Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

Chapter 286 The 77th Branch Goes Bankrupt After Being Eaten by Garp

Garp was quite satisfied with the terms they had agreed upon.

He felt that Xia Zuo had been taken advantage of this time, so he patted Xia Zuo on the shoulder and promised, "Xia Zuo, if you need any help, you can come to me anytime."

Xia Zuo asked, "That's good, but do you have a dedicated Den Den Mushi? How can I contact you?"

"What if I need your help but can't find you anywhere?"

Garp chuckled awkwardly, "Don't worry, I'll go find Sengoku when I get back to Marineford. He'll definitely have a solution."

Xia Zuo asked suspiciously, "Vice Admiral Garp, you don't go to Fleet Admiral Sengoku every time you encounter a problem you can't solve, do you?"

This time, Garp wasn't embarrassed at all, and answered decisively, "Isn't it only natural?"

Xia Zuo: "————, Ah, I envy you. Why don't I have a friend like Sengoku?"

Garp laughed smugly: "There's only one friend like Sengoku in the whole world. You'll never have one like him. Just be envious."

Garp is certainly enviable, but Sengoku is the opposite.

Garp, Sengoku's comrade-in-arms, was clearly very intelligent and could see through all the conspiracies and schemes in the world at a glance, but because he saw everything too clearly, he chose to pretend to be stupid.

After decades of pretending, Garp's disguise was no longer a disguise, but was deeply ingrained in his bones, turning him into a completely mischievous old man.

He was like the Jiajing Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, who could see everything clearly but only cared about his own leisure. Whenever he had the chance, he would seize it to vent his emotions, causing countless troubles for the Warring States period.

Xia Zuo shook his head. Even as an outsider, he couldn't help but feel sorry for Sengoku.

By the way, Garp also concealed his Conqueror's Haki, leaving Sengoku to bear the immense pressure from the Celestial Dragons while carrying the burden of Conqueror's Haki alone.

When Garp decides to reveal his Conqueror's Haki one day, the Sengoku period will probably be "moved" to tears.

The two officers returned to the branch with bruises and swelling on their faces.

However, these superficial injuries were nothing serious. After enjoying a big meal, Garp's wounds were completely healed without even needing to sleep.

Xia Zuo recovered even faster.

In fact, if he hadn't deliberately controlled his Haki and actively preserved Garp's remaining Haki from being dissipated, the wound would have healed the instant he was injured.

Preserving the wounds is essential, otherwise Garp will feel like he's lost, and he'll fight harder and harder until both of them are using their full strength.

Xia Zuo knew that if he fought with all his might, he would inevitably win, given his greatly increased strength.

Garp, as a naval hero, is recognized as one of the world's strongest fighters, subtly surpassing the three admirals of the navy.

Whitebeard is known as "the strongest man in the world," Kaido of the Beasts is known as "the strongest creature on land, sea and air," and then there's Big Mom, who could kill a giant at the age of five.

Before the three admirals of the Navy emerged, these three pirate emperors, along with the Pirate King Roger, were all suppressed by the Navy in the New World, relying on the wisdom of Sengoku and the iron fist of Garp as their two powerful warriors.

Pirate King Roger was chased relentlessly by Garp, fleeing all over the New World and nearly being caught several times.

If a hero like Garp were to be defeated by Shaza, it would be absolutely earth-shattering news.

Three veteran pirate emperors, the dormant Revolutionary Army's Dragon, Marine Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Commander-in-Chief Steelbone, the Five Elders of the Celestial Dragons, and even the world's ruler Im—everyone would cast astonished glances at Shazo.

At that time, Xia Zuo will become the sole focus of everyone's attention on the world stage.

To be honest, he will do it someday, but he's not really ready for it now.

He dared to beat up Shanks and Mihawk before because their reputations weren't strong enough.

Mihawk is not the world's greatest swordsman, and Shanks is considered inferior to the three veteran emperors. They are not among the world's strongest fighters.

Even if we beat them both up, it wouldn't attract much attention.

But Xia Zuo didn't expect that his restraint this time would give Garp the visceral pleasure of each punch landing.

That old bastard immediately decided to extend his visit to the 77th branch.

For three whole days, every morning when Karp got up, he would drag Shazo to the reef for a sparring match, and then return to the branch with all his injuries for a big feast.

