One Piece: As an Immortal, I Maxed Out Conqueror's Haki First

Garp's voice came through.

"I just graduated from the Navy Academy, so I wanted to ask what I should do next."

Xia Le snapped back to himself and hurriedly spoke.

"What? You've already graduated?"

Garp paused, then realized what he meant and sighed.

"Has it been two years already?"

"After graduation, ordinary cadets are sent out from headquarters to serve in the Four Blues or the Grand Line."

"But you were already a rear admiral before you enrolled, so you have more freedom."

After a pause, Garp asked with interest,

"Kid, would you rather command a fortress, oversee a large number of Marines, and keep the peace in one region?"

"Or would you rather be free, like me?"

Xia Le froze.

Clearly, this was a choice about the path he would take as a Marine.

The Marines were spread across the world, responsible for keeping the peace. Barring unusual circumstances, officers below flag rank were assigned to towns or branch bases in the Four Blues or the Grand Line.

But flag officers were already part of the Marine leadership. With their considerable strength came greater freedom.

They could become the commander or second-in-command of a fortress, or sail the seas freely like Garp.

"If you want to be a commander and enjoy having troops at your beck and call, just apply to Kong."

Garp's teasing made Xia Le laugh.

"Or you can be like me. Get a warship of your own, carry out all sorts of missions at sea, and live free."

Xia Le nodded. "I understand!"

He made his decision at once.

"I want to be free like you."

Garp burst out laughing over the Den Den Mushi, then hung up.

Command a fortress and live a safe but tedious life, or roam freely and experience all the excitement this world had to offer?

Xia Le understood both paths well. He had heard about them at the Navy Academy.

Some cadets performed well at branch bases and quickly rose to flag rank. They then became fortress commanders, either by assignment from headquarters or by their own choice.

Without a doubt, a fortress commander ruled his territory like a governor, wielding absolute authority.

That naturally opened the door to plenty of shady dealings. The position offered wealth and status.

But Xia Le had no interest in it.

I'm not strong enough yet!

I haven't mastered the Six Powers.

What suits me best is fighting again and again on the edge of death!

A breeze swept past as he looked down from his perch. Magnificent Marineford spread out below him, while the distant inner harbor, the Gate of Justice, and the endless sea all stood clear in his view.

A light gradually kindled in his calm eyes, lending them a new depth.

Since I've come to this world...

I ought to do something.

As his strength had grown over the past two years, seeds of once-vague ideas had gradually begun to sprout within him.

Xia Le did not know when that faint notion had first taken root.

Was it when he had killed a Celestial Dragon with a stone?

When he had been offered a choice of three Devil Fruits at his rank ceremony?

Or when he had faced the young Marines at the academy and seen admiration and reverence in their eyes?

He only knew that as he grew stronger and his reputation in the Marines spread, strange thoughts began stirring in his heart.

He had never known what to call them.

Only now, looking down over all of Marine Headquarters, did he suddenly understand.

Ambition.

Standing quietly above it all, Xia Le let his thoughts drift back to the past.

Two years ago, when he had escaped from the Bokan Family, he had been exhausted. That was when he met a child of about eight.

Unlike other children, the boy had grown up too soon. His eyes held a weariness and maturity far beyond his years.

"Where's your father?"

Xia Le accepted the half piece of black bread the boy offered him. It had long since dried out and cracked.

"Dead,"

the boy said.

"Your mother?"

"Dead too."

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"I did. They're all dead."

His voice was flat and calm, without a trace of grief or pain.

Xia Le stared at him, at those bright black eyes.

"My father defied a noble."

"A Celestial Dragon took a fancy to my mother and beat her to death in the street."

"My brother and sister tried to save her. They died too."

"I was four that year. I was shaking so badly, but I got away."

The eight-year-old recounted it all without a tremor.

Shaken by the boy's composure, Xia Le hesitated before asking, "Aren't you sad at all?"

Two years had passed, but he could still remember the boy turning toward him, his calm expression and dark eyes unforgettable.

"I'm holding it in."

Those words broke Xia Le's composure completely.

Later, when he encountered that nameless Celestial Dragon, neither of them knew the other.

From that moment on, Xia Le knew beyond doubt that something was wrong with this world.

Freedom? Passion? Dreams? Beauty?

They were nothing but a joke!

The truth was its cruelty and coldness, which could make an eight-year-old calmly say, "I'm holding it in."

He suddenly recalled another of Garp's future disciples, a boy named Koby.

"If you think all of this is wrong, then work hard to grow stronger. Climb higher, and change it all!"

Those were the words Koby's companion had spoken when he was lost.

At some point, Xia Le had clenched his fists. Now he slowly relaxed them.

What matters isn't where you are.

It's what you do.

He turned and left.

That afternoon, Xia Le secured a warship of his own.

It was a midsize, two-masted warship, roughly the same size as Garp's. The only difference was that his had no crew.

When Xia Le boarded, two people followed him.

One was T Bone, who had graduated not long ago and both respected and admired him. The other looked about eleven or twelve, though he stood over two meters tall, with bizarre, gaudy makeup smeared across his face.

"Kid, I'd planned to send you to the West Blue as a deputy commander once you graduated."

"But since you want a warship, I understand."

"I do have an available ship, but I can't find you a crew at short notice. You'll have to handle that yourself."

"Pick people from elsewhere or recruit your own. I don't care."

Kong's words brought a smile to Xia Le's face.

Sengoku, standing nearby, came over with a familiar grin. After giving him a careful once-over, he chuckled.

"Short on people, Xia Le?"

"I happen to have a promising kid right here."

Without waiting for Xia Le's agreement, he foisted the kid on him.

And yes, it was the oddly dressed young man now standing behind him.

"Rosinante, can you sail a ship?"

Xia Le asked once they were aboard.

The oddly dressed Marine immediately answered at full volume, "Sir, yes, sir!"

"Good. Then sailing, cleaning, cooking, and all the other chores are yours."

Xia Le nodded and glanced at him.

The Marine Sengoku had foisted on him was indeed Rosinante, a young man Sengoku had reportedly rescued not long ago and kept by his side.

For now, he was only a Marine trainee.

"Huh?"

Rosinante blinked and scratched his head.

"All of that is my job?"

Xia Le pointed to T Bone, then to himself. "There are only three of us aboard, and you have the lowest rank. If you don't do it, should your two superiors?"

Rosinante blinked, sighed, and answered weakly, "Yes, sir."

T Bone looked as though he wanted to say something, but held his tongue.

Though Rosinante was only in his early teens, he had the build and strength of someone around eighteen.

A short while later, the warship set sail and passed through the Gate of Justice.

"Where are we going?"

T Bone asked curiously.

"The Sabaody Archipelago."

"For one thing, we're badly short-handed and need to recruit people."

"And for another..."

Xia Le paused, then smiled faintly.

"Fleet Admiral Kong gave me my first mission: capture or eliminate a group of pirate Supernovas who recently caused trouble on the Sabaody Archipelago."

Of course, orders from headquarters like this depended on the circumstances and allowed plenty of leeway.

By the time they arrived, for instance, all the pirates might have fled. Or some other emergency might arise along the way.