Kuro is now a vice admiral candidate, which is the highest rank in the Navy system besides admirals.
Generals and marshals are of the same rank, and below them, Kuro, a candidate for general, is the most respected.
He won't be promoted either.
The old man just stood there, and he couldn't get promoted.
Of course, he didn't want a promotion either.
Promotions are no longer important; safety is what matters.
He didn't want a promotion in the past because the higher the position, the more problems he would encounter, and the less safe he would be.
But now that I've reached the top of my position, I have to accept that fact, so I can only seek security through other means.
G-3 is a good place; it has a large navy, a deep fortress, and small pirates dare not approach it.
But the great pirates are a different story, especially these remnants of an era who escaped from the sixth floor.
"Kro, tell me in detail, what exactly is my current reputation? Be specific."
Kuro, with a cigar in his mouth, looked at Kro.
He always thought he was just a "famous vice admiral in the navy covering parts of the East Blue, West Blue, North Blue, and the first half of the Grand Line," which is basically the same level as what Buggy said at Marineford: "What's going on? The navy and pirates are both famous on the sea."
There are plenty of famous people, but even if someone is famous, once the number of people is large enough, they will blend into the crowd and become just another ordinary person, and their fame will be meaningless.
But judging from the fact that some remnants of the past came to find me this time, it seems that's not the case.
Kuro pushed up his glasses with the heel of his hand, thought for a moment, and said, "Mr. Kuro, your fame has been rising ever since Top Eleven. By the time the King of the Four Kingdoms of the North Sea promoted you, your name was already known to everyone in the world."
"I know that."
The thought of this made Kuro grit his teeth in hatred.
"After that, you were promoted to vice admiral by Marshal Sakazuki in front of the World Navy live broadcast, and were internally nominated as a candidate for admiral. At this point, your reputation began to change."
Kro thought for a moment, then suddenly ran out again, and came out a moment later with a newspaper in his hand.
He pointed to the newspaper and said, "This is a newspaper from a while ago. It has photos of Naval Headquarters and your words..."
This newspaper was the one that Kuro had wanted to tell him, but Kuro was in a low mood at the time and simply ignored it.
The newspaper had a large banner with a photo of the new Navy Headquarters and a headline below it.
[Jin Ni: The old era is all dregs.]
Below that is a detailed report, which includes a series of actions taken by Sakazuki after becoming a marshal, a report on the new naval headquarters, and some remarks made by a vice admiral named Kinni.
The most eye-catching one is a single sentence.
"After Whitebeard's death, all the pirates of the old era should withdraw from the stage of the sea. If they don't, I will take action myself." — Vice Admiral "Golden Lion," the famous Marine who defeated Golden Lion, Lone Red, and World Destroyer.
There is one more picture at the end of the article.
It's a picture from the Marineford War, a close-up of Kuro flying alone in the sky, facing Whitebeard and his pirate crew. The sky behind him looks gloomy, making him look like a major villain.
Kuro stared blankly at the newspaper, then looked up and said, "Did I ever say anything about this? And who the hell took this photo?!"
"have no idea."
Kuro shook his head and said, "Two years have passed since the top, and the influence should be gradually fading. But this map reappeared two years later, right after you became a candidate for general. The newspapers didn't tell the whole story. The world doesn't know that a large number of criminals escaped from the sixth level of Impel Down. So... this is a tactic, Mr. Kuro."
"hiss."
Kuro gasped, realizing what was going on. "Someone's plotting against me?"
"You can't be calculating."
Kuro said, "It's just a matter of attention, Mr. Kuro. If I'm not mistaken, you've already been targeted by those escaped criminals. Those people want your head to embarrass the World Government and the Navy and damage their prestige."
"Wait a minute."
Kuro held out his hand to Kuro to stop him from speaking, then picked up the Den Den Mushi on the table and made another call.
"Bolo bolo bolo..."
The Den Den Mushi rang for a while, but no one answered.
Kuro dialed another number.
The call was connected very quickly.
"This is Admiral Kizaru's ship." A strange navy voice came from the other end.
"This is Kuro. Let the old man answer the phone."
"Yes, Lieutenant General Kuro!"
The Den Den Mushi gradually transformed into Kizaru's lewd face.
"Oh~ Kuro, what do you want with this old man again?"
"Come on! You were just using a wiretap on your phone, weren't you? I'll say it again, that black one can't make calls. And, old man, explain to me what that newspaper article about my promotion to lieutenant general meant? Didn't anyone inform me beforehand? Is the higher-ups being so unhelpful? I have a problem with this, I have a huge problem with this!" Kuro burst out like a firecracker.
"newspaper..."
Kizaru pondered for a moment, "Oh...you mean that newspaper manifesto used to lure Level 6 criminals?"
"You said it was attraction, right? You said it was attraction, didn't you!"
Kuro instinctively stood up and angrily said, "Seriously?! I'm a vice admiral! Catching sixth-level criminals like this is something that even if you're not an admiral, the entire navy should be doing together. Why single me out?! Because of this, we lost a whole ship of navy soldiers! If I hadn't been rushing like crazy, my men would probably have sunk to the bottom of the sea!"
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