After taking a nap at noon, he would drag Xia Zuo out for a match, then have a meal before reluctantly returning to the warship to sleep.

Because of Vice Admiral Garp's presence, the marines' training and patrols at the 77th Division could not be carried out normally, the maintenance and upkeep of the ships were greatly delayed, and even the meals provided in the mess hall were greatly affected.

Everything is in chaos.

Fortunately, on the third day, the frigatebird flew in from headquarters, bringing two Den Den Mushi with special encryption capabilities, which were given to Shazo and Garp respectively.

Marshal Zhan Guo immediately called, praising Xia Zuo's work and encouraging him to continue his efforts and contribute to the prosperity and stability of the East China Sea.

Sengoku then called Garp, giving him a thorough dressing-down before finally ordering, "Garp, you're back in Marineford right now. I have something for you to do."

"Also, I've finished what you asked me to do; all that's left is for you to do the final touches."

Upon hearing this, Garp, who was nonchalantly picking his nose, immediately jumped up and shouted, "Okay, I'll go back to Marineford right away. You must hold him alive and wait for me to get back!"

After hanging up the phone, Garp told Shazam, "Keep an eye on Luffy and Ace for me. I'll owe you another favor!"

After saying that, he led his officers back to the dog-headed warship in a hurry, raised the sails, and set sail.

Lieutenant Colonel Faye, Major Borg, Lieutenant Bellmer, and other officers all breathed a sigh of relief; these old men were finally gone.

Lieutenant Colonel Faye asked curiously, "Brigadier General, is Lieutenant General Kap in such a hurry because he has an important mission?"

Xia Zuo countered, "Faye, this year is 1512 in the Haiyuan Calendar. What major event do you think will happen this year?"

Lieutenant Colonel Faye paused for a moment, then blurted out, "World Conference!"

Xia Zuo nodded: "The World Conference is about to be held. As the face of the Navy, Vice Admiral Garp must make an appearance to demonstrate the Navy's strength and strive for a higher share of the budget."

He turned to look at Bellemere and frowned, saying, "I was originally going to let you prepare in a few more days, but since we've brought it up today, I'll make things clear to you now."

"The World Conference is the largest event of the world government, and the resolutions made at the conference have a huge impact on the entire world."

"The Navy, the World Government, pirates, member states, and ordinary kingdoms could all change their fate at the conference."

"In the worst-case scenario, it could lead to the destruction of the kingdom and affect the lives of millions of people."

"But this has nothing to do with our 77th Division. We are just a small division under the Navy. Even if the sky falls down in the Navy, Marineford will be the one to hold it up."

Xia Zuo then glanced at all his subordinate officers again and said, "But that doesn't mean we can rest easy."

"If I remember correctly, during the World Conference, the Celestial Dragons in Mary Geoise would feel crowded and would leave the Holy Land to relax."

"By then, the Sabaody Archipelago will also become extremely crowded, at least too crowded for the Celestial Dragons."

"Then these pigs will run around the world having a blast."

Xia Zuo casually referred to the Celestial Dragons as pigs, and his subordinates reacted with strange expressions, mixed with fear.

Xia Zuo noticed their expressions but continued nonchalantly, "As everyone knows, the Celestial Dragons possess supreme privileges and are the greatest evil in the world."

"They might destroy or steal anything they see, so we must be prepared to deal with anything."

"The loss of things is really not a big deal. Broken things can be repaired, and lost things can be bought again, but once life is lost, it can never be brought back."

He ordered Belmel: "Lieutenant Belmel, you are responsible for taking a count of all female naval personnel and their families, gathering all the girls together, and temporarily arranging for them to live in the closed branch base."

Bellemere stood at attention: "Yes, sir!"

Shazo then gave Borg orders: "Major Borg, you will lead the Marine Corps of the Special Mobile Fleet to expand the perimeter to 160 kilometers. You must ensure that the Celestial Dragons do not launch a surprise attack on my 77th Branch."

Borg solemnly accepted the order: "Yes, sir!"

Next, Xia Zuo gave the order to Faye: "Lieutenant Colonel Faye, you will arrange a centralized living area for the girls within the base and resolve all the difficulties they encounter in their lives."

