An Unexpected Turn

Newgate's gaze became incomparably majestic, making it impossible for anyone to meet his eyes. He increased the output of his Conqueror's Haki, pressing it down toward Carl.

He had not expected that Carl would also possess Conqueror's Haki, and he wanted to test whether he could help Carl further master it.

Feeling the intensification of Newgate's Haki, Carl released more of his own Conqueror's Haki in response. Rings of black light, resembling ripples, emerged behind him, radiating a terrifying aura.

Under the shroud of their combined Conqueror's Haki, the atmosphere instantly grew tense.

Carl knew his Conqueror's Haki could not hold out for long; he had to strike first to break this stalemate.

Immediately, he imbued his fist with all of his abilities. His fist shimmered with three colors: purple, gold, and black!

Then, he launched the first attack.

Carl swung his fist forward rapidly, and sonic booms erupted from the air.

The speed was so great that those present could only see a series of afterimages.

Carl's fist was already upon him; before the blow landed, the pressure roared behind Newgate, forming a shocking shockwave that swept through everything like a gale.

"Well struck!"

Newgate had not expected Carl to attack him first, but this also indicated that Carl's Conqueror's Haki had reached its current limit.

"Quake Shock!"

He hurriedly swung his right hand, coated in Armament Haki, violently forward.

In the blink of an eye, their fists collided.

Under the impact of this power, ships in the distance began to shatter, the ground beneath their feet cracked layer by layer, and the surrounding trees were uprooted by the shockwave.

The small island beneath them could not withstand the force; it shattered instantly and began to sink into the sea.

Although neither of them had fought to their heart's content, since things had reached this point, they had no choice but to stop for now.

They leaped onto the ships in the sea.

"That was satisfying!"

"Let's do it again when there's a chance."

It was Carl's first time experiencing such a heated battle, and he had fallen in love with the feeling of his adrenaline surging.

"No problem!"

Newgate replied nonchalantly.

He, too, rarely had the chance to go all out.

"Let's go, we're heading back."

Carl ordered Clay to sail the ship back to Hachinosu; after all, the battle was over, and there was no point in lingering here any longer.

He needed to properly contemplate his Observation Haki and Conqueror's Haki. Since he had only just begun to grasp them, he wanted to use his current sensations to further master his Conqueror's Haki.

For the next period of time, there were no ripples on the island.

Soon, as time passed, the date for Rocks to attack that allied nation was fast approaching.

The pirates on the island were preparing to attack the Tyr Kingdom; after all, the Tyr Kingdom was no small nation.

Clay had also fully mastered the Golden Light Incantation, though his golden light appeared quite thin.

Clay still led them to train in the woods behind the base every day.

Under Clay's guidance, the hundred orphans, along with Long Yi and Long Er, practiced the Five Elements Fist with great enthusiasm.

Thanks to the ample nutrition on the island, the physiques of the hundred orphans and the two boys had gradually become like those of normal children, and they had basically mastered the Five Elements Fist, lacking only actual combat experience.

Originally, they shouldn't have brought Long Yi and Long Er along for this expedition to the Tyr Kingdom, as their strength was still far from sufficient.

However, because the two kept begging, feeling they had trained enough and wanting to see the world, they didn't realize that this was the New World—those with low strength didn't even have the qualifications to set sail.

"Just let us go!"

Seeing their pleading expressions, Carl didn't refuse. In any case, their strength had reached roughly that of a commodore, and of course, it was mainly because Clay would be watching them, so there shouldn't be much of a problem.

"But you must listen to Clay, or there won't be a next time!"

Although Carl said this, his gaze turned to Clay. In his view, these two little ones didn't have the strength to stand on their own out there and needed Clay to watch them at all times; otherwise, if an accident happened, his hard work would be wasted.

"We will definitely listen."

At this moment, Long Yi and Long Er appeared very well-behaved.

But only Clay knew how mischievous they were when they weren't training. In secret, they were the little troublemakers of his 6th Division.

Although he had received their promise, Carl did not see the cunning look in their eyes as they lowered their heads.

They were certainly thinking about how to slip out of Clay's control when the time came.

After assigning the tasks, Carl ordered his subordinate pirates to prepare to set sail.

The coastline was suddenly bustling with noise and excitement, with pirates everywhere moving supplies onto the ships.

