6th Division Commander

"Shave!"

Carl used the Six Powers technique, Shave, and charged toward John at high speed.

Carl easily dodged the sword energy. It swept past him and wreaked havoc behind him in an instant.

"Get farther away, quick!"

"Hurry!"

The pirates watching from a distance nearly got caught in the crossfire of John's sword energy.

"Tempest Kick!"

Carl then used the Six Powers technique, Tempest Kick, aiming for John's legs.

John didn't just stand there waiting. He leapt into the air, gripped his sword with both hands, and slashed down at Carl.

"Shave—Rapid!"

Carl dodged swiftly, stomping the ground dozens of times within 0.36 seconds to evade John's sword energy. Then he sprang into the air and nimbly landed behind John.

"Baji Fist—Collapse!"

John hadn't been hit by Carl's Tempest Kick. He spun around quickly, holding his sword in one hand to block the attack with its back.

"Kid, you're still green when it comes to close combat."

John said this disdainfully. He was confident in his martial arts, and he thought Carl was an arrogant kid. Even without his greatsword, he could still beat him.

What John didn't know was that Carl hadn't gone all out, either. He had deliberately acted weak. After all, he wasn't sure how strong John was, and it never hurt to be cautious.

"Overlord Fist!"

With a ferocious grin, John planted his sword in the ground with his right hand, then raised his powerful fist and swung it at Carl.

He wanted Carl to know that his martial arts were no joke.

Carl's gaze sharpened. He knew this was John's signature move, Overlord Fist.

He quickly raised both arms as a shield and took John's punch head-on.

A loud boom rang out, and John's powerful punch sent Carl stumbling back several steps. His arms tingled slightly, but he realized John's martial arts weren't all that strong. He could handle him. He was especially grateful for John's arrogance, which had given him a chance to win.

Carl charged at John again without hesitation. This time, he concentrated even more Armament Haki in his right fist, while a faint golden glow surrounded his body.

John's expression changed as he immediately sensed the danger. He realized he'd underestimated Carl, but it was already too late to pull his sword from the ground. He clenched his fists and fought back at once, his hands lashing toward Carl like lightning.

Their fists collided in an instant, sending a powerful shockwave rippling out in every direction.

"Boom!"

The water by the shore surged upward, forming a series of enormous pillars.

Carl focused all his strength into his fist and let out a beastlike growl. His whole body erupted like a volcano, golden light bursting from him with boundless power.

At the same time, John felt his strength gradually being suppressed. His gaze turned vicious, and he gritted his teeth. He refused to back down and continued fighting with all his might.

Their fists collided again with a thunderous crash. This time, Carl's fist prevailed, and his strength overwhelmed John's.

John staggered back several steps, his face filled with shock and anger. He had thought there was no way he could lose to Carl, but now he realized he'd been wrong. It was already too late to regret it.

Carl gave John no chance to catch his breath. He attacked again, his fists sweeping toward John like a whirlwind.

John did everything he could to dodge, but Carl's fists still struck him several times. Every collision brought a sharp burst of pain.

"This is bad!"

"Baji Fist—Irong Mountain Lean!"

Seeing John's exhaustion, Carl immediately pressed his advantage.

"Heaven-Piercing Cannon!"

Carl unleashed one combo attack after another, leaving John no time to defend himself.

But John soon adapted to the rhythm of Carl's attacks, and the two fought to a stalemate.

After several hours of fighting,

John sensed that Carl's strength kept increasing.

Gradually, John could barely hold on. He realized he'd underestimated Carl.

But Carl's attacks kept getting faster, leaving John no chance to counterattack.

At last, after another few dozen minutes of stalemate, John's arms hung limply at his sides, and he slumped onto the ground. His body could no longer support him. He knew he'd lost.

He hadn't expected to lose to Carl.

"I lost."

John spoke with resentment, his face twisted.

After all, he'd been outmatched, but John wasn't the sort to let things go so easily. He knew Carl had tricked him. If Carl hadn't worn him down with martial arts, the fight wouldn't have ended so quickly. After all, John wasn't a martial arts expert—he was a great swordsman.

Carl stood beside John, his chest heaving. He felt a sense of pride and power unlike anything he'd ever known. He knew that if he hadn't relied on a trick, he never would have beaten John. Though he felt he still had enough stamina to fight him for several more days.