"At the same time, you led your men to dig a secret passage in the centralized living area, which leads directly to the hidden port on the other side of the island. You set up a boat there so that you can escape with the girls at any time."

"If the Celestial Dragons don't come to the 77th Branch, then there's nothing to worry about. But if we unfortunately encounter the Celestial Dragons, this secret passage will be the girls' last chance to survive."

Lieutenant Colonel Faye calmly replied, "Yes, Your Excellency. Please rest assured, I will arrange everything."

Just as Xia Zuo finished arranging everything and was about to leave, he was stopped by Bellemere: "Branch Chief, there is one more thing I cannot decide."

Xia Zuo asked curiously, "Is there anything else?"

Bellemere spread his hands: "Our branch is broke, we're bankrupt."

Xia Zuo, Faye, and Borg were all dumbfounded: "Huh?"

The mature woman rolled her eyes—not exactly cute, but undeniably charming: "What's with the 'huhs'?"

"Our branch has expanded to the point where we still have less than 1000 people, but Vice Admiral Garp's warship has more than 400 people. Not only are they all elite marines from headquarters, but they are also big eaters with huge appetites, able to eat more than our entire branch."

Major Borg said dismissively, "I know about this. It's just that his appetite has doubled and a half. What's the big deal?"

,

Bellemere glared at him: "What do you know, you little brat?"

"You don't know the value of firewood and rice until you're in charge of the household. His appetite has increased by one and a half times. He not only ate all the food on our island, but also the leftover food from more than a dozen nearby islands."

"Starting the day before yesterday, I've had to buy ingredients from hundreds of kilometers away, and the prices have increased several times over."

.

Xia Zuo chuckled and said to Bellemere, "Lieutenant, you're increasingly taking on the air of a branch office manager."

"I know what's going on, Lieutenant Colonel Faye. You arrange for your deputy to take Lieutenant Bellemere to buy ingredients from a more distant place, buy more at once, and let the prices in the area drop."

"Bellmeal, go to my office and get the money. Use my money to cover the branch's deficit first."

Faye and the others were all taken aback: "Ah? Brigadier General, you're subsidizing the branch's public accounts again? That's too much—"

Xia Zuo said nonchalantly, "I eat and live at the branch office or on the warship, and the clothes I wear are all paid for by the public account. My salary is useless to me, so what's the problem with taking it out?"

Borg's eyes reddened: "Waaah, no problem, it's just that you're too kind, Brigadier General."

Bellmer remarked with emotion, "If I had a superior officer like you back then, I wouldn't have retired. I might be a lieutenant colonel now."

Xia Zuo shook his head and laughed, "Why are you crying? I won't suffer any loss."

"These losses were all caused by Lieutenant General Karp. As long as I write a report and submit it, it will definitely be approved, it will just be delayed until the next budget approval."

"You can pay me back once the money arrives."

Lieutenant Colonel Faye suddenly spoke up: "Branch Chief, you can't be too honest this time. You must write more."

Borg said, "Yes, the officers at headquarters also used our gym, and they broke a lot of the equipment. This needs to be written into the report."

Xia Zuo asked doubtfully, "Really?"

Borg said firmly, "Yes, we will have it once the funding is approved."

Xia Zuo looked at Borg in disbelief, pleased with the child's growth, and nodded in satisfaction: "Okay, I'll write it down."

Bellmer added, "And the dormitories, Lieutenant General Cap took a nap in our dormitory and broke three beds and two doors in three days. We don't need much, just enough to replace all the doors and windows in the dormitory."

Xia Zuo: "————, okay, write that down too."

Lieutenant Colonel Faye's eyes darted around, and he added with a sinister smile, "And then there are the warships. Our experimental ship, number six, has completed all its experiments. Next, we should build the seventh experimental ship. And that money—"

Xia Zuo couldn't help but ask, "Can this expense also be reimbursed from headquarters?"

Lieutenant Colonel Faye said with a grin, "Why not? If we can't reimburse you, wouldn't that mean Lieutenant General Garp doesn't have enough influence?"

"When you speak with Vice Admiral Garp, just mention it, and we won't have to worry about the rest. Our naval hero will handle everything."

Xia Zuo pointed at Faye and sighed repeatedly, "Faye, who did you learn all this from?"

Everyone looked at Xia Zuo, saying nothing, yet seemingly saying everything.