Satisfying!
Klein unleashed a full-powered punch, erupting with the strongest strength he could muster.
His whole body felt refreshed!
All the negative emotions were blown away with that strike—solid impact, exhilarating to the core.
If only...
If only I could throw a few more punches like that!
As for the one sent flying—Rampaging Bear felt like the sky had collapsed on him. Internally, he was cursing Instructor Carter like a madman.
"That old bastard Carter is a f***ing monster—"
"How the hell is that the strength of a trainee?!"
"Klein's explosive power is almost on par with a Vice Admiral!!"
"If that guy had Armament Haki, that punch wouldn't have just caused 'a minor injury'!"
"That old relic Carter totally set me up, didn't he?!"
At this moment, Rampaging Bear Lincoln was drowning in regret.
What a disgrace.
All Carter's fault!
Inside the hall, Instructor Carter clapped Klein on the shoulder, giving a big thumbs-up with the other hand. He was grinning from ear to ear.
"Hahaha—Klein, well done!"
"That punch felt better than if I'd hit him myself!"
Klein grinned. "Instructor, then how about generously covering the cost of that broken door?"
"Put it on my tab." The instructor was in too good a mood. He'd just extort Rampaging Bear later anyway.
He just didn't say the words out loud: "Put the whole night's bill on his tab."
Hearing the instructor would pay for the repairs, Klein's smile deepened.
Then suddenly—
Several startled cries rang out, shocking everyone in the hall.
"Dad!"
"Dad!"
"..."
The Marine Four Flowers burst through the doors, rushing toward the spot where Rampaging Bear had been blasted.
Nani??
So Rampaging Bear was the Marine Four Flowers' dad??
Klein's face lit up in realization. No wonder all four of them had physiques more exaggerated than male bodybuilders!
So that's it...
Like father, like daughter!
Perfectly fine young ladies... and they had to go and sculpt those absurd, over-the-top muscles...
Outside the door—
Rampaging Bear got back up. His already dark skin now looked pitch black, practically blending into the night.
Only the whites of his tiger-like eyes, streaked with blood, revealed his fury—enough to scare people... and ghosts.
Thud, thud, thud—
Each step he took landed heavy on the ground as he walked toward the bathhouse hall.
Klein quickly shouted, "Admiral Rampaging Bear, you break it, you buy it!"
"..."
Rampaging Bear froze at the doorway, one foot suspended midair.
Then he slowly lowered it, feather-light despite its size.
His tiger eyes were full of resentment, but none of the earlier rage remained.
He walked straight up to Klein, towering over him.
"Klein. Well done. Ever thought of joining my unit?"
The surrounding trainees finally came to their senses. Seeing a Marine Admiral personally inviting Klein—
One by one, their eyes filled with blinding envy, wishing they were the ones standing in front of the Admiral.
Klein asked in return, "Admiral Rampaging Bear, can I make money under you?"
"Will I have enough freedom?"
These were his two most important concerns. In this era, how could he settle down guarding some random Marine base?
Obviously, he had to go out and live it up!
Who didn't know there was gold on Sky Island?
Everyone and their mother was running around looking for the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. If PDD couldn't take it, who could?
He still needed to find Kaido and make him his "godfather."
"Money? Freedom?" Rampaging Bear was stunned. "Aren't those things pirates chase?"
"We're Marines! We pursue justice!"
"As a Marine, you should have ideals and goals!"
Ideals?
Can you eat those?
Even dogs don't chase ideals anymore, man!
Money and strength were the only things that mattered.
Goals?
Well, his small goal was to earn a billion Berries first.
As for his big goal… that was another story.
Klein looked a little disappointed. Beside him, Garp had an anxious look. He elbowed Klein and whispered:
"Hey, my guy, getting invited by an Admiral is a rare opportunity."
"Don't mess this up!"
Admirals were the Marine's top combat force. Klein didn't know how strong this guy really was, but surely strong.
Except...
This muscle-bound bald guy looked a bit... unreliable.
And following an Admiral didn't necessarily mean safety. There was only one Admiral in the Marines right now.
