Krulu Pirates

However, on the return journey, he encountered a pirate crew, never imagining that this group would disrupt his future plans.

"Captain, there is a pirate ship ahead."

"Lads, bring us alongside them!"

"Hahaha!"

Because Carl had not yet hoisted the flag of the Rocks Pirates when she set sail, Krulu did not know they were members of the Rocks Pirates, and so a confused battle began.

"Boom!"

The opposing side launched the first attack.

"Quick, return fire! Counterattack!"

The crew on Carl's ship immediately aimed their cannons at the Krulu Pirates and opened fire. They were the Rocks Pirates; it seemed there was no one on the sea who dared to clash with them directly. They hadn't expected that simply by not flying their flag, they would run into a group of reckless fools.

Cannonballs exploded on the sea surface, kicking up massive sprays of water.

"Lads, charge!"

"We are the Krulu Pirates! Hand over your lives!"

In the mere instant the battle began, both sides fired countless cannonballs, and the engagement immediately reached a fever pitch.

The Krulu Pirates were one of the pirate crews under the banner of the Giant Warrior Pirates, composed of a mix of humans and a small number of giants.

Captain Krulu was none other than the thirteenth son of Yorulu of the Giant Warrior Pirates, but Carl was unaware of this fact, and thus a beautiful misunderstanding was born.

"Lady Carl!"

Carl walked onto the deck with a puzzled expression, and Clay greeted her immediately.

"What is going on?"

"Lady Carl, the ship opposite claims to be the Krulu Pirates."

"They are officially hostile toward us; they launched an attack the very moment we came into view."

Since Clay had only recently been rescued from slavery, he also did not know that Krulu was the thirteenth son of Yorulu.

And so, with neither side knowing the other's true identity, the battle commenced.

"Very well, I understand."

Since they were confirmed enemies, there was nothing left to say.

While deflecting incoming cannonballs with her fists, Carl utilized Moon Walk to fly toward the Krulu Pirates. Capture the leader to capture the gang; once she took down their captain, this battle would be as good as over.

"Captain Krulu, someone is flying over here!"

"What? Let me see."

Captain Krulu was a giant, twenty meters tall and powerfully built.

He looked up and saw Carl flying rapidly toward him. His face filled with alarm; after all, any pirate capable of flight was generally not to be trifled with.

"Quick, bring me my weapon!"

"Yes, Captain!"

Two giants nearby hurried over to deliver his weapon.

Krulu picked up his greatsword, and as if his confidence had returned, he sneered at the tiny human, thinking her vulnerable.

"Hahaha! Take this!"

"Slash Wave!"

Krulu swung his greatsword, sending a blade of energy flying toward Carl.

Carl swung her fist, exerting force like a surging river, and smashed the blade of energy to pieces with raw power.

Following this, Carl landed directly on the deck of the Krulu Pirates' ship.

"Regardless of your reasons, since you were the first to draw your blades, you must be prepared to die."

"Normal Punch!"

Carl did not wish to slaughter civilians, but that did not mean she would spare these heinous pirates. In her view, with the exception of a few rare groups, the vast majority of pirates in the Pirate World were unforgivable criminals.

She did not hold back, exerting force through her legs and charging at Krulu with a fist coated in Armament Haki.

"Clang!"

Krulu hurriedly raised his longsword to block Carl's attack, but the weight of the punch made it feel as though a massive mountain had crashed into him.

However, Carl's fist was coated in Armament Haki, and her strength had increased significantly; her power now far exceeded that of a Vice Admiral.

"Crack!"

A crisp sound rang out as the longsword shattered into pieces, the shards flying rapidly toward the pirates behind Krulu.

"Urgh..."

"Ah!"

In an instant, the pirates on the deck were struck by the flying debris, and a large number of them collapsed to the ground.

"Bang!"

At that moment, the two ships collided and drew alongside each other.

"Krulu Pirates? Bah, we're the Rocks Pirates! Men, charge!"

The pirate captain leading the charge brandished his long blade and rushed toward the members of the Krulu Pirates.

"Kill them!"

The two ships were connected in a matter of seconds.

Clay led a group of pirates onto the deck to engage the Krulu Pirates in battle!

"Pow!"

Simultaneously, Carl's iron fist, its momentum unchecked, struck Krulu squarely in the head, slamming him hard against the deck.

