Boom!
So in a sense, the Ageless Surgery granted by the Ope Ope no Mi remains immensely tempting—even to Carl. But not in the obsessive way the World Government craves it. Carl narrowed his eyes slightly.
Law's mouth twitched. Like hell he believed that!
Deep within the misty core of the island, an abandoned Punk Hazard-era research institute crumbled in decay. This very facility once stood as a node of Caesar Clown and Vegapunk's twisted experiments. And among its notorious legacies is the connection to the Ope Ope no Mi's ultimate ability—the fabled Ageless Operation.
A technique with the power to render someone immortal at the cost of the user's life.
All previous sins and crimes would be brushed aside if Law agreed. That's the weight behind the World Government's offer.
"Wait…" Law frowned. In the blink of an eye, Carl's figure vanished from his sight completely.
A joke, right?! Usually something like this comes with an envelope and a navy wax seal!
"I… join…" Law muttered, cold sweat beading on his face. His voice was slow and forced.
Law's hand rose, halting his crew. Bepo and the others stopped, peering forward tensely.
"Of course," Carl said, spreading his hands casually. "We treat the Shichibukai system seriously. The others were invited personally by a Fleet Admiral or an Admiral."
At this point, CP0 was definitely lurking somewhere nearby, watching quietly behind the veil.
"This is…"
If Law ever reached the point of mastering the Ageless Surgery, he would become a linchpin of world balance.
"Well, explaining this stuff would give me a headache," Carl scratched his head and exhaled, "Just imagine I turned the air itself into an explosive charge."
"Seriously?" Law's Adam's apple bobbed as he responded in a hoarse voice, "Then why are you here, Solomon Carl? No—Vice Admiral Oak Dragon."
Carl blew out a ring of smoke and continued, "It's simple. The World Government formally invites you, Trafalgar D. Water Law, to join the Shichibukai."
The bounty of 5 billion berries once attached to the Ope Ope no Mi spoke volumes of its value—greater than most Yonko Commanders. It wasn't just rare. It was world-shaping.
And yet, Law didn't believe any of it.
He took a deep breath. "So if I refuse, will I vanish before sunrise?"
Law took half a step back, eyes narrowed. "Can I have time to consider? Becoming a Shichibukai isn't something to decide on a whim."
Behind Law, Bepo, Shachi, Penguin, and Jean Bart gulped, their fear plainly written in their eyes.
From their expressions alone, the World Government's interest in Law's Devil Fruit was no secret.
And Carl still carried the abilities of the Mythical Zoan: Bat-Bat Fruit, Model: Vampire, layered under his crimson coat.
"Then what's your intention?" Law asked, suspicion sharp in his voice.
His Observation Haki flared—warning bells echoing—but his body couldn't react in time!
Clang—Clang—!
"It's over already. Why overthink it?" Carl said calmly, taking another puff. "You're a surgeon of death, Law. You should know better than anyone—your Devil Fruit isn't just unique. It's one of the most terrifying in the world."
A squad of Marines halted at the edge of the clearing, unease etched across their faces.
Law's gaze hardened. "This explosion… it wasn't random. Stay alert."
Carl narrowed his eyes slightly, voice cool. "Can you give me a definite answer, Surgeon of Death?" His expression was calm, but his pupils glowed faintly scarlet beneath the brim of his hat.
Just then—
"Was this your way of saying hello?" Carl asked, eyes flashing a strange red glow. A complex sigil resembling a 28-sided formation unfurled in the air, blooming outward.
"Well, think of it that way if you want," Carl shrugged, smirking faintly. "So, Trafalgar Law… what's your answer?"
The air around them had shifted subtly. No ordinary person could notice the slight chemical imbalance that Carl had tampered with. An alchemy of atmosphere, built with the Vampire Fruit's unique application of internal combustion.
"Yes!" T. Penn saluted firmly from behind, eyes still wide from the earlier explosion.
