Way of Survival for Small Animals

After dealing with "Evil Dog" Joyce, the entire Giant Tooth Pirates had the honor of being "temporarily conscripted" by Wright, who even arranged free rooms for them in Impel Down—

What a joke. Someone so well-versed in the "Way of Survival" still managed to rack up a 38 million bounty. Anyone with half a brain could guess what this seemingly obedient squirrel had done—nothing more than bullying the weak and fearing the strong.

The warship Zephyr contacted to receive the "spoils" was led by Colonel Kanse from Marine Headquarters—apparently, he had been Wright's senior by two classes and was also one of Chief Instructor Zephyr's disciples. After learning Wright's location from Zephyr, this senior brother hurried over at once to help Wright handle the aftermath—

What a joke. How could Kanse, an elite colonel who had come from the Elite Squad himself, not know what kind of man Zephyr was? And now he was personally looking after a newly promoted major... Newly promoted, my ass. The current Training Camp had produced a monster, and every officer under Zephyr at Headquarters had heard of him. This guy had only been a second lieutenant before!

When had Teacher Zephyr ever personally looked after a major who had not even graduated from the Training Camp? Well, there had never been a major before who got promoted without graduating either... That was not important. What mattered was that this kid had been assigned an individual internship mission?

Kanse had been patrolling at sea recently and had not returned to Headquarters, so he did not know much about the current Training Camp's absurdly impressive field internship results. But before Zephyr returned to Headquarters, he had run into Kanse's warship. It had not even been a week...

In other words, within a single week, this newly promoted Major Wright had single-handedly taken down a pirate captain with a 75 million bounty, along with an entire pirate crew carrying a 38 million bounty?

Never mind the 38 million one. Kanse had long heard of "Evil Dog" Daniel Joyce's notorious name—they were old acquaintances. Joyce never ran when he saw him. On the contrary, whenever Kanse encountered Joyce, he had to constantly consider a strategic retreat!

I, Kanse, am a Headquarters colonel, and one of the better ones at that. Today, I met a Headquarters major who had only been promoted for a day, and I realized that if I fought him, I would be instantly defeated.

Heh heh. This guy was a rear admiral, right? Headquarters really knew how to play!

"Yo! Senior Brother Kanse! You finally made it. I was almost smoking from waiting!" Wright boarded the warship and saw Colonel Kanse before him, with his slicked-back hair, triangular sunglasses, and cigar. Having learned about him in advance from Zephyr, Wright greeted him familiarly—calling him senior brother felt better than calling him Colonel or Commander. Besides, he could not beat me.

"..." Kanse's mouth twitched. He took a deep drag on his cigar, smoke curling from his mouth as he laughed. "Heh heh heh, junior brother, your achievements really are... enough to make your senior brother ashamed of himself. As expected of an elite carefully cultivated by Teacher Zephyr."

This kid was not bad. He had given me a way out—calling him junior brother felt better than calling him Colonel or Commander. Besides, I could not beat him.

How bitter... Like swallowing a basin of lemons.

"Hahaha, Senior Brother, you flatter me. It is all thanks to Teacher Zephyr's excellent guidance..."

You could never go wrong praising Zephyr. They were fellow disciples, after all. Would that not bring them closer?

"Senior Brother Kanse, I'll leave these guys to you. This pirate crew... should I beat them up first? It would be troublesome if they refuse to cooperate, and with so many people, things could easily get chaotic..."

"We will absolutely cooperate with the Colonel, sir! So please, do not trouble yourself, sir!" The Giant Tooth Pirates, deeply versed in the "Way of Survival," shouted in unison, making Colonel Kanse's face twitch.

"Oh? Is that so? What a pity." Wright said disappointedly, "I had wanted to see how many of you would resist so I could kill them outright and save Impel Down some space."

The Giant Tooth Pirates could not help but look at their captain with admiration—Captain's "Way of Survival" really worked wonders. They had picked up another chance at life!

Meanwhile, "Evil Dog" Joyce, wearing Sea Stone shackles around his ankles, fainted on the spot—after being violently beaten by Wright, losing an arm, going hungry for a day, being fitted with Sea Stone shackles, and then hearing such soul-crushing words, it was better to pass out. Dreams had everything.

"Whew—"

Kanse let out a long breath. He had nearly choked to death on his cigar just now. "...Junior Brother Wright, there is no need for you to worry. With Sea Stone Handcuffs, those ability users will not be able to cause any trouble."

"Receiving a pirate crew will take some time. Junior brother, go get some rest first. I'll notify you once we return to Headquarters. Leave escorting them to Impel Down to your senior brother afterward—I'm familiar with this job!"

"Ahahaha, then thank you, Senior Brother... Before resting, how about we eat first? The pirates' cook was not very good. I have no idea how they all got so fat eating that food."

The Giant Tooth Pirates' cook was already in tears—thank you for your mercy in not killing me just because my food tastes bad!

Marine Headquarters, Marineford.

Having just parted ways with Colonel Kanse, the man hurried off to Impel Down, apparently not wanting to see the junior brothers who had come to welcome Wright—I'm a dignified Headquarters colonel. If I cannot beat you, do I not deserve some pride?

With the title of "the fastest-promoted major in Headquarters," Wright, who had only just turned eighteen, was already something of a celebrity at Headquarters. Yet not many people had actually met him in person. His sword, Ashes, was more famous than he was!

Seeing Smoker, Rosinante, and the other trainees of his class waiting to welcome him, Wright smiled. "Yo! Hello, comrades! You all look pretty good. Huh? You're all dressed so formally. Looks like Teacher Zephyr gave you a holiday? We're practically family, so no need to be so formal!"

"Hey! Wright, you bastard, you've already gotten so strong. You're making things difficult for us! How are we supposed to have fun together in the future?!"

Rosinante had not only learned how to smoke recently, but also how to talk slick? Would Admiral Sengoku not make things difficult for Smoker and these "elite trainees"?

"Teacher Zephyr is waiting for you. Stop dawdling and hurry up to get changed!"

Smoker was still as cold as ever. It seemed necessary to help him develop his fruit ability through actual combat. Exchange promoted progress, after all!

"Hahaha, Smoker, you'll get beaten up for acting like that, you know?" Seeing Wright raise an eyebrow, Rosinante hurriedly stepped in to save his little companion with negative emotional intelligence. "Wright, Teacher Zephyr knew you would arrive today, so he scheduled the Training Camp's graduation ceremony for today."

"Mm... There's only an hour left. Teacher Zephyr told us to make sure you hurried off to change into formal dress when we saw you. Fleet Admiral Kong, Admiral Sengoku, and the vice admirals will be arriving soon!"

"Fuck!"

Wright was no longer calm. Zephyr had not told him about this! Was this supposed to be a surprise? And these people were not dressed so formally to welcome him! Heh heh... You guys were awfully lively today!

"Farewell!"

Wright activated "Lightspeed" and vanished after a few flashes, leaving his companions to exchange bitter smiles. "Just looking at that speed, even if he doesn't fight back, we can't hit him. The gap..."