On the training ship.
Karl personally escorted the captured pirates into their cells, locking each door one by one.
Only then did he finally have time to properly examine the Fine Blade he had just obtained.
The One Piece world tended to lump swords and sabers together, but to Karl, Umaru was clearly a sword—
a straight, double-edged blade.
If it's straight and double-edged, how is it not a sword?
"Pretty well maintained," Karl murmured, running his fingers along the blade.
"Cold to the touch… nice grain, too…"
Inside the cell, Zacker was practically seeing red.
He stared at Karl stroking Umaru with what looked like an appreciative, even lewd expression.
His lips trembled, his body shaking faintly.
To a swordsman, a good blade was a lover.
And now, his "lover" was being handled at will by another man.
A different kind of cruelty.
Almost… NTR.
Lookout Tower
"Alert! Alert!
Nine o'clock direction—twelve nautical miles! A small vessel has appeared!"
"The target is accelerating toward us! All hands, battle stations!"
The clear shout echoed across the ship.
The trainees—still laughing and celebrating moments ago—froze briefly, then snapped into motion.
Rifles were raised. Blades were drawn. Everyone moved to combat readiness.
Zephyr lowered his binoculars, frowning.
No pirate flag.
Not a merchant flag either.
But the ship was clearly coming straight at them.
"Zephyr-sensei, what should we do?"
"Where's Karl?"
"He just went to secure the prisoners," Ain replied.
"…Ah—he's here."
She pointed toward Karl, who had just emerged from the ship's interior.
"What's going on?" Karl asked, his expression serious.
The moment he heard the alert horn, a bad feeling had crept up his spine.
Because at times like this, unexpected encounters often meant only one thing.
Weevil.
"A small vessel is approaching us at high speed," Ain reported.
"No pirate flag. Not a merchant ship either…"
Karl said nothing.
He took the binoculars and looked toward the distant silhouette.
A hulking, giant-like figure stood at the helm.
A massive blade rested nearby.
Karl sucked in a sharp breath.
As expected… it's him.
Edward Weevil.
Whitebeard Jr.
He was here.
"All personnel, full alert!" Karl barked.
"The enemy is a pirate—Edward Weevil!
Bounty: 320 million Berries!"
"What?!" Ain gasped.
Three hundred and twenty million?!
Even in the first half of the Grand Line, that was the level of a major pirate!
"And it's definitely him," Karl continued grimly.
"I've studied a lot of bounty posters. He made a deep impression—because he has the same crescent-shaped mustache as Whitebeard."
Zephyr's expression hardened.
He placed a heavy hand on Karl's shoulder.
"This is no longer an opponent you trainees can handle.
Command the artillery and keep him at bay. If necessary—I will step in."
"Do we need to call for reinforcements?" Karl asked.
Zephyr laughed confidently.
"A pirate worth three hundred million or so? I'm not that old yet."
It's not that I don't trust you, Karl thought grimly.
It's that Weevil is a complete monster.
In Karl's memories, after Whitebeard's death, this man had hunted down the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates across the seas—
single-handedly smashing them into pieces.
More than six hundred casualties.
And that wasn't even his peak.
After the Seven Warlords system was abolished, Weevil's bounty skyrocketed to 2.4 billion.
At that time, even Luffy, Kid, and Law—after defeating Kaido and Big Mom—were "only" at three billion.
Most terrifying of all:
Weevil had no crew worth mentioning.
No power base.
His ridiculous mother hardly counted.
His bounty was almost entirely personal strength.
That alone said everything.
This was still the year 1513—
perhaps he wasn't at his later peak yet.
But how much weaker could he really be?
Did anyone honestly expect someone with that level of intelligence to train diligently and restrain himself?
Karl nodded grimly.
He still had Kizaru's Den Den Mushi.
If things truly went south, he could call for help.
But not yet.
Zephyr could at least hold him for a while.
"All hands!
When the enemy enters firing range—full broadside immediately!"
"Yes, sir!!!"
Karl turned and headed back into the ship.
He needed to eliminate all uncertainties.
The Prison Hold
Clatter—
The cell doors swung open.
Karl entered, Umaru in hand, gazing calmly at the terrified pirates inside.
If a battle with Weevil was unavoidable, then he couldn't afford any loose ends.
These pirates were the biggest variable.
During the chaos of battle, if they caused trouble…
This wasn't a Seastone prison.
Just ordinary iron bars.
Without guards, an escape attempt was inevitable.
And if that caused even a single unnecessary casualty—
Karl wouldn't accept it.
So there was only one solution.
"W-What… what are you going to do?" someone stammered.
Karl tilted his head slightly.
"Tell me," he asked calmly,
"what is your dream?"
The pirates exchanged confused looks.
No one answered.
Until Karl calmly rested Umaru against one man's throat.
"F-Find Gol D. Roger's great treasure…"
Karl nodded in satisfaction.
"A fine ambition."
"As a reward—I'll send you to ask Roger in person."
Slash.
Squelch.
Screams erupted.
Umaru rose and fell.
Again.
And again.
Thirty pirates died where they stood—
Karl's expression never changing, his eyes never blinking.
Then—
BANG!
He kicked a hole through the ship's side and tossed every corpse into the sea.
At that moment, he heard the distant thunder of artillery fire.
They're in range already.
Frowning at the blood-soaked uniform, Karl returned to his quarters, changed clothes quickly, and headed to the deck.
"What's the situation?"
Ain glanced at him, lips pursed.
"Not great. Their ship is small and very agile. The bombardment isn't very effective."
"Doesn't matter," Karl replied calmly.
"Keep firing."
"Yes!"
Karl walked to Zephyr's side and condensed a basketball-sized mass of Holy Light, blazing with golden radiance.
Without hesitation, he slammed it straight into Zephyr's body.
"This—Karl," Zephyr exclaimed in surprise.
"Your ability… it's gotten stronger?"
He could clearly feel it.
His strength had increased by at least five percent.
Even more astonishing—the Holy Light continuously replenished his vitality, making him feel years younger.
Karl smiled lightly.
"Well, I've been developing it for over two months now.
Even if I were stupid, I'd have improved some, right?"
He looked at Zephyr seriously.
"I'll be counting on you in a bit."
Zephyr burst into laughter, flexing his thick arms.
"Leave it to me! I'll show you what my real strength looks like!"
Karl laughed helplessly.
This old man…
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