In the infirmary, Garp endured the stinging pain of having his wounds cleaned and bandaged.
"That hurts—"
"Feels great!"
Meanwhile, in the training hall, Klein had just made a killing in tuition fees, plus the leftover 3 million Beli he earned from the instructor.
He was once again nearing the 10 million Beli mark in savings!
With food at home, there's nothing to fear.
Solid.
He turned to Zephyr and asked, "Zephyr, how much did we make from ticket sales and snacks?"
"153 people watched the match. Tickets brought in 750,000 Beli. Three IOUs. As for snacks and beer—XX servings sold, total 160,000 Beli!" Zephyr handed him the balance sheet.
"Excellent!" Klein beamed and patted Zephyr on the shoulder. "Once we get back to the dorms, I'll wipe off part of your debt."
That one sparring match had made them a nice profit.
Gotta keep it up!
Strive for greater glory!
Just then, the instructor brought a towering man over to Klein and said, "Klein, you've made great progress. I'm quite satisfied. I'll give you some one-on-one pointers later."
That punch earlier had left a deep impression on him—filled with powerful willpower.
He now realized that he might have underestimated this kid's determination.
And not just his will—the sheer explosiveness of that punch had surpassed the level of an average cadet entirely!
If only he could replicate it, like the Demonic Flame Kick...
Heheheheheh—
This would be a win-win situation!
Klein didn't catch the instructor's hidden meaning, so he replied earnestly, "Anytime, Instructor. I'm always open to solo instruction!"
But in truth, he had his own little schemes...
If he could learn Armament and Observation Haki early, he'd be way ahead of the curve!
Right now, the game was still stuck in the East Blue. They were about to set sail for the Grand Line, but even then...
In the game, it looked like you wouldn't get access to Haki until the New World or maybe Sabaody?
That'd take a ton of time.
If not for that first-time recharge bonus, how would he have gotten Conqueror's Haki in the first place?
The first recharge was designed to be irresistible—the rewards were too good to pass up. They knew how to get players to spend.
And once you spend once… it becomes a habit.
They really put in work for the players. I'm in tears here!
Suddenly, the man next to him, who had remained quiet till now, spoke with an intensely serious look and asked,
"Klein-senpai, what is your justice?"
My justice?
Klein had honestly never thought that deeply about it. In the past, he only cared about…
How to get promoted to a Marine branch colonel.
How to live a stable, quiet life.
And fantasizing about being a colonel with seven or eight beautiful women in his arms, living like some kind of petty emperor.
Yep. Real modest dreams.
But now…
Thanks to the system, and all that cash he'd spent, he had grown powerful in just a few short months.
The future looked bright.
The era he was living in wasn't the "New Era" yet. According to the original timeline, at that point…
Klein would already be part of the "Old Era's leftovers."
Sure, he'd made rapid progress in a few months, but on the anime timeline, he was barely at Supernova level.
According to the novel's setting, the New Era was a time of massive upheaval—a generation of "children of fate."
Whether Marines or pirates, many rose in strength at ridiculous speeds.
Every encounter, people came back with whole new power levels...
Old Era powerhouses didn't grow nearly that fast.
Back to the point—
Klein knew those old "dreams" were already gone.
His system—the game—was like a greedy glutton, a bottomless gold-eating beast latched onto his soul.
He had to keep earning.
Keep grinding!
Life came in stages. Now that he had power and prospects, Klein naturally began dreaming bigger.
Maybe instead of living a quiet life, he could aim for immortality?
Maybe instead of becoming a branch colonel, he could become an Admiral?
Maybe instead of random beauties, he could end up with Robin and Hancock...?
But still...
What was his justice?
Or rather, what did he believe justice meant?
The question made Klein fall silent. Even Zephyr, Tsuru, the instructor, and even the Marine Four Flowers nearby didn't interrupt—curious to hear Klein's answer.
They all wondered...
What kind of justice lived in the heart of someone like Klein, who loved money so much?
Klein understood: the world had never been fair. As the old saying went—
"The world bustles for profit; all commotion is for gain."
The sea was vast, and tragedies happened every day. One person couldn't stop it all.
But when things happened right in front of him, he couldn't always ignore them either.
He wasn't heartless.
After a long moment of thought, Klein quietly pulled out a cigar and a lighter.
Fffsssshh—
"There's a lot that could be said about justice..."
"My justice is..."
"Happy Justice."
He added silently in his heart: Money makes me happy.
Money solves all my problems and worries. If it doesn't, it just means I don't have enough of it.
And pirates? Yeah, they're definitely not gonna bring anyone happiness...
As for what happiness means—that depends on the person and the situation.
Right now?
Klein felt fulfilled every day. He could game, train, even if money was tight, his strength was skyrocketing.
The future looked beautiful.
Endless potential.
That, to him, was happiness.
Justice didn't need strict definitions. It reminded him of something Wang Yangming once said in enlightenment:
"This heart is luminous—what more need be said?"
"'Happy justice,' chasing happiness, huh?" the man next to him—Kong—looked surprised. He thought Klein's answer would be all about money.
He didn't expect something so plain and unpretentious.
"Haha—" the instructor laughed heartily and clapped Kong on the shoulder. "Told you this kid's not as bad as you thought."
Kong nodded.
…???
Wait—what?
Klein looked up at the towering man before him, a Navy Rear Admiral built like a fortress.
His pupils shrank.
That tall, broad-shouldered, barrel-chested body…
The instructor called him Kong??
Hiss—
Could this guy actually be Steel-Bone Kong, the future Supreme Commander of the World Government's Military Forces?!
A rank even higher than Fleet Admiral!!
A big shot.
A super big shot!!
Like, the thickest thigh to cling to big shot!!
In the anime, Steel-Bone Kong had only ever appeared as an old man, so Klein hadn't recognized him at first.
"Klein, my name's Kong. I was in the previous class," Kong introduced himself. "I'm really interested in you. If there's a chance, want to spar sometime?"
The cadets around them lit up, all eyes on Klein, excited at the prospect.
But Klein wasn't stupid.
"Spar"??
That just meant get beat up, right?
Kong was clearly a Marine HQ Rear Admiral already, and with his future trajectory, he'd definitely already mastered both forms of Haki.
Klein forced a polite smile. "Sir, please don't bully a rookie who's only been here a few months. I'm nowhere near your level."
More importantly—if he sparred with Kong, there was no way he could convince the other cadets to pay for tickets.
And if there's no profit involved…
I'm out.
Unless...
You pay me!
Pay extra!!
Besides, he really wasn't strong enough to take on Kong.
Kong chuckled. "Klein, I've heard your praises from the instructor so many times I'm getting calluses in my ears. And after seeing you fight earlier… the title of Marine prodigy suits you perfectly!"
"My hands are itching to test you myself."
"No no no—" Klein waved him off frantically. "With this small body of mine, I'd probably faint from one punch."
Right now, even Garp's Iron Fist was probably still at beginner level. But this Rear Admiral Kong…
With a name like Steel-Bone, you know his punches hurt.
One hit, and he'd be in for a world of pain.
Just then, one of the cadets called out: "Klein charges for sparring!"
"Yeah! He charges us 50,000 Beli per match!" another added.
...???
In an instant, Klein's scalp went numb.
Then came Kong's amused voice:
"Then how about I pay you 100,000 Beli for a match?"