At 10 a.m., a warship sailed toward the Seventh Branch—under the jurisdiction of Rear Admiral Kassel. Although Kassel wasn't a Vice Admiral, his strength was nearly on par with one. He hadn't been promoted yet mainly due to a lack of seniority, but in another couple of years, he'd likely receive the title.
Rear Admiral Kassel had been waiting at the port for some time. Standing beside him in military posture were Ronno and Ivan.
As the ship docked, a middle-aged man in a suit and sunglasses stepped off first.
Kassel frowned when he saw this. Shouldn't it have been Vice Admiral Huoshaoshan? This man… didn't look like he came with good intentions.
Sure enough, the sunglasses-wearing man glanced briefly at Kassel and then examined Ronno and Ivan.
"Which one of you is Ronno?"
"May I ask who you are?" Kassel asked politely, though clearly annoyed.
"World Government," the man said coldly, pulling out a small booklet and flashing it before ignoring Kassel entirely. At that moment, Huoshaoshan also walked down from the ship, looking very displeased. He met Kassel's gaze and nodded slightly.
As expected… the World Government is here to snatch people again.
"I'm Ronno. What do you want, mister?" Ronno raised his hand.
"…"
The man in sunglasses didn't reply. Instead, his thigh muscles tensed—and he suddenly lunged at Ronno.
"Hey! I don't even know you! So I called you 'mister,' is that worth attacking me over?!"
Ronno's hair stood on end. He had no time to dodge and could only cross his arms in front of his chest to block the punch. Even so, his feet skidded backward across the ground, leaving two deep, three-meter-long black marks.
"What are you doing?!" Kassel and Huoshaoshan both shouted in anger. The attack had been so sudden they hadn't had time to react. Now they moved into combat stance, ready to fight the man.
But the sunglasses man stopped.
"Your reaction and strength are acceptable. You pass."
Still ignoring the two officers, he pulled out a transfer order from inside his suit.
"Wolf Ronno, you have been transferred to CP9. The order took effect yesterday. Any objections?"
At the bottom of the document was the signature of Sengoku the Buddha.
"What?! Why would the Fleet Admiral…?" Kassel was in disbelief. Huoshaoshan raised a hand to stop him.
"I understand." His tone was calm, but if it weren't for his darkened face, Kassel would have thought they were in on it together.
"Hey, mister, I never said I agreed to this!"
A white blur shot toward them—Ronno again. The man raised his right hand: Tekkai (Iron Body)!
Bang!
The force rebound made Ronno wince in pain. "Tekkai, huh…" he thought.
But the man wasn't done. He used Shigan (Finger Gun) and pierced Ronno's heart.
"ARGH!!" Ronno screamed. The Berserker trait activated. He grabbed the man's arm with his right hand, a massive bone spike jutted from his forehead, and he headbutted the man's own forehead—hard.
Haki!
It felt like slamming into diamond. Sparks even flew!
"Stop! That's enough!" Kassel activated Armament Haki on his right hand and aimed a punch at the man's raised knee—but it was too late.
Ronno felt like he had been hit by a 200 km/h freight train. He flew backward so fast that the naked eye couldn't keep up, crashing through two buildings before finally stopping.
Ivan stood frozen, like a wooden statue.
Kassel and the man were now trading blows. Their sheer physical strength turned the surrounding buildings into rubble.
Huoshaoshan didn't move. He just stood there, deep in thought.
Five minutes passed in a flash. Every Marine in the base had been drawn by the sounds of battle, thinking pirates were attacking. But just as they arrived in full combat gear, Vice Admiral Huoshaoshan stopped them.
"Huff… Huff…" Kassel panted, supporting himself with one hand on the ground, sweat dripping down his cheeks. Across from him, the man in sunglasses was only slightly out of breath. Both their clothes were in tatters, but the man's sunglasses had finally fallen to the ground. The difference in strength was clear.
"Want to keep going?" the man said coldly.
If Kassel said yes, the man would no longer hold back.
"Damn it!" Kassel was about to launch another attack when Huoshaoshan spoke up.
"That's enough! The kid's not dead. Do you want the World Government to put a bounty on you?"
The man took off his tattered clothing and tossed it aside, revealing a torso full of muscles and scars. He walked toward Ronno without sparing Kassel another glance.
He pushed aside the rubble and grabbed Ronno by the hair, lifting him up. He seemed a little surprised.
"This kid's regeneration is impressive."
Ronno was unconscious, but the self-healing factor was still working hard to repair his wounds. If you ignored his tattered clothes, you'd never guess he'd just been seriously injured.
The man looked more satisfied now. He slung Ronno over his shoulder and walked onto the warship, standing on the deck.
"I expect an explanation for what just happened, Vice Admiral."
His adjutant, waiting beside him with a fresh set of clothes, remained at attention.
"Take him inside to rest."
After saying this, the man dropped Ronno on the deck and took the clothes into a cabin to rest.
The adjutant picked Ronno up by the arm and brought him to a room to lie down.
---
Kassel sat on the ground in despair, silent. Huoshaoshan sat down next to him.
"I'll go back and ask the Fleet Admiral about this. You'd better prepare to be demoted. As soldiers, we follow orders—even when they're wrong."
"…" Rear Admiral Kassel still said nothing, lost in thought.
Huoshaoshan patted him on the shoulder and got up to board the ship.
"Hey, rookie over there. Aren't you coming?"
Ivan snapped out of it and realized he was being addressed. He looked back at Kassel, but Kassel said nothing. Kassel's adjutant walked up and waved Ivan forward, signaling him to follow Huoshaoshan. Ivan bowed to Kassel and then boarded the warship.
"…Larry, did I do something wrong?" Kassel asked his adjutant after the warship had left.
Seeing Kassel's confused expression, Larry stood tall.
"No, you did nothing wrong. If it were me, I'd have done the same. You're a good commander—and a fine Marine."
"…I see."
---
The night was deep, but Ronno couldn't sleep. Getting beat down like that felt horrible—utterly humiliating.
"Host, there's no need to be discouraged. Your opponent's strength far surpassed yours. Based on the analysis, he likely has Admiral-level power. Judging from the details, he's probably with CP0."
"CP0, huh…" Ronno fell silent for a moment. "System, I want to get stronger—no matter what it takes!"
"That bastard… One day, I'll hang him upside down and beat him senseless."
"Host can enter simulation training. The system will simulate various types of opponents for you to spar with."
"What are we waiting for? Start now!" Ronno flopped onto the bed, motionless—his consciousness had already entered the simulation space.