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Chapter 70is out!!!! +40advanced chapters monthly
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"What are you all standing around for?! Hurry up and move!"
Seeing his men still frozen like statues, T-Bone was furious. For the first time, the usually gentle and compassionate commander actually roared at his subordinates.
The shout made the Marines flinch, but still, no one stepped forward, unwilling to dive into the water and drag Torsen out. What if he still had some fight left in him? What if he was hiding another trick up his sleeve? They simply didn't want to risk it.
The battle between Baishui and Torsen was, without a doubt, the most terrifying and intense clash they had witnessed in their entire lives. They never imagined a pirate with a bounty over a hundred million could be this monstrously strong. They had assumed such a pirate would just be a few times tougher than the ten-million-Beri rookies they usually dealt with. But seeing it firsthand, they realized the horrifying truth: compared to a hundred-million-Beri heavy hitter, a ten-million-Beri pirate was absolute garbage.
Seeing that no one else was making a move, an unassuming Marine standing at the back of the formation suddenly steeled his resolve. With a loud splash, he dove straight into the churning sea.
Less than two minutes later, the Marine hauled Torsen out of the water. The pirate captain was completely unconscious, clinging to life by a mere thread.
But even out cold, the man was still Torsen—a notorious pirate with a 120 million Beri bounty on his head.
To be completely honest, the moment Torsen was dragged onto the deck, a dark, fleeting thought crossed T-Bone's mind: what if he just killed Baishui and claimed all the glory for himself? However, the very instant that thought surfaced, T-Bone viciously crushed it. Are you kidding me? he thought to himself. Even if I claimed I caught him, Marine Headquarters would never believe it. I don't have that kind of strength!
"Captain, sir... this man!" The Marine who had fished Torsen out rubbed his hands together, his face flushed with excitement as he asked T-Bone what to do with the prisoner.
Regardless of whether T-Bone let him handle Torsen, the moment he jumped into the ocean, he had already secured a massive merit for himself. Whether it would be recorded as 'boosting morale' or 'successful pursuit of the enemy' was entirely up to T-Bone's discretion.
"He's in your custody. Slap Seastone cuffs on him, and make sure they're tight!" T-Bone replied flatly, making a mental note of the young Marine's face.
Hearing that the Captain had entrusted this critical task solely to him, the man's expression lit up with pure thrill. He snapped a crisp salute to T-Bone and shouted, "Sir, yes sir!"
He then hauled Torsen over his shoulder and marched him away, bathing in the envious glares of his fellow Marines.
Barring any unforeseen accidents, this particular Marine was practically guaranteed to reach the rank of Ensign in the future. His personnel file would forever reflect that he assisted in the capture and detainment of Torsen. In this era, bounties were still a highly accurate metric; for the most part, a pirate's bounty directly reflected their combat power.
Of course, there were exceptions. It wasn't like the post-Summit War era, where bounties would violently inflate and the gap between actual strength and a bounty number would widen significantly. Take "Wet-Haired" Caribou, for instance: a 210 million Beri bounty, only to be effortlessly one-shot by Monkey D. Luffy. It was honestly a bit pathetic. Compare that to two years prior, when the "Surgeon of Death," Trafalgar D. Water Law, also possessed a 200 million Beri bounty. Law was leagues ahead of Caribou in actual lethality.
"What the hell are the rest of you gawking at?! Hurry up and get Baishui to the infirmary! Are you trying to let our hero bleed to death?!"
Seeing the rest of his men staring enviously at the first Marine, T-Bone's anger flared up again. Why are my subordinates so painfully blind? Sure, the kid who grabbed Torsen deserved the envy, but did they seriously not see Baishui bleeding out on the deck?
---
Compared to Baishui, what did Torsen even matter?
Baishui was the one who defeated Torsen single-handedly. When the report went through, even Marine Headquarters would have to give Baishui his due respect. If they managed to befriend Baishui now, why would they ever need to worry about their future careers? If he taught them even a single trick, their strength would skyrocket. And with strength came promotions.
If T-Bone wasn't worried about appearing to steal credit from his own men, he would have carried Baishui back himself instead of leaving him lying there like a corpse.
"Right! Yes, sir!"
Fortunately, there were a few sharp minds left in the crowd. As soon as T-Bone finished yelling, two quick-witted Marines sprinted over, gently lifted Baishui onto their backs, and rushed him toward the infirmary.
It was only then that the rest of the Marines realized what they had just missed. They beat their chests in profound regret, practically stamping their feet. But alas, the chance was gone. Opportunity always favors the prepared and the quick to react.
Two days passed just like that.
Because Baishui remained unconscious, T-Bone kept a much lower profile, afraid to draw attention and invite a retaliatory strike from the remnants of the Sabertooth Pirates. Thankfully, to T-Bone's immense relief, they reached Enies Lobby without encountering a single pirate ambush.
And Baishui had finally woken up in the infirmary.
His injuries weren't nearly as severe as T-Bone had feared; his gruesome appearance was mostly due to the sheer amount of blood. Thanks to the incredibly resilient physique he had forged during his intense training on the Kuroro Archipelago, it only took him two days to essentially fully recover.
T-Bone instantly let out a long sigh of relief. Honestly, without Baishui standing guard on the warship, he had felt completely on edge. It took them a day longer to reach Enies Lobby than T-Bone had initially calculated, but that didn't matter. All that mattered was that they had arrived.
Enies Lobby. Also known as the Nightless Island, it served as the gateway connected directly to the core of the World Government and was their premier judicial facility.
