13 Marine Based - 13

The problem was, this promotion just massively increased the bounty he would get once he went rogue. He wasn't some Commander from one of the four blues, he was a full on Commander stationed in the New World.

That high of a rank here in the New World? He'd get slapped with a massive bounty to start with from that alone. Then taking into account everyone here basically already knew he trained in the Rokushiki, and Vergo knew he was training in Haki.

And then there was his age. He was only fourteen. A kid that young rising to Commander rank in the New World, with Rokushiki and Haki training? They may as well call him Rob Lucci 2.0 even if they were nothing alike, and he'd be lucky to be slapped with a just a bounty of a hundred million to start off with.

And then once it came out he had the clone of Kaido's fruit? Boom! That bounty would rise massively.

He would need time to master the fruits abilities and increase his strength with it to deal with anyone who came after him.

'If I knew Life Return this would be a whole lot easier.' he grimaced. With that, he could boost the results of at least his physical training massively.

Well at the very least, he supposed the enhanced recovery rate of a Zoan would be incredibly useful on that point as well.

As it was, no matter what excuse he gave for leaving G5, he'd have maybe two weeks at most before he was declared as either missing in action or a possible deserter, and then the second he was spotted-

Bam! Massive bounty on his head.

Sure he wouldn't have people combing the world for him, but the second anyone in the marines caught sight of him, he would have the true high ranks like Vice Admiral's deployed, especially once his devil fruit was revealed and he may as well just live with a sword hanging over his neck at that point.

Wait-

Kaden's eyes widened and his next punch, halted immediately, a pressurized blast of air erupting from it regardless and slamming into the hull of the battleship he was in the process of punching silly.

SWORD!

The secret marine sub group made up of marines that gave up more or less their rights as marines so they could act where normal marines couldn't, like picking fights with Shichibukai or Yonkou crews.

If he joined up with SWORD, he could maybe use that as a way to work around deserting kind of like X-Drake and become a marine aligned pirate and-

"No, fuck that." Kaden scowled at the thought, utter revulsion filling him. Why in all that was holy, should he need to fucking pretend to keep his allegiance or actually stay aligned to the World Government? Something deep inside him, rebelled at the very idea of doing such a thing.

Honestly, the World Government disgusted him. They were pathetic lackeys that did as they were told like dogs by the Celestial Dragons, no not even dogs, at least dogs had worth.

And they were gutless cowards on top of that. They would take the chance to go after Whitebeard, one of two Yonkou who didn't actively harm others despite his station as a pirate, but only after they had leverage and the chance to lure him into a spot where they had the advantage.

Instead of going after the likes of Kaido who had enslaved an entire country and forced innocents to starve by the ten of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions!

Wano was a massive place after all.

And then after Kaido was defeated, only then did they have the balls to make a move on Wano and it was to go after the weakened Straw Hat pirates.

No way a group consisting of Sengoku, Garp, Aokiji, Kizaru and Akainu, with the ability to call upon the Shichibukai to aid them and all the Vice Admirals a and the likes of CP0 and Cp9 couldn't take down Kaido.

They were just too cowardly to do it and risk the losses that could come from such a battle, especially in the name of protecting people who did not pay the heavenly tribute and thus were not considered part of the World Government.

No, the idea of joining such a group for the benefit of the marines with them having the ability to cut him off at any point they deemed necessary?

Fuck that!

"Fuck the marines." Kaden decided right then and there. And there, it felt like a weight lifted from his shoulders and the fear that lingered of the bounty he'd get and the possibility of those sent after him before he was ready, disappeared.

He turned away from the battle ship, the front of it stained with his blood and eyed the towering G5 base with a speculative eye.

"Fuck the marines." he grinned and repeated.

If he was going to desert and get a bounty anyway, then he should do it properly and get the most out of it as he could.

___________________________________________

That night, when most within the base were asleep and Vice Admiral Vergo had left on one of his routine 'pirate hunts', a figure sped away through the sky, fleeing the island.

A massive sack held over one shoulder as he streaked away into the stormy rumbling skies of the New World, not a single marine of the incompetent G5 noting anything was amiss at all, the marines on guard too absorbed in a game of poker to do their jobs

Until the next morning when Vice Admiral Vergo returned, to find the coffers containing all the beri the G5 marine base had in stock, completely empty, not a single beri to be found anywhere within sight.

And to make matters worse, it was payday.

And the newly promoted young prodigy and rising star of the G5 base, Commander Kaden D. Freeman, nowhere to be found.