The legend behind the Ageless Surgery—that ultimate ability hidden within the Ope Ope no Mi—suggests the user could bestow immortality at the cost of their own life. It's a burden… and a weapon.
"O-Oak Dragon Vice Admiral…" T. Penn muttered in awe. "Was that all your doing?"
That was the purpose of Carl's trip: Trafalgar D. Water Law, nicknamed the "Surgeon of Death."
And yet, Law hadn't noticed any unusual change until it was already too late.
Yamato, standing in the shadows with her club over her shoulder, squinted. "What was that just now…?"
The atmosphere tensed. No one dared to move.
"You all wait here," Carl said, waving behind him. "I'll return after delivering the invitation personally."
He raised his right hand, conjuring a glowing blood-red sigil in the air above his palm. "Is this what you were wondering about?"
Carl had witnessed Law's devastating ability back at Sabaody Archipelago—a scene etched into memory, where rooms bent and people were sliced without shedding blood. The power of the Op-Op Fruit was terrifying.
"What do you think?" Carl asked, raising a brow. The scarlet light in his pupils pulsed again, just once.
The Ope Ope no Mi, valued at 5 billion berries!
"What a fearsome ability," Yamato admitted with a nod. She respected strength, after all.
"I can't explain the principles of this to you like some professor of chemistry," Carl said, sighing. "Just accept that I can reshape the battlefield itself."
5 billion berries—for a single fruit.
Suddenly, the ground near them detonated with an enormous blast!
This entire scene was playing out at maximum threat level—this was no casual meeting.
Yet such a cataclysmic explosion had gone off with no signal beforehand.
A distant figure stepped from the haze.
Law exhaled deeply. "That blast… was that your doing?"
Moments later, shadows emerged from the broken gates of the institute—Marines and researchers alike.
Could any human truly resist the temptation of eternal life?
The Marineford War, the skirmish at Totto Land, the decisive battle of Onigashima in Wano—all events that rewrote the age of piracy. In the last two years, Marineford had become an iron-clad fortress, forbidden ground for pirates.
And now, the cost of joining the Shichibukai meant the suspension of one's bounty—no matter how high.
On the icy half of the island, the snow began to thaw.
Law's pupils contracted sharply. His voice was gravelly. "So what are you really after?"
Boom!
Carl waved lazily. "In short, be cautious. Even if you've mastered that fruit, don't show off too easily."
Then he turned and walked away, leaving Law in silence.
But even that advice came with a shadow. After all, mastering such a terrifying Devil Fruit often came with a deeper curse—the vulnerability to seawater and the possibility of painting a target on your back forever.
Behind Carl, his group began to walk forward, their silhouettes stretched under the shattered moonlight.
Of the current Four Emperors, not a single one holds a bounty exceeding 5 billion berries.
In front of Carl and the others, a massive Kairoseki-reinforced glass dome had already risen, cutting off the destructive aftermath of the sudden clash.
"It's that monster…" Cold sweat dripped from Trafalgar Law's brow, his pupils trembling slightly as his Observation Haki caught traces of overwhelming pressure.
The next to poke his head out from behind the metal door was a familiar white bear—Bepo, Law's loyal Mink companion—his ears twitching. "Captain… What happened out there?"
But bringing in a former Shichibukai to make such a move—could that alone justify the prestige of an Admiral?
"It's just a reminder," Carl said, his voice steady as his crimson eyes dimmed like smoldering embers. "Even if I personally don't care much, the old men above—the Gorosei—they take these things seriously."
"This is…" Law's expression shifted. He recognized the stakes.
What made this situation even more terrifying was not brute force, but the secrecy of it all—the depth of the Ope Ope no Mi's true potential.
It wasn't just the ability to switch personalities or swap locations. No, the true horror lay in its ultimate forbidden technique—Perennial Youth Surgery, the ageless operation. A power that could grant someone eternal life.
