Luffy is usually very direct, and with so many strong people on the battlefield, Little Oz Jr. is an easy target. It's highly unlikely that he'll be able to save him. On top of that, he's still being held back by two quasi-Admirals, Momousagi and Chaton.
Momousagi scoffed. "Hmph! You're really ignoring us, aren't you? You think you can help Oz in this situation? Or have the Straw Hats become so arrogant they're ignoring the strongest people in the sea?"
Chaton immediately agreed. "That's right, Gion's right! You Straw Hats are getting too cocky!"
Carl shrugged, as if to say he had no choice. But then a mischievous idea came to him. He grinned and said, "Chaton, I have a way for you to win over Momousagi. Want to hear it?"
Chaton's eyes lit up. "What is it? Tell me!"
Momousagi glared at Carl. "Chaton, you stupid pig! Don't trust him! He's just lying to you! And no matter what, I will never like you, so give up already!"
Her words hit Chaton hard. Fortunately, he was used to it and didn't seem too bothered, still determined to win her over.
Carl laughed. "Chaton, women are two-faced. Don't believe what Momousagi says. Sincere feelings can move even the gods of the sea. It doesn't matter if you're handsome or ugly; as long as you're sincere and you never give up, one day your feelings will be returned. Don't you think?"
"Yes, yes, yes! I'm completely sincere about Gion! I know I'll win her over someday!" Chaton nodded in agreement, completely buying into Carl's words.
Momousagi rubbed her temples in frustration and shot a murderous glare at Carl.
Carl just grinned and continued. "But Momousagi isn't getting any younger. What if she marries someone else while you're still waiting? So I have a way for you to win her over, but you have to agree to one small condition."
Chaton immediately asked, "What condition? I'll—" He suddenly stopped. He finally realized that he couldn't trust a pirate, especially a treacherous one like Carl. While he was persistent in pursuing Gion, he was a Marine with principles and would never do anything to harm the Marines' interests.
Carl clicked his tongue in annoyance. "I didn't think Chaton would be so smart," he thought to himself.
He never really expected to fool Chaton, anyway. He was just using his words to stall them, so he could help Little Oz Jr. at any moment.
Over on the other side, Little Oz Jr. was clashing with the Marine giants. They were excited, saying that this was the moment they were made for. Little Oz Jr. was fighting several giant Vice Admirals on his own. His giant sword moved incredibly fast, easily pushing them back. He even cut down a giant Vice Admiral named Lacroix.
A female giant in the Marine corps immediately went berserk. "You injured Vice Admiral Lacroix! I'll get you for that!" She flew toward Little Oz Jr., stabbing at his face. He casually grabbed her spear and threw her, along with it, forward.
Thankfully, several other giants caught her before she could get seriously injured. This female giant was infatuated with Lacroix, who was considered a very handsome giant, and as the only female, she had the right to choose her partner. It was no surprise that she was furious.
After several battles, the giant troop temporarily retreated. Little Oz Jr. continued to move forward, and he soon came across several Warlords. But he only had eyes for Ace and just kept moving, ignoring his enemies.
Moria was about to make his move when Bartholomew Kuma raised his hand. Kuma held one hand up and the other down, and the air between them seemed to compress.
He slowly brought his hands toward his chest, compressing the air into a small, paw-shaped sphere. The Paw-Paw Fruit was a truly amazing Devil Fruit, able to compress even air. The resulting compressed cannon was thousands of times more powerful than a regular cannonball.
The compressed air paw was getting smaller and smaller, but Little Oz Jr. couldn't see it—he was too big to notice an attack from someone so small. But Carl knew that Kuma's attack was enough to take out Little Oz Jr. instantly.
Carl immediately drew his sword, the Sandai Kitetsu, and slashed at Kuma. The giant slash tore through the Marine ranks and was heading straight for Kuma. Kuma's body jerked, and the paw-shaped sphere hit a nearby fort. With a loud bang, the fort was instantly annihilated, leaving a huge paw-shaped crater. It showed just how powerful Kuma's attack was.
Little Oz Jr. was also stunned. If that attack had hit him, he would have been knocked out instantly.
"Kuma!" Sabo and Ivankov yelled in alarm. As Kuma's comrades, they were worried about his safety, and they were angry at Carl for attacking him. Even if Carl was part of the Straw Hats, he had no right to hurt Kuma!
Moments later, Kuma stood up as if nothing had happened, but everyone could see that his back was torn open, exposing the metal underneath.
A cyborg? That's what many people thought.
Something was wrong with Kuma. While he was always quiet before, he was now dull and unresponsive, almost like a puppet or a robot. Sabo and Ivankov saw it and were shocked. They knew Kuma as a Warlord who had worked with the World Government and participated in Vegapunk's experiments. But they never imagined he would end up like this.
What happened to him?
Carl looked at Sabo and Ivankov and felt a pang of pity. Kuma had been completely transformed by Vegapunk. He probably no longer had his original consciousness, which was why Carl had attacked him without hesitation.
Carl had seen Kuma before, and he knew something was off. When he thought about the original plot, it wasn't hard to guess what happened. It was a shame for such a person, and for the amazing Paw-Paw Fruit.
"I'll have to explain this to Sabo and the others later. I just gave Little Oz Jr. a warning. I hope he won't be so reckless, or not even Whitebeard will be able to save him," Carl thought. He then saw Little Oz Jr. continue to charge forward and rolled his eyes. "That guy just doesn't learn, does he?"
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