Soon, the doctor arrived and was shocked to see Lida lying unconscious on the ground. He immediately gathered a team to begin treatment.

Kuro, on the other hand, lay in his hospital bed pretending to be dead.

The diagnosis came back quickly: Kuro was exhausted.

Although Lida couldn't quite manage it, she still absorbed half of Kuro's energy, leading the doctor to diagnose Kuro as being completely exhausted.

This is also the effect Kuro wanted to achieve.

As for Lida, she was simply hungry.

After giving her some food as a trial, she was full of energy again.

Kuro pretended to lie down for a whole day, and when he felt it was about time, he 'dazedly' opened his eyes and woke up.

The main reason is that he recovers his energy quickly; lying down for a day is already his limit.

Upon learning that Kuro had awakened, Ripa and the others rushed to the scene.

"Kuro, what's wrong with you?" Ripa asked.

Kuro, pale-faced, got up. Lida, who was eating nearby, cooperated by carefully helping Kuro sit up and lean against the headboard.

"It's an old problem, cough cough."

Kuro coughed twice and said weakly, "I have been sickly since I was a child. The swordsmanship passed down in my family takes too much to my body. I will be exhausted after using just one move. I can only maintain the most basic combat on weekdays."

This was the excuse he had come up with.

Combined with the doctor's solid examination, it was practically flawless!

That way, it won't be a big problem if he occasionally shows off his strength.

"Sergeant Kuro, I didn't know you had such a secret, but for the sake of the common people, you still disregarded your own health. This is truly, truly moving!"

Cass cried again, tears streaming down his face and sticking to his beard.

Lida carefully moved two steps to the side, giving Cass a disdainful look.

"I understand, Kuro. You should rest well. I'll take care of the rest for you."

Lipa nodded solemnly and led Cass out.

Completed? What's been completed?

There was something off about Kurorippa's back, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

After they left, Lipa lowered his head and pondered. Suddenly, he said to Cass, "Let Kuro take all the credit for this."

"I have no objection. Sergeant has sacrificed too much for us. Without Sergeant's morale boost, we would have sunk to the bottom of the sea long ago."

Cass had no objections, of course.

Lipa nodded with satisfaction: "We'll give all the credit for capturing an ability user and defeating Monka to Kuro. He's worked diligently in the branch for ten years without making any progress, but with these two achievements now, going to headquarters for further training shouldn't be a problem."

His body is too weak. Going to the Grand Line might solve his physical problems. If it can be solved, Kuro will definitely shine in the Navy!

He wasn't a power-hungry, autocratic type like Morgan; on the contrary, he was a naval officer with a strong sense of justice who cared deeply for his subordinates.

Kuro was an old acquaintance. If he were Kuro, possessing unparalleled swordsmanship but unable to unleash it due to physical limitations, how desperate would that be?

As his superior and old acquaintance, he will definitely make proper arrangements for Kuro!

Achoo!

Kuro sneezed and rubbed his nose.

"Strange, who's thinking about me? Never mind, Lida, peel me an apple."

"Cut it yourself!"

Lida raised her eyebrows; she simply couldn't understand how such a monster could have cultivated itself.

Even with all my strength, I couldn't drain his energy. Instead, I fainted from hunger because I overused my abilities!

...

The East China Sea was calm and the sun was shining brightly.

Sunlight streamed into the office through the window. Kuro casually propped his feet up on the desk, wearing sunglasses, a cigarette dangling from his lips, and a bottle of red wine beside him.

He stubbed out his cigarette, held up the wine glass with an unusually languid posture, swirled the liquid inside, and took a small sip.

"rustle."

The sun is shining brightly outside, and the breeze is gentle; it's very comfortable.

"rustle."

Luffy has left Branch 153, Morgan has been arrested, and things have calmed down in the area.

"rustle."

Ah...that feels so good.

Kuro was already envisioning his comfortable and wonderful life.

"rustle."

"Enough! Lida, don't make noise while you're eating, you're ruining my mood!"

Kuro roared, veins bulging on his forehead.

Right next to him, Lida was holding a large box of cookies, which she was eating noisily.

"I'm hungry," Lida said expressionlessly.

"Then let's go out to eat!" Kuro waved his hand impatiently. "Don't waste my rare moment of relaxation."

The storm has passed, so from now on, I can just relax, cultivate myself a bit, and live peacefully.

"Sergeant Kuro!"

Outside the door, a series of footsteps sounded, along with Cass's loud voice.

The door was quickly pushed open, and Cass, panting, held a report, his face beaming with undisguised joy. "Sergeant, something great has happened! A really great thing!"

Do you have something good to say?

Then I'm sure something bad is going to happen to me.

He used to say that when something good happened, he would either go fight pirates or go fight pirates.

Kuro said irritably, "What's wrong, Cass?"

Cass, oblivious to the odd tone in Kuro's voice, exclaimed excitedly, "Sergeant Kuro, you've been promoted! You've been promoted to Warrant Officer!"

Upon hearing that he was just a warrant officer, Kuro breathed a sigh of relief. "He's just a warrant officer, not even an officer. Why make such a fuss?"

"He's a warrant officer from headquarters. Headquarters wants you to come to headquarters for further training!"

Even at headquarters...

Kuro suddenly froze. "Wait, what did you say? Headquarters?!"

"Yes, Sergeant, no, Warrant Officer, Warrant Officer Kuro!"

Cass nodded excitedly.

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