Garp and Sengoku's heads started bobbing like rattles.
At the same time, both of them cut their eyes toward Klein.
Klein lifted his gaze to the ceiling, overflowing with respect for Instructor Carter in his heart. 'Looks like, in the thick-skin department, I still need a few more lessons from the instructor!'
Instructor Carter's face then snapped back to normal—like a different person entirely. "Alright, keep training. If something stumps you, ask me later."
He walked up to Klein. "Come on. Let's talk in private."
Instructor Carter steeped a cup of tea for Klein, which left Klein feeling flattered and a little overwhelmed.
As soon as Klein took a sip, Carter cut to the chase. "Klein, that 'Beauty Fist' you mentioned—show me."
"Here." Klein pulled out his personal manual, Beauty Fist.
One glance at the stick-figure artwork made Instructor Carter's jaw drop; his pupils dilated. "You drew this?"
"Do you feel the art?" Klein shot back. "Art as high as a three-story building."
"Nope. This is worse than tossing a handful of rice and letting the chickens peck a picture," Carter said, merciless as ever.
Then he began studying Beauty Fist in earnest, and the more he read, the more shocked he looked.
His brow knotted; a flicker of surprise flashed in his eyes.
His mind jolted. 'So many moves… Some sound flashy, but quite a few of these carry power and technique on par with Rokushiki.'
'Before, Klein's Demonic Flame Kick had just one move. This Beauty Fist is a whole set!'
'Is this guy really a battle-type genius with insane creativity and originality??'
Beauty Fist was far more complex than Demonic Flame Kick.
The moves were plentiful and intricate.
Of course, he didn't know Klein was holding back—he hadn't passed on the full set of Demonic Flame Kick.
Like hell he'd hand over the entire Demonic Flame Kick for that.
A light bulb went off in Klein's head. 'Eh—why didn't I think of this earlier?'
'Installments. Unlock moves in tiers!'
He remembered novels from his past life where techniques were split into layers and each layer cost money.
'If I don't have the business brain, I can at least copy the model, right?'
'The essence of the world is copy-paste!'
He immediately pitched the idea to the instructor, and got a firm nod. "Klein, I admit I misjudged you before. You're not only a prodigy in raw combat talent."
"You're a business prodigy, too!!"
"I'm willing to call you the most twisted freak in Marine history!"
It was a great scheme: maybe the upfront earnings weren't much, but once someone started learning, they'd be hooked.
"…" Klein wasn't pleased at all. Those words should've sounded like praise.
Why did they sound so wrong coming out of the instructor's mouth?
What do you mean "the most twisted freak"!?
A pervert is a pervert.A monster is a monster.Can you even mash those together?
Instructor Carter grinned, thinking he looked warm and friendly. To Klein, it looked like the old man was gearing up for trouble.
"Klein, is there another soul or some foreign memories inside your body?" Carter asked. "Could a Devil Fruit user have done something to you?"
That barrage of questions set off every alarm in Klein's head; his heart dropped like a stone.
'Crap! The old man's eyes are that sharp?' This update ıs available on 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵✦𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮✦𝓷𝓮𝓽
'He's not planning to dissect me, is he?'
Klein sat on pins and needles; even the tea felt like it was stuck between his teeth. He slapped the desk and barked, "Instructor, if anyone out there can forcibly increase someone's talent, I'll pay a billion!"
"Fair point." Carter nodded. To mold a genius , ten billion—no, even a hundred billion—would be worth it.
This was Admiral material, with the qualities of a king. Money couldn't buy that.
He shifted topics. "Klein, I'm planning to let you graduate early."
"By the end of the year. You've already mastered Rokushiki. Time to get out there and clash with the monsters."
"Out on the seas today, it's not just Charlotte Linlin."
"There's also a guy named Shiki."
"Right now, the most ferocious pirate in the New World; his fame and strength are skyrocketing—second to none!"
"Graduate early?" Klein's composure shattered; excitement burst across his face.
His heart hammered thump-thump-thump-thump.
He was over the moon, thanking him from the bottom of his heart. "Instructor, you're a great man!!"
Early graduation meant he could hit the wide open sea and start his money-making career.
There was Skypiea—the place nine out of ten transmigrators would go—as well as black, white, and gray markets. All prime opportunities.
Not yet the age where the Four Emperors, the Seven Warlords, and the emperors of the underworld had carved everything up.
The consolidation hadn't happened yet!
If you're gonna make money, do it early!
Klein quickly calmed down. "Instructor, one more favor."
"I want to learn Haki! Please teach me!"
"If you've got any signature secret moves, don't hold back!"
In other words: "Old man, hand over the 'Burning Art' remnant—now!"
As the renowned "gold-medal mentor" Kaido once said: Haki is the power that stands above all.
Out at sea, showing up without Haki is straight lame.
In the New World, even grunts have it.
How are you gonna show your face?
Instructor Carter looked Klein up and down, then nodded. "True. At your current level, you should be learning Haki."
"I'll teach you right now!"
"With your talent, you should pick it up in no time!"
He personally explained and demonstrated Observation Haki and Armament Haki.
Then, arms folded, he said, "Alright. Show me your talent."
"…" Klein went slack-jawed. The instructor's words had gone in one ear and out the other—he'd grasped maybe…
'Get real. The game hasn't even unlocked the Haki feature—where am I supposed to learn it!?'
Klein thickened his skin. "Instructor, I zoned out for a second. Could you explain and demonstrate one more time?"
"…" Instructor Carter shot him a suspicious look, then, with a huff, ran through it again.
Klein got maybe fifty percent. But even if he understood it all, that didn't mean he could do it!
The air turned awkward as they stared at each other.
Klein kept his thick face on. "Instructor, I feel like I'm this close. Maybe go through it one last time?"
"Last time," Carter said, drawing a deep breath.
When he finished, he clapped his hands. "Alright, let's see what you've got."
"Teacher, I've got it! Uh, the training class is about to start—I've gotta run." Klein pulled a classic "earth-escape"—and bolted.
In truth, he still only understood about five percent.
He hadn't learned it at all!
But he couldn't admit that. He had a reputation to maintain as "the most gifted cadet in Marine Academy history."
That house… could not collapse.
'Damn! Dog-game, are you serious or what!?'
'No Haki feature, no money-grab? What are you waiting for?'
'I've got 300 million Beli sitting here. Banks in the pirate world pay no interest.'
'Hurry up and roll out the top-up feature so I can whale!'
'I'm going to climb to the top one purchase at a time—I will become the ultimate whale!'
Watching Klein run off, Instructor Carter stood there stunned, then gave a wry chuckle. "That brat isn't hiding something to pull one over on me, is he?"
"What a pity. I already spoke to Kong—he'll be your graduation proctor."
"I was going to tell you early, but I didn't expect you to slip away that fast."
"Eh! Right—I still haven't taught him my own original moves!"
"Forget it. Next time."
At that moment, Klein had no idea his graduation test had already been arranged to perfection by Instructor Carter.