Alongside Marine Headquarters and Impel Down, it formed the three great pillars of the World Government's power, maintaining the balance of the world. Once a criminal entered Enies Lobby, they were never seen again—except for the Straw Hat Pirates, of course.
Why was that? Because Enies Lobby only had two actual exits: one led to Marineford, and the other led to the great underwater prison, Impel Down. Heading to either of those locations was tantamount to a death sentence. The only time in history the island's defenses had ever been breached was by Luffy's crew!
The entire layout of Enies Lobby mirrored the very symbol of the World Government: five points connected by a single line.
The five points: the Main Gate, the Main Island, the Tower of Justice (headquarters of CP9), the Bridge of Hesitation, and the Gates of Justice.
The line: the long transit path connecting all five locations together.
T-Bone was greeted by a Marine Lieutenant who barely showed him an ounce of respect. T-Bone, however, paid it no mind. What else could he do? It was a classic case of a dog acting tough because of its master! Enies Lobby was backed directly by the World Government. The personnel stationed here effectively held higher authority than those at standard branch bases, acting as equals or near-equals to officers from Marine Headquarters. Despite being a Captain himself, T-Bone wasn't necessarily of a higher standing than the Lieutenant sneering at him.
Besides, having a Lieutenant come out to receive him was actually a pretty good reception—though naturally, that was only because the prisoners T-Bone was delivering were highly valuable. Otherwise, no one would have given him the time of day.
After handing Torsen and Chris over to the Lieutenant, T-Bone and his men set sail for Marine Headquarters. Standard Marines had no jurisdiction or right to set foot onto the main grounds of Enies Lobby. Likewise, personnel from Enies Lobby couldn't just casually stroll into Marineford without official business. Marine Headquarters wasn't a place you could just walk all over.
---
"With this, you're definitely getting promoted to a Headquarters Captain, right?"
En route to Marine Headquarters, Baishui lay lazily on the deck, wrapped in a layer of bandages. He rested his head on his hands, basking comfortably in the warm sun.
"Yeah, I should be. But this was all your doing. I imagine your reward is going to be far more substantial than mine!" T-Bone nodded, unable to hide the excitement in his expression.
Even though Baishui had single-handedly captured both criminals, he wasn't officially a Marine yet. Therefore, half of the credit naturally defaulted to T-Bone. Such a massive achievement would normally be enough to promote someone to a Headquarters Rear Admiral without a second thought. While that was obviously out of reach for him, securing a rank as a Headquarters Captain was practically guaranteed.
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku stared at the official report T-Bone had submitted. His perpetually stern face broke into a rare, genuine smile.
He had anticipated Baishui being strong, but not this strong. The kid was only seventeen years old! Sengoku remembered being seventeen; back then, he was still training his body to the bone just figuring out how to take down pirates with bounties in the single-digit millions. Yet at seventeen, Baishui was casually capturing a 120-million-Beri pirate alive. There was simply no comparison.
"T-Bone really found a diamond in the rough. Excellent. With him in the East Blue, I won't have to worry at all!"
Sengoku casually fed the report to his pet goat, who happily munched on the highly classified document as if it were a potato chip, swallowing it down completely.
But a second later, Sengoku's brow furrowed in frustration.
If Baishui were a commissioned Marine officer, Sengoku could simply promote him. But Baishui wasn't. Giving all the credit to T-Bone would just thrust the man into the spotlight before he was ready, painting a target on his back and ruining his future career development. But ignoring the accomplishment wasn't an option either; it would chill the hearts of his soldiers and damage the Marines' reputation. Conversely, giving all the rewards to Baishui might breed resentment in T-Bone.
Therefore, Sengoku had to strike a balance: split the credit evenly between the two.
T-Bone was easy to deal with; promoting him to a Headquarters Captain would suffice. But what was he supposed to do about Baishui? What kind of reward could he give him? Hand him eighty million Beri?
Absolutely not, Sengoku thought, shaking his head. Given how Garp had described Baishui's personality, giving him a massive cash payout would just encourage the kid to scour the East Blue hunting pirates for cash until Marine Headquarters literally went bankrupt paying him out.
But he couldn't just give him money, and he couldn't give him an official rank. So how the hell was he supposed to reward him? He couldn't just treat the kid as the Marines' unpaid enforcer.
"Perhaps... we could award him an honorary commendation?" A clerical Lieutenant Commander standing beside Sengoku offered the suggestion, his voice soft and hesitant. "That way, if he ever decides to formally join the Marines in the future, he can immediately start as a commissioned officer without having to climb up from the recruit ranks."
Sengoku whipped around instantly. His eyes locked onto the Lieutenant Commander, his voice dropping an octave as he demanded, "Hmm? What did you just say?"
The sheer pressure in the room spiked, as if Sengoku was profoundly enraged by the suggestion. The Fleet Admiral's deep voice boomed like thunder in the officer's ears, making him tremble. I'm dead. I'm so dead, the Lieutenant Commander panicked internally.
Despite his terror, he stood ramrod straight, looked Sengoku in the eye, and reported, "Sir! I suggested we issue Baishui an honorary commendation! If Longe Baishui ever joins the Marines, he can use it to directly become a commissioned officer instead of starting from the bottom!"
Having repeated himself, the officer squeezed his eyes shut, fully prepared for execution. The very air in the office seemed to freeze, plunging the room into a terrifying, dead silence.
"Bwahahaha! Good! Excellent!"
However, the explosive reprimand he expected never came. Instead, Sengoku's booming, joyous laughter echoed through the room. "That's a fantastic idea, it kills two birds with one stone!"
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