Krulu sat up, rubbing his head; the punch had left him dizzy and disoriented.

"Armament Haki, coat!"

Carl didn't wait for him to recover, pressing his advantage and continuing to rain down violent blows.

Still reeling, Krulu was unable to dodge in time.

This final punch shattered Krulu's skull into pieces.

"Thud!"

Krulu's corpse crashed heavily onto the deck.

Carl shook the blood from his hands.

He then surveyed the scene; the advantage was firmly on his side.

Krulu, captain of the Krulu Pirates, was the thirteenth son of the Giant Warrior Pirates.

He had run away in secret, and given his strength, he really shouldn't have been operating away from the main fleet.

His strength wasn't enough to protect him on the open sea, and he simply hadn't expected to run into Carl and lose his life here.

Carl exhaled, his mood instantly lightening.

After all, back at the Phil Kingdom, watching his subordinates slaughter civilians had kept a fire of suppressed rage burning in his chest.

Perhaps it was because he had transmigrated from Blue Star, but kindness and mercy still held a place in his heart.

However, he knew he couldn't change anything; these weren't his loyal followers, just people he had picked up at random on Hachinosu.

If he forbade them from killing, it would only backfire and cause his men to defy his orders.

This only strengthened his resolve to cultivate his own force, one where his subordinates would never commit such acts.

The battle ended quickly. Although there were some losses on his side, the casualties were minimal, mostly consisting of the slaves who had just joined on that island.

After all, the opposition was just a group of small-time thugs with no real powerhouses among them.

Clay alone was enough to handle the situation, not to mention the numerous other pirates helping out.

There were no prisoners taken in this battle, and the enemy ship was subsequently burned to the ground.

Rashly taking in captives from an enemy crew on the high seas could lead to major problems.

The journey back to Hachinosu was smooth sailing.

As time slipped away, evening soon arrived.

"Hachinosu ahead!"

A loud voice rang out from the crow's nest, echoing throughout the pirate ship.

"We're here?"

"Back so soon!"

"Time for a banquet, let's have a banquet!"

The pirates in the cabins immediately rushed to the deck, cheering. Every time they returned from a raid, the first order of business on Hachinosu was a banquet. They couldn't wait; since they lived their lives on the edge every day, banquets were their only way to have fun and unwind.

Hearing the commotion outside, Carl walked out as well.

Looking at the distant lights, he thought to himself that this time, Rocks shouldn't have any reason to suspect him.

Long Yi and Long Er stood by his side, looking toward Hachinosu with excitement.

The island in the distance was ablaze with lights.

"Big brother, is that Hachinosu?"

Long Er had rarely seen the outside world, especially a night illuminated by so many lights; it had been a long time since he had seen such a sight.

"That's right. From today on, we are no longer slaves."

Long Yi patted Long Er on the head. His joy came from the bottom of his heart; he knew that after today, they would face a different life, but it would certainly be far freer than being a slave.

"Clay, take those two to the barracks. I'm going to find Captain Rocks and report on the situation."

"Understood, Captain."

Clay grabbed Long Yi and Long Er, one in each hand, and headed toward the barracks.

In truth, Carl had already guessed that there were likely Rocks' informants on her ship. However, she still had to go and report to Rocks; after all, the implications of the two scenarios were entirely different.

"Good day, Captain Carl."

"Captain Carl."

The pirates they passed along the way greeted Carl one after another.

"You got lucky this time."

Kaido muttered in the distance. He hadn't expected the people of the Phil Kingdom to be so weak; seeing that Carl didn't have a single scratch on her, he felt quite disappointed.

Perhaps there is a mutual intuition between the strong. Just as Kaido looked at her, she immediately sensed it and turned her gaze toward him in the distance. Kaido stared back without flinching.

"Gurararara!"

"Carl is back."

Carl was walking toward the Council Hall when she saw Newgate sitting on a barrel by the side of the road, drinking heavily.

"It went well. There weren't any strong fighters in the Phil Kingdom, but I need to go report to Captain Rocks first."

Carl immediately turned her gaze to the side of the road to look at Newgate.

"Good luck, kid Carl!"

Newgate raised his flagon toward her in a gesture of greeting.

"Let's drink our fill in a while."

Carl finally understood why the strong loved to drink; it was to let the alcohol suppress some of their emotions.

"Fine, Carl. I'll be waiting for you right here."