c5 First Battle at Sea!
"How far are we from the Calm Belt now?"
"Reporting, Vice Admiral Flying Squirrel—we'll reach the Calm Belt by nightfall!"
"Very well alert all crew! Tonight, we'll enter the Calm Belt. Make sure they're prepared to face Sea Kings at any moment!"
"Yes, sir!"
As the order spread through the warship, the communications officer quickly informed all personnel.
Carl was naturally among them.
He hadn't expected the warship to reach the Calm Belt in just two days—its speed was shocking!
The sailing velocity of a Marine battleship was far beyond what he'd imagined!
"Surprised, are you? I bet the boats in your town never moved this fast right?"
Vice Admiral Flying Squirrel smirked as he approached Carl, clearly amused.
Carl nodded he hadn't expected anything like this from even the best ships in the East Blue.
"If I used my own boat to travel this distance, it would've taken at least five days no, maybe even ten days!"
Carl scratched his head in disbelief, finally admitting that Marine ships were in a league of their own.
"Hahaha! Let me tell you something the Marines use technology that no other faction has. Our propulsion enhancements double our travel speed!"
"So don't be so shocked once your rank gets high enough, you'll command one of these ships too."
Vice Admiral Flying Squirrel clapped Carl's shoulder as he spoke, and Carl could only grin wryly in return.
"Is that supposed to be comforting me?"
"Take it however you want haha!"
Flying Squirrel laughed as he walked alongside Carl, completely dropping any sense of military formality.
Just as Carl was about to ask him about the internal structure of the Navy, a scout suddenly rushed out of the watchtower in panic.
"Vice Admiral! We've spotted a pirate ship three kilometers out!"
"Oh? Which pirate crew?"
"Sir, it's the White Wave Pirates 15 million bounty. After the fall of the Krieg Pirates, they've become the most dangerous crew in the East Blue!"
"Excellent full speed ahead! We're going to intercept them!"
As his subordinate delivered the intel, Flying Squirrel's eyes narrowed the easygoing aura he wore earlier evaporated, replaced by a sharp, commanding presence.
Then he turned to Carl, an eager grin forming on his face.
"Carl you wanted a chance to earn merit and maybe skip straight to an official rank, right?"
"Well, here's your opportunity—take down this pirate crew, and I'll personally recommend you to join my ship full-time!"
Flying Squirrel had been thinking over this idea for days.
He recognized Carl's potential far beyond a standard recruit.
Keeping him close would add serious firepower to his own command unit.
But he hadn't shared that thought with anyone—it was still just a plan forming in his mind.
"If the Vice Admiral believes in me that much then I won't hold back. This feat is mine!"
A 15-million bounty pirate crew? Neither Carl nor Flying Squirrel took them seriously.
Every Marine on this ship had the capability to take out the White Wave Pirates solo if needed.
Letting Carl deal with them was simply a way to fast-track his career with some earned glory.
Stretching his arms, Carl activated the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi the float-float powers once held by Shiki and took to the skies with ease.
Meanwhile
The pirate crew in question had no idea their doom was flying toward them.
They were too busy celebrating their latest haul.
"Haha! Boys, that village we hit was loaded! Can you believe we pulled over 10 million Berries from that tiny place?!"
"Yeah! Who would've thought the village chief had that kind of stash? We really scored big this time!"
"Hahahaha, with this money, I can finally marry a beautiful woman and raise a fat, healthy son, haha!"
"Don't talk nonsense the treasure belongs to the captain, and so does the beautiful woman and the big fat son!"
Classic bootlicking the sycophants of the White Wave Pirates made Bailang feel even more pleased with himself.
He grinned, lifted his cup, and laughed.
"Hahahaha, we've struck it rich! Time to find somewhere to live it up how about Loguetown?
I heard Smoker the White Hunter got transferred to the Grand Line. No one in the East Blue can restrain us now!"
"Agreed! That's the place!"
"Captain leads, we follow!"
"Woohoo!!!"
"I'm afraid you won't get the chance to enjoy any of it!"
Just as the White Wave Pirates were celebrating, a cold voice sliced through the air, snapping their attention like a whip.
"Who the hell said that?! You got a death wish?!"
Bailang scanned his surroundings, but there was no one in sight.
However, his crew members' expressions had changed to pure horror.
His bootlicker grabbed Bailang's sleeve and pointed upward, hand trembling.
"Boss... up there... look at the sky..."
"What sky? What, is the enemy flying now—wait, what the—?!"
When Bailang looked up, he was met with the chilling sight of Carl hovering in midair, arms crossed, eyes cold and full of disdain.
His face was solemn, radiating quiet fury.
This was why Carl despised pirates.
These degenerates looted, killed, and destroyed without remorse. Even if the Navy sometimes bent to the Celestial Dragons, no pirate was more abhorrent.
The chaos of this era this "Great Pirate Era" was fueled by these criminals.
Of course, the Celestial Dragons were parasites too, and Carl held no love for them.
But between the greed and cruelty of the nobles and the indiscriminate bloodshed of pirates, it was the pirates he hated most.
So Carl didn't say a word.
He simply flicked his fingers, and the twin swords Kikoku and Shusui, now transformed into his own Deadwood and Sakura Ten shot forth like wrathful spirits under his control.
They surged toward the White Wave Pirates without hesitation!
There was no suspense the power gap was massive.
Carl didn't even need to descend into the fray himself. With precise control of his blades, he slaughtered the ordinary crew with chilling ease.
The massacre sent the pirates into a panic of despair.
Several desperate men even leapt into the sea to escape. But Carl didn't bother to pursue them.
In Calm Belt–adjacent waters like these, jumping into the sea was no different than suicide Sea Kings would devour them within minutes.
"Th-The swords... they fly?!"
"He's a monster! This guy's a damn monster!"
"You! Who the hell are you?!"
The few remaining pirates tried to mount resistance.
They were the core of the White Wave crew—the ones with actual bounties and some real strength.
Their captain, Bailang, managed to block a few attacks, but his defense was faltering, his body cut and bleeding.
"Huh? Who am I?"
Carl gave a low chuckle and casually lifted his right hand.
"I'm just a Marine with some... initiative."
With those words, Carl clenched his right fist.
Instantly, Deadwood and Sakura Ten accelerated midair like bullets!
Both blades plunged directly into Bailang's chest—piercing through his heart in one fluid, fatal strike.
Then Carl, without pause, directed the blades in a final, clean sweep—beheading the remaining pirates.
He left not a single survivor.
In his eyes, none of them were worth sparing.
With the battlefield silent, Carl landed on the deck of the now-ownerless pirate ship. He touched its hull, channeling his floating power into every plank and nail.
Then, activating the full ability of the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi, he began levitating the entire vessel, ready to return it like a trophy.
From the Navy warship, Flying Squirrel watched it all unfold.
"Decisive in battle—no hesitation in executing justice but kind and fair with his comrades... a hard-liner with loyalty."
"This is a rare talent—I must keep him close at any cost!"
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