The Moby Dick.
Marco brought the badly injured Whitey Bay back aboard. After arranging immediate treatment, he headed straight to find Whitebeard.
"Dad!"
"Oh? Marco's back already!" Whitebeard laughed heartily.
"Gurarararā~ How did it go?"
Marco pressed his lips together, looking somewhat dejected.
"Dad… by the time I arrived, Karl had already slaughtered all of Big Sis Whitey Bay's subordinates. She herself was also severely injured."
"After that, I fought Karl—but I didn't expect a mere Marine major to have awakened both Armament and Observation Haki. I couldn't take him down quickly."
"And… he's also a Devil Fruit user. His ability has healing effects."
Whitebeard frowned slightly.
"Is Whitey Bay alright?"
Marco froze for a moment, then shook his head.
"She's fine. Just minor injuries."
"That's good," Whitebeard nodded.
"What happened after that? Did you take Karl down?"
"No. Kizaru arrived. To avoid any further danger to Big Sis, I withdrew with her."
Whitebeard burst into laughter.
"So it was that troublesome Kizaru again… forget it. As long as she's alive, that's what matters."
"When Whitey Bay recovers, we'll help her get her payback."
"Yes."
Marineford — Fleet Admiral's Office
"That's the whole story."
After listening to Karl's detailed account, Sengoku nodded slowly.
This had been handled well—very well, in fact.
Yes, Karl had killed many pirates, but Whitebeard would never start a full-scale war with the Marines over them.
It wasn't that the Marines feared Whitebeard—it was simply that the timing wasn't right.
If war truly broke out now, neither side could afford the aftermath.
"Good," Sengoku said.
"You handled this very well. By the way, I heard you fought Marco to a draw?"
Karl scratched his head.
Rumors really do grow more exaggerated the farther they spread…
"If that counts as a draw, then how do we explain Shanks getting knocked out by a wine bottle, or Garp nearly being chopped by Morgan?" he thought to himself.
"Not at all," Karl said honestly.
"I could barely hold my own. Being evenly matched with Marco is still far beyond me."
Sengoku was even more satisfied now.
Not arrogant. Clear about his own limits.
"Ha ha ha! Still so modest," Sengoku laughed.
"You'll grow sooner or later. When that time comes, the outcome won't be so certain."
Karl smiled and nodded, keeping his words to a minimum.
"Well then," Sengoku continued,
"since you're capable of defeating Whitey Bay on your own, you're qualified to lead missions independently."
"From today onward, you're promoted to Marine Headquarters Colonel."
"The HQ will assign you a large warship, allowing you to conduct missions independently."
After leaving Marine HQ, Karl couldn't help clenching his fist in excitement.
From today on, he was finally a true Marine officer, just like Tashigi—no, like Hina.
Officially, he was still Kizaru's aide.
For major operations, he'd still move together with Kizaru.
In practice, though, this was very much like a division system—Karl was essentially Kizaru's personal detachment commander.
And the advantages were obvious.
When to slack off.
How to slack off.
Whether to slack off.
All decided by him.
No one could control him anymore.
Now he just had to wait for HQ to assign him personnel—navigator, gunners, deckhands, logistics.
After all, he couldn't exactly sail a battleship alone.
"Take it slow. No rush."
Three Days Later
Karl's promotion to Marine Headquarters Colonel was officially announced.
The news caused an uproar.
But once people looked at his record, all objections fell silent.
Solo annihilation of the Witch Pirates
Holding his own against Marco the Phoenix
Promoting him straight to Rear Admiral wouldn't have been unreasonable.
"Ding! Detected promotion: Major → Colonel."
"Promotion Reward Granted: Random Special Skill Draw Card."
"Daily mission rewards upgraded:
✔ 5 Targeted Attribute Enhancement Cards
✔ Random Rewards ×3 (storable)
✔ Rare reward probability increased to 5%."
Karl, who had just climbed out of a very warm and gentle bed, smiled.
One word.
Refreshing.
"Use all targeted attribute cards on Perception.
Use the random special skill draw card."
"Skill acquired. Congratulations:
Special Skill — Child of the Sea."
Effect:
You can breathe freely underwater, ignore water pressure,
and stamina consumption in water is reduced by 50%.
"Holy—!"
Karl blurted it out loud, waking Monica beside him.
"What's wrong?" she asked sleepily.
"Uh—nothing, nothing! Go back to sleep!"
"I… need the bathroom!"
He shot out of bed and vanished in a flash.
Status Check
Name: Karl
Age: 24
Physique: B-
Perception: D+
Willpower: B+
Haki:
Armament Haki: LV3
Observation Haki: LV2
Special Traits:
Still as a Maiden
Swift as a Hare
Child of the Sea
Devil Fruit: Holy Light Fruit
Awakening Progress: 16.6%
Active Skill:
Frailty (usable)
This skill wasn't just strong.
For a Devil Fruit user like Karl, it erased a fundamental weakness.
Normally, Devil Fruit users became helpless in the sea—
They couldn't swim, their stamina drained rapidly, and abilities became unusable.
Seastone was even worse.
But Child of the Sea essentially gave Karl a body on par with the Fish-Men.
No—
In pure endurance terms, it was even better than Jack.
"A massive win," Karl muttered.
"With this, I can boldly head to the Mermaid Café—no, wait—Fish-Man Island."
"Buru buru…"
"Karl! Phone call!"
"I'm coming!"
Ten minutes later, Karl left the family quarters and headed straight for the Fleet Admiral's office.
"Karl," Sengoku said,
"your ship's crew is fully assembled. You can depart at any time."
"Perfect timing—I've got a few missions here. Pick one and treat it as practice."
He laid several intelligence files on the desk, smiling as he watched Karl.
Karl skimmed through them.
All were pirate-hunting missions.
Mostly newcomers from the Four Blues who had just entered the Grand Line.
Bounties ranged from 10 to 30 million.
Low difficulty.
Perfect for slacking.
"Hm… this one…"
Karl frowned slightly.
Because this mission—
Was an investigation into the assassination of Queen Otohime.
She had died last year.
Investigating it now felt… very late.
Sengoku took the file from Karl and frowned.
"Ah, this one," he said.
"It's extremely troublesome. That's why no one's wanted to take it."
"A World Noble refuses to let it go, insists Queen Otohime's death was a conspiracy, and keeps demanding an investigation."
"But as you know, after her death, Fish-Man Island fell into chaos and became deeply hostile toward humans."
"So the matter was shelved."
Karl stroked his chin slowly.
Now this… is interesting.
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