After all, attacking the Tyr Kingdom would require quite a bit of artillery.

A few days ago on Kuro Island, the base of the Giant Warrior Pirates.

"What?"

"Little Thirteen is dead."

Upon hearing the news, Yorulu, captain of the Giant Warrior Pirates, went on a frenzied rampage inside his room, smashing the entire building to pieces. Because Morgans had not yet established his news agency, the transmission of information via newspapers was incredibly slow.

It had been nearly a month, and this was the first he had heard of it.

The messenger standing before him trembled, occasionally flinching in fear at Yorulu's overwhelming aura.

"Did you find out who did it?"

"According to intelligence from our informants, it was Carl, the newly appointed 6th Division commander of the Rocks Pirates."

"Young Master Thirteen had just snuck out, and somehow, he ran into Carl on the open sea and was killed by her."

"There is no more specific information available."

The messenger knew that Krulu often snuck out on his own.

Usually, people would spare him out of respect for his status as the thirteenth son of the Giant Warrior Pirates, but Carl didn't know that—and even if she did, she wouldn't have been afraid.

"This is a provocation. Rocks is provoking us."

"Summon all the division commanders."

Yorulu immediately called for all the division commanders to assemble.

Soon, the commanders arrived.

"Captain, is there something urgent?"

"Captain, everyone is here."

Fred, the vice-captain, had already been informed of the news beforehand and signaled for the gathered commanders to quiet down.

"I have just received word that my thirteenth son, Krulu, was killed a month ago by Carl, the 6th Division commander of the Rocks Pirates."

"What? We've only just had peace; how dare they be the first to incite a battle?"

Angelo, the 4th Division commander, was furious. In their eyes, ever since they had formed an alliance with the X Pirates, the Rocks Pirates had not dared to confront them head-on.

"If that's the case, then we fight."

Eloy, the 2nd Division commander, was never one to shy away from trouble.

In his view, a battle between them and the Rocks Pirates was inevitable sooner or later; it made no difference whether it happened now or later.

"Should we notify X?"

Fred, the vice-captain, was more concerned. He remained clear-headed, knowing that their pirate crew alone could not defeat the Rocks Pirates.

If not for the alliance between the two crews, the second half of the New World would have likely been conquered by Rocks long ago, leaving them with nothing.

"No need. We are just going to have a talk and demand that they hand over their 6th Division commander."

"Besides, I've received news that Rocks is not currently on the island."

Captain Yorulu had grown somewhat arrogant. Since the alliance was formed, the Rocks Pirates had never provoked them, leading him to believe they were afraid. Furthermore, with Rocks away from the island, he felt completely fearless.

What he didn't know was that this was merely a ruse by Rocks to lure them into a trap.

As soon as Rocks learned that Carl had killed Krulu, he immediately released this false information.

He hadn't expected Yorulu to actually fall for it; it had to be said that the giants really had no grasp of strategy, and their intelligence was generally not very high.

He had only been testing the waters; if they came, he could wipe them out, and if they didn't, he would lose nothing.

Moreover, the Rocks Pirates were preparing to invade the Tyr Kingdom. The Tyr Kingdom was a major power in the New World with a population of over two million. The entire nation was militarized, capable of fielding 50,000 soldiers, and they possessed quite a few general-level combatants.

So, it wasn't that Rocks didn't want to deal with them, but rather that he had more important matters to attend to.

"Order the subordinate pirate crews to assemble. I am going to find Rocks and demand justice."

Yorulu couldn't wait any longer, convinced that Rocks' behavior was a sign of fear.

After all, the alliance with the X Pirates had given him enough confidence to become somewhat conceited.

"Should we leave some people behind to guard the base?"

Fred knew that Rocks had been waiting for an opportunity, and by going to find the Rocks Pirates alone, weren't they just like lambs walking to the slaughter?

If this news turned out to be false, wouldn't they be...

After all, Rocks had long wanted to unify the second half of the Grand Line, but their alliance had prevented him from making a move.

But that didn't mean they could go and meet Rocks on their own.

Yorulu was being far too arrogant, especially since he believed he was only going to demand an explanation; he wanted Rocks to hand over Carl.

His original intention was not to start a full-scale war.

But events would not unfold the way he imagined.