Koby's face stiffened instantly, turning deathly pale.
"T-That's because…"
Smoker waved his hand impatiently.
"There's no need to explain anymore."
"You talk about becoming a righteous Marine, yet behind the scenes you're closely associated with pirates. How are other Marines supposed to trust you?"
"How could they ever feel safe entrusting their backs to you?"
"Mr. Luffy isn't a bad person!" Koby shouted desperately.
Karl let out a mocking laugh.
"Oh? So just because you say he's not a bad person, that automatically makes him a good person?"
"Fine."
"Let's assume he really is a good person."
"Then let me ask you this—"
"Would a good person choose to become a pirate?"
"N-No, that's not what I mean!"
Koby shook his head frantically.
"How interesting," Karl continued calmly. "Then let me ask another question."
"If you successfully joined the Marines someday, and your mission was to capture this Straw Hat brat…"
"What would you do?"
Koby instinctively glanced at Luffy.
Then he fell completely silent.
He admired Luffy.
He respected Luffy.
But Luffy was a pirate.
And Koby wanted to become a righteous Marine.
The duty of Marines was to capture pirates.
The contradiction was unavoidable.
And because of that—
Koby was destined to become the type who would hesitate whenever facing Luffy.
Perhaps Koby's original dream had simply been to join the Marines and defeat bad people.
In his innocent understanding of the world:
Pirates were evil.
Marines were righteous.
He genuinely believed all pirates were bad people.
But then, immediately after setting out to sea, he met Luffy.
Luffy was someone willing to risk everything to protect his dreams.
Through him, Koby realized for the first time:
Not all pirates were evil.
At the same time, while believing all Marines were righteous, he also encountered Morgan—the corrupt side of the Marines.
That experience changed his ideals.
Later, through his own "hard work," he gained the recognition of Marine Hero Garp and eventually set his sights on becoming a Marine Admiral.
In the Marines, Admirals represented the pinnacle of military power.
In Karl's eyes, Koby's dream could also be interpreted as wanting to become the strongest force within the Marines.
Perhaps, in Koby's heart, Admirals symbolized absolute justice.
He wanted both strength and righteousness.
But during the Summit War—
his entire character completely collapsed.
In Karl's opinion, every Marine during Marineford had fulfilled their duty.
Magellan fought desperately against the invaders.
Even Hannibal, who normally acted frivolous and greedy, stood alone against countless pirates to protect innocent civilians from the prisoners escaping Impel Down.
Garp, despite his emotional conflict, still chose to stand with the Marines.
Every Marine fought desperately on the battlefield.
But Koby?
He hid in a corner trembling in fear.
And only after the battle was practically over did he finally jump out, acting morally righteous while preaching about "unnecessary sacrifices."
What the hell was that?
That behavior was no different from desertion.
Even if he was a coward too afraid to fight, hiding while his comrades bled on the frontlines—
—and then suddenly appearing afterward to lecture everyone from a moral high ground—
Someone like that wanted to become an Admiral?
As a Marine, one's stance on major matters had to remain absolutely clear.
Never forget:
In this world, there was only one Straw Hat Pirates crew.
Fulfill the responsibilities of your position.
As a Marine, you should think from the Marines' perspective and minimize losses while obeying orders—not act cowardly toward pirates while pretending brave before your allies.
That was the true reason Karl disliked Koby.
So honestly—
someone like him simply shouldn't join the Marines.
The Marines didn't lack combat power.
If he didn't become a Marine, countless others gladly would.
Back to the present.
Smoker was clearly dissatisfied with Koby's performance.
He shook his head in disappointment.
That indifferent gaze felt like ice water being poured over Koby's body.
His entire body turned cold.
"Enough," Smoker said coldly. "There's no point wasting words on him."
"Everything that happened today will be officially recorded."
"Anyone confirmed to have ties with pirates has zero chance of joining the Marines."
Karl nodded calmly before turning toward the silent Luffy and Zoro.
"Now then."
"You two are pirates, correct?"
Luffy raised his head and looked directly at Karl.
"That's right!"
"My name's Luffy! I'm gonna become the Pirate King!"
"Zoro's my new crewmate!"
"So what about it?"
"Luffy! Stop talking!"
Karl smiled faintly and walked over before patting Luffy's shoulder.
"Good."
"Very spirited."
"Your grandfather is Marine Hero Garp—my senior."
"So for his sake…"
"I'll let you go today."
Even Smoker looked speechless.
"Hey… isn't that a little too blatant?"
Karl burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! So what?"
"After all, his name is Monkey D. Luffy."
"His grandfather is the great Marine Hero Monkey D. Garp."
"Using family connections to rule the seas…"
"How enviable."
"And besides," Karl continued with a grin, "didn't this kid say he wants to become Pirate King?"
"Then let's wait and see."
"Roger became Pirate King by relying on his own overwhelming strength."
"He fought countless rivals head-on, challenged the Marines directly, and finally reached Laugh Tale."
"But Pirate King Luffy?"
"He'll rely on his Marine Hero grandfather's influence so Marines keep letting him off the hook."
"Wouldn't that be much easier than Roger's path?"
"Right?"
Without question—
Karl had already become a master of sarcasm.
Even Kizaru would have to admit defeat in that department.
After all, Kizaru's mockery still lacked killing power.
And how deadly was Karl's sarcasm?
Just look at Luffy now.
His fists trembled loudly.
His face darkened.
Teeth clenched tightly.
"My grandpa is my grandpa!"
"I'm me!"
"He's a Marine and I'm gonna become Pirate King! Those things have nothing to do with each other!"
Before Karl could respond, Luffy suddenly stretched his arms backward.
"Gomu Gomu no—"
"Rocket!!!"
Zoro's pupils shrank.
"Luffy, don't be stupid! He's—"
Smoke erupted around Smoker as he prepared to intervene.
But Karl stopped him.
Karl simply stood there calmly and used the ultimate defensive technique.
"Iron Body."
CLANG!
Luffy's fist slammed into Karl's body with a metallic sound.
Instead, it was Luffy who recoiled in shock, frantically blowing on his aching fist as if that would somehow reduce the pain.
Karl looked at him calmly.
"Straw Hat brat…"
"You're still far too weak if you think you can fight me."
Then he turned around.
"Smoker. Let's go."
Smoker blinked in surprise.
"We're just leaving like this?"
"He attacked you."
"Since when did your temper become this good?"
Karl chuckled lightly.
"Didn't I already say it?"
"I'm sparing him for Vice Admiral Garp's sake."
"Besides…"
"A pirate without even a bounty isn't worth wasting Marine resources on."
"Yeah, yeah," Smoker muttered helplessly. "Sometimes I really can't understand what's going on inside your head."
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