The man known throughout East Blue as the overlord of the seas—Admiral Krieg—was now groveling like a starving dog.
Everyone present was stunned.
"Is… is that really Krieg?"
While the crowd whispered among themselves, Krieg suddenly collapsed onto the floor and lost consciousness.
At Sea
Ain walked over to Karl with a helpless expression.
"I just confirmed it with Smoker."
"That ship belongs to the Krieg Pirates."
"A while ago they entered the Grand Line, so Smoker didn't bother with them."
"I didn't expect them to come back this quickly."
"No… calling them stray dogs would probably be more accurate."
"The Krieg Pirates?"
Karl shrugged.
"Sounds like trash mobs already."
"What did Smoker say?"
"He wants us to conveniently clean them up for him?"
Ain nodded helplessly.
"Yeah."
"In your words…"
'Since we're already here.'"
"Hahahaha!"
"Exactly!"
"Since we're already here, it's just a little side job anyway."
But the moment he finished speaking—
the smile on Karl's face suddenly disappeared.
Ain immediately noticed something was wrong.
"What happened?"
Karl sighed.
"Nothing major."
"A troublesome guy just arrived."
"Looks like we won't be enjoying a peaceful meal today…"
Ain blinked in confusion.
"A troublesome guy?"
"There's someone in East Blue capable of troubling you?"
"Don't tell me it's Vice Admiral Garp?"
"No."
Karl narrowed his eyes slightly.
"He's even more troublesome than Garp."
"Then who—?"
"Dracule Mihawk."
Ain's body trembled.
"Hawk Eyes?!"
"What is he doing in East Blue?"
Karl shook his head.
"No one knows what that guy is thinking."
"But if he runs into me…"
"He definitely didn't come just to say hello and leave."
Ain suddenly giggled.
"That's true."
"Ever since your fight with him at Scrap Ship Island, you two haven't crossed swords again."
"And later the world started calling you a Great Swordsman equal to him."
"No matter what…"
"There's definitely another battle waiting between you."
"What?"
"You feeling pressured?"
Karl laughed softly.
Pressure?
What a joke.
Right now, he had swordsmanship, physique, stamina, endurance, and abilities all stacked together.
How exactly was Mihawk supposed to fight him?
When Shanks was isolated, Karl could already beat him into submission.
No matter how strong Mihawk was—
there had to be limits.
"Slow the ship down."
"The Krieg Pirates probably won't need us to deal with them anymore."
Dreadnaught Sabre
After stuffing himself full at Baratie, Krieg returned to his ship and glared coldly at his subordinates.
"First…"
"We abandon this wreck before it sinks."
"Then we seize the restaurant."
"Our opponents are nothing more than a bunch of cook punks."
"They look impressive, but they're trash…"
"Attack!"
"UOOOHHHHH!"
"CHAAAARGE!!!"
Baratie
"They're coming!"
"I can hear the pirates shouting!"
"We must protect the restaurant!"
"This ship is our livelihood!"
The Krieg Pirates rushed forward screaming wildly.
"Die, you filthy cooks!"
But the next second—
Slash!
A green flying slash instantly cut the Dreadnaught Sabre clean in half before continuing straight toward the approaching Holy Light.
Standing at the bow of the ship, Karl's lips curled upward slightly.
His right hand gripped Raven.
Then he swung horizontally.
A dazzling golden flying slash tore across the sea and collided directly with the green slash in an instant.
BOOM!!!
The ocean violently trembled.
The sea itself seemed to boil as towering waves nearly fifty meters high erupted into the sky.
As the saying went—
when gods fight, mortals suffer.
Under the impact of the collision, the Krieg Pirates' ship was reduced into floating garbage.
Not even a single stable plank remained.
Sitting atop his coffin boat, Mihawk spoke quietly to himself.
"So the rumors were true."
"He truly did not disappoint my expectations…"
A sharp glint flashed through his hawk-like eyes.
Even the black blade Yoru trembled faintly in excitement upon encountering a worthy opponent.
Meanwhile, Baratie swayed like a lone leaf upon the sea under the assault of the monstrous waves.
Fortunately, they weren't too close to the center of the collision.
Otherwise, they too would have been reduced to dust.
"What… what just happened?!"
"Look!"
"The Krieg Pirates' ship is completely gone!!!"
"Who did that?!"
"Can humans even possess power like this?!"
As everyone panicked in confusion—
Zoro's body trembled violently.
Only swordsmen could truly understand what had just occurred.
That collision—
was a clash of swordsmanship itself.
A collision so sharp it resembled the meeting of needle and blade.
A pressure that forced others to look upward in awe.
And in this world—
there were very few swordsmen capable of such power.
If Zoro had to name them—
there were only two.
The World's Greatest Swordsman, Dracule Mihawk.
And the Marine Hero—
Karl.
For some reason, Zoro's entire body began trembling slightly.
Back when he first met Karl, he had already wanted to challenge him.
Even knowing he would lose—
he still wanted to try.
Unfortunately…
the situation back then had been a little awkward.
So he never brought it up.
But now—
both Karl and Mihawk had possibly arrived.
How could he not be excited?
As the violent sea gradually calmed—
a coffin boat burning with eerie green candles slowly advanced toward Baratie.
At the same time—
Karl's Holy Light also approached the sea restaurant.
To summarize the situation in one sentence:
Baratie was in danger.
Gulp.
"T-That's… Hawk Eyes, the World's Greatest Swordsman?!"
"No, look over there!"
"That ship belongs to Marine Hero Vice Admiral Karl!"
"Don't tell me they're going to—"
"RUN!!!"
The restaurant's guests instantly descended into chaos.
Even the delinquent chefs couldn't stop the terrified customers from fleeing.
The Holy Light arrived near Baratie first.
Moments later—
the coffin boat arrived as well.
Surprisingly, Mihawk's tiny coffin moved ridiculously fast.
Karl couldn't help wondering if the man secretly paddled underneath with his legs.
Whoosh!
Mihawk leapt onto the deck of the Holy Light and looked at Karl with visible excitement.
"You truly did not disappoint my expectations, Marine Karl."
"Oh, no…"
"I should call you Marine Hero now."
Karl scratched his head and smiled.
"So…"
"You came to fight me?"
Mihawk answered matter-of-factly.
"Of course."
"It has been a long time since I encountered a swordsman worthy of battle."
"And you…"
"Are the strongest among them."
Karl wasn't surprised at all.
Instead, he turned toward Ain.
"Go evacuate the civilians."
"Get everyone farther away."
"Oh, and move the Holy Light too."
"I don't want my ship getting sliced apart."
"Mhm."
"Be careful."
Karl laughed.
"With my abilities?"
"You should know better than anyone."
Ain suddenly seemed to misunderstand something.
A faint blush appeared across her face before she quickly turned and left.
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