At the training ground of the Loguetown branch base, many Marines watched curiously as Ivan and the others arrived.
Smoker stepped out from the crowd, his gaze sweeping over the cloth bags in Patton's hands. He asked in a low voice, "Is this what you gained from your trip?"
"Just a small haul," Ivan replied casually, then raised his hand in a signal.
Patton and the others immediately understood, turning the bags upside down in unison.
With a clattering sound, the contents of the bags tumbled to the ground—one bloodstained head after another.
Smoker wasn't particularly concerned at first, as Ivan often returned with a large number of pirate heads. But when he spotted one of the heads rolling near his feet, his expression turned serious. "This is… a Fish-Man!"
The first thought that flashed through his mind was the Arlong Pirates, who had been entrenched in the East Blue for years. Could these be pirates from the Arlong Pirates?
He quickly scanned the rest of the heads, his eyes soon locking onto one that stood out—with fangs, a long nose, and bluish-gray skin. It was unmistakably Arlong!
Smoker's heart shook violently.
Arlong was not only a notorious pirate with a bounty of 20 million Berries but also had deep ties to Jinbe, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Under the protection of a Warlord, Arlong had run rampant in the East Blue for years, with even Marine Headquarters turning a blind eye.
Had Ivan really taken down Arlong? Had his strength grown to such a level already?
"Is this the Arlong Pirates?" Smoker asked gravely.
"Correct!"
"You should know he's a complicated case."
The protection of a Warlord fell outside Loguetown's jurisdiction, and with certain individuals within the Marines secretly shielding Arlong, even Smoker had never taken action against him. After all, acting rashly would not only bring no credit but could lead to punishment for overstepping authority.
Ivan was well aware of this, yet he showed no concern about potential repercussions. He said indifferently, "Burning Justice must leave no room for evil!"
Knowing his subordinate's temperament, Smoker sighed helplessly. "You… fine. What we need to do now is contact Captain Rat of the 16th Branch. As long as he doesn't report you for violating regulations, Headquarters won't punish you. But I've heard that Rat's reputation isn't exactly stellar…"
"No need for all that trouble!"
Smoker: "???"
"Rat is already dead," Ivan stated calmly, his words exploding like a bomb in the training ground.
Smoker stared at Ivan in disbelief. "Wait, what did you say? Captain Rat is dead?"
"Exactly!"
Smoker felt a wave of dizziness. He thought he understood Ivan well, but Ivan's boldness exceeded his expectations!
Glancing around, Smoker sighed again and pulled Ivan into his office. Lowering his voice, he asked, "Did you kill him?"
Though he knew Smoker had already guessed the answer, Ivan wasn't about to admit it.
He chuckled lightly. "Colonel Smoker, you mustn't slander me. The reason Captain Rat died was because he was attacked by the Arlong Pirates."
"Just then, I heard Captain Rat's call for help and rushed over at full speed."
"But by the time we reached the vicinity of Cocoyasi Village, we found that Captain Rat had already been brutally killed by Arlong. All we could do was take down Arlong to avenge Captain Rat!"
Smoker fell silent. Knowing Ivan's character, he had a rough idea of the truth.
Undoubtedly, Captain Rat and Arlong had been colluding, Ivan discovered it, and then Ivan killed them both.
In Smoker's eyes, Ivan was an even more extreme marine than Admiral Akainu.
His Burning Justice would never allow even a trace of evil to exist—even the corruption within the marines had to be burned away completely!
"Sigh..." Smoker sat back in his chair. "Then let's report it this way. I hope headquarters will believe our account."
Ivan declared righteously, "What do you mean 'believe'? This is the truth!"
Seeing Ivan's shamelessness, Smoker laughed in exasperation. "Get out! I need to write the report. If you stay any longer, I'll make you write it!"
"Got it!" Ivan promptly left.
After leaving Smoker's office, Ivan headed straight for the low hill behind the town.
Along the way, he responded to the townsfolk greeting him while checking his status panel.
[Because you protected the weak, [Gojo Satoru Template] approval increased by 10%]
[Template: Gojo Satoru · Echo (Approval: 43%)]
[Because you eradicated darkness, [Yamato] approval increased by 10%]
[Template: Yamato (Approval: 10%)]
As his approval increased, Ivan's physical constitution improved accordingly.
He pondered to himself that with his current physical fitness, he could likely refine those envisioned techniques!
When Ivan reached the low hill, he took a deep breath and extended his palm flat in front of his chest.
A brilliant blue sphere appeared above his palm, releasing a powerful gravitational force that continuously attracted surrounding rubble and dead branches.
This was Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue. Currently, most of Ivan's attacks utilized Blue's gravitational pull.
Thus, Ivan had once speculated that if he could enhance the intensity of this gravitational force, his strength would rise accordingly!
However, with his previous physical constitution, he simply couldn't increase Blue's gravitational pull.
But now, with his constitution improved once more, he had barely met the requirements to enhance Blue's gravity!
As Ivan focused his mind, his stamina drained rapidly like floodwaters through an open gate.
While his stamina plummeted, the color of the brilliant blue sphere in his hand deepened accordingly.
Gradually, the sphere's color shifted from brilliant blue to dark blue, until finally becoming blue-black.
Once Blue turned blue-black, its gravitational force reached an astonishing level.
Even though the sphere's volume was now only one-tenth of its original size, the gravitational force it released exceeded the original by dozens of times!
Even the massive boulder beside Ivan was pulled by the powerful gravity, swiftly flying toward him!
Seeing this, Ivan knew it was time. He extended a finger and flicked the blue-black sphere forward. "Black Blue: Finger Gun!"
With a sonic boom, Black Blue shot out instantly, striking the low hill.
The hill couldn't hold out for even a second—it was pierced straight through from the mountainside, leaving a half-meter-wide hole!
On the spot, Ivan gasped heavily, satisfied as he looked at the marks left by Black Blue: Finger Gun.
With his current stamina, he could barely manage to unleash one shot of Black Blue: Finger Gun.
But high consumption also brought high damage—such formidable power was likely something even those vice admirals couldn't withstand head-on!
Over the next few days, Ivan stayed in the back mountains, continuing to refine his techniques and train his body.
Although his current physique was far stronger than before, it was all brought by the character template.
While the character template provided his physique, it also brought the character's potential. So now, as Ivan continued to train, his physique could steadily improve.
Although it wasn't as fast as increasing recognition, it was definitely not something to be easily abandoned.
Unless one cheated, no strong person started out strong from the beginning. Only through perseverance, accumulating bit by bit, was the true shortcut to becoming strong!
While Ivan was training, his actions were also quickly spreading throughout the East Blue.
A few days later, this small incident in the East Blue was finally placed on the conference table at headquarters…