The next second, a golden flying slash shot forward, separating the Marines from Luffy's group.
The Marines charging at the front looked toward the direction of the slash with lingering fear—then immediately froze in shock.
"I-It's the Marine Hero! Vice Admiral Karl!"
"What?!"
Morgan stared at Karl in utter disbelief, his mouth hanging open.
Why would Headquarters Marines suddenly appear at his base?
Could it be—
As if realizing something terrible, Morgan's expression instantly darkened.
But the other Marines reacted differently.
They weren't idiots.
Many of them had already guessed what was happening. After all, complaints and reports against Colonel Morgan had been submitted countless times.
Could today finally be the day this arrogant tyrant was brought down?
Koby, who had always dreamed of becoming a righteous Marine, stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
The Marine Hero? Why would someone like him come to a place like this?
Luffy scratched his head in confusion.
"Marine Hero? What's that? Never heard of it."
The moment Zoro heard the familiar flying slash, his entire body trembled.
Although he hadn't heard the others clearly, that attack instantly brought back memories of the first time he met Karl.
There was no mistake.
It was him.
"Colonel Morgan, commanding officer of Marine Branch 153," Smoker declared coldly, "you stand accused of corruption, abuse of authority, oppression of civilians, and multiple other crimes. The evidence is conclusive. Come with us peacefully."
As the former director of the Marine Internal Affairs Bureau, Smoker naturally handled this kind of matter more professionally.
Karl simply stood nearby and watched the show.
Morgan immediately shouted angrily:
"Nonsense! I'm the commander of Branch 153! I have the authority to do these things!"
Smoker was about to respond when Karl casually patted his shoulder.
The unspoken meaning was obvious:
My turn now.
"You having authority or not isn't for you to decide," Karl said calmly. "That's for Marine Headquarters to decide."
"Still… for a mere branch colonel to build a statue of himself? That's pretty outrageous."
"Even I, the Marine Hero, don't have one."
"And yes," Karl continued casually, "we arrived a long time ago. We've been observing everything you've done."
"As the former director of Marine Internal Affairs…" Smoker sneered, "I suggest you start preparing yourself for Impel Down."
Morgan swung his arm furiously.
"What right do you have to send me to Impel Down?! I'm the highest-ranking officer here! Even if your ranks are higher, you still have no authority to arrest me!"
"MEN! KILL THEM!!!"
Unfortunately for him—
—not a single Marine moved.
What a joke.
This was the Marine Hero who had defeated a criminal worth nearly five billion Berries.
And besides…
Who the hell are you? Don't drag us into this. We don't want the Marine Hero misunderstanding us.
"This guy's hopeless," Smoker muttered coldly.
Then he shouted loudly:
"All Marines, hear my order! Arrest the corrupt officer Morgan immediately! Anyone refusing to comply will be treated as an accomplice!"
The instant those words fell, every Marine present immediately turned their guns toward Morgan without the slightest hesitation.
"You traitors!!!"
Morgan roared furiously.
"You're all traitors! I'LL EXECUTE EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU!!!"
He raised the massive axe attached to his right arm and swung it toward the nearby Marines.
For a moment, none of the soldiers dared to fire.
Karl lazily raised his right hand in a very Kizaru-like manner.
A dazzling golden light instantly gathered at his fingertip.
Pew.
A Holy Light Bullet precisely struck Morgan's axe-hand.
The next second, Morgan's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets as he frantically shook his arm.
"HOT! HOT! IT BURNS!!!"
Everyone looked closely—
—and discovered that the giant axe had turned glowing red before melting into molten iron.
Soon, the smell of cooked meat spread through the air.
Standing beside Karl, Smoker stared at him in disbelief.
"Y-Your Holy Light can injure people now?! Isn't this basically the same as Admiral Kizaru's—"
Karl waved his hand casually.
"Nothing special. My Devil Fruit just awakened by accident."
Smoker: "…"
You bastard.
He sighed inwardly.
Karl had gotten even stronger again.
Although Smoker himself had spent years developing the Smoke-Smoke Fruit, he still hadn't even touched the threshold of awakening.
Then again—
Even Akainu, Aokiji, and Kizaru hadn't awakened their Devil Fruits yet.
Natural-type Fruits are just like that, Smoker comforted himself.
Instantly, he felt much better.
"T-This is the strength of the Marine Hero?!"
"He defeated Morgan so easily!"
"Of course! Vice Admiral Karl is a man who has fought every Emperor of the Sea in the New World!"
Smoker coughed lightly and pointed at the screaming Morgan on the ground.
"What are you all standing around for? Tie him up!"
"Yes, sir!"
Only then did Karl shift his gaze toward Zoro.
"You've truly disappointed me, Zoro."
Zoro didn't know how to answer.
He could only remain silent while looking at Karl.
"Hey! Who are you supposed to be?!"
Luffy clearly didn't remember Karl at all.
Which honestly made perfect sense.
They had only met once many years ago, and with Luffy's personality, remembering him would've been stranger.
"Monkey D. Luffy, huh?" Karl said with amusement. "How surprising. The grandson of the Marine Hero actually chose to become a pirate."
"What's wrong with this world?"
"Huh? You know my grandpa?"
Luffy blinked.
"Wait… I remember now! You're that Marine guy who was with the Marine lady that turns people into kids… Umm…"
"What was your name again?"
Karl smiled faintly.
"You'll know eventually."
Then he looked toward Smoker.
"What about these people? Do any of them have bounties?"
Smoker glanced deeply at Luffy before shaking his head.
"No."
"This kid obviously just set sail recently. There's no way he'd already have a bounty."
"However—"
"Mr. Karl!"
Koby suddenly stepped forward anxiously.
"Even though Mr. Luffy is a pirate, he isn't a bad person! And Mr. Zoro too! They haven't done anything wrong!"
Karl lowered his gaze toward the pink-haired boy.
A double agent standing physically with one side while emotionally supporting another.
Disgusting.
"You're a pirate too, aren't you, pink-haired brat?"
Koby froze instantly.
Then he began stammering nervously while cold sweat poured down his face.
Was he a pirate?
Technically… yes.
He had worked under Alvida before, doing pirate chores for her crew.
Even if it wasn't voluntary, the Marines didn't exactly have time to investigate whether he had a choice or not.
And someone with a pirate background…
How could he ever become a righteous Marine?
"Hey, he's not a pirate!"
Luffy suddenly shouted.
"Just look at him! Does he look like a pirate to you?"
"He's cowardly, cries all the time, and is super weak—"
Luffy continued listing Koby's flaws one after another.
Yet Koby didn't get angry at all.
Instead, he looked at Luffy with gratitude.
Because he understood.
Luffy was intentionally distancing himself from him.
That way, Koby's record would remain clean.
Smoker snorted coldly.
"You think I can't see through your little act?"
"Trying to draw a line between yourselves?"
"That trick's way too childish."
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