"Cough, cough… Kong, are you feeling discouraged?" Marshal Oharden asked.
Kong's eyes gradually regained their brightness. His chiseled, rough face suddenly lit up with a joyful smile.
"I was a little shaken… but seeing a genius like that emerge in the Marines should make us happy!"
"I'll treat him as my rival—and work hard to catch up and surpass him!"
It was as if he had returned to the days when he first entered the Marine academy, back when all he thought about was how to get stronger, how to surpass the others.
He became the widely acknowledged number one. That feeling gradually faded, as he left everyone else behind.
The only ones close to his level of strength were from the older generation—his seniors!
At this moment, a never-before-seen gleam shone in Kong's tiger-like eyes, blazing like it could pierce solid stone.
Seeing that Kong hadn't been discouraged, Marshal Oharden's eyes lit up with admiration.
As expected of the man he regarded as the next Marine Fleet Admiral—he really was built differently.
"Good. A momentary failure doesn't define a hero. What matters is having the heart not to give up," Oharden encouraged.
Admiral Rampaging Bear let out a hearty laugh:
"WAHAHAHA—Kong, how about training under me for a while?"
"You're called Steel Bone, but when it comes to physique, you're still a bit lacking compared to that brat, Klein. Come train with me more!"
"Win your pride back in the future!"
Kong nodded. Of course he had to train hard—otherwise, how could he surpass Klein?
He silently vowed in his heart:
Klein, next time we fight, I'll be stronger. No matter what power you wield, I'll make you go all out!
"Let's fight it out…"
"To see who will become the strongest of the next Marine era!!"
Klein didn't attend classes like usual—he had graduated.
All that remained was for his post to be assigned, and then he could set out to sea to begin his duties!
Before taking up his new post, he had to go get the treasure from Skypiea, and then begin his plan to claim the title of "Old Era Remnant Daddy."
And also, the title of "Boss of the Marines."
The "Boss of the Marines" title was pretty much secured. Next up was "Old Era Remnant Daddy"!
Klein knew that if he were placed a few decades later in the Sea Circle Calendar 1520, he'd be one of the "Old Era Remnants" Akainu spoke of.
With the face of the Old Era crumbling, Klein would be the one to uphold it.
There may be no ship in the New Era strong enough to carry Whitebeard, but maybe there'd be one to carry the "Azure Dragon"—himself!
In his mind's eye, he pictured Luffy standing atop Momonosuke's massive pink dragon form.
Standing atop Kaido's head, arms crossed, dressed in a high-end suit and donning the Marine Admiral's "Justice" coat—wouldn't that be ridiculously cool?
Soon after, Klein met privately with Tsuru.
Upon seeing him, Tsuru smiled elegantly:
"Congratulations—you beat Kong. Must've made a lot of money, huh? Can't even hide the grin on your face."
"Was it that obvious?" Klein asked.
Tsuru lifted the corner of her lips. "Unless someone's blind, I think it's pretty clear."
She knew exactly why Klein had come—after all, she bet on him to win.
A full one million Berries!
With her ocean-deep blue eyes, she glanced up and down and held out her palm.
"Klein, you don't seem to have brought any money. Don't tell me you're planning to stiff me?"
"Heh heh..." Klein chuckled.
"My friend has this pretty amazing leg technique—I wonder if you'd be interested in learning it. It's especially suited for women!"
As he said that, he couldn't help glancing at Tsuru's long legs. At nearly 2 meters tall, they were seriously long.
Tsuru trained rigorously every day. Her physique and leg proportions weren't something that could be faked with filters or makeup.
Her fair skin showed almost no visible pores.
"Sure—but same as always. You've gotta show me. You can't sell something without showing the customer the quality of the goods, right?"
Tsuru smiled without showing her teeth, eyes glinting with mischief.
This Klein guy… always inventing "new friends" out of nowhere.
Mostly because it was about the money, he proceeded to demonstrate a few moves from the in-game technique: Aromatic Kick!
Each kick sliced through the air with a sharp whoosh.
The technique was quite powerful, with the Great Aromatic Kick being the strongest.
Its spinning kicks, combined with Haki, exploded from within when they struck—devastating!
Klein kicked a steel training dummy and blasted it apart, scattering it into chunks.
"That's definitely a solid kicking technique. Alright, how much?"
"11 million Berries."
One million for her original bet, and 10 million for her profits from betting on his win.
"You really tailor your prices to the buyer, huh? Money that's already in your pocket, you don't want to give up a single cent. You little miser!" Tsuru teased.
But honestly, she didn't have much to spend on herself anyway.
There were also dividends from the bathhouse.
She wasn't like Klein, buried under financial pressure. Her goal was to become an outstanding Marine and help female soldiers rise to the big stage too.
She agreed, and Klein immediately started teaching her Aromatic Kick. After all, he'd be leaving soon.
He had already taught her both Okama Kenpo and Aromatic Kick—surely her growth path would far surpass the original timeline.
Suddenly, Klein asked:
"Tsuru, want to serve under me one day?"
"..." Tsuru paused for a moment, then smiled gently.
"You just want me to make money for you, don't you?" ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹✦𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖✦𝓷𝓮𝓽
Klein didn't deny it.
"That's right—making money is one of my greatest joys."
Of course… so were beautiful women.
He was a man. What other goals could a man have?
Tsuru resumed practicing Aromatic Kick while replying,
"Graduation's still a long way off. Who knows what'll happen in the future?"
Classes had already ended a few days ago.
Marine Fleet Admiral's Office
Klein sat face to face with Marshal Oharden. This was his first time in the office.
His eyes wandered to the phrase on the wall:
He couldn't help but think of how this marshal was obsessed with the color pink—even his suit was pink.
Seriously… the older, the wilder, huh?
Marshal Oharden spoke:
"About your assignment—I'd like to hear your thoughts."
Normally, assignments just followed protocol. No input was needed.
But Klein was no ordinary Marine…
The strongest genius in Marine history—he had defeated Vice Admiral Kong just yesterday, and he was still a cadet.
"Marshal, I believe I'm best suited for the East Blue branch!" Klein declared immediately. With righteous confidence, he added:
"We must strike at the root of piracy—to stop them from ever reaching the Grand Line!"
A humble dream—to be the Branch Boss!
Being the boss meant freedom and joy!
Hearing Klein's request, Marshal Oharden's mouth twitched.
Hey—what are you even saying?
With your strength, going to a branch would be like an adult bullying toddlers.
It'd be a total waste of talent!
"That's a great suggestion—but I'm not taking it," Oharden said, almost puffing out his beard in frustration.
"...." Klein's face darkened. Just from the first half, he nearly started celebrating.
Turns out it was… premature champagne.
Looks like his dream of being Branch Boss had officially gone up in smoke.