Every day, Groribas suffered under the constant beatings from heroes and the relentless thrashings by Saitama. He was completely broken. Countless times, he'd nearly given in to his darker urges, wanting to unleash his unbeatable acid on those damned heroes and melt them into puddles.
But the only thing that held him back was the thought that Kizaru would eventually return. That hope was the only reason he kept enduring.
And yet, what he got in return for all that patience… was Kizaru's complete abandonment. He didn't even realize that Kizaru had forgotten he existed.
Did aliens not have human rights?! Did aliens deserve to be treated like this?!
Furious, Groribas was on the verge of going berserk...
Until he saw that dumb-looking bald head.
The trauma from being punched into oblivion countless times by Saitama immediately forced him to calm down.
Maybe… being a punching bag wasn't so bad after all. None of the native heroes could actually hurt him anyway.
Consider it the price of staying alive. Of the three elite warriors, he was the only one left. Even Lord Boros had been obliterated, not even dust remained of him. What was there to complain about?
After repeating this self-hypnosis over and over, Groribas had even trained himself to force out a smile whenever the Bald Demon King walked past.
"Eugh, so ugly… Time for your beating."
Saitama said with his usual deadpan, clearly unimpressed. Kizaru had never said what should be done with this alien punching bag, so Saitama just kept him around in the training camp for practice.
Sometimes, he even served as a sparring dummy for Genos and Flashy Flash—he was surprisingly useful.
Though Groribas wasn't exactly happy about it, he had to admit: in the training camp, he was popular. The heroes thought punching him felt way better than punching a wooden dummy. The only problem was that only S-Class heroes were allowed to challenge him one-on-one, which seemed like a waste.
"Right away, sir…"
Groribas replied with a forced smile. He had long since been terrified of Saitama. Gone was the iron-headed fool who used to mock the bald demon to his face.
Even if he could ignore 99% of physical attacks, Saitama's 1% was more than enough to completely obliterate him.
Every night, after all the over-energized heroes had finally gone to sleep, Groribas would lie alone inside his psychic prison, staring up at the starry night sky.
If only I hadn't come to Earth with Boros…
Two decades of waiting had led to this: becoming a prisoner and being endlessly tormented by the natives. Was this really worth it?
---
Back in the One Piece world, Kizaru stretched lazily on the sofa. When he glanced out the window, the darkness had already faded into daylight.
The marines aboard the warship were all very disciplined—no one dared disturb the admiral who had "just returned from a fierce battle."
"Buru buru… Buru buru…"
Just as Kizaru was about to get up, the Den Den Mushi on the table began to ring.
"This is Kizaru. What do you want?"
Though he'd been away from the One Piece world for a good ten days or more, Kizaru immediately returned to his usual sluggish and relaxed tone.
"Kizaru?! Why didn't you answer earlier when we were calling you?!"
On the other end was one of the Five Elders, the bearded one, who was currently shouting angrily.
Normally, they wouldn't even bother checking in on Kizaru, this notorious troublemaker.
But now… Kizaru had something they desperately wanted—Pure Gold. When their earlier calls went unanswered, they were this close to dispatching CP0 to confirm whether he was still alive.
"I was sleeping, obviously. What else would I be doing?"
Kizaru scoffed. The relationship between the World Government and Marine HQ had never been a simple superior-subordinate dynamic. While the Navy did rely on the government for funding and legitimacy, the government also relied on the Navy's military strength to maintain control.
After all, the World Government's own forces—the Land Army and the God's Army—were essentially cannon fodder. On their own, they'd never be enough to sustain the massive structure of the regime.
In other words, even the Fleet Admiral had enough weight to argue with the Five Elders—depending on their stance.
"…Kizaru, watch your tone! You're not the Fleet Admiral yet!"
Saint Warcury growled in a stern yet clearly nervous tone. Making Kizaru the Fleet Admiral just for the sake of Pure Gold didn't seem like such a wise decision after all.
The significance of the Fleet Admiral position in the Navy was far from something that could be summed up in a few sentences.
The previous Fleet Admiral, Kong, had been more aligned with the World Government and often suppressed the influence of the Navy faction. During his term, they didn't even manage to keep all three Admiral positions filled.
It was precisely during his administration that the Navy was at its weakest—so weak, in fact, that they suffered the humiliation of the Fleet Admiral personally engaging in battle and still losing.
Not to mention, during that same period, the fearsome pirate Rocks D. Xebec rose to power and became Pirate King.
When the World Government finally realized the situation was spiraling out of control, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and promote Sengoku, then an Admiral, to the position of Fleet Admiral.
After all, Zephyr was already contemplating retirement, and the only other Admiral at that time was… Kizaru.
