The phantom of a sword hilt merged into the glowing body of Sakura Ten, Carl's signature blade. A terrifyingly sharp pressure spilled outward like a looming Sword of Damocles, hanging deathly over the Perfume Snake.
Luffy's pupils shrank, his entire body frozen.
This was only the second time he'd felt so completely powerless.
The first was Marineford, when he witnessed Ace die and was left helpless against the might of the Marines.
The second… was now.
The Marine standing before him wasn't simply strong—he carried a weight, a darkness that seemed to drag the entire battlefield into submission.
Carl's figure, wreathed in smoke and silence, carved a shadow in Luffy's memory.
"Cut!"
"Slave Arrow!" Hancock shouted as her hands formed a heart-shaped bow, launching a barrage of pink, love-infused arrows forward.
But under the weight of Carl's impending slash, the arrows evaporated—melting midair like snowflakes beneath the midday sun.
Boom!!
The atmosphere trembled violently. The surrounding sea pitched and twisted, and the bow of the Perfume Snake sank half a meter into the ocean.
Yet the terrifying slash never landed.
A lone figure blocked the path, standing silently between Carl and Luffy's crew.
Carl exhaled calmly, smoke escaping his lips, and asked in a low tone, "What are you planning to do, Mihawk?"
Out on the sea, a tiny black boat floated like a coffin upon the waves.
On it stood Dracule Mihawk, "Hawk-Eye", the strongest swordsman in the world and a fellow former Warlord of the Sea. He lowered his iconic black blade, Yoru, a Supreme Grade sword.
"As one of the former Shichibukai, I can't simply sit by and watch the Marines trample the balance."
Carl sighed. "True… none of you ever know when to back down."
His eyes glowed crimson.
[Killing Intent Battlefield] exploded outward in an instant, suffocating the entire sea region in a blood-colored haze.
The once-blue ocean turned a visceral scarlet, as though soaked in battlefields past.
A feral beast of blood-red aura roared above the ship, shaking the heavens with its killing intent.
"If you're really going to stop me—" Carl lifted Sakura Ten, black blade gleaming—"then let's settle this."
Haki, Sword Intent, and murderous will converged, pushing his aura to the brink.
Mihawk's eyes narrowed, finally burning with the excitement of a real duel. "Then let's see if your sword is worthy!"
Two years had passed since their last confrontation.
Though Mihawk had since taken a student—Roronoa Zoro, whose potential impressed even the world's greatest swordsman—that boy was still far from ready.
Only someone like Carl could truly test the edge of his blade.
Sa!!
The two figures vanished from the deck, reappearing midair as their black blades clashed.
Clang!!!
A thunderous crash echoed like a war drum. Shockwaves rolled across the ocean, splitting the clouds above.
"Your growth… is astonishing," Mihawk muttered, watching the precise momentum of Carl's swing.
Each impact was pure refinement: Haki, raw strength, calculated angles, and high-speed control.
Slash!
A bloody claw raked Mihawk's back.
"I said, I'm not a swordsman," Carl said coldly.
"ROAR!" The scarlet beast lunged again, another bloody claw raised.
Mihawk grit his teeth, his black blade blocking just in time, though the blow sent him flying. "That's… also what I regret most."
As Mihawk skidded back toward the deck of the Perfume Snake, Carl raised a hand.
"[Untie]."
Slick!
Invisible blades fell.
Mihawk's Observation Haki warned him a heartbeat before it hit, but not soon enough. Several fine slash marks opened across his chest—shallow, but bleeding.
"Such stealth…" Mihawk grunted, landing on the deck.
He gripped his shoulder and stared across the misted sea. "Your slashes—no… they're almost invisible. Fast. Controlled. If not for my instinct, I wouldn't have seen them at all."
His gaze shifted past Carl, toward Luffy and the others.
"…You weren't trying to kill them, were you?"
Carl didn't answer.
Mihawk's brows furrowed. "With that level of precision… if you'd wanted them dead, they would've died ten times over."
Carl raised his eyebrows, saying nothing. "Whatever you think, I'm still taking them to Impel Down."
And Mihawk wasn't wrong.
Carl had dozens of chances to kill Luffy's group—but didn't. Not because of sentiment, but because there was no need.
Their strength was still lacking.
Even with two years of training, the Straw Hats weren't yet at the peak of the sea. Not enough to challenge monsters like him.
So instead, he'd chosen to send them straight to the deepest hell: Impel Down.
That alone would be a test of whether they could survive what the New World had in store.
Wouldn't it be nice to let them go to the New World and have a clash with the Four Emperors?
