"Instructor Carter, Klein's academic grades... are really bad."
Instructor Carter frowned. "How bad is 'really bad'?"
"Failing…"
Inside an office, Instructor Carter was speaking with the academic curriculum teacher.
Hearing that, Carter's expression stiffened a little. He felt slightly embarrassed. "That kid Klein is pretty sharp… how the hell are his academic scores this bad!?"
The academic courses covered firearms, cannons, warship engineering, military tactics, theory, command training, pirate apprehension, navigation, and more.
The teacher looked helpless. "Klein does pay attention in class. He's not like Garp who just naps all the time. But his exam scores are awful."
That's because Klein was either zoning out or straight-up diving into his game.
And...
Thinking about how to make more money.
He'd nearly emptied the wallets of this year's batch of students.
"Instructor Carter, are you seriously going to let Klein graduate early? That's never happened before in the history of the Marine academy!" The academic teacher couldn't understand Carter's thinking.
Carter laughed heartily. "Hey, Klein's already mastered all of Rokushiki. What's the point of keeping him in school?"
"This is the first time I've met a genius freak like him. The wide sea out there is where he truly belongs!"
"He's mastered all of Rokushiki? Then yeah, he's a real genius. But if we're talking monsters… there really is one out there already."
As he spoke, the teacher pulled a newspaper from the drawer of his desk.
He slid it across the table toward Carter.
[8-Year-Old Steel Monster: Charlotte Linlin…]
In the photo, a pudgy little girl with a big round face and a hat was smiling happily.
Charlotte Linlin — her very first bounty had already been 50 million Berries, and in just two short years, it had soared to 200 million!
Anyone who knew the value of a bounty in this era... knew what that meant.
"Eight years old?" Carter's eyes bulged. "Blades and cannonballs can't even scratch her?!"
"She really is a monster!!"
Only eight, stronger than a giant, immune to blades, and carrying a bounty of 200 million Berries…
Carter gave a dry chuckle. "Now that I think about it, Klein at 18 doesn't seem so monstrous after all…"
"You still want Klein to graduate early?"
"Of course!"
Carter grinned. "That brat's gotten way too cocky in school. He needs to see how vast the ocean really is—see how many monsters are out there!"
"Monsters way stronger than him!!"
"I want to see if he still dares to act tough in front of me!"
"..." The academic teacher went silent.
Elsewhere.
Klein found Zephyr, who was still in the general class. "Zephyr, you interested in making some extra cash?"
The moment he said that, Zephyr had a bad feeling. He remembered the last time Klein sold him snacks… his face darkened. "I'll say this now—I'm not doing anything humiliating!"
"Unless…"
"You want a raise, right? Got it!" Klein patted Zephyr on the shoulder. "First thing—start calling me 'Bro.' I'll knock five IOUs off your debt."
Zephyr stared at him, mumbling in his heart: It made sense for Garp to call him Bro, but now me too?
Is Klein getting addicted to being called Bro?
Did he awaken some kind of 'Big Bro' kink or something?
Zephyr thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No way. Five IOUs is only 25,000 Berries. Calling you Bro for life? Not worth it."
The subtext was clear...
Raise the price!!
Klein lit a cigar and said, "You name the price."
He wanted to gauge Zephyr's expectations first.
But Zephyr wasn't dumb—he threw it back at Klein.
"One year of free massages. But only once per day."
Zephyr still wasn't satisfied. "Not enough. I've still got years until graduation."
"Free massages until graduation. Plus, you get full access to my training course—lessons, sparring, guidance, the works."
"Top-tier VIP access!!"
Klein chuckled and threw his arm around Zephyr's shoulder, nearly putting him in a headlock. "Kid, you're driving a hard bargain."
"I'm asking you to call me Bro—not be my Bro!!"
When the soft approach failed, he switched to the hard one. Zephyr tensed up, cold sweat beading on his forehead. "Klein, just… just name a price. If it sounds fair, I'll start calling you Bro."
After all, he was only 14 this year—Klein was older. It didn't feel weird like it did for Garp.
Calling him Bro? That was a bargain!
"One year—massages and training. Not a day more."
"Bro!"
Before Klein could react, Zephyr had already called him Bro.
Klein patted his shoulder. "You've got the right attitude. I like that. You're definitely gonna be a Marine Admiral one day."
"Me?" Zephyr looked unsure. "Becoming an Admiral is really tough…"
"If Bro says you can do it, you can!" Klein cut him off. "As a little brother, shouldn't you listen to your big brother?"
Thump—
Zephyr's heart skipped a beat. His eyes wavered.
Oh no, Klein's not planning something shady again, is he?
Is he about to do something as embarrassing as last time?
Please no—
Then he met Klein's sharp, oppressive gaze—just a few inches away.
His body responded honestly: "Yes."
"Heh heh, just listen to your Bro…" Klein leaned in and whispered his scheme in Zephyr's ear.
Cold sweat poured down Zephyr's forehead. "Bro, that doesn't sound like a good idea…"
"Hmm?"
"Just do what I say!" Klein shut down his protest with a single glare, and Zephyr fell in line.
"Will Garp even agree?"
"Leave that to me!"
That day's training ended.
Zephyr showed up to Klein's training course. He'd always known that Klein's training was top-notch.
The problem was...
It cost money.
The massages alone had already racked up a pretty sizable debt to Klein. If he joined the training too, he'd owe even more—with no way to repay it.
So he'd always been envious of the other students.
At school, you'd constantly hear talk like: "So-and-so joined Klein's course and raised their Doriki by a ton."
"Beat so-and-so in sparring."
"Made huge progress in swordsmanship!"
Klein was basically the school's front-page headline. The other students always talked about him.
It was Zephyr's first time in class, and he felt a little nervous.
Next to him, Tsuru suddenly asked, "You're in the same dorm as Klein, right? Zephyr, was it?"
Zephyr got even more nervous under her gaze. "Y-yeah, we're roommates."
"I'm Tsuru. No need to be nervous. Relax in class, pay attention, and just treat Klein like any other instructor." Tsuru smiled softly, her tone kind and encouraging.
She swept her hair back with one hand, the hair tie on her wrist looping through her fingers as she tied up a high ponytail, revealing her graceful swan-like neck.
Zephyr slowly relaxed. "Thanks."
But the rest he kept in his heart: Tsuru's not only beautiful, she's talented and kind too…
"Klein's here."