Kuro didn't care that Lida wanted to stay; in fact, he wasn't comfortable letting her go, fearing she would devour a base. Besides, that bastard Teach seemed to still be eyeing Lida's abilities, so it would be best if she stayed by his side.
As for Kro, he just used it because he was used to it.
He needs to keep some people around him so that his superiors won't refuse him even this small favor.
As for what Kro thinks...
Wasn't he quite happy, greeting everyone with a smile?
Kro sat there with a stiff smile on his face, his eyes numb despite the smile.
He really wanted to be a powerful vice admiral, find a base like Mr. Kuro, bully people whenever he wanted, live a luxurious life, and never forget his duty as a naval officer.
That would be so impressive...
Why?
Why is he still being kept around and treated like a tool even though he's already a lieutenant general?
“Cass and Wilbur have both received transfer orders. Aren’t we going to stop them?” Kro asked, somewhat unwilling and even with a hint of malice.
If he can't leave, why should Cass and Wilbur be able to?
"They...they're all lieutenant generals now, they need to be able to stand on their own."
Kuro took a sip of his drink. "What's the point of always being by my side? I've never heard of a lieutenant general serving under another lieutenant general. That's not in accordance with the rules."
“Mr. Kuro, then I…”
"As for you guys, well... I've never been one for rules anyway, I've just gotten used to using you all. Crowe, go prepare the ship. We've finally had a chance to rest, so let's go back and have some fun while there aren't any transfer orders."
“Yes… Mr. Kuro.” Kuro pushed up his glasses and said helplessly.
People are different. Even two hot-blooded people arguing all the time would drive you crazy.
He's a lieutenant general now, so he'll be released naturally and won't be able to cause any harm.
Wilbur used to be quite nice, but he's probably been around Cass for too long, and now he even speaks with a Cass accent, which makes Kuro extremely uncomfortable and even afraid.
Go further away, it's better to go further away.
Kuromi took a sip of her drink and sighed, "Life is so pleasant..."
He had been here for several days since he learned that his subordinates had been promoted, and was beginning to enjoy the tranquility ahead of time.
I, Kuro, am not yet thirty years old, and I am almost about to achieve my dream!
...
Outside, Cass and Wilbur walked out side by side.
"Why did you stop me just now?" Cass frowned. "Shouldn't you have reported that to Mr. Kuro?"
"Haven't you noticed? Ever since we got promoted, Mr. Kuro has been staying in the tavern, eating alone all the time. The implication is quite clear," Wilbur said with some heartache.
“You mean…” Cass’s eyes widened, “There are no seats available, right?”
Wilbur nodded solemnly: "Yes, there are no positions left. You know, this promotion is an unprecedented one. Everyone else besides us has been promoted, the lowest being lieutenant colonel. This should have been Mr. Kuro's achievement, the achievement that could have made him a general!"
Wilbur was a naval officer from the Grand Line, unlike Cass, who rose through the ranks from a small place in the East Blue. He understood the structure of the navy better than Cass.
Such a collective promotion must occur when the supervising official has reached the point where there is no further promotion to be made.
However, there's only one possibility: there's no room for advancement.
Mr. Kuro will not be promoted to general.
The positions of the three generals were decided long ago.
No one can force the World Government to make changes; otherwise, there would be more than three admirals by now.
Moreover, even if there are more than three generals, they still cannot be promoted now.
The World Government will not tolerate two Marines from the same faction becoming Admirals; that would create too much power for them.
"Mr. Kuro is currently unable to serve as a general; this is our dereliction of duty!"
Wilbur clutched his chest, heartbroken. "As a subordinate, failing to help my superior is a grave dereliction of duty! Mr. Kuro has become so dejected that he's drinking alone in silence. When we arrived, what did he say? He said we were now equals..."
"Equal rank...you should understand what that means, Cass!"
“Yes, I understand…” Cass murmured absentmindedly, “That was the desolation and helplessness of knowing that I couldn’t get promoted. That’s why Mr. Kuro said that we were at the same level and that he couldn’t make a decision for us.”
Wilbur gritted his teeth and said, "That's right! We haven't worked hard enough. We've only just become lieutenant generals. If we want the higher-ups to take notice or even consider replacing us with generals, we have to achieve something to get their attention. We're not qualified yet."
"Mr. Kuro's idea of letting us make our own decisions is that we should work hard and make our own choices. Since we are lieutenant generals, we are certainly qualified to take charge on our own. Therefore, we don't need Mr. Kuro to direct us in many things. Otherwise, if we have to rely on Mr. Kuro to think about everything, how can we fulfill Mr. Kuro's ideals?"
After listening, Cass nodded thoughtfully: "What you said makes sense. That's right. It's time to let Mr. Kuro check whether we are capable of handling things on our own."
"Yes, that's right. Mr. Kuro never says everything. After all, those kinds of things are impossible to explain clearly; they're too risky. We just need to see what he does, and that's enough."
Wilbur said, "So, Cass, you're going to Dressrosa and I'm going to Korf. If we help each other, we can work together with David to achieve his goals. At the same time, we can hone our abilities, strength, and reputation there. When the time is right, we'll have the power to help Mr. Kuro become a general!"
As he spoke, he clenched his fist and almost shouted with excitement: "As subordinates, our most important and our most important duty is to share the burdens of our superiors!"
"Wilbur, what you said was brilliant!!"
Cass couldn't help but clap his hands, his face flushed red. "That's right! That's exactly what we should do! Right now, Mr. Kuro can't be promoted because of Admiral Kizaru, but ultimately, it's because we don't have enough prestige. Once we increase our influence, we can let the higher-ups see Mr. Kuro's power, and then Mr. Kuro's long-cherished wish will surely be fulfilled!"
What they wanted to report to Kuro was that G-3 Fortress was gone, but Dressrosa had voluntarily offered Greenbit as a naval base.
Meanwhile, the neighboring Kingdom of Korf, whose treaty with the World Government stipulated the construction of a naval base within its territory, has acquired both of these naval bases.
This time, I'm going to report to Kuro and the others that I'm going to take up my post and see what instructions I need.
But after hearing Wilbur say that, Cass felt it was unnecessary.
They must stand on their own, and they must bring greater honor to Mr. Kuro!
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