However, this ragtag group of pirates had the audacity to raid a Marine base's port—only to run head-on into Carl himself.
There was no way this could be tolerated. The moment a Marine crosses paths with pirates, capture becomes mandatory.
"Hey! You there, Marine!"
Suddenly, Luffy stood tall on the deck of the Thousand Sunny, pointing straight at Carl. "I'm not going back to a place like Impel Down again!"
"Oh, right… I almost forgot you caused a huge uproar there," Carl's eyes grew cold. "If you don't want to go back—then beat me."
After the Level 6 breakout from Impel Down during the Paramount War, it was only natural that a Marine of Carl's rank would prioritize sending recaptured escapees back.
Luffy clenched his teeth tightly. "I'll defeat you. Just wait!"
Originally, Carl had been a target that Zoro locked onto.
But now, the fiery-eyed Straw Hat Captain had shifted his sights.
"Oh?" Carl raised a brow and looked away in amusement.
He didn't want to waste more time on this defiant brat.
"So, you're really planning to protect them today?" Carl turned to Mihawk with a look of faint surprise.
Logically, the world's strongest swordsman shouldn't have involved himself at all.
"I simply find it boring when a man dies before reaching his peak," Mihawk replied casually, giving brief glances to both Zoro and Luffy.
"I'd rather watch and see whether they're qualified to make it to the end."
Carl scoffed and shook his head. "The sea is full of so-called supernovae, but only a few rise beyond mediocrity.
Many 'future stars' who challenge the New World end up consumed by their era—either through infighting or the crushing force of the Four Emperors."
He narrowed his eyes.
"Some are killed. Some are swallowed up and tied to the chariots of the Yonko themselves.
Very few truly rise and stake a claim on New World waters."
The shadow of Ace's past loomed in his words. Ace had encountered Whitebeard and, after being thoroughly defeated, willingly joined his crew.
Others, like Crocodile and Moria, had suffered humiliating defeats at the hands of Yonko and returned to Paradise—beaten and mentally broken.
Mihawk didn't flinch. "If they fall, it only proves they never had the strength to go any further."
Carl's crimson eyes glowed ominously. Cold bloodlust oozed out like a fog.
"Then there's no point in holding back."
"Roooaaar!!"
The blood-colored aura condensed into a tangible, monstrous shape—a massive beast with razor-like claws surged forward, grasping the Sunny's hull and yanking it toward the sea.
"Don't think I'll let you!"
From the stern, Hancock's hand glowed pink—her Love-Love Arrows shot forth, piercing through the blood beast. Dozens of holes riddled its form, but it didn't even flinch.
The beast wasn't alive.
As the hull listed under its pull, the Straw Hats struggled to stand.
"Gomu Gomu no… Pistol!"
Luffy's rubbery arm stretched out and smashed straight into the creature—only to pass through like vapor.
"What the hell is this thing?!" Luffy shouted.
"That's not a creature," Mihawk said calmly, raising Yoru, the famed Black Blade.
"That's murderous intent… turned tangible."
Carl darted overhead. From his hand, the jet-black blade Sakura Ten slashed downward.
Clang!!
Their swords collided—Yoru and Sakura Ten locked in a terrifying deadlock. The impact cracked the wooden planks of the deck beneath Mihawk's boots.
"Murderous will?" Hancock murmured. Her eyes burned with resolve.
"Then I'll counter it with royal will!"
She erupted with Haoshoku Haki, her Conqueror's blasting in all directions.
BOOOOM!!
The invisible shockwave ripped across the beast, scattering its body like dust under a hurricane.
In Carl's eye, the crimson number "1" flashed. The [Hell Road] technique activated, set to purge all Haki within its range—whether friend or foe.
Carl gritted his teeth. "So this kind of potential really runs through all of you? Isn't this a bit much?!"
With a sharp swipe, Carl forced Mihawk back. Then he launched himself high into the sky, hovering ominously.
"I've got a trump card too."
Carl's right arm twisted with writhing void energy, rapidly condensing into something fearsome.
"Vulcan Cannon!"
"What kind of ability is that?!" Hancock's voice trembled. Her Conqueror's Haki flared again, but even she felt unease.
From a cliffside far away, Yamato's expression grew dark.
That attack… it was the same one Carl used to forcibly extract something from her—a monthly torment, a 'mind' ripped from her chest through [Hell Road].
In the sky above, Carl hoisted the Vulcan Cannon over his shoulder.
The massive weapon glowed ominously, flame licking at the edges of its muzzle.
"Hey… that thing doesn't look friendly," Luffy muttered, blinking.
BOOOOOM!!!
Flames erupted—aimed straight at the Thousand Sunny.
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