Chapter 78: New Naval Force!

"Powerful?"

"Terrifying?" 

Sengoku crossed his arms and stared intently at Aokiji. His expression seemed to say:

"I'm eager to hear how you'll explain yourself today."

Meeting Sengoku's suspicious gaze, Aokiji continued:

"Marshal, you might not fully understand these creatures from another world."

"In the world of Pokémon, there are many ways to quickly strengthen Pokémon. The two most common are evolution and synergy."

As he spoke, Aokiji took out his Rotom phone, summoned two Pokémon encyclopedias, and showed them to Sengoku.

"Marshal, please take a look…" 

"This red Pokémon, which looks like an ordinary fish, is called Magikarp. Although it seems foolish now, it evolves into a creature known as Gyarados, the 'Tyrant' of the Pokémon world!"

"Gyarados?" 

Sengoku was stunned, murmuring: "Isn't that…"

"Yes, exactly!" Aokiji quickly replied, "It's Vice Admiral Garp's Gyarados!"

"Once raised to a certain level, these Magikarp naturally evolve into Gyarados. Although not as powerful as Vice Admiral Garp's Gyarados, they would still possess the strength of a soldier below Vice Admiral!"

"And such a Pokémon costs only 1 points!"

"It's an opportunity you can't afford to miss! So, I bought 5,000 of them at once!"

Aokiji gazed proudly at the blank-eyed Magikarp in the fish tank, as though envisioning the future of the navy.

At this moment, Sengoku was also filled with shock.

The strength of Garp's Gyarados was well-known! Even a seasoned Navy officer like Vice Admiral Mole would tremble before it…

If 5,000 Magikarp could evolve into Gyarados, how much would the Navy's power increase? Several times over, at least!

Could such a massive boost in combat power really be obtained for only a quarter of the military's budget? Is this the change that dimensional merchants have brought to the world?

He was thrilled, absolutely thrilled! 

Seeing the surprised expression on Sengoku's face, Aokiji couldn't help but shrink back, feeling a chill down his spine.

In the end, he still hadn't mentioned how difficult it was to train Magikarp.

After all, according to what the dimensional merchant said, as long as the energy cubes were bought on time, Magikarp should evolve soon, right?

After introducing Magikarp, Aokiji immediately introduced the other Pokémon to Sengoku—Feebas. A Pokémon that, through group synergy, could become a powerful individual fighter…

This magical process made Sengoku realize once again the incredible power of Pokémon.

It was like combining the abilities of several Devil Fruits… but without any side effects!

At this moment, he had no objections to Aokiji's decision to exchange 1 billion Beli for a boatload of fish.

"Not bad! Not bad!" 

Sengoku tapped his fingers on the table, a thoughtful expression flashing behind his round glasses.

He understood the characteristics of the two Pokémon and was overall very satisfied with Aokiji's actions.

As expected of the man he favored, Aokiji was efficient in his work.

Ultimately, it was Sengoku's own arrogance and poor decisions that had nearly cost Akainu his life in the East Blue Sea.

Now, not only had Aokiji managed to prevent the situation from worsening, but he had also successfully made connections with the dimensional merchants and brought new strength to the Navy…

This made Sengoku increasingly convinced that Aokiji could be groomed as the next Navy Marshal.

Thinking of this, the corners of Sengoku's mouth curled up.

The world was about to undergo significant changes. This time, the old guys in the World Government wouldn't continue supporting Akainu, right?

Feeling pleased, Sengoku glanced at the Magikarp and Feebas in the fish tank again.

The next step was to consider how to deploy these Magikarp and Feebas.

1 billion Beli had been exchanged for a total of 10,000 points.

Under the dimensional merchant's advice, Aokiji had exchanged 5,000 Magikarp for 1 point each and 10,000 Feebas for 0.5 points each.

Magikarp needed to be trained and evolved to become effective in combat, while Feebas required group synergy to form combat power.

"In that case…" 

Sengoku suddenly lowered his head, deep in thought.

After a moment, he picked up the den-den mushi on his desk and said:

"Issue an order to all military departments!" 

"I will urgently select 5,000 elite naval personnel from the headquarters to form a new naval combat force."

At this point, Sengoku suddenly looked up at Aokiji. After a moment's hesitation, he slowly said:

"Kizaru is in charge of the naval scientific research unit. Akainu's injury hasn't fully healed. This new unit will be under your command, Aokiji!"

"This…" 

Aokiji was stunned, not expecting Sengoku to be so decisive.

But when he realized he would be in charge of a new department, his head began to ache.

"Oh, what a hassle." 

The usually lazy Aokiji was exasperated, but at this moment, there was no better candidate in the Navy than him.

"I'll carry out the mission." 

He saluted weakly, reluctance evident on his face.

---

Ten days later…

East Blue Sea, at the port of Loguetown.

A large number of ships slowly left the port, while another large group entered.

Since the arrival of the dimensional merchant, the port had never been quiet.

Countless dreamers poured into the sea.

They may have different reasons for setting sail, but on this vast stage, their ultimate goal was power!

"Colonel Smoker, the search is complete!"

"There were no pirates among the ships that entered the port this morning, but…"

The reporting navy paused slightly, hesitation in his voice.

Smoker, holding five thick cigars, glanced at him, blew out a huge smoke ring, and finished for him:

"But there were many [trainer] teams, right?"

"Yes…" The reporting sailor nodded, looking rather helpless.

As Leo conducted more transactions in the East Blue Sea, information about Pokémon became more transparent, and a new force gradually began to emerge on the sea!

They called themselves [Trainers], and their purpose for going to sea was to find the dimensional merchant and buy Pokémon!

In theory, such a force was outside the Navy's jurisdiction.

But this group of self-proclaimed [Trainers] was a mixed bag.

Some were merchants, some were civilians, but most were lesser-known pirates and gang members.

Seeing a large number of unknown people approaching Loguetown, Smoker couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

"Order all personnel to stay vigilant. There must be no disturbances in Loguetown!" 

Smoker looked seriously at the port and ordered the naval soldiers around him.

But what no one noticed was that…

On the horizon, just off the coast of Loguetown, bubbles began to rise ominously.

(End of this chapter)