A New Path to Wealth [3/4]

Unlike the furious Shiryu.

Rear Admiral Eren up ahead was in quite a good mood. His expression was relaxed, his steps light, and he was even humming some unknown tune.

He was thirty-four this year, a first-generation graduate of the Marine Headquarters Elite Training Camp, from the same class as Akainu and Kizaru.

Ten years after graduation, he had finally found time to return to the Elite Training Camp, only for Zephyr to drag him into doing grunt work.

But now, he found that calling it grunt work did not seem quite right. Paid vacation sounded more appropriate, perhaps?

Wandering and lying in wait through the forest, looking for chances to snatch the spoils of those junior recruits, then watching them chase after him in fury yet fail to catch him no matter what, stamping their feet in frustration...

It actually seemed pretty interesting.

"Fifteen minutes left."

He glanced at his wristwatch, then looked back at Shiryu, who was still stubbornly pursuing him, and said cheerfully:

"Why not just give up, kid? With the time you've spent chasing me, you could have gotten another chip or two. Why get so hung up on this?"

"Give up?" Shiryu flew into a rage. "Give up my ass! If I don't catch you today and shave off that handlebar mustache of yours, this isn't over!"

"Think it through."

Rear Admiral Eren shrugged. "If you keep chasing after the hour is up, I have the right to fight back. If you get knocked out and it delays your graduation assessment, don't blame me."

"I'm not that petty," Shiryu said darkly. "But if I catch you, it's still not certain who'll be the one getting knocked out."

"Is that so?"

Rear Admiral Eren smiled teasingly. With a casual clap of his hands, several thick vines