"Um?"

As the fierce battle raged on the bridge, Kuro suddenly sensed something and looked towards a certain part of the sea.

"Huh? Is something coming this way?"

Lida also sensed something and followed Kuro's gaze, then her eyes widened: "There's a ship, an unmanned ship, how did it get here!"

"The boat..."

Kuro exhaled a puff of smoke, smiled, and said nothing more.

To be honest, he had never seen a ship spirit before, and he couldn't discern anything special about the ship with an alpaca prow.

For Kuro, the ship was a tool; he had never seen a ship spirit.

The people on the bridge suddenly jumped down and landed accurately on the boat.

"Bombard! Bombard!"

The admiral on board roared, but when the cannons were aimed at the Merry, the ship shuddered, causing the entire course to shift, and the several large ships gradually drew closer to each other.

"The gates of justice have been closed! The ocean currents have reappeared!"

"Damn it, why are the doors of justice closed!"

"Don't let the Straw Hat crew get away!"

Bang!!!

The small ship, surrounded by huge warships, inexplicably took to the air, soaring into the sky, escaping the swirling currents, and sailing on its way.

Chloe stared at the departing Going Merry with a complicated expression. "In this situation... is it possible to escape?"

Back in Xiluobu Village, the straw hat kept causing miracles, and along the way, growth accelerated even further.

He adjusted his glasses, thinking to himself, "I'll definitely settle this score with you!"

"Ah, this really is..."

Suddenly, a voice rang out on the deck.

"General Aokiji!"

"It's Admiral Aokiji!"

Kuzan?

Kuro glanced over instinctively.

There appeared a tall man in a white shirt, staring at the departing ship, scratching his head, seemingly lost in thought.

It really was him.

Kuro turned around, his back to Aokiji.

You can't see me, you can't see me, you can't see me.

"I didn't expect you to come in person."

A naval commander said in a panic, "We will definitely continue the pursuit, we will definitely wipe out the Straw Hat Pirates, and capture Nico Robin, this important criminal. Please approve the support fleet and the replenishment of soldiers."

Aokiji glanced at him, then at the silent Storoberry, and shook his head:

"Forget it. We've already used the Buster Call. The devastation at Enies Lobby and the Straw Hat Pirates' escape... it's undeniable that we failed. I'll explain this to my superiors. Let's just end it here."

As he spoke, he glanced at the deck where Kuro was preparing to sneak away.

"It really is you. I only came here because I saw your face, Lucilfer Kuro."

You son of a bitch!

Kuro smirked, turned around, and said with a very serious expression, "I've long admired your name, Admiral Aokiji."

"You know him?"

Storobelli looked at Aokiji with curiosity.

“Ah…didn’t he tell you? He’s Borsalino’s direct subordinate,” Aokiji said.

"oh?"

Storobelli looked at Kuro with surprise and suspicion.

He had no recollection of this navy; would Admiral Kizaru really take someone like this as a subordinate?

Does this person possess some kind of potential?

It looks quite ordinary.

Seeing that Strawberry seemed completely unaware of anything, Aokiji scratched his head and said, "Well, never mind."

He walked to Kuro's side, put his hand on the edge of the boat, and faced the sea: "The Straw Hat crew is now completely famous. The World Government will no longer stand idly by. The old man is going to have a lot of trouble... You were there back then, right? Why didn't you stop them?"

"Huh? Me?"

Kuro pointed at himself incredulously, then waved his hand: "Don't be ridiculous, I'm just a warrant officer."

Aokiji glanced at him and said, "Stop joking. I was the first person Smoker told."

Kuro's eyelids twitched. If there weren't so many people around, he would have given Aokiji a good 'reasoning' right now.

Aokiji is a high-ranking member, so he definitely knows what Kizaru knows. Turns out, you're the source!

Kuro curled his lip. "If even five vice admirals aren't stopping him, why should I? Everyone trusts Rob Lucci so much, and so do I. Who knew that straw hat could defeat him?"

Aokiji scratched his head: "Well, you seem to know something about it too."

Kuro shrugged. "Everyone's just slacking off, what right do they have to criticize me?"

Aokiji said, "But I'm quite curious about you. It's hard to imagine that the Navy has someone like you. How about we go on a trip together and get to know each other?"

It's hard to imagine that the Navy has someone like me.

There are plenty of good options everywhere, aren't you already there?

Kuro looked at Aokiji and refused, "I don't have time for that, I need to go back to headquarters."

"Well, whatever you want. But I think status is sometimes very important. Without status, it's inconvenient to do many things."

Trying to fool me?

Dream your dreams.

Kuro pretended not to hear.

Even if I, Kuro, die, fall into the Dead Sea, or jump off a ship, I will never get promoted!

Aokiji rode away on his little bicycle, and the Buster Call ships began their return to headquarters. Kuro, traveling on the Strawberry Ship, also arrived at headquarters.

After learning that Kuro was Kizaru's direct subordinate, Strawberry's attitude became noticeably more friendly.

Upon arriving at headquarters, Strawberry said, "Kuro, why don't you join my unit? That way you can earn some merit too."

Strawberry, who was previously directly under Kizaru's command, naturally wanted to get closer to Kuro, who was also directly under his command.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!