"Colonel, you are so strong! You really can harm the world's number one in swordsmanship with your skill!"
"Yes, Colonel Karl, how did you do it? I admire you so much!"
Looking at the excited Marines, Karl felt powerless. Where was he strong? If Mihawk hadn't let him go, he would have lost long ago, right?
But there was no denying that from the perspective of ordinary people, he fought on equal terms with Mihawk, and both were injured, making it a 50/50 fight! In addition to the rumor that last time he was 50/50 with Marco…
Oh no, Old Sand—that's actually me!
To be fair, he's far behind Marco and Mihawk right now, especially Mihawk.
Although he became a swordsman not long ago, once he did, he clearly felt Mihawk's power.
He's like Madara in the world of pirates, standing at the pinnacle of swordsmanship and looking down on all living creatures. He values Karl only because he has great potential and hopes that in the future he can fight him like Zoro.
But Mihawk, you… my tasks, my method of forging the Black Sword, my Haki enhancement card!
"Colonel, how did you become stronger? Is it through grueling and persistent training?"
"Yes, persistent training, watering your own strength with sweat—that's the secret of my strength!"
Karl suppressed the bitterness in his heart and spoke with a righteous air. Several messenger soldiers nodded vigorously. Colonel Karl was right!
Only hard work can make you stronger!
"All right, don't crowd around, quickly clean up before the Fire Pirates find out!"
"Yes, Sir!!!"
After a long silence, Karl sighed. Failure is still failure. There's no point in saying anything about it. Who made Mihawk play by his own rules?
"The greatest swordsman in the world! Tsk, tsk, tsk..."
A Marine who was "cleaning the floor" secretly pointed at Karl and whispered to his companion:
"Hey, do you think Colonel Karl has the potential to challenge the throne of the world's greatest swordsman?"
"I think it's possible. Colonel Karl is the strongest young man I've ever seen. He can injure Hawkeye now. In a few years, Colonel Karl will definitely defeat Hawkeye!"
"Exactly. By the way, do you have the video Den Den Mushi? Did you record the duel?"
"Of course, I have the video Den Den Mushi," the Marine who was asked laughed and patted his wallet. "I'll send it to the news agency when I have time and make some money!"
The next morning, early.
Bang, bang, bang...
"Colonel, there's trouble, the Fire Pirates have escaped!"
Karl, who had been sleeping, got out of bed and opened the door.
"What did you say?"
Nelson, out of breath, said:
"After the Fire Pirates arrived at Water 7, they didn't disembark from Shipwreck Island, but instead entered Water 7 directly through the main gate."
"In the end..."
Karl frowned:
"What happened?"
"Because we were actively operating in Water 7 recently, the townspeople revealed our location, and the Fire Pirates, without hesitation, turned around and left Water 7, escaping to the Sabaody Archipelago!"
"Ah..."
Sighing, Karl rubbed his temples and calmly said:
"Adjutant Nelson, mobilize your men immediately. I want everyone on the military ship within 10 minutes"
The Fire Pirates have committed numerous atrocities, and they are the pirates Karl despises the most. Otherwise, Karl wouldn't be targeting them specifically with so many other objectives.
Karl would never let prey he's already set his sights on escape!
"Yes, Sir!"
Ten minutes later, the military ship set sail, racing in the direction where the Fire Pirates had fled.
But they had already vanished, so Karl could only reanalyze their escape route.
"Sir, since they're heading to the Sabaody Archipelago, they must be passing through the Devil's Triangle; otherwise, it would take them a long time to go around it."
"So, I suspect they should be somewhere near the Devil's Triangle right now."
Karl scratched his chin and nodded:
"That makes sense. Let's head to the Devil's Triangle right now!"
The sea space of the Devil's Triangle.
Roch Thompson patted his men on the shoulder and said with a smile:
"Ha-ha-ha, lucky you're smart! Otherwise, I would have had no clue that the marines were waiting for us in Water 7!"
"The expressions on those marines' faces must be priceless right now, ha-ha-ha!"
The surrounding pirates also laughed, mocking the foolishness of the marines.
"Boss Roch, look, there's something in the sea! Eh, it looks like a barrel!"
"Let's see what this barrel is all about?"
"Boss, this should be a wine jug dedicated to the sea god, and it's filled with fine wine!"
Roch's eyes lit up, and he laughed:
"Guys, quickly, bring it up here, it's just in time to celebrate how we fooled the marines!"
"Great!!! Boss, you're wise!"
Lifting the wine jug wasn't difficult, and Roch couldn't wait to break the seal and open it.
"Ba-a-ang!"
"Damnation!"
A red flare shot up into the sky, painting it red. Roch sat on the deck with a bewildered expression, looking at the sky, not understanding what had just happened.
"What the hell is going on! Is it... fireworks?"
"Oh no, boss, it must be a signal flare, maybe it's a trap set by the marines!"
Roch thought more and more that something was wrong, and upon hearing the answer, he slapped his thigh:
"I know, it must be those cunning marines!"
"Everyone, keep your eyes open, if the marines show up, signal immediately!"
On the other side.
"Sir, look, someone is shooting a signal flare ahead!"
Karl smiled and lowered his telescope, thinking that it must be what Moria used for fishing, and it was perfectly clear that the Fire Pirates had taken the bait.
"Full speed towards the signal fire."
"Yes, sir!"
After just a few minutes, the sky around darkened as if a storm was gathering, and the air became unusually quiet.
"Sir, something seems off."
Karl glanced at the sky and said:
"Never mind, just do your job well, we're very close to the Fire Pirates' ship, work harder!"
Flame ship.
"Boss, the weather's a bit strange! Why do I feel so creepy? In the Devil's Triangle... there are no real phantoms!"
Roch swallowed hard and gave his younger brother a hearty slap on the shoulder.
"You idiot, we're pirates! How can we be afraid of phantoms? The phantoms should be afraid of us!"
"Come on, guys, cheer up. Don't scare yourselves. Remember, we've got the marines on our tail!"
"Oh no, boss! The marines are catching up!" Right, right behind us!
Looking at the pursuing military ships, the pirates on the Flame suddenly became agitated.
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