Only after the fight ended did he feel the aches and pains throughout his body.

"Carl actually beat John."

"Gurarara!"

"John sure was unlucky. Carl tricked him."

Newgate, watching from a distance, had seen at a glance how the fight had unfolded.

"Captain John lost!"

"How is that possible? Captain John lost to this rookie?"

When Captain John heard his men muttering nearby, he immediately turned and glared at them.

The few pirates who'd been whispering turned pale and quickly bowed as they hurried away.

"This isn't over."

John had recovered some of his strength. He slowly rose to his feet.

Carl knew his chances of becoming a division commander were all but certain.

The whole island was probably covered by Captain Rocks's Observation Haki. Rocks must have noticed their fight, and Carl knew he was qualified to compete for a command.

The other pirates watched the scene with awe in their eyes.

By defeating John, Carl had proved that his strength was no less than a division commander's.

They knew a new commander might soon join their ranks. On the one hand, this would make the Rocks Pirates even stronger. On the other, many pirates who hadn't yet joined a commander began eyeing the opportunity. They wanted to join this new commander's crew.

"From now on, Carl is the commander of the Rocks Pirates' 6th Division."

Just as the pirates were still considering how to join Carl's crew,

a deep voice rang out from the island's interior.

Carl quickly looked inland. In the distance, he could just make out a burly man over three meters tall, wearing a red cape and an old-fashioned captain's hat. He had long blond hair, and a long sword hung at his right side. He was walking toward them.

The newcomer was Rocks D. Xebec, captain of the Rocks Pirates and reputedly the most evil man in history.

"Welcome to the Rocks Pirates."

"Hahaha!"

Rocks was constantly recruiting powerful people to join his pirate crew so he could realize his ambitions.

So, of course, he was delighted to have someone on the island whose strength could rival a division commander's.

This brought him one step closer to his plan.

"Lads, let's have a banquet!"

"Let's celebrate your new 6th Division commander, Carl!"

Rocks walked up, glanced at Carl, then ordered the pirates.

"Oh, a banquet!"

The pirates present erupted in a tremendous roar. Banquets were one of the essential traditions on Hachinosu.

Especially since they had a new 6th Division commander.

While Carl and his companions were celebrating at the banquet, a spy within the Rocks Pirates had already reported the details of Carl's fight with John to Fleet Admiral Hill.

After hearing the news, Fleet Admiral Hill realized that Carl's strength had increased considerably.

This young man couldn't be underestimated. His strength was growing rapidly, so Hill immediately issued a series of orders targeting Carl.

Fleet Admiral Hill ordered the Navy's intelligence agency to intensify its surveillance of Carl and gather every piece of information about him, including his strength, techniques, and personality. This information would help the Navy deal with Carl more effectively in future operations.

Fleet Admiral Hill ordered the Marine Science Unit to step up its research into Carl's abilities. They needed to understand how his techniques worked so they could gain the upper hand in any future battles between the Navy and Carl.

After the banquet, Carl recruited a few of the more good-natured pirates as his subordinates. They weren't particularly strong, but at least they were his first men and could help him handle miscellaneous tasks.

He chose a spot on Hachinosu and had the pirates start building houses. This would serve as the 6th Division's base from then on.

When Charlotte Linlin found out that Carl had Titan blood, she repeatedly made it clear at the banquet that she wanted to have a child with him, but Carl turned her down every time.

However, Charlotte noticed that Carl couldn't hold his liquor. An idea immediately came to her.

While Charlotte Linlin was thinking about how to get closer to Carl, Rocks fell into deep thought, growing suspicious.

After all, his attack on God Valley was fast approaching. No one knew about his plan, and having such a powerful newcomer join was certainly a good thing—but what if he was a spy? So Rocks came up with a way to find out.

He would send Carl to attack a relatively weak World Government Member State and test his loyalty.

He had also planted a spy among the pirates Carl had recruited the previous day for this very purpose.

"Boss Carl, Captain Rocks wants to see you."

Early the next morning, just after Carl had gotten out of bed and before he'd even eaten breakfast, a pirate came to tell him that Captain Rocks wanted to see him.