ended up getting beaten instead. As for why you were beaten, do I really need to explain it, Lieutenant Commander Ryan?"

Ryan was rendered speechless.

Who was Garp? He was a Marine Headquarters vice admiral with power comparable to an admiral, and Marshal Sengoku's old friend. As the saying went, even a minor official under the prime minister had great authority. T Bone was Garp's man. Forget a captain—even if T Bone had been a noncommissioned officer, Lieutenant Commander Ryan would still have to listen to what he said.

Ryan was no fool, either. The fact that someone from Navy Headquarters was protecting a Private Third Class clearly meant that something was going on.

Only then did Ryan suddenly understand. He asked T Bone timidly, "Mr. T Bone, just who is this kid?"

"He's the man Vice Admiral Garp of Navy Headquarters has taken an interest in..."