And the World Government would do anything to get it.
The figure before them wore a black-and-white cloak of justice, three modified katanas strapped along his waist, and a lit cigar hanging lazily from his lips. Heat rippled from his presence like waves off magma.
As Law tried to remain calm, he remembered something else—Kaido's bounty, the highest among the Yonko, was 4.6111 billion berries.
He knew this better than most. He had been at the center of the Wano upheaval. He had seen firsthand how such power moved.
Carl's gaze pierced through him. "So, Law. What's your answer?"
Truth be told, the Shichibukai system, even now disbanded, had always stood on par with Marine hierarchy in some ways. Especially when individuals like Mihawk or Doflamingo had once carried that title.
The ground beneath them trembled faintly, as if echoing the unspoken threat in Carl's tone.
The metallic door to the operations room groaned open again. A white-furred arm extended through the opening, followed by the imposing frame of Chambalu, one of Carl's own team—formerly a CP0 operative turned Marine special force.
"Is the Warlord system really this high-ranking?" Law muttered under his breath, still dazed.
"I'm here to deliver an invitation," Carl stated, his form already blurring forward like a shadow in the mist.
"Understood," Chambalu nodded in a gravelly tone from the background, standing guard.
Suddenly, Carl's image flickered. In that same breath, he appeared right in front of Law. His hand landed gently on Law's shoulder, as if casually greeting an old friend.
Across from them, the Marine formation on the opposite ridge still stared at Carl's afterimage, which remained frozen for a full two seconds before fading.
"Gulp—" One of the Marines swallowed audibly. It was as if time had lagged for everyone else except Carl.
This meant Law's Observation Haki wasn't even able to track him.
His only action had been to extend a hand, and in that moment, a red glyph flashed briefly—one of Carl's signature techniques—but nothing else followed.
The man in front of them wore a spotted hat, with fatigue-laced eyes and dark bags beneath them. Trafalgar D. Water Law, captain of the Heart Pirates, one of the eleven Worst Generation. A long Kikoku nodachi rested on his back, always within reach.
Sa!
The fire blazed behind them, illuminating the scorched ruins of Punk Hazard.
Meanwhile, on the far coast of the island, a lone ship flew the Donquixote Family's faded flag.
A pirate scout aboard squinted at the horizon. Seeing nothing unusual, he turned and sprinted back toward the ship's interior.
But even that wasn't important.
The real treasure was the immortality Law could offer. Theoretically, if someone with immense power devoured the Ope Ope no Mi and forced another to perform the surgery, they could gain youth, and maintain peak strength indefinitely.
Stone and steel exploded from the cratered floor, but the Kairoseki-glass dome Carl had triggered earlier blocked all debris like an invisible shield.
"Frankly, your powers aren't really my type," Carl muttered with a dismissive wave, puffing out another swirl of smoke.
Footsteps echoed from the tunnel ahead.
The Marines following behind Carl and Chambalu gawked at the unbelievable display, jaws nearly hitting the dirt.
This Marine… Law had heard the name, but seeing it up close—it was different.
Rustle… step, step…
"Relax," Carl said as he strolled forward, "I'm not here to make you fight."
He finally stopped, lifted his gaze, and said clearly, "Solomon Carl… You all better prepare yourselves. Things are about to change."
Unfathomable!
At best, Law's haki could warn him of an incoming strike. But this? This was something else entirely.
This man was one of the strongest monsters in the Marine—a rising force already marked by the Gorosei for greatness. Law couldn't even gauge the gap between them anymore.
He'd been observing Carl from the sidelines ever since Dressrosa and again during the incident at Sabaody. But now, standing here on Punk Hazard, he realized how vast that power truly was.
"Seven Warlords of the Sea…" Law muttered, brow twitching. "Does this kind of recruitment even require you to hand out letters personally?"
"Don't overthink it," Carl grinned, waving lazily. "This is just a little friendly hello."
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