And just looking at what Kizaru is like now… it was pretty clear what kind of guy he must've been back then.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku, who believed in a form of justice that ruled from the top down, was relatively neutral in his stance, though he leaned more toward supporting the Navy.
Although Gol D. Roger became Pirate King during Sengoku's tenure, given Roger's peak activity period had begun earlier, it wasn't entirely fair to pin that on Sengoku.
Under Sengoku's command, the Navy grew to unprecedented strength. Not only did they manage to field three full Admirals, they also had Garp, the legendary hero, albeit in an unofficial capacity.
And if you included Admiral candidates like Vice Admiral Tsuru and the already-retired Zephyr, the Navy's high-end combat power was comparable to all the pirate crews in the New World combined.
Even when Whitebeard's Pirates and Red-Haired Shanks' crew joined forces—with the Revolutionary Army led by Dragon and even the defected former admiral candidate Delocas in the mix—they still couldn't defeat a Navy that hadn't even gone all out.
Whitebeard ended up dead, Red-Hair seriously injured. That alone was proof enough of just how powerful the Navy had become.
Even Kizaru, who hadn't officially taken up the mantle of Fleet Admiral yet, had enough clout to sass the Five Elders thanks to that power backing him.
"It's almost official anyway, isn't it? Or what—do you think I'm not fit to be Fleet Admiral? In that case, I'll just head back and keep being an Admiral."
Kizaru yawned as he spoke, completely unfazed. The "want everything without giving anything" attitude was nothing new from the Five Elders. These old fossils probably still hoped Kizaru would, like Kong, turn into a lapdog of the World Government for the sake of the title.
If nothing unexpected happened, Kong himself would likely be the first to welcome Kizaru when he arrived at Mariejois. After all, Kong had once promoted him and could be considered half a mentor—at least enough of one that Kizaru would give him a little face.
Saint Warcury, on the other end of the line, was trembling with anger but dared not utter a single word in rebuttal.
Because knowing Kizaru's bastard personality, if he said the wrong thing now, Kizaru might just really pack up and return to Navy HQ—then chuck the Pure Gold into some random part of the ocean just to spite them.
And it wouldn't be the first time he'd done something like that either, which is exactly why the Five Elders considered him the most troublesome "problem child" in the Navy.
If it were any other kind of treasure, Warcury would have already taught him a harsh lesson for mouthing off to the Five Elders.
But unfortunately, Kizaru was holding Pure Gold—a substance that grants eternal youth, and the key to prolonging the Five Elders' grip on power.
It was a priceless treasure the World Government had pursued for centuries—something every generation of the Five Elders had dreamed of obtaining.
"...Don't get snippy. Just get to Mariejois as soon as possible. Your promotion ceremony is already prepared!"
Saint Warcury growled through clenched teeth. In the end, he didn't dare gamble Pure Gold on Kizaru's unpredictable temper.
But the moment the words left his mouth, there was a loud click—Warcury had angrily slammed the den den mushi shut.
He was afraid that if he kept talking, Kizaru might piss him off so badly he'd die of rage before the Pure Gold even arrived in Mariejois.
"Tsk tsk, yep... that same familiar feeling as always..."
Kizaru nodded in satisfaction. He was already thinking that, once he eventually overthrew the World Government, maybe he'd keep the Five Elders around—assign them to poop-scooping duty or something equally fitting.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the call, Saint Warcury was still cursing under his breath.
Not just as a Five Elder, even back when he was just a Celestial Dragon, he had never been subjected to such disrespect.
It was only because Kizaru's strength, record, accomplishments, and seniority were beyond reproach that he had no choice but to swallow his pride and green-light the promotion.
Otherwise, even if he had to hold his nose and promote him, Warcury would've found a way to make Kizaru's life miserable.
"Was it that Kizaru guy again?"
Noticing the irritation on Warcury's face, Saint Shepherd Ju Peter spoke up with a chuckle.
As the Agricultural God of War, Peter wasn't quite as influential as some of the other "veterans," but he also didn't have many headaches to deal with.
Even the most tyrannical kings of affiliated nations knew better than to test the World Government or the Five Elders—they understood very clearly that the only reason they could rob and oppress with impunity was because the World Government had their backs.
"Who else would it be?" Warcury grunted. "But don't celebrate too soon. Sooner or later, each of you will need the Navy's help. When that day comes, you'll find out just how much of a pain in the ass that bastard can be!"
Each of the Five Elders had their own domains and responsibilities:
Saint Zambalon V. Nasjuro — Finance God of War!
Saint Marcus Mars — Illusion God of War!
Saint Jaygarcia Saturn — Scientific Defense God of War!
Saint Shepherd Ju Peter — Agricultural God of War!
°°°
If you want to read ahead and access 20 advanced chapters, check the patreon
Link: Patreon/Moziel
Subscription should be made thru the web and never the ios app, it helps you and me.