"Heh-heh—" Oharden suddenly looked amused. "Cadets these days—so gutsy?"
"How much do you think is fair?"
That imposing, scrutinizing gaze landed on Klein and piled on the pressure.
He quietly raised a hand and put up one finger.
He was just about to say the number when—
"One hundred million?" Oharden laughed. "No problem."
'I meant... ten million Beli.'
'And you open with a hundred million? Other people's small goal and all that…'
'That's badass!'
'I love you, old man!'
Klein instantly lit up. "You'll always be our beloved Fleet Admiral!"
"Loyal… orange!"
A hundred million!
He'd busted his back for months and hadn't earned that much, and the Marine Fleet Admiral just tossed out a hundred million like spare change.
As expected of the Marine Fleet Admiral—loaded and generous!
"Alright, I'll have Carter take care of the rest. It's late. I've gotta get back to sleep. Ha—" Oharden yawned. "You young folks sure have energy!"
He turned and disappeared into the night.
Admiral Rampaging Bear looked at the three—oh, four—before him.
Only Carter was the shortest and smallest.
He couldn't help but offer heartfelt advice: "Klein—your muscles can't be small if you're a man!"
"You need to train those more. I'll send you some special protein powder later—tastes great!"
"Remember to drink it after training!"
"If that's not enough, I've got more!"
"Wahahaha—"
He raised an arm as thick as an elephant's leg and flexed. His biceps bulged like a small hill.
"Train until you're like me—big and fierce!"
The muscles were indeed massive, but Klein really wanted to quote Teacher Kaido's classic line:
'Conqueror's Haki is the power that reigns above all!'
Were Kaido's muscles big? Were the giants' muscles big?
Big!
And they still lost to that 'scrawny monkey' Luffy, didn't they?
'Dead weight muscle doesn't cut it! Looks good, not useful!'
"You three gave us a huge shock tonight—" Instructor Carter sighed in amazement. "From now on I'll personally guide you, hands-on."
"Sengoku and Garp are injured. You—purple-haired cadet—help them to the infirmary. I need a word with Klein alone."
'Purple-haired…'
The instructor didn't even remember his name. Zephyr felt bitter. "Yes, sir!"
He immediately helped Garp and Sengoku and left with them.
After reminding Klein to drink more protein shakes, Admiral Rampaging Bear also took his leave.
Klein stared at the instructor, not sure why he was being kept back.
"Ahem—Klein, about this… Last time, didn't you sell me Demonic Flame Kick for ten million Beli?" Carter's wrinkled face looked awkward.
"Mm, that happened."
Klein remembered: he'd used that money to unlock his second talent slot. He'd equipped it with the SSS-tier talent, 'Flashback'!
Sweat beaded across Instructor Carter's furrowed brow. He was nervous. "So, um, I resold Demonic Flame Kick to someone else and made a little money."
'???'
'Scalper!!'
'He sold Demonic Flame Kick to someone else?'
Klein's eyes went wide as he stared daggers at the instructor. "How much did you sell it for?"
"Not much, not much—just three hundred million Beli…" Carter grinned sheepishly.
"How much???" Klein was dumbstruck. His blood pressure spiked and his voice blew out an octave. "Three—hundred—million!?"
His throat felt shredded and hoarse.
'Damn!'
'A plant.'
'I only made ten million, and the old man raked in three hundred million??'
'Why does my heart feel like it's bleeding?'
'It hurts—'
'Can't breathe!'
Klein clutched his chest. He finally understood: 'Lose your conscience and you'll make even more.'
He'd asked for ten million back then…
'Massive loss!'
His heart instantly went off-balance.
'In this making-money business, I seriously lack experience and mileage.'
'Not ruthless enough!'
'No wonder I was just a workhorse in my last life.'
crying.jpg
Seeing how miserable Klein looked, Carter panicked and tried to patch things up. "Klein, I thought it over and, yeah, that wasn't really fair to you. So I've decided to cut you in."
Ding—
Klein instantly full-healed. His eyes sparkled like twin gold coins. "How much?"
Thinking about Klein's talent plus his 'king's disposition', Carter had originally planned to give one hundred million. He gritted his teeth. "Two hundred million. Not a Beli more!"
"Deal!" Klein agreed on the spot. Suddenly Instructor Carter looked much more pleasing to the eye.
'Man's actually pretty nice!'
'Sweet!'
Add the hundred million Beli Oharden just promised, and Klein was suddenly sitting on three hundred million.
He wouldn't have to worry about money for a long time!
Three hundred million Beli—before this, he'd only ever had that kind of cash in dreams.
Right here, right now—
He wanted to compose a lewd poem to celebrate his joy.
An acrostic, hidden-tail verse.
'Cao Cao, Cao Pi, Cao Zhen, Cao Shuang, Cao Ang!'
'With literary chops like that, how could I lose to any so-called Poet Immortal or Poet Sage, huh?'
Klein grinned. "Instructor, you're a truly good man."
He tried to sling an arm over Carter's shoulder, but the height difference made it awkward.
He gave up and chuckled. "Instructor, how about we partner up?"
"You've got a new technique?" The instructor stared, surprised.
Klein nodded. The Ramen Fist probably wouldn't sell, but a rebranded version of Okama Kenpo—the 'Beauty Fist'—might be worth a shot.
Trained well, its power wouldn't be beneath Rokushiki.
"Look, you've got connections, I've got a name. Once my name really blows up—'created by the most talented cadet in Marine history, Klein'—"
"Wouldn't people buy it?"
"Makes sense." Instructor Carter's mouth quirked into a smile. He and Klein traded a look. "Pleasure doing business."
A big fox and a little fox reached an understanding.
Fist arts, leg arts—covered. Add a sword style later and they could corner the market!
The income would be steady.
Keh-heh-heh-heh—
Keh-heh-heh-heh—
Instructor Carter's mood soared. He'd just given Klein two hundred million Beli, but with their upcoming partnership…
For him, it was profit with zero cost!
Still a fat win!
'Delicious!'
'This kid Klein is looking more and more agreeable. I'd better fix my bad habits and look after him more.'
The next day, Klein enjoyed VIP treatment.
His food, clothing, lodging, and travel were all upgraded a tier.
At the same time—
Instructor Carter opened a special class just for the three of them, teaching advanced Rokushiki applications and combat tricks.
He even became their dedicated sparring partner.
In the training room—
Instructor Carter looked at Klein. "You—go rest on the side for now."
"Perfect for me." Klein spread his hands and happily strolled aside.
Garp and Sengoku both locked onto Klein with matching, baffled looks.
"???"
'What's with this?'
'Is the instructor blatantly protecting Klein and letting him slack off??'
Garp widened his eyes and pointed. "Instructor, he—"
"Ahem—" The instructor cleared his throat. "Don't look at him. He's already learned all of Rokushiki. I'm mainly teaching you two."
"Nani?"
"All of it??"
Garp and Sengoku were stunned on the spot—completely numb.
So—
That guy Klein had quietly mastered all of Rokushiki already.
And they, his dormmates…
Had no idea!
'That guy's a sneaky bastard!'
He'd hidden something like this from them. And to think—
They were calling him big bro now!
Sengoku's face darkened. Good thing he hadn't accepted Klein's sparring challenge, or the result would've been…
A total slaughter!
Maybe he wouldn't have awakened Conqueror's Haki after all.
The instructor finished teaching the remaining Rokushiki to Sengoku and Garp, then asked mysteriously:
"I've also got a very powerful combat technique here. Fifty million—are you buying or not?"