Navy office in the East Blue.
"Excellent, excellent! That bastard Krieg is finally dead!"
Kallen laughed heartily.
He popped open a bottle of champagne and toasted with several of his subordinates to celebrate.
The Krieg Pirates had burned, looted, and committed countless atrocities across the East Blue, leaving the people filled with anger and resentment. Their existence had caused an extremely negative impact.
Kallen was originally due for promotion to rear admiral and a transfer back to Marine Headquarters for advanced training. However, because of Krieg's rampage, the promotion was delayed, and he was even reprimanded by Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
Frustrated, Kallen had dispatched forces multiple times, but Krieg's cunning always allowed him to escape.
Now that the Krieg Pirates had been wiped out by Caelan, it was no wonder Kallen was in the mood to celebrate with champagne.
"Still, this Caelan really is impressive."
Kallen held the newspaper in his hand, staring at the strong and handsome figure printed on the front page, his expression filled with emotion.
"Half a year ago, he had just appeared and was only able to handle pirates with bounties in the hundreds of thousands."
"Now, just half a year later, he has grown to this level, easily wiping out the Krieg Pirates."
Several subordinates reviewed Caelan's intel and had never seen such an astonishing rate of growth.
"In just six months, he went from a rookie bounty hunter to the nightmare of pirates."
"Even I am no match for him."
Kallen fell silent for a moment before finally speaking.
In his hand was a photo, capturing the moment Caelan destroyed a pirate ship with a single slash.
Several subordinates had initially wanted to offer words of praise, but when they recalled the terrifying image of that ship being cut apart, they found themselves unable to say anything flattering.
Even though they knew Kallen was an elite trained at Marine Headquarters, possessing the strength of a rear admiral, none of them believed Kallen could defeat Caelan.
"He has already reached the level of a true swordsman. Among the vice admirals at Headquarters, few have reached that realm."
Kallen drained the champagne from his glass, his heart filled with complicated emotions.
Having specialized in swordsmanship himself, he could clearly see the depth of Caelan's skill.
Despite years of training, he could not match Caelan's half-year rise.
Is this what it means to be a genius?
Caelan's performance reminded him of his former classmates, the three admirals who now stood as the highest combat power of the World Government.
Back in Zephyr's training camp, the gap between Kallen and those three had been like an uncrossable chasm. He could only look up to them.
Now, after so many years, Caelan once again brought back that bitter feeling of being crushed by true talent.
Seeing Kallen's gloomy expression, none of his subordinates dared to speak. They held their wine glasses quietly, as if they were truly savoring the champagne.
The office fell into an uncomfortable silence.
After a while, Kallen collected himself.
"Pass down my orders. Any Marine branch in the East Blue that encounters Caelan must extend an invitation. Offer him at least the rank of commodore!"
"I will personally apply to Marine Headquarters to recruit him at any cost."
Kallen's tone was firm, filled with determination.
Such a terrifying genius was clearly destined to become a central figure in this era.
If they could recruit Caelan into the Marines, it was very likely they would gain another admiral-level powerhouse in the near future.
Thinking of the shortage of top talent in the current generation of the Marines, Kallen became even more eager to see Caelan join their ranks.
He even imagined that if Caelan one day rose to become an admiral, his own status would rise along with him.
Several subordinates were stunned when they heard Kallen's decision.
Offering the rank of colonel right from the start was almost unheard of.
There had never been such a precedent in the Marines.
But when they thought back to the newspaper's description of Caelan destroying a flagship with a single slash, they felt it was justified.
"Understood, Captain Kallen. We'll notify the branches immediately."
The subordinates turned and left, leaving Kallen alone in his office, deep in thought.
…
On the other side, Caelan, whose name had shaken the entire East Blue, was sailing quietly across the sea.
On his boat, Caelan opened the box containing the bounty rewards and recharged 28 million berries into the system.
Looking at the system panel, Caelan felt a bit disheartened.
[Host: Caelan Alaric]
[Template: Berserker Class Heracles]
[Synchronization Rate: 34%]
[Berry: 5 million + 28 million]
[Strength: B]
[Endurance: B]
[Agility: B]
[Magic Power: B]
[Luck: A]
[Noble Phantasm: A+]
[Personal Skills]: Battle Continuation (B), Mind's Eye (Fake) (B), Valor (A+), Divinity (A), Madness Enhancement (B)
[Noble Phantasms]: God Hand: The Twelve Labors (B), Nine Lives: Shooting the Hundred Heads (C–A+)
"Fighting an opponent like that doesn't improve me at all."
Caelan sighed.
When he first started out, battling pirates with bounties of tens of thousands helped increase his synchronization rate.
As the bounty levels of his opponents rose into the hundreds of thousands and then millions, he continued to make progress.
But now, even defeating Krieg, with his 17 million berry bounty, had done nothing to increase his synchronization.
Caelan understood why. A one-hit kill like that couldn't possibly help him improve.
If he wanted to gain synchronization through battle, it would have to be against an opponent who could at least survive a few exchanges. A drawn-out fight, not an instant defeat.
"Consume 30 million berries to increase synchronization."
The system panel blurred for a moment, then updated.
[Host: Caelan Alaric]
[Template: Berserker Class Heracles]
[Synchronization Rate: 37%]
[Berry: 3 million]
[Strength: B↑]
[Endurance: B↑]
[Agility: B↑]
[Magic Power: B↑]
[Luck: A]
[Noble Phantasm: A+]
[Personal Skills]: Battle Continuation (B), Mind's Eye (Fake) (B), Valor (A+), Divinity (A), Madness Enhancement (B)
[Noble Phantasms]: God Hand: The Twelve Labors (B), Nine Lives: Shooting the Hundred Heads (C–A+)
Caelan's stats had improved again, though there was still a long way to go before reaching the next rank.
"Every 25% synchronization brings a qualitative change. If I want a real breakthrough, I still need another 13%."
Caelan calculated carefully. With just 130 million berries, he could steadily push his synchronization rate to 50%.
If he could find stronger opponents, that progress could be accelerated even further.
"There's no one like that left in the East Blue. Looks like it's time to head to the Grand Line."
Caelan made up his mind. He would head for the Grand Line as soon as possible.
There, he would find more breathtaking sights and much stronger enemies.
But the Grand Line's climate was unpredictable, and the journey was filled with danger.
Without an excellent navigator, even setting sail would be nearly impossible.
"So, my navigator needs to be in place first."
Thinking of Nami, who had slipped away from the Baratie, Caelan smiled faintly.
He steered the boat, occasionally swinging his sword across the sea to maintain speed, heading straight for Cocoyasi Village.
Cocoyasi Village was also located in the Sambas region, not far from Caelan's current location.
(To be continued.)