Marineford

"Phew~"

Carl felt the muscles in his body start to spasm. After a sudden shudder, the feeling passed, but he wasn't done yet. He used five more Attribute Enhancement Cards, this time to strengthen his perception.

"Check status."

Host: Carl

Age: 24

Physique: E-

Perception: F

Willpower: E

Special Ability: Still as a Virgin

Lifespan: 20,458 days

Carl stretched his limbs, and his body crackled. He'd gotten stronger, but only by a little. Still, he was already satisfied. Drinking tea, reading the paper, fishing, flirting, and sneaking off to take paid dumps—one month of easy living could rival a month of grueling training. Where else could he find a deal like that?

Now all he had to do was get to Marine Headquarters, join the Marine Training Camp, and begin his glorious career of slacking off. From now on, Aokiji was his eternal idol. He'd firmly resist workaholics like Akainu. Come on, he only made that piddling salary each month. Why should he risk his life?

At dawn the next day, Carl was still dreaming of having fun with older women when a commotion broke out in the dorm. He vaguely heard people talking about Marine Headquarters and Marineford. Cursing under his breath, Carl covered his ears and went back to sleep. He'd gone to bed late the night before, and then the dorm had started a "snoring exchange." It had kept him up until after three, and now he desperately needed to catch up on sleep.

He wasn't sure how much time passed. He vaguely felt someone calling him, but Carl still didn't wake up.

"Bang!"

"You bastard! Everyone else is already up and assembled, and you're still sleeping in? This is outrageous! Get up, now!"

Furious, Shuzo yanked the blanket off Carl and dragged him all the way to Crescent Moon Bay Port. The other recruits were already lined up, chests out, heads raised, and eyes fixed forward.

A tall, purple-haired man stood at the front. He looked about sixty-five, with a resolute face and a muscular, well-built body. He frowned slightly when he saw Carl and asked in a somewhat hoarse voice, "Shuzo, what's going on?"

Shuzo suppressed his anger and respectfully lowered his head. "Teacher Zephyr, this guy was sleeping in!"

"Marine, give me a good reason!"

Looking at the tall, resolute man, Carl felt a little wistful. The former Admiral and current Marine chief instructor, Black Arm Zephyr, had trained Marines across the Four Blues. Even that old codger Charles had once been Zephyr's student.

Under Zephyr's questioning gaze, Carl swallowed. He felt like a beast had him in its sights; a chill crept down his back, and his scalp prickled. He stammered, "Reporting, sir! I found out yesterday that I'd be coming to Marine Headquarters. I was so excited I couldn't sleep all night, so I overslept."

A faint smile appeared on Zephyr's impassive face. He remembered the recruit's file he'd looked over yesterday. The kid had joined the Marines at fourteen and had now served for ten years. It was only natural that he'd be excited about his first visit to Marine Headquarters, so Zephyr decided not to give him a hard time. Time was precious, and he'd have plenty of ways to whip him into shape at the training ground.

"Fall in!"

Carl let out a quiet breath of relief and said nothing as he joined the ranks, chest out, eyes forward.

Zephyr surveyed the assembled Marines and gave an almost imperceptible nod. They looked alert. He was just about to speak when his chest suddenly tightened, and he broke into an uncontrollable coughing fit.

"Cough! Cough, cough~" Zephyr waved Shuzo off, showing he didn't need help. After pounding his chest a few times, he felt much better, though he was still slightly short of breath.

"From today onward, you are my troops. No matter what rank you held before, here you have only one status: recruits!"

"For the next two months, you'll have one goal. Tell me, what is it?"

All the recruits, Carl included, shouted without hesitation, "Get stronger!"

Slacking off and getting stronger weren't mutually exclusive. Carl just wanted to get stronger while slacking off, earning money while lying down. What had he done wrong?

"Exactly. All I can teach you is how to get stronger. So, from here on, I'll squeeze every bit of potential out of you and turn you into elite Marines. Do you have what it takes?"

"Yes!"

"Good. I believe in you. Now—cough, cough—you'll follow Instructor Shuzo to the training ground!"

Zephyr had plenty more he wanted to say, but his accursed asthma was acting up again. He had to cut the speech short and send Shuzo to take the recruits to the training ground for their Doriki Value tests and see what they were made of.

Walking with the group, Carl looked up at the imposing Marine Headquarters. The building bore the word "Marines," with the Marine emblem at its center. They passed through the residential area for Marine families and arrived at Marine Headquarters, where the group came to a halt.

Shuzo stood at the front of the group and called out, "Next, each of you will have your Doriki Value tested. Come forward when I call your name! First, Ain!"

A pretty female Marine stepped out of the line. Following Shuzo's instructions, she threw a punch at the Doriki-testing machine. The displayed value was 401. Shuzo glanced at Ain's file and asked, "You're a Devil Fruit user?"

"Yes. I ate the Paramecia-type Return-Return Fruit."

Shuzo nodded, wrote her Doriki Value beside her name, and circled it. Then he called the next recruit.

About half an hour later, it was finally Carl's turn. He took a deep breath as he faced the testing machine, gathered his strength, and struck! 486! The highest score in the group. Even Shuzo, who had always looked down on him, gave Carl a few extra glances. This pretty boy seemed to have something to him after all. Ten years in the Marines hadn't been for nothing.

But that was only a few extra glances. The result wasn't especially impressive. An ordinary Marine soldier had a Doriki Value of 10, and anyone above 500 counted as superhuman. Among the CP9 agents who'd later go undercover in Water 7, Lucci, the strongest, had a whopping 4,000 Doriki, while even Fukurou, the weakest, had 800.

And this was after Carl had used Attribute Enhancement Cards. It just showed how weak this batch of recruits was. He was merely the tallest among a bunch of short ones.

[Career Mission—Training Camp Turmoil]: Successfully enter the Marine Training Camp. Reward: Devil Fruit, Paramecia-type Holy Light Fruit. It has been stored in the system space. Please check it.

"Damn!"

Carl muttered under his breath. He'd known better than to expect a Mythical Zoan or Logia Devil Fruit with his luck. But something was better than nothing. While waiting, he asked the system about the fruit and finally learned what it could do.

The Holy Light Fruit was a support-type supernatural ability. After eating it, he could wield holy light. It had two basic abilities: healing and enhancement. Any other effects depended on how he developed it.

In short, once he ate the Holy Light Fruit, Carl could become a healer and support specialist. For the Marines, who always had strength in numbers, this ability was practically perfect.

"This fruit... I'll leave it for now!"

There was no need to rush into eating the Holy Light Fruit. First, he'd see if he had a chance to get a Mythical Zoan later. Otherwise, he'd be too embarrassed to talk to anyone when he went out.

Ding! [Training Camp Turmoil Phase 2 begins]: Training phase. Accumulate 400 hours of slacking off. Reward: 10 Advanced Designated Attribute Enhancement Cards, special skill: [Quick as a Rabbit]. While moving, stamina consumption is halved.

Gulp. Carl swallowed. There was nothing more to say. Time to slack off!

. Provided by the great god Xu Dingling: One Piece: I Started as a Marine Lieutenant, and I Get Stronger by Slacking Off