All the dangerous missions? They'd fall on Rampaging Bear...
"Admiral Rampaging Bear, there's still time before graduation. I'll decide after that whether to join your unit," Klein replied tactfully.
Idiot!
The other trainees instantly had looks of bitter disappointment, stomping their feet in frustration.
Why reject him?
Such a golden opportunity—following an Admiral meant three meals a day!
Promotions and raises? Easy peasy!
Pah—
Klein thought it was more like three beatings a day.
He had money. He was leveling up fast. Promotions and raises weren't hard to get.
In this world...
Only fists mattered!
Look at Smoker—he got promoted to Vice Admiral in just two years, that's fast, right? But then he got his face smashed in...
If Aokiji hadn't shown up to save him, Smoker would've been dead in a ditch.
Being a weak Vice Admiral would literally get you killed!
Having money but no life to spend it—now that was a tragedy.
"Good kid, I'll remember you!" Rampaging Bear laughed loudly. "WAHAHAHAHA—"
"That punch of yours packs real power. You're bound to make a name for yourself out there."
"Your title of 'Marine Prodigy' is well-deserved!"
With the Admiral's praise, the title "Marine Prodigy" was basically locked in.
He turned to Carter. "Old bastard, I can't believe you actually picked up a treasure."
"Heh heh—" Carter smirked proudly. "Klein will definitely be my greatest student."
"Now you can go get your massage, you old fossil." He joked.
Rampaging Bear shook his head. "I'm not in the mood."
"Getting floored by Klein's punch means my muscles aren't big enough—or hard enough!"
"More training!"
"But I'll skip tonight!"
With that, he turned and left, resolving to add two more scoops of protein powder each day.
And double the training load!!
After Rampaging Bear left, Garp grabbed Klein's arm. "You idiot—bro, what a golden opportunity you just wasted."
"Seriously..." Zephyr's eyes held envy. "If an Admiral takes you under his wing, you'll grow strong way faster."
Even Sengoku was baffled. From his perspective, the pros far outweighed the cons. Klein actually refused?
Unthinkable.
But Klein had no regrets. Just because someone was strong didn't mean they were a good teacher.
Let's drag Rayleigh out and whip his corpse again.
What did you teach?
You had two years and taught what, exactly!?
Not even as good as Teacher Kaido or Old Man Hyougoro.
Lousy teacher!
How did Klein grow strong?
Pay-to-win.
With money, you could solve the strength problem—and the time problem.
Klein stood and called out, "Come on, people! Back to bath time and massages!"
In the private room—
While massaging Sengoku, Klein asked, "Sengoku, do you know much about Admiral Rampaging Bear?"
Sengoku replied, "A bit. He seems to chase 'ultimate justice.' Believes that if you do something, you have to do it all the way."
"He likes to inject himself with..."
"Stimulants!"
...????
Klein had heard of athletes juicing for competition, but never heard of Marines shooting up in the middle of a fight.
This Admiral...
Yeah, not everyone could casually be an Admiral. When they got weird, they went full-on bizarre.
Total lunatic.
From the way he looked—and everything he'd said—there was no telling how much protein powder that man had consumed.
During his bath and massage, Klein made several trips to the front desk during bathroom breaks—
To check the day's earnings.
Watching the numbers go up—
That's all money!
He was giddy with joy.
The Next Day.
A shockwave hit Marine Headquarters.
"What? Admiral Rampaging Bear got blasted by a trainee?!"
"You've got to be kidding!! An Admiral couldn't block one punch?!"
"A trainee took down an Admiral head-on? He was coughing blood? That can't be real?!"
"Strongest trainee in history—floored an Admiral in one punch!"
"That's insane!!"
"Admiral Rampaging Bear is in a coma?!"
"Not just a coma—rumor says he's half-paralyzed!"
"......"
The incident at the bathhouse last night had fermented overnight—
And now the rumors were completely off the rails.
Marine Headquarters Fortress Core.
Fleet Admiral's Office.
BANG—!
A heavy fist slammed down on the desk.
"Lincoln! Put those damn dumbbells down and tell me—what the hell happened??"