It wasn't just Rampaging Bear who was stunned—Kong himself had been shocked to the core when he first witnessed it, left mentally fried and physically numb.
"For the Marines, Klein's appearance is a tremendous boon, but..."
"His growth rate is just too demoralizing."
Kong selected a set of weighted iron plates and began loading the barbell. "Still, we train to become stronger not for others—but for ourselves."
"Training must go on!"
"Waahaha—!" Lincoln laughed heartily, slapping Kong on the shoulder with admiration gleaming in his eyes. "Don't worry! You're definitely going to become an Admiral one day!"
Inside the training room, the two muscle-bound men launched into a full-blown workout war.
As he trained, Lincoln chuckled, "That kid is growing so fast—I bet he's about to be promoted to Admiral soon. And when that time comes..."
"His promotion test."
"I'll see just how strong that kid's gotten!"
If Klein wanted to rise to Admiral in such a short time, he'd not only have to capture a world-famous pirate, but also gain the full recognition of the Marine top brass in terms of strength.
Lincoln believed that day wasn't far off.
Elbaf.
The Ida Tavern had become especially lively lately, as the giants enthusiastically helped Klein build a massive ship.
In just a few days, they had completed a vessel even larger than a high-spec Marine warship, now docked at the coast.
"Thank you all for the hard work. Here's your payment—in food!"
Klein pulled several colossal beasts from a scroll and laid them out in the open space near the shore.
Given the giants' size, the common currency of Berries was 'incredibly inconvenient' for them.
Not only was it unsuitable for settling accounts—it also saved Klein a fortune.
Os looked at Klein and offered, "Mr. Klein, how about we give the ship a name?"
"Titanic!" Klein declared with a slap of the thigh.
A famous line from a movie popped into his mind: 'You jump, I jump!'
Shakky smiled. "Titan does fit a ship this big."
Looking up, it really did feel like standing at the bottom of a skyscraper and staring up.
Huge.
Super BIG.
Charlotte Linlin giggled nearby. "Heehee, Klein's room is definitely gonna be bigger now—with a big bed. Then I can sleep with him!"
"...."
"..."
Gloriosa immediately grew sour, arms akimbo as she proudly announced, "I shall also sleep in the same room and same bed as Klein-sama!"
Shakky turned her head sideways, startled. 'Crap, Snake Princess-sama's fallen in love!'
Then again, she reconsidered. 'Maybe it's not a bad thing. Perhaps Snake Princess-sama won't end up like past rulers, wasting away from lovesickness…'
Whitebeard Newgate suddenly asked, "A ship this huge—how are we supposed to sail it?"
"Now that's a good question," Os frowned. "I sure don't want to be stuck rowing!"
Snap!
Klein snapped his fingers. "Easy."
Everyone turned to look at him.
"Just turn the oars into Homies. Let them row the ship themselves!" Klein grinned. If that didn't work, he could still use souls to create Sea Monks, riding the waves to push the ship along.
The ship's propulsion may be primitive, but with Devil Fruit powers, there was no need for manpower. It could still achieve self-navigation.
"I'll do it!" Linlin stepped forward, scattering a shower of white light orbs into the oars.
Soon, the oars grew eyes and mouths, with animated expressions, cheerfully chattering away.
"Let's go! Time to check out our new ride!" Klein beamed. "A ship this size? Even the Marines don't have anything like it."
In his previous life, people flexed luxury cars. In the world of pirates, a ship was your luxury car!
Massive bragging rights!
Like that Golden Emperor guy, who turned a supermassive ship into a mobile entertainment palace—complete with shops, casinos...
As soon as they boarded—
Everything looked insanely oversized. The towering mast and enormous bow made Klein feel like a pocket-sized toy.
When Klein entered his cabin, the bed alone was bigger than the entire tiny apartment he used to live in.
Right behind him, Linlin jumped onto the bed with joy, rolling around and laughing. "Heehee! Now I can sleep in the same bed with you, Klein!"
"Absolutely not!" Klein shook his head, serious. "Not until your training meets the standard. You're still way too young!"
"Huh?" Linlin looked disappointed, staring at Klein with puppy-dog eyes.
She was ready to deploy the Ultimate Girl Tactics™: the Pity Gaze Combo.
"No means no," Klein said firmly. He had to give her some motivation.
Even though she usually trained diligently—and her talent was off the charts—she hadn't quite reached Klein's personal benchmark.
Plus…
She was eight, but already far too developed. If Linlin lost weight, Klein feared he might be powerless to resist.
Honestly…
Compared to Linlin's college-tier body, he felt like a poor tech school dropout—utterly outclassed.
Even turning into a Zoan-type ancient beast didn't balance that matchup. It'd be like Beauty and the Beast, but way weirder.
Even Life Return couldn't scale up that much!
It'd be best if he could find a Devil Fruit that allowed body enlargement.
Klein sighed internally. 'How the hell did Jabba get into college? Still a mystery to this day!'
Linlin pouted, looking up with a pitiful expression. "So what counts as passing?"
"Mastery of all three Haki types!" Klein replied, then added, "And swordsmanship at the Greatsword Master level!"
His requirements were strict: Armament Haki needed to include advanced techniques like Hardening, Emission, Ryuo, and Infusion.
For Observation Haki, he didn't demand future sight, and for Conqueror's Haki, just brushing against the threshold of Infusion would suffice.
With Linlin's talent, as long as she kept training and fighting, it was entirely within reach.
"And how long will that take? I wanna become your wife soon, Klein. Then we can have kids!" Linlin said with an expectant look.
Even though Klein had managed to shift some of her thoughts and values, and was working hard to raise her awareness…
It'd take time—she was still only eight years old!
Just… she looked older than she was!
The room, aside from the massive bed, was completely empty. Furniture and living essentials would later be replaced with human-sized items.
Back on deck—
Os approached Klein and asked, "Mr. Klein, which island are you planning to visit next… to recruit a son?"
"...???"
Klein blinked in confusion, nearly stunned speechless. He muttered bitterly, "I think you might have a misunderstanding about me."
"Huh? Isn't that it?" Os looked puzzled. "You went to Sphinx to recruit Newgate as your son..."
"And came to Elbaf to recruit Loki—so Klein-sama's goal is..."
"To recruit sons?"
Os suddenly had a flash of insight. He smacked his forehead, exclaiming excitedly, "Oh, I get it now!"
"...???"
Klein was utterly baffled. What the hell do you get??
"Mr. Klein plans to make his own son!" Os declared confidently, with the face of someone who thought he was a genius.
Genius? Check out time.