Chapter 56

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nI Was Promoted?

n“Yes?”

nWhile the battle on the bridge was raging, Kuro suddenly felt something and looked at a certain place in the sea.

n“Eh? Is something coming?”

nLeda also keenly sensed something and followed Kuro’s gaze, then her eyes widened. “There is a ship, an unmanned ship, how did it come here!”

n“Boat…”

nKuro blew out a cloud of smoke, smiled, and said no more.

nTo be honest, he had never seen a Ship Spirit before. Looking at the bow of the ship, it was Alpaca’s ship and he could not see any clues.

nTo Kuro, ships were tools. He had never seen a ship elf.

nThe people on the bridge suddenly jumped down and landed on the ship accurately.

n“Fire! Fire!”

nThe Vice-Admiral on the ship shouted angrily, but when the gun barrel was aimed at the Meri, the ship shook, causing the entire track to deviate and several large ships gradually approached each other.

n“The door of justice has been closed! The current has reappeared!”

n“Damn it, why is the door of justice closed!”

n“Don’t let the Straw Hats escape!”

nBang!!!

nThe small ship surrounded by the huge Battleship inexplicably flew into the sky and shot into the sky, escaping the spinning current and sailing all the way.

nCrowe stared at the flying Golden Meri with a complicated expression. “In such a situation… can he escape?”

nIt was the same in West Rob Village. The straw hat kept triggering miracles. Along the way, it grew faster.

nHe pushed up his glasses and thought to himself, “I will definitely settle this score with you!”

n“Ah, this is really…”

nSuddenly, a voice sounded on the deck.

n“Admiral Aokiji!”

n“It’s Admiral Aokiji!”

nKuzan?

nKuro subconsciously looked over.

nA tall man in a white shirt appeared there. He stared at the departing ship and scratched his head, thinking about something.

nIt was really him.

nKuro turned his back on Aokiji.

n‘You can’t see me, you can’t see me, you can’t see me.’

n“I didn’t expect you to come in person.”

nA Battleship Commander’s Marine said in horror: “We will definitely continue to pursue and destroy the Straw Hat Pirates and catch the important criminal, Nico Robin. Please approve the support fleet and the reinforcement soldiers.”

nAokiji glanced at him and then at the silent Strawberry, shaking his head.

n“Forget it, we have already used the Demon Slayer Token. The tragic situation on the Island of Justice and the escape of Straw Hat… It cannot be denied that we have failed. I will explain this to the higher-ups and let it end here.”

nWith that, he looked at Kuro, who was about to sneak away.

n“Sure enough, it’s you. I came here because I saw your face, Lucilu Kuro.”

nDamn you!

nKuro pulled the corners of his mouth, turned around, and said with a very serious expression, “I have long heard of your great name, Admiral Aokiji.”

n“You know him?”

nStrawberry looked curiously at Aokiji.

n“Ah… Didn’t this person tell you? He is a direct subordinate of Borusalino,” Aokiji said.

n“Oh?”

nStrawberry looked at Kuro in surprise.

nHe had no impression of Marines. Would Admiral Kizaru accept such a person as his subordinate?

nCould it be that this person also has some potential?

nIt looked ordinary.

nAokiji looked at Strawberry and scratched his head. “Well, forget it.”

nHe walked near Kuro, holding the edge of the boat and facing the sea. “The Straw Hats are completely famous now. The World Government will no longer sit by and do nothing. This old man is annoyed… You were there, right? Why didn’t you stop them?”

n“Huh? Me?”

nKuro pointed at himself in disbelief and then waved his hand. “Don’t tease me, I’m just a Warrant Officer.”

nAokiji glanced at him and said, “Stop joking. The first person Smoker told was me.”

nKuro’s eyelids jumped. If it weren’t for the fact that there were many people, he would have had a good ‘reason’ with Aokiji.

nAokiji is a high-level person, Kizaru definitely knows what he knows, but it turns out that you are the source!

nKuro pursed his lips. “Five Vice-Admiral didn’t stop him, why should I stop him? Everyone believed in Rob Lucci so much, and so did I. Who knew that straw hat could defeat him.”

nAokiji scratched his head. “Well, you seem to know something.”

nKuro shrugged. Everyone is slacking off. Who are they to criticize me?

nAokiji said, “But I’m quite curious about you. It’s hard to imagine that the Marine has someone like you. Do you want to travel with me? Let’s get to know each other.”

nIt’s hard to imagine Marines having someone like me?

nIt’s everywhere. Aren’t you ready-made?

nKuro looked at Aokiji and refused, “I don’t have the time, I want to go back to headquarters.”

n“Well, it’s up to you. But I want to say that status is sometimes very important. Without status, a lot of things are inconvenient.”

nTrying to fool me?

nDream on.

nKuro pretended not to hear.

nI, Kuro, will never be promoted even if I die and jump off a ship!

nAokiji left on his little bicycle, the ship of Demon Slayer began to return to Headquarters, and Kuro took Strawberry’s ship and went to Headquarters with him.

nAfter knowing that Kuro was Kizaru’s direct subordinate, Strawberry’s attitude became much closer.

nAfter arriving at the headquarters, Strawberry said, “Kuro, do you want to come to my unit? This way, you can earn some credit.”

nAs Kizaru’s direct subordinate, Strawberry wanted to get close to Kuro.

nKuro shook his head and said, “Thank you for your kindness, Kizaru has other plans for me.”

n‘Credit?’

nCan that thing be eaten?

nStrawberry did not say much. Admiral Kizaru had plans. What else could he say?

nAfter bidding farewell to Strawberry, Kuro went straight to Kizaru’s office.

nKizaru was drinking tea at this time. When he saw Kuro coming in, he pouted and said in surprise, “Oh, you’re back? I heard about the incident on Judicial Island. The pirates nowadays are really terrible.”

nThe incident on Justice Island could be considered ‘brutal’ even among the big pirates.

nAfter all, in order to cover up the truth, the government gave all the pots to Straw Hat, so it was Straw Hat who destroyed Justice Island.

nAnd the straw hat is completely famous in the world.

nBut… what does it have to do with Kuro?

nKuro went straight to the point. “I have done what you asked me to do. Old man, where is my freedom of action?”

n“Well, I will definitely do what I promised, but I have to congratulate you on something. You have been promoted.”

nKizaru took out a stack of documents and handed them to Kuro.

nPromotion… promotion?

nPromotion?!

nKuro’s eyes widened as he took the document. He, Luciru Kuro, had been promoted one rank, from Warrant Officer to Second Lieutenant.

nFrom the ranks of Marine soldiers, he has officially advanced to a Marine officer.

n“What’s going on? How did I get promoted? I didn’t do anything on Justice Island.”

nKuro felt a headache coming on.

nOrganize a civilian refuge?

nThat’s what Marines should do.

nMoreover, CP9 should have been taken the blame and disappeared by now, and Bruno did not have time to type up a report. Even if he did, it would be fine. That thing was not a credit.

nSo, how did I get promoted?

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