"Sakazuki, how does it feel to have been turned into a toy for over a month?"
When Akainu arrived on the warship, Aokiji immediately asked with a smile.
Honestly, even now, he still found it hard to believe.
He had completely forgotten about Akainu — for a whole month!
The power of the Hobby-Hobby Fruit user was really terrifying.
Wait, why does my tone suddenly sound like Kizaru's?
But no matter what, Aokiji kept firmly in mind the fact that Akainu had been played like a toy. He could bring it up anytime.
Especially when arguing with Akainu!
At that moment...
"General Akainu sure had it easy for the past month. I heard that the Hobby-Hobby Fruit user held him almost 24/7!"
Luo Lan walked over, teasing.
Akainu's face immediately darkened.
He shot Luo Lan a sharp glare.
Aokiji's smile faded as he looked on seriously.
Only Tsuru cracked a faint smile.
After all, it had been over a year since he'd last seen Luo Lan.
"They're here?"
"Yeah, they're here."
Luo Lan nodded.
That simple exchange caught both Aokiji and Akainu off guard.
Why did it feel like Tsuru the strategist and the Jun Lin leader knew each other so well?
Was it just their imagination?
"Everyone, how about checking out the ship?" Luo Lan greeted Tsuru and then gestured invitingly.
Except for Akainu, Tsuru and Aokiji had no objections—they had wanted to see the ship for some time.
---
"Jun Lin leader, these cannons…"
"Right, these are the new generation ship cannons, called 'cannons'," Luo Lan explained. "They're designed for low-angle shooting, mainly targeting vertical, heavily armored, or long-distance targets. Each ship has three twin turrets, six guns total."
"What's the range?"
"Twelve nautical miles."
Everyone gasped.
Twelve nautical miles—that's over 22 kilometers, completely beyond visual range.
Beyond visual range strikes…
In the pirate world, they had no concept of that.
It was easy to imagine how shocking this was for them.
"It can hit that far…"
"But it's probably not just the distance; the power must be extraordinary too. Otherwise, what's the point even if it's far?"
After the initial shock, Tsuru asked.
Luo Lan snapped his fingers, and immediately a Jun Lin soldier brought forward a shell.
"What's that?"
Aokiji glanced and frowned in confusion.
"That's a shell!"
"I know what a shell looks like—don't try to fool me!"
Aokiji didn't believe it at all.
That thing had nothing to do with a shell.
However…
"Kuzan, he's not fooling you. That really is a shell!"
"Vice Admiral Tsuru?"
Aokiji was surprised.
That thing was really a shell?
"Hmph, ignorant fools!"
Akainu scoffed arrogantly beside him.
Look at me staying so calm, but you…
Not only ignorant but saying it out loud too—what a disgrace!
Aokiji thought: That's only because you personally experienced it, otherwise you'd be just as clueless, if not worse!
"I have a question. Although these cannons can shoot 12 nautical miles, how do you aim at targets that far away?"
"The method is actually pretty primitive—someone climbs high with binoculars and does minor trajectory corrections!"
Luo Lan answered directly.
He definitely wouldn't tell the Navy that they had Observation Haki radar.
Besides, even the Observation Haki radar on the flagship had been removed before departure, replaced by Danaan to guide the fire.
"So the hit rate must be very low?"
"Of course. How accurate do you expect to be when firing at targets 12 nautical miles away?"
"Alright then!"
Everyone immediately accepted this answer.
After all, that was normal.
From their perspective, this flaw was negligible.
Because even a range of a few kilometers was enough for the Navy to have overwhelming dominance in sea battles against pirates.
Then Luo Lan led them to tour the secondary guns, machine gun turrets, the bridge, command center, and various compartments.
"Tsuru, are you sure you don't need training services?"
"No!"
"What about shells? Should we buy some extras?"
"No need, we can make our own!"
"Well…"
Luo Lan looked a little disappointed.
At this moment, two officers next to Tsuru brought over a crate.
They opened it.
Inside were seventeen Black Devil Fruits.
Luo Lan's eyes lit up.
But the next second...
Tsuru suddenly said,
"Take your Devil Fruits and get off my ship. Now. Immediately."
Luo Lan was stunned.
Why did that line sound so familiar?
---
Four warships.
Nearly a thousand people.
It took half an hour to transfer everyone aboard Danaan.
Then they submerged and departed!
"How are the four warships going to be distributed? Has headquarters decided?"
Seeing the Jun Lin submarine leave, Akainu stroked the main gun base and asked.
"Strategist Tsuru, since the New World is unstable lately, how about leaving one at the G1 branch for combat testing?"
Tsuru's eyes instantly widened.
Is Akainu for real?
He even used a respectful 'you'...
He clearly wanted a warship, didn't he?
"Yeah, leave one at G1 to see how it performs against the New World pirates. That's important, I agree."
At that, Aokiji nodded too.
Akainu was surprised.
Was Kuzan actually speaking up for him?
Looks like he had misunderstood him all this time; when it mattered, he was on his side...
Kuzan, thanks!
However...
Before Akainu could feel touched, Aokiji started speaking again.
"Sakazuki, since you were controlled by the Hobby-Hobby Fruit user before, headquarters arranged for me to relieve you early. You'll be returning shortly."
What?
Akainu had a string of question marks floating above his head.
So the idea of leaving a warship at G1 wasn't for me, but for yourself?
"Strategist Tsuru, I thought about it carefully. It's better to bring all four warships back to headquarters. Losing even one in the New World would be a disaster."
"Vice Admiral Tsuru, since Sakazuki has recovered, I think we should cancel the early rotation order. I'll return with you."
The first sentence was Akainu's.
The second, Aokiji's.
They stared each other down like a blinking contest.
Tsuru was speechless.
Seriously, you two admirals, what are you arguing about?
"You both stay at the G1 branch for now. Sengoku hasn't ordered your return."
"As for the four warships, I'll take responsibility for bringing them back. We depart in an hour!"
Shaking her head, Tsuru said.
Just then, an officer ran out of the bridge.
"Tsuru, we've studied this for a long time but still can't figure out how to operate this ship!"
"Does Jun Lin not provide training?"
...
...
Tsuru, Akainu, and Aokiji all stood there stunned in the wind.
It seemed they had just been offered training, but Tsuru flat out refused.
---
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