To the rest of the world, Queen Otohime had been killed by human pirates.
But Karl knew the truth—
It was Hody Jones.
Which meant this mission was, on the surface, not difficult for him at all.
…No, scratch that.
Too risky. Not worth it.
Fish-Man Island and Princess Shirahoshi were indeed tempting, but the risk far outweighed the reward.
Karl had no intention of wading into that muddy water.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, you make a valid point," Karl said calmly.
"Mm, I'll take care of these pirate crews instead."
He casually picked up several pirate-hunting files, bid Sengoku farewell, and prepared to depart.
Crescent Bay
Karl looked at the three Marine warships docked before him and felt a flicker of nostalgia.
Feels like being back at the 108th Branch…
"Reporting, Colonel Karl!"
"All preparations are complete. We can set sail at any time!"
"Good," Karl nodded.
"What's your name?"
The burly man straightened his back, voice loud and clear.
"Reporting, sir! Nelson, Staff Sergeant! Assigned as your adjutant!"
"Excellent," Karl said.
"Then let's move out."
"Hold on now, Karl, my boy—"
"You forgot something~"
Karl turned around.
Kizaru stood behind him, wearing that familiar, irritatingly lewd smile, a long rectangular box in his hands.
Nelson's eyes went wide. He snapped to attention.
"Admiral Kizaru!"
"This is…?" Karl already had a guess, his expression lighting up.
"That's right," Kizaru chuckled.
"Exactly what you're thinking."
Karl took the box, opened it just enough to confirm its contents—a sword—and immediately shut it.
"Much appreciated, Admiral."
Kizaru waved it off.
"Just a small favor. You're heading out on solo missions now, huh? That was fast."
"Alright then," he added lazily.
"I won't get in your way. If anything comes up, give this old man a call."
With that, his body dissolved into light and vanished.
Karl exhaled softly.
Thanks, Monkey… Let's slack off together again sometime.
Aboard the Warship
Nelson asked, "Colonel, where's our destination?"
Karl didn't hesitate.
"Water 7. A pirate crew will be landing there soon."
"Yes, sir!"
Back in his cabin, Karl rubbed his hands together and slowly opened the box.
Inside was a jet-black sword, its structure similar to the replica of Shodai Kitetsu, but with dramatic differences.
The tsuba had transformed into crow-feather-like wings
The grip bore feather patterns
A blood-red eye sat embedded at the pommel
The moment Karl lifted it—
The blade twitched.
The sword writhed, reshaping itself, and in the blink of an eye, transformed into a pitch-black raven, crimson eyes locking onto Karl.
It flapped its wings warily, full of hostility.
"Hmph. Got quite the temper, don't you?"
Karl's gaze hardened.
He seized the raven by the body, his voice low and cold.
"Submit—or die."
"GAAH—!!"
The raven struggled violently, screeching shrilly, its movements growing weaker… until at last, it stopped resisting and lowered its head.
"From now on," Karl said,
"your name is Raven. Become a blade."
The raven nodded.
In a flash, it reverted to a sword, settling perfectly into Karl's hand.
"Not bad."
Karl nodded in satisfaction.
Both in appearance and quality, this blade exceeded expectations.
Uramaru?
Let's not talk anymore—I don't want Raven getting the wrong idea.
Three minutes later, Karl stepped onto the deck.
Under Nelson's command, the Marines worked methodically and efficiently.
Karl nodded approvingly.
Perfect. I can just supervise, slack off when possible, and step in when needed.
"Uh—Colonel Karl," a Marine asked hesitantly.
"Is that bird on your shoulder…?"
Karl smiled faintly, unable to resist showing off.
"Oh? This?"
"This is my weapon. Its name is Raven."
As he spoke, Raven shifted forms, transforming smoothly back into a sleek black longsword in Karl's hand.
The surrounding Marines stared in shock.
"W–What the—?!"
"How did it…?"
Karl laughed.
"Ever heard of ability transfer technology? Raven is a devil-fruit weapon."
Nelson didn't really understand—but he was thoroughly impressed.
"Sir—who exactly is our target this time?"
Karl pulled out a bounty poster.
"Here."
Flame Pirates
Captain: Roch Thompson
Bounty: 87,000,000 Berries
"That's right," Karl nodded.
"We'll wait for them in Water 7 and take them straight to Impel Down."
"Any confidence?"
The Marines exchanged glances.
Confidence?
A man who had crushed pirates nearing 300 million in bounty—
An 87-million pirate was nothing.
"Yes, sir!!!"
"Good," Karl said.
"All ahead full speed. We'll wipe them out in one go."
"OOOOOOH!!!"
Water 7
After three days at sea, the fleet finally arrived.
Seeing the familiar architecture, Karl smiled.
Nice. A place I actually recognize.
To avoid alerting the pirates, Karl sailed directly into Water 7 and stationed Marines to monitor Scrap Island.
Mission control handled.
Vacation mode: ON.
Walking the streets, Karl quickly noticed the heads turning.
A tall, sharp-looking Marine officer with movie-star looks—
Of course people stared.
"Boss," Karl said casually,
"how much to rent a Bull?"
The rental shop owner immediately beamed.
"A Marine officer! Normally 1,000—no, 500 Berries! Just 500!"
"Perfect. I'll take the blue one."
Mounted on the sea-donkey-like Bull, Karl lit a cigarette.
If only I had a woman with me…
"Alright, Bull," he said.
"Take me around."
The Bull let out a cry and moved along the canals at an easy pace.
Karl didn't waste the time—he used the four days' worth of accumulated daily rewards.
Twenty enhancement cards later—
Perception was still D+.
No change.
But the twelve random rewards more than made up for it.
Rewards Obtained:
Swordsmanship Skill Card ×3
Observation Haki Enhancement Card ×1
Lifespan +20 days ×6
Cola (Fat Otaku Special) ×1 case
5,000,000 Berries
Karl nearly laughed out loud.
When you're sleepy, the system hands you a pillow. Truly a mature system.
After using everything—
His Observation Haki remained LV2,
But he gained Swordsmanship LV2 (Max LV5).
Even at LV2, it felt like he'd trained for years.
He grasped the Breath of All Things
He could casually release flying slashes
With Armament Haki coating and ranged sword attacks…
Calling himself a swordsman now?
Yeah.
No argument there.
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