Carlo had actually wanted to meet Roger, the future Pirate King who would stir the world, for a long time.
Unfortunately, because he had killed Haines with a single halberd strike two years ago, he had become a thorn in the side of the World Government.
The Gorosei, the highest decision-making body of the World Government, believed he had completely betrayed the Marine.
For this reason, they not only terminated the tens of billions of Berries that were supposed to be paid to Carlo...
But the promised autonomy over a Marine Base was, of course, also revoked.
They even increased his bounty.
His 1.8 billion bounty was raised directly to 2.9 billion Berries.
It was higher than that of Whitebeard and Golden Lion at the time.
Within the Rocks Pirates, it was second only to Rocks himself.
This caused Carlo's name to become a worldwide sensation overnight, making countless people aware of his existence.
The World Government's punishment was not limited to this.
The Gorosei specifically issued an Indefinite Pursuit Order against him.
This meant that as long as Carlo left Hachinosu and stepped outside Rocks' range of protection, the Marine was required to mobilize and arrest him immediately.
It was because of this order that every time Carlo went out over the past two years, he had to endure the pursuit of Garp, Sengoku, Zephyr, and even Kong.
If not for his flight ability, he probably would have fallen during several looting operations.
However, every cloud has a silver lining.
Although Carlo was somewhat disheveled from being relentlessly pursued by the Marine...
This high-intensity training also allowed his own strength to grow by leaps and bounds.
Coupled with his own extreme diligence—spending his days on Hachinosu challenging Linlin, Golden Lion, Whitebeard, or Rocks...
The current Carlo was already in a different realm compared to two years ago.
If the Haines of back then were to appear before him again, he could beat Haines to death and crush him into pulp without even using the heavenly dragon halberd!
He had long since become a top-tier combatant!
Even if the overall evaluation on his System Panel hadn't reached 9-star yet...
His overall combat power had fully reached the level of a normal Admiral level.
If Haoshoku and his awakened Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit Power were factored in, his strength would be even greater!
Just like at this very moment!
"Boom!!"
The heavenly dragon halberd in Carlo's hand, carrying the power to shatter mountains and split seas, clashed violently with the long sword in Roger's hand.
His near 9-star Physique erupted with pure strength reaching a terrifying several million tons.
With one strike of the halberd, the resulting explosion alone caused the air on Hachinosu to vibrate violently like ripples.
The moment the blade and halberd collided, the hearty smile on Roger's face suddenly froze.
The instant he clashed with the halberd in Carlo's hand, he felt an overwhelming, mountain-toppling force transmit through his sword.
This majestic, immense force was simply not something his Physique could withstand on its own.
Only by releasing the Armament Haki that was as vast as the sea within his body could he offset this inhuman force.
Feeling the vibration in the muscles of both arms, Roger grit his teeth.
"What the hell is this monstrous strength?"
"Hey! Kid, are you even human?"
"The real deal!" Carlo's eyes burst with brilliant light, the muscles on his arms bulging like coiled snakes as his boundless strength erupted once more. He let out a wild roar, his white hair standing on end and veins popping on his forehead. "Get... blown away!! Roger!"
Carlo gripped the heavy heavenly dragon halberd tightly, pressing down on Roger.
Roger could still hold his ground by relying on his own sea-like Haki.
However, the ground beneath his feet simply could not withstand such heavy pressure.
Boom!
As Roger's expression shifted slightly, the earth beneath him collapsed layer by layer, sinking into a massive void.
Following that, having lost his footing, he fell downward uncontrollably.
Seeing him being pressed down into the collapsed ground, Carlo immediately pressed his advantage. He stepped off the ground, leaping high into the air, and swung the heavenly dragon halberd again!
"Celestial Dragon Star Burst Slash—Hm? So fast!"
However, before the halberd in his hand could fully descend, the red light flickering in his eyes saw a glimpse of the future.
He saw the falling Roger deliver a horizontal slash, a black and red strike that shattered space and the atmosphere, blasting him backward and through the towering Skull Mountain behind him!
Having seen this vision, Carlo subconsciously pulled back the heavenly dragon halberd to block in front of him, taking a defensive stance.
At the same time, his muscles surged as he performed a lateral evasive maneuver, wanting to temporarily dodge Roger's strike.
However, to Carlo's astonishment...
His focused defense did not meet Roger's slash.
Instead, he saw the falling Roger kick the air, using Moonwalk to rocket out of the pit like a cannonball and land back on the square's ground.
Seeing the astonishment in Carlo's eyes, Roger laughed loudly.
"Hahaha! Predicting the future isn't omnipotent, Carlo.
Whether the future happens ultimately depends on us, not on the so-called future you predict with Observation Haki.
That sliver of the future you predict is merely your perception capturing some of my movements and killing intent, then performing a simulated deduction to reach the best possible outcome.
It's just the most likely response strategy you've rehearsed for me in that situation."
"For the truly strong, the future is always uncertain because only I can decide my own future!"
"Also! Some futures, even if you've already predicted them, you must still face. Just like... this!"
Roger laughed heartily, gripping his sword with one hand. A terrifying aura suddenly erupted from him, turning into thick bolts of black and red lightning that coiled around the long blade as he slowly swung it toward Carlo.
"Gods Repel!!"
The long sword, trailing black and red lightning, sliced through the void in front of him as if even space itself were being shredded by the blade.
What erupted from that shining blade was a sharp momentum that seemed intent on splitting the entire world in two!
This strike from Roger was still Gods Repel, but it was ten times stronger than the one he had used to clash with Carlo earlier!
With a single swing, a massive slash hundreds of meters long erupted, like a mountain range spanning heaven and earth, crushing toward Carlo.
The red light in Carlo's eyes intensified as he tried to predict the future.
But every future he predicted showed him being blown away by this terrifying slash!
No matter how he dodged, he couldn't completely avoid it.
Since there was no escaping...
Then... I won't avoid it!
Gods Repel, I don't repel!
Ink-black Armament Haki surged from his body like a tsunami. Under the amplification of the heavenly dragon halberd, it instantly compressed into Armament Haki lightning similar to Haki Entanglement, and he swung vertically against the oncoming horizontal Gods Repel slash.
"Celestial Dragon Star Burst Slash!!"
A pitch-black slash over a hundred meters long bloomed from the blade of the heavenly dragon halberd, like a shark fin slicing through the earth, and crashed violently into Roger's Gods Repel.
The next moment.
An earth-shattering roar exploded in the center of the square.
The ground of the square, which covered tens of thousands of square meters, was instantly shattered into fine powder.
The dust blown away by the shockwave surged in all directions, forming a sandstorm that blotted out the sun over Hachinosu.
Amidst the turbulent hurricane, everyone only saw a black shadow fly up from opposite Roger and instantly vanish from the square.
A second later.
With a loud crash, another human-shaped hole that went straight through appeared on Skull Mountain.
"Hahahaha! What a powerful body, to even be able to withstand this strike of mine. I really did underestimate you, Carlo!"
Roger laughed, his figure instantly vanishing as he chased after Carlo, who had been blown away.
"Damn it! Roger actually used his full strength! Does he really want to destroy my island?!"
Rocks' expression changed, and he quickly shouted to Golden Lion Shiki behind him, "Shiki! Throw those two into the sky for me!"
Golden Lion was stunned: "Are you stupid, Rocks? You want me to throw them into the sky? How am I supposed to do that? Do you want me to send Hachinosu into the sky along with them?"
"I..." Rocks opened his mouth, speechles