Trying to Poach My Men? Take My Punch First

With Kuzan and Smoker arriving, Wright's life finally became a little less boring—"borrowing troops" sounded simple enough, but actually carrying it out was far from easy.

A Marine Headquarters warship needed roughly a thousand personnel, including a full crew to operate the ship, scouts, intelligence officers, logistical and supply staff, combat personnel, and at least a field officer of colonel rank to command them.

Kuzan would provide the commanding officer, but the warship and all its other crew members had to be "borrowed" from Garp. As a result, personnel transfers at the branch had been frequent lately—Kuzan was a junior Marine Garp greatly admired, and he was powerful, but far too lazy... So Garp also needed to pick Marines with sharper wits—after all, they could not casually disturb Vice Admiral Kuzan's sleep...

Well, Old Man Garp would never have thought that far ahead. Wright had specifically instructed Bogart, who was in charge of selecting personnel. This time, the poker-faced man had gained a new appreciation for Wright—this lazy bastard actually understood this stuff?

And while Garp had Kuzan to deal with, Wright assigned himself a task during this period—training... ahem, training Smoker.

"Say, Smoker, you've been following Vice Admiral Kuzan lately. He's our senior brother too." Holding his sword, Wright looked at Smoker, who lay sprawled on the ground with dark lines across his face. "Senior Brother Kuzan is an expert at the 'shaping' style of combat. Didn't you ask him for any pointers?"

Earlier, Smoker had suggested sparring with Wright to see how much he had improved lately. Wright had happily agreed—and then thoroughly taught him a lesson.

Smoker's progress during this period had been tremendous—the Smoke-Smoke Fruit had been developed according to the concept of "condensation," with some initial success. He could condense a smoke-hardening layer similar to Armament Haki. Its hardness was astonishing, while it still retained Logia traits—even if it was shattered, it would not harm his actual body. Smoker had already abandoned his jitte, focusing instead on boxing and other martial arts to form his own versatile combat style.

"You freak, Wright!" Smoker had confidently wanted to gauge Wright's true strength, only for that bastard not to even draw his sword. One sweeping kick had sent him flying and left him unable to get up—wasn't this guy a swordsman?! Why were his kicks so fierce? Did he train Tempest Kick as swordsmanship?!

"..." After casting a Holy Light Spell on Smoker to help him back up, Wright also realized the results of Old Man Garp's special training over this period. As his basic fitness, strength, and defense had improved, his swordsmanship might not have advanced much, but his speed and destructive power had improved significantly.

He had never noticed when dealing with pirates, since he simply captured them outright. Only now, when facing an equally greatly improved Smoker, did he realize it—building a solid foundation truly was an important factor in determining the upper limit of one's combat power.

Smoker got up and lit a cigar—the previous one had been kicked out of his mouth by Wright's sweep. Taking a deep drag, he turned to Wright. "Of course I asked about 'shaping.' Otherwise, how could I have grasped the essentials so quickly?"

"Mr. Kuzan praised the direction of my ability development—of course, I told him it was under your guidance." Ignoring Wright's darkened expression, Smoker was too embarrassed to say thank you, but he could recommend him to higher-ups. "But Mr. Kuzan also said that the principle behind my 'condensation' ability differs from his. I can only use his experience for reference, not copy it. Still, if I complete its development, my ability will be far more flexible than his."

Condensing smoke was basically like 3D printing. It was more flexible than simply creating ice, but it also lacked the terrifying low-temperature boost of the Ice-Ice Fruit. Each had its own advantages and drawbacks—it all depended on how far the user developed the ability.

Having understood the immense gap between himself and Wright, Smoker was not discouraged. Hadn't Vice Admiral Kuzan been the same kind of "monster" back then? Upholding justice could not be done by a few "monsters" alone. They needed the help of people like him, at the very least "elites." The road those monsters had to walk was even more difficult, and he did not need to overthink it. He just had to work hard and chase after them!

Once the troop transfers were complete, Kuzan left with Smoker and the borrowed warship. Before leaving, he invited Wright, his "junior brother." "Ara ara, Little Brother Wright, interested in coming aboard my ship for some fun? I hear you're very enthusiastic about fighting pirates. Staying in a branch base must be pretty stifling, right?"

"You bastard, Kuzan!" Old Man Garp leaped up in fury. "Borrowing a warship isn't enough, now you want Wright too? You brat sure have a big appetite! Take Old Man's Fist of Love!"

Wright watched with a twitching eye as Kuzan, whom Old Man Garp had punched into a pile of ice fragments, slowly reformed. He said awkwardly, "Vice Admiral Kuzan, I was going to agree, but this violent old man even hits you. If I go with you, I'm afraid he'll smash up your ship..."

"Ahahaha, that's true. I wouldn't be surprised if Mr. Garp did that." Kuzan laughed and waved a hand. "Then, Little Brother Wright, train hard under Mr. Garp. We are looking forward to the day we can fight at your side..."

"See you at Marine Headquarters."

"...We, huh..."

After Kuzan and Smoker left, Wright returned to his "peaceful" life. As the pirate threat steadily worsened, Garp began assigning Wright long-term patrol missions. For many pirate crews that normally required a vice admiral to handle personally, Garp merely stood by while Wright took care of everything himself.

Two years passed like that. Wright's combat strength had steadily reached the level of a Marine Headquarters vice admiral, while he spent more time improving his combat techniques and developing Holy Light Power.

Marine Headquarters vice admirals could be said to be a rank with an absurdly wide gap in combat strength—the powerful ones included the future Three Admirals and Admiral Candidates, while the weaker ones were barely stronger than rear admirals. Wright could only be considered below average among vice admirals. After all, he had not spent every moment of those years training. His focus had been on his foundation and overall qualities, including commanding troops in battle, military strategy, and military affairs.

The Marines were not pirates. Zephyr had once said that as an elite among elites, one could not be a mere brute who only knew how to fight. Even Garp, who seemed most like a pure brawler among the Marines, actually possessed a powerful grasp of the bigger picture, precise judgment, and formidable methods. It was just that with Sengoku the Wise General and Tsuru the Great Staff Officer around, Garp was too lazy to use his brain. He could leave all the worrying to those two—just throwing punches felt amazing!

Over those two years, Wright killed or captured countless pirates large and small. Many pirates from the East Blue still remembered Wright as the East Blue's nightmare. After Wright went to Marine Headquarters on the Grand Line, the East Blue pirates celebrated for a while before additional Marine troops suppressed them. However, the Marines did not station high-end combat forces in the East Blue, so quite a few East Blue pirates successfully entered the Grand Line.

And so, those pirates met their downfall at G3 Branch. As long as Wright encountered them, not a single one managed to escape back. They all became Wright's experience points... Military Merit, earning him a promotion to the rank of Marine Headquarters colonel.

A colonel with Marine Headquarters vice admiral-level strength—G3 Branch had Garp, with admiral-level strength, Wright, with vice admiral-level strength, and Bogart, who was at least rear admiral-level. It had quietly become the nightmare of pirates in the surrounding waters.

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