"Cough—cough—pfft!"
Karl spat out a mouthful of blood, his face pale.
Golden light immediately bloomed across his body, and his complexion quickly returned to normal.
Marco was indeed stronger than Karl—but defeating him was nowhere near that easy.
Not to mention the divine skill [Swift as a Hare], just the Holy Light's continuous healing alone allowed Karl to fight in an extremely shameless way, almost like a Mythical Zoan user.
"Heh, that's it?" Karl sneered.
"I thought the First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates would be stronger than this."
A flicker of surprise flashed through Marco's eyes.
He's a Devil Fruit user? And his ability… it's similar to mine?
At the very least, it clearly had a powerful healing effect.
"Big words!" Marco snorted.
"Don't go begging for mercy later!"
"Phoenix Talon!"
Karl steadied his breathing and calmed his mind.
The moment Marco launched his attack, Karl dodged in advance—only for Marco to overextend and kick nothing but empty air.
"Six Powers Secret Art—Six King Gun!"
Karl roared.
Both of his arms turned pitch-black with Armament Haki as he struck—one up, one down—slamming viciously into Marco's waist!
A terrifying shockwave exploded outward, piercing straight through Marco's body and tearing apart the deck behind him.
"Gah—!"
Marco was sent flying like a kite with its string cut, skidding more than ten meters across the ship.
"Never underestimate anyone," Karl said coldly.
"Marco the Phoenix."
He tore off his blood-soaked Marine coat and Justice cape, revealing a muscular upper body.
His entire aura changed in an instant.
Crash—
Marco climbed out of the rubble, blue flames igniting across his body as they rapidly healed his injuries. His expression was dark, silent, and grim.
"So this is the Whitebeard Pirates' First Division Commander?" Karl mocked.
"In my eyes, you're nothing special."
"Figures. Without that old man Whitebeard, you're all nothing."
Marco remained silent.
He wanted to retort—but he knew words were meaningless.
Only by smashing Karl into the ground would his response carry any weight.
His body began to transform.
Arms became phoenix wings.
Legs turned into razor-sharp talons.
Long, blazing tail feathers stretched out behind him.
Whoosh!
Marco shot into the sky, then plummeted down like a meteor.
"Phoenix Brand!"
Karl's pupils shrank. He rolled desperately to the side—
BOOM!
A massive explosion erupted behind him, shockwaves ripping through the deck.
The Witch Queen creaked and groaned violently, as if it were about to snap in half.
Karl rose from the rubble, covered in fresh cuts—only for them to heal rapidly under the Holy Light.
Suddenly—
A lightning-fast figure burst from the smoke!
Marco's foot slammed toward Karl's chest.
"Armament—Iron Body!"
BANG!
Karl staggered back several steps before dispersing the force, grimacing as he rubbed his arms.
But Marco was already charging again.
There was no time to think.
Karl met him head-on in a pure battle of physical techniques.
"Iron Body: Steel Elbow!"
"Finger Pistol Barrage!"
"Tempest Kick: Sever!"
In this high-intensity clash, Karl's combat skill skyrocketed.
Every inch of his body was pushed to its limit.
Marco, however, relied on overwhelming physique and experience—using simplicity to counter complexity.
After a prolonged exchange—
Marco gained a small advantage.
Karl took a small loss.
This bastard really is hard to deal with, Marco thought grimly.
Such refined Six Powers… did he start training straight out of the womb?
But outwardly, Marco's expression never changed.
Karl, on the other hand, felt something different.
Though he took plenty of hits, his growth rate was terrifying.
Bit by bit, Marco found it harder to block Karl's attacks.
No good…
I need to end this quickly. Big Sis Whitey Bay won't last much longer.
Marco's gaze sharpened.
He was finally going all out.
As much as he hated to admit it, this Marine was no longer just an annoyance—
He was a genuine threat.
Just as Marco prepared to unleash his full power—
A voice filled with teasing amusement echoed from the sky.
"Uwo~ isn't this the Whitebeard Pirates' First Division Commander, Marco the Phoenix?"
"Why do you look so miserable~?"
"Could it be… my aide hit you a little too hard?"
Marco's expression instantly darkened.
"…Damn it. Kizaru."
This was bad.
Kizaru was far more troublesome than Karl.
And with him here, killing Karl was no longer an option.
Kizaru shimmered into light and appeared beside Karl, hands in pockets as he looked Marco over.
"Don't be so distant now~"
"We've fought plenty of times before, haven't we?"
"Hmph." Marco snorted coldly.
"We, the Whitebeard Pirates, will remember this."
He moved to Whitey Bay, gave her quick emergency treatment, then hoisted her up and flew off.
Kizaru simply watched them leave, making no move to pursue, until their figures disappeared beyond the horizon.
"You okay?" Kizaru asked lazily.
Karl gave a bitter smile. "Do I look like I'm not?"
Kizaru glanced at the sea of corpses littering the deck and clicked his tongue.
"Tsk tsk~ you really went all out, didn't you?"
"You've officially offended the Whitebeard Pirates now."
"So what?" Karl replied calmly.
"I just did what Marines are supposed to do."
"Not killing Whitey Bay was already giving that old man plenty of face."
Kizaru shook his head, half helpless, half amused.
"Alright, let's go. What are you standing around for~?"
After burning the pirate ship to the ground, Karl used Moonwalk to return to the Marine warship.
This time—
The soldiers' gazes toward him had completely changed.
"Major Karl, that was incredible! You wiped out the Witch Pirates and fought Marco to a standstill—so you're really this strong!"
"Yeah! I saw everything—those pirates had zero chance against you!"
"Look at those well-trained muscles! You must have trained incredibly hard to reach this level, right?!"
Cough.
That's right—between "training" and slacking off…
Karl chose to work very hard at slacking off.
All his strength was earned fair and square—from dedicated, professional-level slacking.
The soldiers' change in attitude was entirely expected.
Whether Marine or pirate, everyone worshipped strength.
Only power earned respect.
Karl raised a hand, calmly quieting them.
"No need to get worked up," he said steadily.
"Defeating pirates is nothing special."
"I just want you to remember this—"
"The Marines are the true rulers of the seas."
"Whitebeard. Big Mom. Kaido."
"They're all just pirates."
"And pirates are born to be hunted by the Marines."
"So we don't fear them—"
"They fear us."
"They fear Justice!"
The Marines' faces flushed red with excitement.
Their blood boiled—they looked ready to charge out and slaughter a few pirates on the spot.
Back in the lounge, Karl collapsed onto the sofa, exhausted, rubbing his neck.
"Man… better make up for lost time," he muttered.
"Otherwise, I won't even finish today's daily slacking task."
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