Ain bit her lower lip, face pale, completely ignoring Karl as she staggered forward.
"Sigh…"
Karl let out a long breath.
Yeah, this time he was definitely in the wrong. He'd tricked Ain and thrown her straight into the line of fire. But he'd always been the type to repay kindness and grudges alike.
This time, he owed her.
Next time, he'd pay it back.
"You two sure have some nerves," Zephyr growled. "First day of training and you're already causing trouble. Ain, let me ask you—can he go back to normal?"
"Um…" Ain frowned, thinking carefully before answering slowly,
"With my current strength, it should last about three days. After that, Brother Karl will return to normal."
Zephyr nodded. As long as it was reversible, it wasn't too serious.
Didn't mean they were skipping punishment, though.
"Ain, Karl—this won't happen again. As punishment, the two of you will do extra training tonight. Any objections?"
Neither of them hesitated.
"No, sir."
Their straightforward attitude in admitting fault left Zephyr quite satisfied.
"Ain, get back to the formation and continue running. As for you, Karl… in your current state…" He paused, then waved a hand. "Forget it. Head to the infirmary and get checked out."
"If there's no problem, come back. Once your body's back to normal, you'll make up for every bit of training you missed!"
[Timed Mission Completed]:
Reward acquired — Active Skill: Weak as a Breeze.
Hearing the pleasant chime in his head, Karl almost smiled on the spot.
At last, the initiative to slack off was in his own hands.
From now on, whether he joined training or not… wouldn't be up to Zephyr.
It'd be up to his body.
The only problem was—if he got "injured" too often and kept skipping training, Zephyr's impression of him might crash straight into the ground.
His thoughts drifted back to the Holy Light Fruit he'd obtained today.
In this world, Devil Fruits came in all kinds of bizarre abilities, but how many could strengthen others?
The Inspire-Inspire Fruit, maybe.
The Horm-Horm Fruit could be used like that too.
The Shadow-Shadow Fruit had its own strange support potential.
But fruits that purely boosted allies were rare.
And his Holy Light Fruit was clearly among the best of them—healing and strengthening combined. Strategically, it was priceless.
Karl didn't dare say much else, but of one thing he was sure:
If he ate the Holy Light Fruit, he'd absolutely become a sought-after teammate in the Marines.
After all, who wouldn't want someone like that in their squad?
And beyond that—
This fruit would let him slack with a clear conscience.
Think about it: a battle starts, Karl drops one Holy Light, buffs his allies, and his job is technically done.
The rest of the time? Free slacking.
His buffed teammates would happily beat the enemy into the ground. Everyone wins. And who would dare accuse him of doing nothing?
Most important of all—
A Devil Fruit like this would definitely catch the eye of the higher-ups. Even if his relationship with Zephyr fell apart one day, they wouldn't just kick him out of the training camp so easily.
"Karl! Karl!!"
Zephyr's roar snapped him back to reality.
"Here!" Karl straightened instinctively.
"What are you spacing out for? Get to the infirmary already!"
Looking at Karl's utterly unbothered expression, Zephyr frowned.
Why did this brat look… happy?
Don't tell him he did all this on purpose just to dodge training?
…No. He dismissed the thought almost immediately.
Karl had been a Marine for ten years already. His record was clean. All these years, aside from that infuriating Borsalino, he hadn't really run into anyone who pissed him off.
Karl, with those thick brows and honest face, shouldn't be that kind of person.
"Yessir!"
Karl tightened his oversized waistband and trudged toward the infirmary. With his body shrunk, his clothes were now more of a burden than armor.
Half an hour later, Karl quietly returned to the training ground and sat on the stands, watching the recruits train.
He couldn't help but feel a little sentimental.
So this… was youth.
Especially when he glanced at his system and saw his slacking time steadily ticking up, Karl's grin nearly split his face.
One word—爽.
Pure bliss.
Out on the field, Binz was training with full focus when the corner of his eye caught Karl lounging on the stands, smiling like an idiot.
A flash of irritation surged in his chest.
They were here sweating and grinding, and that guy not only got to sit out—he was smiling about it.
Too much.
He wasn't the only one thinking that. Many recruits felt the same.
They hadn't been all that tired a moment ago, but the sight of Karl kicking back with one leg crossed over the other made their legs feel heavier and their hearts feel sour.
Why him?
Under their increasingly hostile gazes, Karl remained unaffected, peacefully basking in his hard-earned slacking time.
Are you kidding?
He'd earned this.
He'd worked like a dog for ten years as a lowly Marine. What was wrong with enjoying himself a little now?
Shuzo, supervising from the side, also noticed the problem.
He finally understood why the recruits seemed so distracted.
So it was this brat messing with morale.
"What are you all staring at?!" Shuzo barked. "Karl may be exempt from training for now, but his Douriki is still the highest among you!"
"You can glare at him all you want—it won't change the fact he can wipe the floor with you. So if you're upset… this is your chance."
"Train. Properly."
He was right.
Karl was already ahead of them.
Right now was their best chance to catch up.
Blood boiling, the recruits shouted in unison:
"YES, SIR!!!"
Shuzo nodded in satisfaction. Whether Karl would end up being isolated or targeted?
Not his problem.
On the stands, Karl sighed helplessly.
Judging from the looks some of them were throwing his way, it did feel like he was going to get targeted sooner or later.
But that was fine.
He still had the system.
And he still had the Holy Light Fruit.
Might as well eat it now.
Taking advantage of a moment when no one was paying attention, Karl quietly slipped into a blind spot at the edge of the grounds. After confirming no one was watching, he pulled the Holy Light Fruit from his system inventory.
It looked like a citrus fruit—about the size of an orange, with golden-yellow skin etched with intricate spiraling patterns.
Karl took a deep breath, then bit down without hesitation.
"Ugh—disgusting…"
He immediately tossed the uneaten half aside, fighting back the urge to retch.
In his palm, a faint golden light slowly gathered, forming a softly glowing sphere.
Karl's lips curved up.
"View attributes."
Host: Karl
Age: 24
Physique: E
Perception: F+
Willpower: E
Special Abilities:
Still as a Maiden
Devil Fruit:
Holy Light Fruit – 0% (Awakening Progress)
Active Skills:
Weak as a Breeze (Usable)
Karl blinked in surprise.
He hadn't expected that just by eating a Devil Fruit, all his attributes except Willpower would improve.
All of that was the passive boost from the fruit itself.
"Man… I can get stronger just by sitting around. Isn't that just… infuriating for everyone else?"
He did a few basic tests of the Holy Light's power.
Just like the system described, it was all about enhancement and healing.
He couldn't feel much of the enhancement effect yet—his body was currently that of a fourteen-year-old, after all.
But the healing?
That, he could test.
Bracing himself, Karl took a fruit knife and sliced his palm open.
He pressed his other hand over the wound and released Holy Light.
In an instant, the pain vanished.
When he lifted his hand, the cut was completely gone—smooth skin, as if nothing had ever happened.
Only the bloodstains on the ground proved he'd been injured at all.
"Phew… this Devil Fruit is even stronger than I thought."
Sure, it couldn't make him fly or shoot lasers or anything crazy like that. A small part of him was disappointed.
But this was still the world of One Piece.
If your Devil Fruit wasn't flashy, there was still martial arts and Haki to lean on.
And in his case, the Holy Light Fruit was far from useless—
It was a weapon of its own kind.
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