Back aboard the internship ship, Zeff let out a quiet sigh of relief as he counted heads.
Everyone was there.
Not a single Marine missing.
But almost immediately, his brows knit together.
"Karl," Zeff said slowly,
"where are the pirates?"
Karl's heart skipped a beat.
Yeah… no way around this one.
After all, Zeff had once been known as "the Admiral Who Does Not Kill."
He firmly believed pirates should be sent to Impel Down to atone for their crimes.
Ironically, even with that mercy, Zeff's own family had still been brutally murdered by pirates seeking revenge.
"Instructor Zeff," Karl replied calmly,
"the Firelock Pirates had thirty-two members. Twenty were killed in battle. Twelve were captured alive."
"When we left Spring Rain Town, I handed those twelve over to the town's mayor."
"…By now," Karl added frankly,
"they're probably all dead."
Zeff's expression darkened.
"Karl. You've been a Marine for ten years," he said coldly.
"Don't tell me you don't know this violates Marine regulations."
"Any pirate captured alive must be handed over to Impel Down—not to civilians."
"Have you considered what will happen when other pirates hear about this?"
"When they land on that island, what do you think they'll do to the townspeople?"
Karl thought briefly.
"They'll massacre civilians even more recklessly."
"Then why," Zeff roared suddenly,
"would you still do it?!"
The sudden outburst made the nearby recruits flinch.
This was the first time they had ever seen Zeff this furious.
"Killing civilians without restraint—that's what pirates do anyway," Karl replied evenly.
"In the past, Marines followed the rules to the letter."
"But how many towns were slaughtered anyway?"
"Placing hope in pirates to restrain themselves… that's the real joke."
Zeff fell silent.
After a long pause, he turned and said flatly,
"You. Come with me."
"Karl!"
"Karl—!"
Karl glanced back at the worried recruits, gesturing for them not to panic, then followed Zeff into the cabin without hesitation.
Inside the room, Zeff sat on a stool, silently smoking a cigar.
After a moment, he asked quietly,
"Explain. What were you thinking?"
Karl pulled up a stool for himself, casually opened Zeff's drawer, took out a cigar, and lit it.
"Instructor, we're still in our internship period," Karl said calmly.
"Transporting prisoners costs manpower and supplies."
"There was no way we could stay in Spring Rain Town waiting for an Impel Down transfer ship."
"The Hunter Blade Pirates are our priority target. Every day sooner we catch them, civilians are safer."
"We didn't have the luxury of waiting."
"On-the-spot resolution was the most efficient option."
He gave a short, self-mocking laugh.
"To be blunt, those pirates wouldn't even make it past Level One in Impel Down."
"Instead of wasting Marine resources keeping them alive,"
"it's better they return to the soil as fertilizer."
"Karl," Zeff said sternly,
"I am very dissatisfied with what you did today."
"The Marines are the Marines because we have discipline and rules."
"We are soldiers," he stressed.
"Not pirates."
Karl nodded innocently.
"Then what about Admiral Akainu?" he asked.
"I've heard he'll kill civilians if it helps him eliminate pirates."
"Is that also Marine protocol?"
Zeff stiffened.
His face shifted between anger and restraint.
"…Hmph."
"Sharp tongue. Fine. I can't argue with you."
"But in the future, limit this kind of thing."
"Ordinary pirates without Devil Fruits—killing them is one thing."
"But Devil Fruit users?"
"Don't kill those recklessly."
When a Devil Fruit user dies, the fruit reincarnates somewhere in the world.
If a future Marine eats it, fine.
If it falls into pirate hands…
Then the kill was meaningless.
That was why Marines usually captured Devil Fruit users whenever possible.
"Don't worry, Instructor," Karl said with a grin.
"I know exactly what I'm doing."
"You little brat…" Zeff sighed deeply.
For some reason, images of his wife and child—slain by pirates—surfaced in his mind.
His "no-kill" philosophy had already begun to waver long ago.
Mercy simply didn't work on pirates.
That was why, despite scolding Karl, he wasn't truly angry.
"Enough," Zeff waved his hand.
"Your first battle was a decisive victory."
"That calls for celebration."
"Roger that!"
"Karl! Instructor Zeff didn't make things hard for you, did he?"
"Haha," Karl laughed.
"Look at me—do I seem like I got punished?"
"Just bent Marine rules a little. No big deal."
"Exactly!"
"We killed pirates—how could that be wrong?!"
Soon, Karl was surrounded by excited recruits, becoming the center of attention.
Ding—
"Accumulated slacking time has reached 8 hours. Daily task complete."
"Rewards:
• Designated Attribute Enhancement Card ×2
• Six Powers Ultimate: Life Return Skill Card ×1
• Six Powers Ultimate: Six King Gun ×1"
"Detected that the host is in the final stage of the training camp."
"From today onward:
• Daily rewards doubled
• Increased chance for rare items in the random reward pool"
"Today's additional rewards granted:
• Designated Attribute Enhancement Card ×2
• Six Powers Ultimate: Life Return ×1
• Six Powers Ultimate: Six King Gun ×1"
Karl stared at the system space.
Four enhancement cards.
Four skill cards.
"…Holy hell."
He said a quick goodbye to everyone and rushed into his cabin.
"I've struck gold," he muttered excitedly.
"Internship lasts thirty days."
"If it doesn't end early, that's at least 116 enhancement cards!"
"I might be able to push my physique to B-rank without even using high-level cards!"
"And these Six Powers Ultimates—absolutely insane."
Life Return was absurdly practical.
Six King Gun was a pure killing move.
No hesitation.
Use everything.
"System—use four attribute cards to enhance Perception, and activate all skill cards!"
After that, the system space was left with only ten high-tier enhancement cards for emergencies… and a pile of snacks and junk.
Status Panel
Name: Karl
Age: 24
Physique: C
Perception: D
Willpower: D-
Special Traits:
Still as a Virgin
Swift as a Rabbit
Holy Light Devil Fruit: 9.6% (Awakening Progress)
Active Skill:Fragile as Paper (Available)
Aside from the jump in Awakening progress, his stats didn't change much.
The higher the rank, the more enhancement cards were required.
Still—
Getting stronger bit by bit, every single day?
Karl was more than satisfied.
Compared to the trash-tier nobody he was when he first arrived at Marineford—
His growth was explosive.
Now, all that remained…
Was awakening Armament and Observation Haki.
Once he did that,
Karl's training camp chapter would truly reach a perfect ending.
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